Category: #InquiryEd

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An Inquiry Into Tech Use

By show of hands, who else is exhausted by the ping-pong-like opinions on tech use whizzing by?

One side: “We’re disconnected, we’re not missing anything when we cut screen time, our children aren’t getting enough exercise, we don’t carry on proper conversations anymore.”

And the other: “We’re more connected than ever on a global scale, accessibility is growing, we are finding new ways to connect with our loved ones, we are building new literacies.”

Author Alison Gopnik recently said in an Edutopia interview,

“We tend to panic too much about technological change. Maybe this time the technology is, in fact, going to have all these disastrous effects that everyone’s worried about. But children have always been the first adopters of new technologies, and the previous generation has always been terrified when the new technology was introduced…

But school-age children have been gossiping and interacting with one another and trying to figure out peer relationships for as long as we’ve been human. And the way that they’ve done that might have been just whispering and talking in that hunter-gatherer culture, or passing notes in the culture that I grew up in, or texting in the culture that children are growing up in now. I don’t think there’s any particular reason to believe that the technology is going to make that worse or more problematic than it was before.”

So, this week’s provocation is to let those children consider both sides of this tech issue themselves. The first resource is a photo series by Eric Pickersgill entitled “Removed.”

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The second is a video I’ve shared before, but that I think would pair well with the above resource for this provocation. The Millennial Rebuttal by Welzoo:

Provocation Questions:

  • Why do people have different perspectives about technology use?
  • How does tech use impact your life?
  • How does tech use impact your family’s life?
  • How does tech use impact your school/community function?
  • How do you see tech use impacting your future?

featured image: DeathToTheStockPhoto

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Mirage of Success: Learning the Math Trick

If you, like me, have ever waffled on the debate of whether we “just teach them the trick” for math before, take a careful look at this side-by-side comparison of students showing their math thinking.

Example A:

Example B:

My question is this: even if teaching the trick gets students to pass the test and ace the class and get into the college–have we, as educators, truly done our jobs?

If we’ve never heard their creative approaches to making sense of math because we’re too busy telling them the right way to “borrow,” have we joined them in their learning journey, or are we scripting it?

If we just keep focusing our energy in helping them memorize, are our students ever going to see themselves as competent mathematicians? 

featured image: Shubhojit Ghose

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Provocation: To Thine Own Self Be True

I want to start this week’s provocation article by re-sharing a quote from Paul Solarz that was included in Adam Hill’s post on launching Genius Hour with his students:

“Too many children today go to school only to bide their time until they get home and do something that truly interests them.”

Paul Solarz, Learn like a PIRATE

The more I think about this, the more it makes sense that those same children grow up to continue to spend large blocks of their lives–even careers–“biding their time until they get…to do something that truly interests them.”

Meanwhile, they might never truly learn what their own passions are, let alone practice them.

To me, it all comes down to assumptions. How we should spend our time, our money, our relationships, our energy, our intelligence–it’s all dictated based on preconceived notions from, well, almost everyone around us.

Today, I want to share two resources that rock that idea to the core. The first is a beautiful autobiographical comic by Zen Pencils from a speech by Bill Watterson–a man who turned down millions of dollars to authentically pursue his passion and craft.

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The second is a video entitled “The Millennial Rebuttal” by Welzoo & Column Five.

You might take a look at these provocation resources and think, “Yeah, but tomorrow, I need to teach fractions, phonics, and the anatomy of an apple. What place does this have in my instruction?”

The answer is, the highest place. Untraining students from the dependency on others’ assumptions will help them better familiarize themselves with their passions, develop their critical thinking, unlock their ability to problem-solve creatively, and own their learning process.  We have trained our students to sit passively and wait to be told what the priority is long enough. It’s time to help them look at the big picture, and to discover what matters most.

Provocation Questions:

  • Why are cultural messages (“they say”) often at odds with reality? Where do they come from?
  • What are other cultural messages you’ve heard that don’t line up with your experience/values?
  • What does it mean to “invent your own life’s meaning?”
  • To assume means to act like you know something about a person or how something should look based on your experiences. How do assumptions impact individuals and societies?

featured image: DeathToTheStockPhoto

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Marveling Over Math

Many of us have a love/hate relationship with math. And depending on your students’ ages, they may have thoroughly convinced themselves that they hate it or are no good at it. If that’s the case, we have all the more responsibility to help our students see the bigger picture and the true beauty behind the numbers, starting with our own attitude.

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via Network Osaka

This is easily the most phenomenal mathematics video I’ve ever watched. Share it with your students to provoke inquiry and appreciation for math–and at only 1:41 minutes, don’t be afraid to play it again and again as the conversation deepens and understanding sinks in.

Provocation Questions:

  • What if we didn’t have a number system? (thanks Graeme Anshaw for sharing this excellent provocation)
  • Why do people decide they “don’t like math?”
  • What are the origins of math in human history?
  • What difference does it make in a person’s life to see him/herself as a mathematician?

featured image: DeathToTheStockPhoto.com

Come back next Monday for another “Inspiring Inquiry” post. Read here for the rest of my weekly blogging topic schedule/background.

