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Posts Tagged ‘innovation and education’
Wednesday, April 25th, 2012
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As I’ve reported in the past, IQ scores are on the move, rising nearly ten points with each generation. Known as the Flynn effect, after James Flynn, a cognitive scientist, the reason behind the rise in scores is widely debated, but answers focus on one area that should be of interest to teachers: Scores are increasing because children are showing greater capacity for fluid intelligence. That’s the ability to see patterns and solve novel problems without prior information, which relies on better working memory (the capacity to manipulate information) and a longer attention span. Intelligence researchers consider fluid intelligence to be the ultimate cognitive ability—a kind of gold standard for smart. Until a few years ago, fluid intelligence was considered immutable, but research in 2008, using computer programs, showed that it may be improved through training.
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Tags: collaboration, creativity, education, education reform, innovation and education, intelligence, whole child
Posted in default | 18 Comments »
Saturday, April 14th, 2012
Embracing revolution is a quick way to be terminated in education. More than most jobs, teaching demands fealty to higher powers, no matter their expertise, fidelity to the standard curriculum, harmful or otherwise, and the willingness to narrow your horizons to fit the prevailing winds of politicians and other suits who can best decide whether you’re doing a good job or not.
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Tags: 21st century skills, creativity, education, education reform, innovation and education, new schools, Project Based Learning, school reform
Posted in default | 1 Comment »
Thursday, April 12th, 2012
A decade ago, project based learning was popular in a few schools and with a few teachers, but hardly widespread. And the movement was growing very slowly. At that time, education was caught up by standards and high stakes testing, a focus that discouraged teachers and schools from implementing inquiry-based learning.
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Tags: 21st century skills, education, innovation and education, Project Based Learning, school reform
Posted in default | 2 Comments »
Saturday, February 18th, 2012
Over the past decade and a half, I’ve seen how well executed project based learning (PBL) can provide a joyful learning experience for students. Joy is not our number one standard, I realize, but when projects offer the right mix of challenge, engagement, and personalized support, blended with a motivating, meaningful learning experience that reaches deep into the soul, joy is the outcome. You can see it bubble up in the animated faces, big smiles, body language, and open-hearted response of students at the end of a good project. In other words, we’ve reached the whole child.
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Tags: creativity, innovation and education, Project Based Learning, whole child
Posted in default | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011
Our goal as PBL advocates is to design powerful projects. By powerful, I mean projects that fully engage students, offer a potent blend of skills and intellectual challenge, and prompt or awaken a deeper curiosity about life. Nothing less, I believe, is going to serve us in the decades ahead.
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Tags: 21st century skills, deep learning, innovation and education, PBL, Project Based Learning, smarter students, teamwork
Posted in default | 2 Comments »
Saturday, October 30th, 2010
Like the heated debates over politics, financial systems, health care, and the environment, the arguments about the future of education have devolved into a divisive, either/or, left/right, you’re wrong/ I’m right, I’m an expert/ no, I’m the expert contest that obscures or prevents true solutions.
I propose that no one is right. How could they be? The global age has arrived in the blink of a geological eye. The information age is barely a decade old. The environment for children is shifting exponentially. Institutions can’t possibly cope or adapt, and the pace of change exceeds the speed of our thought processes and, at least temporarily, has outstripped our powers of imagination. Most often, old industrial assumptions weigh us down and prevent imaginative thinking.
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Tags: education, innovation and education, school reform
Posted in default | 1 Comment »
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