Mark Prensky
The Growth of the Mind: And the Endangered Origins of IntelligenceWed, 03/19/2008 - 16:22 -- adminThis compelling book reveals the six fundamental levels that form the architecture of our minds. The growth of these levels, four of which are deeper even than the unconscious, depends on a series of critical but subtle emotional transactions between an infant and a devoted caregiver. In mapping these interactions, Dr. Greenspan formulates the elusive building blocks of creative and analytic thinking and provides an exciting missing link between recent discoveries in neuroscience and the qualities that make us most fully human. We Are a Small Group SpeciesHuman beings are communal by nature and living together – in communities – is our most common and most natural state of life. John Abbott discusses the fact that communities must be created and sustained by the conscious intentions and actions of their members, and that we must attend to health and vitality of our communities in order to thrive – and to learn! – as a species. About this paper How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and SchoolMon, 03/10/2008 - 12:04 -- adminNew evidence from many branches of science has significantly added to our understanding of what it means to know, from the neural processes that occur during learning to the influence of culture on what people see and absorb. The Primal Teen: What the New Discoveries about the Teenage Brain Tell Us about Our KidsThu, 03/06/2008 - 17:49 -- adminWhile many members of the scientific community have long held that the growing pains of adolescence are primarily psychological, Barbara Strauch highlights the physical nature of the transformation, offering parents and educators a new perspective on erratic teenage behavior. a critical evolutionary adaptationWe have all witnessed the apparent ‘craziness’ of adolescence. Typically, the rebelliousness, risk-taking and contrary behaviour has been chalked up to raging hormones. It seems however, that there may be method in the madness – and that teenagers are, in fact ,‘crazy by design1’. Get rid of that machine model of the brain. It’s-Robert SylwesterMon, 02/18/2008 - 17:22 -- adminGet rid of that machine model of the brain. It’s wrong! The brain is a biological system, not a machine. Currently we’re putting children with biologically shaped brains into machine-oriented schools. The two just don’t mix. We bog the school down in a curriculum that is not biologically feasible. The challenge is to better understand metacognitio-John AbbottMon, 02/18/2008 - 16:45 -- adminThe challenge is to better understand metacognition - how we can make thinking visible and consciously direct our multiple learning strategies. This will give us the key to transform education. We really can learn how to learn, with a clarity that was not possible even five years ago. Learning is a consequence of thinking.-David PerkinsMon, 02/18/2008 - 16:32 -- adminLearning is a consequence of thinking. Why, therefore, do we have a "crisis" in education-John AbbottMon, 02/18/2008 - 16:25 -- adminWhy, therefore, do we have a "crisis" in education? Is it that all teachers, in every country, have suddenly started to underperform? Or is it that teachers, administrators, departments of education, ministers, prime ministers have simply failed to move into the rest of the bookshop to study what is now known about human learning? Learning About Learning Boosts Student Motivation and SuccessFor over 30 years, Carol Dweck has studied students’ motivation in order to find out what makes motivated students tick and she says: “Here is the most important thing I have learned: The most motivated and resilient students are not the ones who think they have a lot of fixed or innate intelligence. Instead, the most motivated and resilient students are the ones who believe that their abilities can be developed through their effort and learning”. Read [[http://www.cea-ace.ca/pub.cfm?subsection=edu&page=onl|Dweck’s article]] for more about teaching students about learning. The Case Against Adolescence: Rediscovering the Adult in Every TeenMon, 02/11/2008 - 12:10 -- adminRobert Epstein, former editor in chief of Psychology Today, shows that teen turmoil is caused by outmoded systems put in place a century ago which destroyed the continuum between childhood and adulthood. Where this continuum still exists in other countries, there is no adolescence. How People Learn: Bridging Research and PracticeThu, 01/31/2008 - 17:33 -- adminWhen do infants begin to learn? How do experts learn and how is this different from non-experts? What can teachers and schools do—with curricula, classroom settings, and teaching methods—to help children learn most effectively? This book offers exciting new research about the mind and the brain that provides answers to these and other questions. New evidence from many branches of science has significantly added to our understanding of what it means to know, from the neural processes that occur during learning to the influence of culture on what people see and absorb. How the Brain LearnsThu, 01/31/2008 - 16:11 -- adminBest-selling author David A. Sousa explores source material on brain research, including basic brain structures, how the brain processes information, memory and retention, and the transfer of knowledge to enhance present and future learning. How the Brain Learns is an indispensable tool for all educators—school administrators and teachers, staff developers, pre-service