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Inspiring Inquiry: Popping the Monday-Friday Bubble

A Monday-Friday workweek is so commonplace that it has created a culture of its own. #TGIF, Hump Day, Garfield’s animosity toward Mondays–the list goes on. But what about people for whom it’s not the reality?

As members of my PLN stretch around the globe, I’ve become more familiar with people posting back-to-school Tweets in January, or starting school each week on Sundays. But recently, these differences have intrigued me enough to do some research.

For example, did you know that almost a third of countries listed on Wikipedia do not use the Monday-Friday workweek?

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Stats calculated from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workweek_and_weekend

I had a great time pondering the questions this simple concept elicited for me–I can only imagine where this would take students.

Provocation questions for students:

  • Why do some people start school on Saturdays or Sundays instead of Mondays?
  • Why do some countries have 6 day work weeks, while others have 5 day work weeks?
  • What is the history of the workweek and weekend? How have these concepts changed over time?
  • Why does Brunei Darussalam have the unique workweek of Monday-Thursday and Saturday?
  • What patterns do you see among countries with the same workweek?

Come back next Monday for another “Inspiring Inquiry” post. Read here for the rest of my weekly blogging topic schedule/background. 

featured image: DeathToTheStockPhoto

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7 Videos That Will Prove That Science Rocks

It seems like there are a thousand videos on every known scientific topic, with most hardly more engaging than Ferris Bueller’s Day Off‘s econ teacher (“Anyone? Anyone?”). But every now and then, we stumble across something truly inspiring. Here are seven that take my breath away–and may they do the same for you and your students!

Inner Life of a Cell (3:12) by Harvard University & XVIVO

When I was first introduced to this video nine years ago in my college biology course, I actually cried for the beauty presented. This animation by Harvard University and XVIVO is every bit as moving now as it was then. Click here for the full 8 minute version with labels. 

The Miracle of Life (12:15) by Silvio Falcinelli

I came across this video when my daughter asked for details about her little brother’s growth in-utero. It may or may not have been what prompted her to contradict our storytime librarians when they explained that mammals don’t come from eggs… But at any rate, this detailed animation is a wonderful way to show a baby’s journey from conception to birth, and to inspire the wonders of life science.

The Known Universe by AMNH (6:31)

This astronomy animated film takes viewers from the Himilayas all the way to the furthest reaches of the known universe–and then back again. It is an incredible way to orient students to our minuscule relative position in space. A similar, but shorter video can be found here, entitled “An Animated Flight Through the Universe.” It is not labeled, so students may not understand what they are seeing, but it is beautiful nonetheless.

Massive Black Hole Shreds a Passing Star (1:02) by NASA

You’ll probably want to watch this brief NASA animation more than once.

Why Do I Study Physics? (3:14) by Shixie

This is a phenomenal stop motion sketched animation by Shixie. It addresses one student’s complex relationship with the subject of physics in a personal, playful, and thought-provoking manner. 

Beautiful Chemical Reactions (6:30) by L2Molecule

Witness various examples of eight different chemical reactions, sped up to view every intricate detail. Published by L2Molecule.

Animation Explores the Beautiful Circles of Our World (2:06) by National Geographic

This video could make a thrilling provocation or conversation-starter for students studying shapes, nature, patterns, and more.

What are other high-quality science videos you’ve come across? Please share in the comments!

featured image: Bureau of Land Management

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5 Resources on Refugees for Elementary Grades

For our students, the topic of refugees may be fraught with misunderstanding, emotion, or even unawareness. Between misinformation in the media and its inherently violent/disturbing nature, teachers sometimes hesitate to breach the subject with younger students in particular.

But of course, these are the very reasons to do so; how can we expect students to grow to become empathetic and active global citizens if they are shielded from some of the world’s most pressing issues?

That said, we should take care to curate the resources we share to keep them as age-appropriate and objective as possible. Below are 5 resources to help prompt discussion and awareness about refugees among our young learners.

Share “BBC Learning: “Seeking Refuge” Series–Ali’s Story”

A story told in the words of a 10 year old refugee.

Share news snapshots

When you come across photojournalism that is age appropriate, seize the opportunity to share it with your students. For instance, this series of portraits of Syrian refugee children also includes their experiences in their words–perfect to open up the conversation and help students relate to these children across the globe.

Read “Malala, A Brave Girl from Pakistan/Iqbal, a Brave Boy from Pakistan: Two Stories of Bravery“

While this story does not actually center on refugees, it does give insight for young students to comprehend the conditions that drive individuals from their homes.

Malala

Visit humanitarian Facebook groups, such as Lifting Hands International

In addition to highlighting ongoing action groups are taking to help refugees, these groups might also inspire students to consider possible steps they can take to be part of the solution.

Share educational videos that work to dispel myth from fact on the issue 

No one video is going to provide all the answers or approach all the nuances of the debates surrounding such a complex issue, but it can be a helpful place to start as students research and discuss these issues themselves.


 

Also check out: Video of picture book, “The Enemy, A Book about Peace.” Again, this does not center on refugees specifically, but it may serve to help students start thinking about how hate and stereotyping might perpetuate violence and misconceptions.

Photo Credit: IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation