Learning Happens Everywhere!

Are mistakes a part of the learning process? If they are, what does this say about our current education system? This post explores these ideas, asking the following questions and following each with a number of responses that explores each question in greater detail. The first section has two questions:

* Why are mistakes important to achieve engagement and learning?

* Why do we avoid mistakes in our current model?

The second section, Turning Mistakes into Learning Opportunities asks one question:

* How can we use learning errors to our advantage?

At the beginning of this post the author speaks of James Joyce, and also does so at the end where she states (referring to Joyce) "a true genius sees all learning as an opportunity to improve and discover. Errors are taken at will. In making mistakes, we can reach new heights and find our true genius." Will schools move in this direction?

Via Beth Dichter

Robin Good: Must-read article on ClutterMuseum.com by Leslie M-B, exploring in depth the opportunity to have students master their selected topics by "curating" them, rather than by reading and memorizing facts about them.

 

"Critical and creative thinking should be prioritized over remembering content"

 

"That students should learn to think for themselves may seem like a no-brainer to many readers, but if you look at the textbook packages put out by publishers, you’ll find that the texts and accompanying materials (for both teachers and students) assume students are expected to read and retain content—and then be tested on it.

 

Instead, between middle school (if not earlier) and college graduation, students should practice—if not master—how to question, critique, research, and construct an argument like an historian."

 

This is indeed the critical point. Moving education from an effort to memorize things on which then to be tested, to a collaborative exercise in creating new knowledge and value by pulling and editing together individual pieces of content, resources and tools that allow the explanation/illustration of a topic from a specific viewpoint/for a specific need.

 

And I can't avoid to rejoice and second her next proposition: "What if we shifted the standards’ primary emphasis from content, and not to just the development of traditional skills—basic knowledge recall, document interpretation, research, and essay-writing—but to the cultivation of skills that challenge students to make unconventional connections, skills that are essential for thriving in the 21st century?"

 

What are these skills, you may ask. Here is a good reference where to look them up: http://www.p21.org/storage/documents/P21_Framework_Definitions.pdf (put together by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills)

 

 

Recommended. Good stuff. 9/10

 

Full article: www.cluttermuseum.com/make-students-curators/

 

(Image credit: Behance.net)

 

 

Via Robin Good, João Greno Brogueira, catspyjamasnz, Deborah Arnold

Why have your students work collaboratively? "Collaborative learning teams are said to attain higher levels of thinking and preserve information for longer times that students working individually."

This post provides 20 suggestions to help collaborative groups work more effectively. A few are:

* Establish group goals.

* Keep groups mid-sized.

* Build trust and promote open communication.

* Consider the learning process asa part of the assessment.

The post includes links to a variety of resources and each point has an explantion with additional information.

Via Beth Dichter