Education in the Future

What education is going to be like in the future? @edinthefuture

[educationinthefuture]

Kids really like this guy! 

In 1983, the population of the United States was about 234 million people. And on February 28th of that year 106 million Americans sat down to watch the last episode of M*A*S*H* on CBS. 106 million people!!! Almost half of all of the people in the country (ok 45% go away) all laughing* together at one program. Can you imagine what it must have been like? Cars left abandoned on the sides of highways... whole industries lying fallow for one sweet hour... civilization ground to a halt... mass hysteria, is what I'm saying. 

Which is to say: Alan Alda is an accomplished man. At 78, you might imagine him resting content with his unprecedented cultural impact. Instead, he's founded what I think is just one of the coolest educational ideas I've heard of in a while. 

It's called the Flame Contest: every year Alda's organizations challenges scientists to explain a tricky question to kids. There have been three questions so far: "What is a flame?" in 2012; "what is time?" last year; and "what is color?" currently accepting submissions. 

Scientists are invited to send in written or video explanations. And then, the coolest part: the winning submission is chosen by kids! In fact, the questions are chosen by kids as well. It's a great example of kid-adult collaboration - and I love, specifically, that it doesn't just connect kids with adults; it connects kids with leading experts in their fields, and encourages those experts to take kids' ideas and opinions absolutely seriously. 

Here is the winning video answering the question, "what is a flame?" It is so good, and it makes so much sense that kids selected it: it's funny, features a genuinely impressive pop-parody song at the end, and is juuuuuust edgy enough to be surprising. (That guy chained to a wall in a room of fire up there? He does not escape.) Also I know what a flame is now. I am not going to tell you. 

I first learned about the Flame Contest in this great article by Dahlia Lithwick at Slate. Read it! Watch the videos! And pass on any other great examples of kid-adult collaboration you find out there. 

- Spencer ([email protected])

*Crying? MASH was a comedy, right?

[educationinthefuture]

Asking Better Questions

I love Spencer's re-post below from "Math With Bad Drawings" about asking questions! It brings to mind a book I keep handy on my shelf, Asking Better Questions by Norah Morgan and Juliana Saxton. Great reference book for how to think about question-posing that will breed engagement and critical thinking!

Now, back to trying to remember a time in my youth when a really great question was asked and a great conversation followed...

[educationinthefuture]

"I got a tough one for ya"

When I was a first year teacher, I tried to anticipate questions my kids might ask, in my lesson plan. [Waits for the imaginary roomful of teachers to stop laughing.] I know, I know, but I was terrified that a student would ask me something I wasn't ready for! Which they did, obviously, and which did derail my meticulous planning, definitely, but which of course also led to some of the best teaching I ever managed to do. ("Why isn't Pluto a planet any more?" produced a class-long discussion about what it does and doesn't mean to classify things that I still think about for, like, fun. PLUTO4LIIIFE)

So from one of my favorite teaching blogs, Math with Bad Drawings, one of my favorite teaching blog posts: 

http://mathwithbaddrawings.com/2013/08/07/0-999-and-the-debate-that-repeats-forever/

in which Ben Orlin tells the story of the day a student in his math class refused to believe that the repeating decimal 0.9999... is, in fact, equal to 1. (Which apparently it... is?) 

Orlin's response is a beautiful example of meeting a confused student on their own terms, approaching a problem from many angles, and using their existing intuitions to guide them to new understanding. Since there is a correct answer in this case, it's still a fairly guided discussion; but all in all it left me hoping I can answer my next head-thumper with this much grace and brains. Also, the math is super interesting if you're a nerd (MATH4LIIIFE)

So: when have you learned from, been stumped by, asked, answered, wished for, or wondered about a really great question?

- Spencer ([email protected])

[educationinthefuture]

As a follow up to an article on disability and language, I think that this piece highlights how language is shaped by and shapes the systems we work within, particularly education. It is wonderful that students who have felt marginalized now have a chance to feel safer within their communities. But I wonder: is it enough to blur the binary? Or should it be eliminated entirely? What do you think? Chelsea [email protected]

[educationinthefuture]

Veteran of City School System Is Said to Be Next Chancellor

Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio was expected to appoint Carmen Fariña, a veteran educator in New York City who has served as a teacher, principal and superintendent.

New year, new schools Chancellor. If you have any additional info or knowledge about Carmen Fariña, please post!

-Anneka

[educationinthefuture]

2013 was the year of MOOCs.  Whether you want to sit in on a course at MIT or brush up on some entrepreneurial skills in the form of a skillshare class, you can do it.  It's not surprising then when you see that Coursera is one of the "Top 10 Ed-Tech Startups of 2013."  However, one of the biggest things of note for me in the Top 10 article was the amount of investment funds that the companies were able to pull. This made me think about the education system as a whole and how we could possibly harness the entrepreneurial spirit WITHIN the system.  How can we encourage venture capitalists to invest in the system we already have in place? Where can innovation come from and can we treat education like social entrepreneurship? 

What do you all think!?

-Chelsea

[email protected] 

[educationinthefuture]

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." --Nelson Mandela

I wanted to take a moment to honor Nelson Mandela's contributions to promoting the importance of education, social justice and engaged citizenry. Below, a link to a short Huff Post piece that notes Mandela's work to increase educational access and quality of education in South Africa and beyond. A link to some important Mandela quotes follows. The Huff Post author explains how Mandela reached her...how has he reached you? And how can his life and work help us to reach our students?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-henking/nelson-mandela-reached-me_b_4394707.html

http://www.education.gov.za/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=8d6cPhef%2FL8%3D&tabid=656&mid=1849

Peace/solidarity,

Anneka

[educationinthefuture]

As technology continues to grow and shift, this brings up a large question about what role it will play in technology.  

Interesting read about what google glass might bring to the table! 

[elliottheis]

[dot-ed]

elliottheis:

Confused about how Bitcoin, the decentralized digital currency works? This video helps explains it.

[educationinthefuture]

Having worked in special education, language appears to be one of the most fluctuating elements of that field. Not because it doesn’t matter, but because it does, greatly. The words we choose to describe each other and our students define how we view them.

Take a moment to read this incredible assessment of the power of language and memory when it comes to disability.

[email protected]

[gjmueller-deactivated20181226]

How to teach all those learning styles? How to make diversity work? How to keep kids from cheating? Bullying? Dropping out? How to prepare citizens for democracy and leadership in a complex, changing world? How to get them to love to go to school every day? Treat them as if they each have a teacher within.

Education is Leadership 2 (via gjmueller)

[educationinthefuture]

I ran across this on Sam Chaltain's blog (learn more about him here: http://www.samchaltain.com/about), and it's a great little 10-minute video demo of what Drama in Education can look like in action.

You don't have to be an actor or a "theatre person" to implement some simple drama in education techniques in the classroom. Watch the video to get some ideas for how to "step into role" in your classroom to engage your students' critical thinking skills! (Notice how the teacher doesn't go over the top in her acting style, she just stays committed to her character's thoughts and feelings, and uses them as a platform to ask questions to and engage the students.) You just need to be willing to dress up like a Beanstalk once in awhile. :)

-Anneka

[educationinthefuture]

I have often seen students rushing through the hallway and complaining that they don't have enough time to eat. That, in combination with the food that they eat, and I have to wonder what does that do to their ability to learn? What do you all think the value of time to eat can contribute to the ability to learn?

[buzzfeed]

This is what happens when you ask people to draw a map of the USA from memory. 

[bethechangeyouwantedu]

I want to do this with my class

[educationinthefuture]

The results of asking people to draw a US map from memory!

These are fantastic; and I bet this could be a warmup to any number of great lessons. 

What would you teach, starting with this activity?

- Spencer ([email protected])

[educationinthefuture]

Understanding the Cognitive Demands of Poverty on our Students

New Jersey shoppers and Indian sugarcane farmers might have something to teach us about poverty and cognitive load. If you're an educator working with low-income children and families, you're going to want to know what the researchers found out.

The relative simplicity of this study - which basically finds that poverty reduces cognitive capacity - sort of strikes me as "well, duh!" and "but it's a lot more complicated than that" at the same time. Surely, when the brain is spinning with stresses and anxieties associated with poverty, there's sure to be less room to think clearly on other, particularly academic, fronts. The study was conducted with adults, so I'm also curious how the findings might be similar or different if conducted with young people. (My assumption is that there would be more similarities than differences, but worth doing the research to find out...) I like the author's suggestions towards the end that the most effective ways to deal with economic hardships for young people and their families does not necessarily reside in longer school days, though I'm sure quality (Arts Based!) after-school programming can be worthwhile, but in, "coordinating a financial advisor, local career coach, and continuing education opportunities for parents so that they might better secure the financial outlook of our students", among other things. It is my perpetual hope that in analyzing the ways that education fails, we can put equal if not more effort into analyzing how to alleviate poverty and systemic economic inequality, which can have very direct impact on student success.

-Anneka

[educationinthefuture]

A viable alternative?

Over at Slate, Jessica Olien argues that students should not be made to participate in competitive sports as party of physical education curricula. Some of her reasons may feel obvious to anyone who's ever been hit with a softball while daydreaming (their should be an emoticon equivalent to pointing at oneself while speaking), but Olien backs her claim up with some facts that I, at least, found surprising. These include:

- Cheryl Richardson, the senior director of the national organization in charge of creating phys ed standards, quoted as saying: "Dodgeball should not be part of any curriculum, ever." Depending on what she means by "dodgeball", I could get on board.

- According to one study, students in high school gym classes only actually exercise for 16 minutes out of every hour(!). The rest is presumably spent in the dangerous throes of daydreams. ("This guy"-fingerpoint)

- Another study suggests that the anxiety associated with gym class can drive some people away from physical activity for the rest of their lives

It's important to note that Olien is not arguing that we should get rid of PE, just that PE should not consist of competitive sports. So:

Are there benefits to mandatory physical competition this article doesn't consider? Do they outweigh the harms? Are there ways to teach sports that reduce those harms? If you were playing Calvinball, what rule would you invent?

- Spencer ([email protected])

[educationinthefuture]

Regular Breaks From Sedentary Time Found to Improve Children's Health

Children who frequently take breaks from sedentary time could have lower levels of cardiometabolic risk, a new study suggests.

Ok, ok, before you roll your eyes and say, "Really?! Young people are healthier when they MOVE?! Never woulda guessed!" (which, incidentally, was my response when I saw this headline), just hear me out. I post this article not as breaking news but as a reminder...because even though I already knew this basic truth, I often forget to implement this knowledge in the classroom. I post this as a challenge to myself, and maybe to you if you are an educator, to find some way to to get your young people moving every 10-15 minutes in the weeks ahead. It doesn't have to be a big deal - a 30-second activity still counts! I will start a list of of a few things I've tried to get bodies moving in a classroom, and I hope you'll add to it...

1. Teach students a Call and Response that involves simple seated and standing movements, and initiate it for fun from time to time. Once the students know it, let them lead it from time to time. If you need ideas, there are plenty online or talk to your local Teaching Artist. Or make it an activity for the students to create their own!

2. Two-minute stretch break. Students can stand and stretch any way they like, or students can lead stretches that others follow.

3. Next time you are tempted to tell a student to "sit down and pay attention", question how important the "sit down" part of that direction really is. Maybe the standing HELPS her pay attention. Incorporate individual, voluntary standing up or moving around a bit into your classroom guidelines or rules as an acceptable behavior, as long as they can do so without being distracting or pulling focus from other students. Ask the students themselves to discuss and agree upon the parameters of this rule. Some students do a much better job of listening and focusing if they are not constantly confined to their seats. I know I do.

4. Make hand-raising fun by inviting students to raise other things, like feet, legs or elbows! Forewarning that this can get a little goofy at times so perhaps you may choose to only activate the rule for certain discussions, but it also makes participating more fun, engages students kinesthetically, and gets blood flowing more than a subtle hand-raise. On a feminist side note, girls tend to become much more contained and self-limiting verbally and physically around 5th/6th grade and onwards, so it's important to encourage girls to flex the muscle of taking up space. Silly activities like this are one way to do so.

5. Dance break! Seriously, this is so fun. Let students start a "DJ" list so they can take turns choosing the music, have a pre-conversation about "classroom-appropriate" music, and do this every day after lunch...or towards the end of the day...or even in the morning! We did this before class in grad school one time just as the Dean decided to pay us a visit...and to his credit, he loved it. (Unfortunately he didn't join in, but maybe next time...)

If you read these ideas and you're thinking, "No freakin' way, I'd lose all control of my classroom!", I also encourage you to consider the ways that movement will improve the attention, engagement, enthusiasm level, and yes, physical health, of the young people you work with. It could also make YOUR day a lot more fun.

Please add your ideas for how to make classrooms less sedentary!

-Anneka