Tag: provocation

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Provocation Into “Outside the Box” Thinking

This week’s provocation that, at face value, may seem a little more abstract, but that has a wide range of applications. You might be beginning a unit about inventors, or perhaps one on algebra, or maybe even some creative writing. Whatever the case, there is power in beginning a unit in a way that is a little less obvious, and a little more mysterious. The intrigue not only helps to hook our students’ interest, but it provokes deeper questions. This in turn leads them to broader concepts that tend to carry more relevance, meaning, and universality (at least, more than the compartmentalized memorize-and-forget content they might otherwise prioritize).

So with this introduction, I share two resources on thinking outside the box!

#1: “Unexpected Outcome” Video series by  Daihei Shibata

https://vimeo.com/207244733

For a compilation of additional videos and photos, visit The Kid Should See This.

#2: “1+1=5” Picture Book by David LaRochelle

My 7 year old was absolutely delighted with all the possibilities, and loved predicting them based on the pictures before turning the page.

Provocation Questions:

  • What does it mean to “think outside the box?”
  • What does “thinking outside the box” have to do with perspective?
  • How does thinking about the world in unexpected ways help us as learners?
  • What is the value of perspective to our communities?
  • What is our responsibility to think outside the box?
  • What are ways “outside the box” thinking has helped the world change and grow?

featured image: DeathToTheStockPhoto

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Provocation Into The Possibilities of Going Green

As I sat wondering what to do with all the plastic Easter eggs from last month (and what becomes of the surely millions of eggs sold every year), the idea for this provocation was hatched… (pun intended!).

Resource #1: Lauren Singer’s Mason Jar 

For a lengthier, more in-depth video about Lauren Mason’s zero waste lifestyle, see Vox’s video, “It Shouldn’t Be This Hard to Go Green.”

Resource #2: What Matters, by Alison Hughes

Resource #3: What Really Happens to the Plastic You Throw Away, Ted-Ed

Provocation Questions

  • What does it mean to think about how we use our resources?
  • What is our responsibility to think about how we use our resources?
  • How does thinking about how we use our resources impact our lives? Our world?
  • How are reducing and reusing different than recycling?
  • What are the points of view on responsible use of resources?

featured image: DeathToTheStockPhoto

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A How We Express Ourselves [In the 21st Century] Provocation

This is part of a series of inquiry-based provocations for essential elements of the PYP. For more, click here. 

The IB PYP unit of “How We express ourselves centers around “An exploration of the way which we discover and express our nature, ideas, feelings, beliefs, and values through language and the arts.”

When I taught at a PYP school, I associated this mainly with communication mediums such as painting and poetry. But the more I think about how our world is evolving, the more I realize that “how we express ourselves” has boundless possibilities.

And it’s not just the fact that we have a large volume of choices that matters. It’s that, if we have a more open mind toward change, that volume can allow our children to shape their self-expression/communication –and with it, their futures — in ways that are unprecedented and literally world-changing.

With that in mind (and a bit of humor below), here are 3 resources to help your students inquire into the nature of how we express ourselves in a 21st century connected world.

Resource #1: The Moxie Institute‘s “The Adaptable Mind”

“The skills we need most in today’s world, in any profession, boil down to being human. Basically the qualities that machines don’t have…We’ve arrived at a time when your human skills are just as important as your knowledge.” (Curiosity, Creativity, Initiative, Multi-disciplinary thinking, Empathy).

Resource #2: “Rosie Revere, Engineer” by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts

picture via Amazon
picture via Amazon

Resource #3: Pixar’s “La Luna”

featured image: DeathToTheStockPhoto

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Provocation Into Visual Mathematics

Many of us have spent just as much time in math courses as we have spent wondering the point of those math courses.

However, today, what makes mathematics most fascinating — that is, visual representations — are more widely shared and distributed largely thanks to social media. And perhaps this is how math teachers everywhere will at last be able to help their students understand “the point.”