students and faculty, and parents who want to better understand the way their children process and retain information. (Publisher’s description from www.corwinpress.com) Building Knowledge, Not Accumulating Facts: John Abbott SpeaksThu, 01/31/2008 - 12:25 -- admin John Abbott discusses the theory of constructivism in learning.Featured in this video: John Abbott is the President of the [[http://www.21learn.org/|21st Century Learning Initiative]], an initiative to facilitate the emergence of new approaches to learning in the United Kingdom. The changelearning website project emerged from the collaboration of John Abbott and Heather MacTaggart, the Executive Director of [[http://classroomconnections.ca/|Classroom Connections]], a Canadian non-profit educational organization dedicated to optimizing student learning. Let Me Do and I Understand: John Abbott on Cognitive ApprenticeshipThu, 01/31/2008 - 12:02 -- admin John Abbott speaks about how an expert can lead the novice (student) through the stages of learning. Featured in this video: John Abbott is the President of the [[http://www.21learn.org/|21st Century Learning Initiative]], an initiative to facilitate the emergence of new approaches to learning in the United Kingdom. Battery Hens or Free-range Chickens?: John Abbott on the Goals of EducationWed, 01/30/2008 - 19:11 -- admin John Abbott asks what kind of people our education system is aiming to produce. Featured in this video: John Abbott is the President of the [[http://www.21learn.org/|21st Century Learning Initiative]], an initiative to facilitate the emergence of new approaches to learning in the United Kingdom. The changelearning website project emerged from the collaboration of John Abbott and Heather MacTaggart, the Executive Director of [[http://classroomconnections.ca/|Classroom Connections]], a Canadian non-profit educational organization dedicated to optimizing student learning. Are Teenagers Key to Human Progress?: John Abbott Re-examines AdolescenceWed, 01/30/2008 - 18:54 -- admin John Abbott explores the idea that the stage of adolescence may be one of the core driving forces of human evolution. Featured in this video: John Abbott is the President of the [[http://www.21learn.org/|21st Century Learning Initiative]], an initiative to facilitate the emergence of new approaches to learning in the United Kingdom. Evolution and Learning in the Early Years: John Abbot SpeaksMon, 01/28/2008 - 19:30 -- admin John Abbott discusses human evolution and the incredible amount of brain development that takes place in our earliest years. Featured in this video: John Abbott is the President of the [[http://www.21learn.org/|21st Century Learning Initiative]], an initiative to facilitate the emergence of new approaches to learning in the United Kingdom. John Abbott on Critical Periods of Brain DevelopmentMon, 01/28/2008 - 19:23 -- admin John Abbott discusses the need for us to understand critical ‘windows of opportunity’ in human development in order to maximize learning. In particular, he discusses very key – and very different – opportunities afforded by the early years and the period of adolescence. Featured in this video: John Abbott is the President of the [[http://www.21learn.org/|21st Century Learning Initiative]], an initiative to facilitate the emergence of new approaches to learning in the United Kingdom. John Abbott on Brain Development: Windows of Opportunity for LearningMon, 01/28/2008 - 19:10 -- admin John Abbott speaks about the nature of the human brain and the existence of developmental ‘windows of opportunity’ for learning. Featured in this video: John Abbott is the President of the [[http://www.21learn.org/|21st Century Learning Initiative]], an initiative to facilitate the emergence of new approaches to learning in the United Kingdom. John Abbott on Learning With the Grain of the BrainMon, 01/28/2008 - 18:53 -- admin John Abbott discusses the nature of the human brain and critical periods for learning in a person’s development. Featured in this video: John Abbott is the President of the [[http://www.21learn.org/|21st Century Learning Initiative]], an initiative to facilitate the emergence of new approaches to learning in the United Kingdom. Heather MacTaggart Speaks About Students Losing the Love of LearningMon, 01/28/2008 - 17:57 -- admin Heather McTaggart speaks about the fact that although human beings are inquisitive by nature, for many children learning becomes something that is viewed as ‘not fun’. Featured in this video: Heather MacTaggart is the Executive Director of [[http://classroomconnections.ca/|Classroom Connections]], a Canadian non-profit educational organization dedicated to optimizing student learning. adolescenceAlthough many people have begun to understand the importance of the [[early years]] to human development, achievement and lifelong success, we have been slow to recognize the elephant in our midst—the adolescent learner. Dropout statistics, plummeting rates of school connectedness, declining academic performance and an increased dislike of school are [[signs of trouble]] underlining a disturbing pattern of disengagement as youth enter their teens. It seems that we may be [[getting it wrong]] for adolescents learners more than anyone in our schools. early yearsMost people understand that the early years are an important time in a child’s development, but recent research is painting a startling picture of how the experiences and interactions that occur from conception to