In the March 2016 issue of Educational Leadership, Editor in Chief Marge Sherer poses a provocative question: “What about [our students’] learning today will they consider ‘Learning for Life’?” I have two answers to this question. First, teaching toward my students one day considering the learning in my class “Learning for Life” is not my objective. […]
Instruction
Relationships: Not a Separate Goal, but a Fruit of and a Means to *the* Goal
If you’re trying to decide whether you should spend class time developing relationships with and amongst your students or working on the curriculum toward the longest-term objectives, I think you’re asking the wrong question. When people set off on a Mount Everest trek (says the guy who has, of course, done this many times), they […]
When Teachers Go on Autopilot: How to Recharge the Fundamentals of Instruction
[If you are reading this on the blog, ignore the attribution above — I (Dave) can’t seem to get it to leave. This is, in fact, by none other than Gerard Dawson!] Note from Dave: Gerard Dawson does good work, and I respect the fact that he seems to rightly prioritize his work: husband, father, teacher, writer. In […]
Improving Pop-Up Debates: Tracking the Argument
Here are some problems that have cropped up in my pop-up debates this year: Students give their mandatory speech and then sit down and disengage from the ongoing discussion — so, poor listening; Students repeat one another — which is both a cause and an effect of poor listening; Students make effective arguments that are […]
Productive Curiosity: The Billion Dollar Character Strength?
In January of this year, “billionaire buddies” Warren Buffett and Bill Gates held a Q&A session at Columbia University. At the 5:08 mark, the moderator asks, “What quality has been most important for you?” They both answered with the same thing: curiosity. Here is how Gates defines curiosity in the interview: “You try and predict […]