First Class Ice Breakers Using Mobile Devices I previously wrote about the importance of beginning a class focusing on the learners in the room as opposed to the content to be covered in Beginning the School Year: It’s About Connections Not Content. Most classes, starting with about middle school, begin the school year with reviewing the content to be covered, expectations regarding grades, and other academic information provided by the teacher or instructor. The human or social element is often disregarded.What is interesting is that most learners enter the classroom wondering who is in the course. They want to know about the teacher and the people in the class not what material is to be covered. What this says to me as an educator is that it all begins with a social connection – between the educator and the learners, and between the learners themselves. All of my classes, regardless of student age or demographics – elementary gifted students or graduate students, begin with ice-breakers and team-building activities. Cell Sharing
Seeds for Change - training and support for campaigners. "Tell me, and I will forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I will understand." Running a workshop is a great way to share your skills or to help people learn from each other. You may also find some of our other briefings and guides on consensus and facilitation useful. back to top What is facilitation? Workshop facilitation is about helping a group to gain skills and knowledge. Workshop facilitation in practice? Facilitating a workshop involves a range of different responsibilities. However, the knowledge doesn't have to come from the facilitator. Facilitation is also about taking responsibility for other factors which enable people to learn. How people learn Before you start planning your workshop, give some thought to the ways that people learn. Remembering what we've learnt back to top The Pyramid of Learning If you want someone to know something, you may think that the best option is simply to tell them. Implications for facilitation Long term memory Learning styles The senses
Four-Wheeled: PSFK Trend Insights Around Food We spent some time recently looking back at the patterns in the content in PSFK to try to identify emerging themes within specific target categories. ‘Four-Wheeled’ is one of three trends we identified from the data found on our site. Four-Wheeled Food: Modern mobile food vendors are changing the ways that we discover food and simultaneously rendering the static dining experience offered by traditional establishments obsolete. Examples Food Carts Gain Popularity Coast-To-Coast VendrTV is a web series that takes you across America and looks at the most interesting and delicious portable fare. Van Leeuwen’s Ice Cream Trucks Van Leeuwen Ice Cream Trucks sell their wholesome, creamy goodness throughout New York City. Casa Felix and Cool Haus: Secret Supper Clubs, Gourmet Food Carts Argentine supper club, Casa Felix, has become so popular that it is in the midst of its second North American Tour, catering to a select group of diners in six cities over the course of three months. A Farm on Wheels
Challenge Based Learning - Students Today, Teachers Tomorrow By Murdock Middle School Ms. Carboni's Class Our technology classes at Murdock Middle School strive to give back to the community, while reinforcing technology literacy skills. Challenge Teach what you have learned Overview Students presented their media asset to teach a skill they have learned to share with their community. Sources Murdock Middle School's Team PowerPuff Girlz, "1,2,3, Stop Bullying Me!" Learning Theories that Support Multiage Education. Teaching with the Constructivist Theory. Elimination games with young learners | Super Simple Learning Blog ♫ One potato, two potatoes… ♫ Many of us remember playing elimination games like Musical Chairs and Simon Says when we were young. These are games where you start with a group, and each round, one or more players is “out” and eliminated from the game. As you get closer and closer to the end of the game, the tension builds, and it can be a lot of fun (and beneficial for young learners). However, for some very young learners, these kinds of elimination games can be very upsetting. It’s not so much that all of the kids want to win, but they want to keep playing! There are a few ways to handle this. 1) Demonstrate how to “lose” positively If you do play a game where participants get eliminated, be sure, as the leader, to eliminate yourself first. 2) Make getting “out” fun When a child does get eliminated in the game, give her a high five, let her sit in a special chair, make a silly noise, maybe even give her a sticker. 3) Eliminate the elimination
Link with mental wellbeing Generation Next Come back with me 40 years to the rabid spring of 1970. President Nixon announced the invasion of Cambodia, and campuses exploded. Kids who had never picked up a rock in their lives were occupying the classrooms they used to study in. When National Guardsmen shot four unarmed students at Kent State, virtually the entire system of higher education shuddered and stopped. The fabric of the country seemed to be tearing; everything about the older generation was contaminated, corrupt. And now? Yet even more young people perceive a gap. But we miss the point, warns social historian Neil Howe, if we weigh only how technology shapes a generation and not the other way around. That hunger for community further distinguishes them from the radical individualists of the baby-boom years.
National Social Science Association Heutagogy: It Isn’t Your Mother’s Pedagogy Any More Jane Eberle Emporia State University Marcus Childress Emporia State University While many educators refer to all teaching as pedagogy, this is a term that limits the scope of what teaching can and should be. Hase and Kenyon point out that learners need to be proactive rather than reactive if they are to become involved citizens (2000) or what Stephenson and Weil describe as capable people who know how to learn; are creative; have a high degree of self-efficacy; can apply competencies in novel as well as familiar situations; and can work well with others (1992). The need to know The learner’s self-concept The role of the learner’s experience Readiness to learn Orientation to learning Motivation (Knowles, 1984) Knowles popularized andragogy as a means to address specific needs of adults that may not be seen to be inherent in children as learners. Adults need to know why they need to learn something. Table 1. Figure 1. Table 2. Table 3.
Beginning the School Year: It’s About Connections Not Content Most classes, starting with about middle school, begin the school year with reviewing the content to be covered, expectations regarding grades, and other academic information provided by the teacher or instructor. The human or social element is often disregarded. What is interesting is that most learners enter the classroom wondering who is in the course. They want to know about the teacher and the people in the class not what material is to be covered. Because of this belief, I begin all classes focusing on having the students make connections between themselves and me. You are the focus of the class not me.You are important as a learner in this class.You will be expected to engage in the learning activities during class time. Based on age/grade level, I have begun my classes in a variety of ways. Team Contract Class members meet in small groups to develop guidelines for making the classroom a safe place to learn and to take risks. Team Building Games All About Me Activities I Am Poems
Radical Routes - Radical Routes - A network of Housing Co-ops, Workers Co-ops and Social Centres DoubleYou Roger Schank Homepage