Roots of Learning » discovery

Creativity and the Education System

admin — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 01:19:26 +0000

This is worth the 20 minutes it takes to watch.

Performance Assessments Would Address Basic Knowledge and Skills as well as “21st C. Skills”

admin — Wed, 26 May 2010 19:52:34 +0000

I don’t know when they began calling critical thinking skills “21st Century Skills” – I used them and taught them plenty during the 20th century, but no matter. It seems to be the educational buzzword of the day. And if the trend results in teachers and parents focusing more on communication, collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving, innovation and use of technology, then I’m all for it. One thing that articles and reports focusing on 21st century skills – as well as those focusing on No Child Left Behind and state assessments – tend to neglect is the concept of performance assessment. Performance assessments can help school divisions, private schools, and homeschooling parents determine not only their students’ mastery of basic knowledge and skills, but also their capacity with those skills deemed “21st century skills.” However, we rarely hear of performance assessment being used in a widespread manner.

It is not a new invention, either. In the mid to late 1990′s, some states used performance assessment measures to assess every student for all types of skills and capacities. These assessments can, however, be costly. Perhaps that is the issue during this time of ever tightening budgets. A performance assessment cannot be run through a scantron for scoring. It requires manpower. So while we may not see widespread performance assessment in the near future, we can all encourage the educators that we work with to use them in their own classrooms for formal and informal assessment of students. Before the end of the 21st century, they’ll thank you.

The Correlation between Reading (OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL) and Success (INSIDE OF SCHOOL)

admin — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 03:37:01 +0000

I read an interesting blog post by Dan Brown, a teacher and author of The Great Expectations School: A Rookie Year in the New Blackboard Jungle. He is the also the author of an education blog called Get in the Fracas. Here is an excerpt:

“I have a clutch of students who read for pleasure, yet bizarrely hand in assignments only sporadically. Let’s call them “Readers.” These are the kids who take home The Kite Runner and read the whole thing in two days—then never write any of their journal responses. Their grades do not reflect their abilities. However, these students always score at or near the very top of the class on these standardized tests.”

This hints at an even deeper gift that these students have – one that feeds their love of reading – and that is the innate (or is it taught? modeled? suggested?) gift of CURIOSITY. These people do not read because they have to – “have to” doesn’t factor in that heavily if they are not writing their journal responses and earning poor grades. They are reading because of something else. That SOMETHING is also leading them to score at the top of these assesments that Mr. Brown refers to. Freedom of thought, freedom from the slavish “do only what you are told to do and nothing more” and a freedom to pursue knowledge and adventure (what else?) through books fuels these students’ success. As a parent, how do you foster CURIOSITY?

- Heather

Experiential Learning at its Best!

admin — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:56:46 +0000

I love this – it has all the elements of perfect learning:

1. Science tools.

2. Dirty kids.

3. Excitement.

4. Mystery.

5. Discovery.

6.Higher-Level Thinking.

In fact, one student said, “This is probably the best science class ever,” (Angus Stewart). What is all this referring to? One teacher teaching science the way it should be taught: in the field. Here’s an excerpt from Anderson, South Carolina’s Independent Mail:

Teacher Nancy Hughes said all of her third-grade students would be digging up the past as part of their science lessons. “We’ve just finished a unit on rocks and fossils, and we’re getting ready to start a unit on soil, so this exercise sort of bridges both of those units,” she said. “And we’ve talked about being paleontologists and archaeologists so this gives them a chance to see what it’s like to do a real dig.”

DIG IT?

- Heather

A Painting Project…

admin — Thu, 14 May 2009 02:47:03 +0000

I have decided to paint (not plant, paint) a large tree in my formal living room (which functions as a rumpus room for the kids). I am going to do this with ‘magnetic’ paint so that the tree becomes a magnet board. My plan is to use it for a variety of instructional purposes for my kids – here are my initial ideas:

1. Trace our family tree (attach magnetic cards with people’s names onto the tree).

2. Trace word origins (Latin roots, suffixes, prefixes, word ‘families’)

3. Display rhyming words or words that follow a phonics rule for my little ones.

4. Classify things (“What doesn’t belong on this tree?”) using pictures for my littlest one.

I’d love to hear if anyone else has done something as harebrained as this and, if so, what the results were. Once I get it together, I’ll take pictures and post them – and I’ll send an update to the blog.

- Heather

Cool New Use for Toe-Moulding?

admin — Mon, 11 May 2009 02:40:51 +0000

We were outside eating dinner at the picnic table when my youngest, who is 3, began playing with large, thin pieces of wood we have out back (we are building a tree fort). He crossed them and said, “Did I make an X?” He had, so we asked him if he could make a “T” – he did, and an “L” – we are in the process of cutting some old toe moulding down to various sizes so that he can continue to create. The pieces are large enough so that when the letter is ‘built,’ it is as large as our son. This proved to be a great sensory experience – I’ll add updates on how this experiment evolves! If anyone else has tried new or innovative ways for young learners to experience language, please comment!

- Heather

Museums as Educational Partners

admin — Fri, 01 May 2009 17:51:45 +0000

Whether you send your child to public school, private school, or whether you home school, your community no doubt has some treasures – museums, historical societies, science centers, or parks. Here in Virginia, the communities are rich with such treasures, but very few take advantage of these opportunities to learn.

When I conduct presentations for museum educators (link takes you to the most recent), they are usually centered around how they can engage the school audience and meet the needs of teachers and schools. I also make it a point to emphasize the importance of engaging alternative audiences such as independent schools, home schoolers, and scouting groups and clubs. If you are involved in such groups, you know that they have more flexibility and autonomy to engage in the community than do public schools.

My question to parents is, how do you view museums and other community ‘assets’? Do they meet your needs or do they leave something to be desired? Do you see them as a vehicle for learning for your children? Have you seen great partnerships between schools or homeschool groups and museums and cultural centers?

I’d love to read your input!

- Heather

Awakening the Spirit of Discovery

admin — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 19:13:21 +0000

As a parent and teacher, one of the great joys of my life has been watching students discover the world around them – not ‘teaching’ them about it, but guiding them in such a way that they encounter and discover for themselves. Some of my favorite science questions …..

What happened?

I wonder what would happen if….?

How do you know….?

Why do you think ….. did ……?

What evidence supports your idea……?

What next?

Open ended questions guide inquiry, discovery, and our natural curiosity about the world. Use them today with your kids, or post more here!