Thinkering Studio Highlighted By Edutopia

A video highlighting Thinkering Studio was posted today. Four more BCS videos to come soon.

Welcome to the Thinkering Studio, where the biggest rule is, “you choose.” pic.twitter.com/gpVnVBK81m

— edutopia (@edutopia) March 28, 2017

To learn more about Thinkering Studio chek out the pages on the BalancEdTech Wiki.

The "Why?" And "What If..?" of Tomorrow

cross posted at LearnOutLoud.edublogs.org

Two questions for today that inform tomorrow: "Why?" And "What If...?"

Jeff Utecht recently published his thoughts around ideas we've been playing with since the inception of organized education:  Communication, Collaboration, Creativity and Critical Thinking.  In his post, Jeff revisits the 4 C's based upon significant changes in our world.  The underpinnings of each are defined the same way, but how these underpinnings are applied to our global learning community is critically different.  Jeff took these pieces from a conceptual framework to a living, breathing manifesto of practice.  This manifesto creates an undeniable sense of urgency to understand how to actualize these principles in everyday practices of teaching and learning.

Considering the 4 C's, what is one professional practice in which you engage that mirrors the efforts and mindset described by Jeff?

    

          Why do you do this?  (Why bother?)

Which one of the practices described inspires you?  Which might inspire your learners?

     

          What if...you implemented this in your professional practice? 

                 

     The Four C's of Learning via Jeff Utecht

image credit: www.spiritualmediablog.com

Is "Experiencing" the same as "Learning"?

Discussion question for Thinkering Studio students: Is experiencing the same as learning? If yes, are there subtle differences to the connotations of the words? If no, what distinguishes one from the other?


LEARN from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

What counts as Making? Who is a Maker?

I'm a big fan of the Maker movement. I wonder if the message sometimes trends too far to the engineering or technology side of things. When thinking about a Maker space for school I want to be inclusive of as many types of makers as is feasible. Engineering, technology, and occasionally some forms of crafting seem to get the most attention, but what about these?

Is a baker/cook/chef a maker?

Is a graphic artist a maker?

Is a writer a maker?

Is a computer game designer/programmer a maker?

Is a seamstress/seamster/tailor/fashion designer a maker?

Are all artists makers?

Including musical artists/songwriters?

And performance artists?

Even athletes?

Who else is a maker?

Is our space conducive to all?

Do we have the right tools and materials to encourage all kinds of making?

Is it because Making is so often linked to STEM that engineering and technology get the spotlight?

Does changing STEM to STEAM make enough of a difference?

Triple Package & Creating Innovators

Wonder what the overlap is with these two explanations?

The Triple Package: Why Groups Rise and Fall in America

Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World

Growing the Culture of a Learning Community

We’ve been doing a lot of talking about Professional Learning Communities, and the intentional efforts of some to create communities of purposeful learning.  The activity linked here is one we recently crafted for a team of teachers who have been given one day each month to explore, test-drive and share elements of practice, as they relate to shifts toward student-owned and global learning.

Given this gift of time and opportunity, I wonder…

• What might they need to consider as they learn toward their goal of student-owned learning and global connectivity?
• What professional & pedagogical process changes will be most important to consider?
• What do they need, or need to avoid, to make the most of this opportunity?
• How can we best support their efforts to create a culture of professional learning?

originally posted at Learning OutLoud by Sara Wilkie

Real Need or An Excuse? Is Less More?

In The Evolution of Education Is Less More?

"There is something to this idea of less is more. For a teacher that can’t prioritize, organize, or integrate, more isn’t helpful or supportive, but rather an endless, wide-open and formless space."

I worry about "there's an app for that" syndrome. Which seems related to the need to constantly move on to the next cool tool.

Similarly I worry about always searching for the next book/article/post/tweet to read, thinking it might have "the" answer.

If we are consumed by consuming those apps or readings, what will we produce ourselves?

I like the idea that if a teacher/facilitator/administrator cannot easily show what they AND their students have created (ideally published on the internet), even if it isn't polished/final, then they are victims of their own mindset. How do we help ourselves distinguish whether it is a real need, just a perceived need, or an excuse for not getting on with the job?

How do these overlap or express unique ideas?

Betty Flowers describes four roles related to the writing process: madman, architect, carpenter, and judge.

Roger Von Oech describes four roles related to the creative process: explorer, artist, judge and warrior.

HT to Stephen Abram to get me thinking ...

Questions & "Starts"

“Questions are places in your mind where answers fit. If you haven’t asked the question, the answer has nowhere to go. It hits your mind and bounces right off. You have to ask the question – you have to want to know – in order to open up the space for the answer to fit.” Clayton Christensen via Jason Fried

Combine that with Grant Wiggins' Beginnings, and their educational importance.

How good are our "starts"? Do our units start with kid questions enough? Is starting with a challenge as good?

And Extrovert Kids Need to Learn to Listen at School

Jessica Lahey has an article that explains why she feels Introverted Kids Need to Learn to Speak Up at School.

I've been thinking through those issues on and off for years, especially as I design my own lessons and work with other teachers. I look for articles and books related to the topic, like Susan Cain's Quiet. Below is a link to a Thinking Space about that book and introverts as well as a page that looks at the affordances and constraints of group work and individual work. Finally there is a link to a related rubric. A part of the rubric gets at listening.

I find it interesting that the "communication" Lahey mentions seems to only go one way with introverts needing to learn to speak up. Shouldn't we at the same time be working with teaching extroverts to listen?

Thinking Space - Quiet

Affordances & Constraints - Group/Individual Work

Teamwork Rubric

What is the balance we need to strike between letting kids work in their comfort zone and educating them in areas that may be less comfortable (both groups)?