Resource #1: Fibonacci’s Spiral

Resource #2: Charts that visually debunk falsehoods.

Resource #3: Power of Infographics

Provocation Questions: 

  • How can visual mathematics help societies?
  • How can visual mathematics help individuals?
  • What are patterns in visual mathematics that are relevant to your life?

featured image: DeathToTheStockPhoto

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Inquiry Into Where We Live

This is part of a series of inquiry-based provocations for essential elements of the PYP. For more, click here. 

The notion of home elicits powerfully personal responses from us all. So what do our students gain when we help them inquire into what that means for more than just themselves?

This week’s provocation can be easily applied for the IB PYP “Who We Are” unit of inquiry (see more provocations for units of inquiry here), but it can also apply to other units involving geography, economics, humanities, adaptation, and change.

Resource #1: This House, Once, by Deborah Freedman

A fabulous picture book to get kids thinking about where each element of a home comes from.

via Amazon.com
via Amazon.com
via Amazon.com

Resource #2: Subprime, by Beeple

A fascinating video to elicit thinking about how the idea of home has evolved over the years.

Resource #3: “This Home was 3D Printed in Only 24 Hours and for Just $10,000” (Futurism article and video)

A remarkable view of the possibilities of the future in home construction.

Resource #4: The Bedrooms of Children Around the World, by BuzzFeed

A powerful video to show the vast differences in what today’s children call home.

Provocation Questions: 

  • How has the idea of home changed over human history? What has caused that change?
  • How might the idea of home change in the future?
  • What are the different points of view of home for people around the world?
  • How are people’s homes connected to where they live?
  • What responsibilities do humans have when it comes to creating homes?

featured image: DeathToTheStockPhoto

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Citizenship: A Sharing the Planet Provocation

This is part of a series of inquiry-based provocations for essential elements of the PYP. For more, click here. 

The notion of what it means to be a citizen has a longstanding role in schools everywhere. For this reason, we must recognize it in all its modern variations. In addition to traditional community/national citizenship, digital and global citizenship have also taken on crucial significance in the 21st century.  

In all its forms, citizenship comes down to helping everyone find a sense of belonging and contribution to the world. If we are to truly share the planet, we must do all we can to help our rising generation see themselves as local, national, global, and yes, even digital citizens.

Resource #1: “Lead India, The Tree” by Times of India

Resource #2: “I am Malala – UN Speech – Video Animation” by Juley Anthony

Resource #3: “The Power of One Young Digital Citizen”

Provocation Questions:

  • What does it mean to be a citizen?
  • What are our rights as citizens?
  • What are our responsibilities as citizens?
  • How are education and citizenship connected?
  • Why are there different perspectives on what it means to be a citizen?
  • How is the concept of citizenship changing?

Featured image: DeathToTheStockPhoto

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On Perfection & Imperfection: A How The World Works Provocation

This is part of a series of inquiry-based provocations for essential elements of the PYP. For more, click here. 

The PYP unit, How the World Works is designed as:

“An exploration of the physical and material world; of natural and human-made phenomena; of the world of science and technology.”

I believe one of the biggest overarching concepts — stretching across the “physical and material world” –is the concept of perfection. We search for it. We strive for it. We pay billions for it. And yet, it remains elusive.

Moreover, imperfection possesses its own beauty — the persistence, the originality, the innovation.

Below are three resources that could take your class in many different directions as they explore the idea of perfection/imperfection in the world around them:

Resource #1: Unsatisfying, by Parallel Studio

Resource #2: Forms in Nature

Resource #3: Audri’s Rube Goldberg Monster Trap

Provocation Questions:

  • Why is imperfection so much more common than perfection in the world?
  • How do people respond to imperfection? Why?
  • What is the purpose of imperfection in nature?
  • What is the purpose of imperfection in human’s creations?
  • What does the growth mindset have to do with perfection/imperfection?

featured image: DeathToTheStockPhoto