age six drastically affect the trajectory of children’s lives1, their success in school2 and who they will become as adults. timing is everythingEvidence is mounting that we arrive into the world with a genetically pre-set timetable for how we go about growing that remaining 60% of our brains – complete with sensitive or critical periods when specific parts of the brain are primed to grow and develop. For example, researchers at McMaster University have found that babies with cataracts who miss fine visual input for the first two months, never develop the ability to recognize faces at a distance1. born to learnHuman babies are born with incredibly premature brains – apparently the result of an evolutionary compromise. About 100,000 years ago, when humans started to talk, our brains (and consequently our skulls) started to grow1. And as they kept growing, getting them out through the birth canal after they were fully developed became pretty much impossible. -Stuart KauffmanFri, 01/18/2008 - 12:22 -- adminThe notion of learning at the “edge of chaos” fits well with what learning theory tells us about the conditions that maximize human learning. -Alfie KohnFri, 01/18/2008 - 12:21 -- adminThe source of intellectual growth is conflict: conflict between an old belief and a new experience, conflict between two beliefs that prove to be mutually exclusive, or conflict between your belief and mine. We know that the human brain is essentially plastic, that it constantly reshapes itself in response -21st Century Learning InitiFri, 01/18/2008 - 11:13 -- adminWe know that the human brain is essentially plastic, that it constantly reshapes itself in response to environmental challenges, but that it does this within the blueprint of the modern society’s failure to understand adolescentsIn this paper John Abbott investigates the life of explorer of Peter Puget for clues as to how adolescents in the past learned the skills they need to survive and thrive in adult society. A Policy Paper: The Strategic and Resource Implications of a New Model of LearningThis Policy Proposal, from the 21st Century Learning Initiative in the UK, is written to assist those in positions of influence to initiate powerful changes to current educational arrangements. The circumstantial evidence for such a transformation of learning is drawn from the best in research and practice from around the world. The paper shows that better informed, and more effective, models of learning could be organised through a redistribution of expenditures and responsibilities, at a total cost no greater than current levels of expenditure. Learning with the Grain of the BrainIf young people are to be equipped effectively to meet the challenges of the 21st century it is surely prudent to seek out the very best understandings from current scientific research into the nature of how humans learn before considering further reform of the current system. This article by John Abbott and Terence Ryan appeared in the Spring, 1999 issue of Education Canada. Enriching Communities: Concepts of Communities in the Future“Enriching Communities” was the theme of the first International Baccalaureate Organization Worldwide Electronic Conference in 2004. John Abbott, as a contributor/leader, noted that the theme suggested that “right now, many people fear that communities are not what they once were, or indeed might be in the future, and that somehow they have to be enriched.” He contributed four papers to the conference, all on the topic of community (attached as one document, below). Constructing Knowledge, Reconstructing SchoolingRather than thinking of the brain as a computer, cognitive scientists now utilize a far more flexible, biological analogy, where the brain is seen as a unique, ever-changing organism that grows and reshapes itself in response to use. In this article, John Abbott and Terence Ryan discuss how emerging brain research that supports constructivist learning collides head-on with many of our institutional arrangements for learning. The article first appeared in the November 1999 issue ofEducational Leadership. can the learning species fit into schools?Education critic John Abbott quotes Bill Gates who states unequivocally; “High schools are obsolete… by that, I mean that even when they are working exactly as designed (they) cannot teach our kids what they need to know today”. Abbott explores what we know about our species that might help us understand better how humans learn and how to provide young people with the learning experiences they need. (This paper was delivered to The Campaign for Learning, 10th June 2005, Kensington Town Hall, UK.) Crazy By Design: Adolescence, a Critical Evolutionary AdaptationThe latest research and theories from evolutionary psychology, neurobiology and cognitive science demonstrate the various ways that humans have evolved over time to be extremely effective learners. John Abbott discusses what current research from various fields can tell us about how the adolescent brain works and how educators can work with adolescent learners to maximize their potential. battery hens or free-range chickens: what kind of education for what kind of world?There is more material now about the nature of human learning than at any previous time in history. Why, therefore, do we have a “crisis” in education? John Abbott, discusses what is known about how humans learn and develop from birth through adulthood and how our education systems have it “inside out and upside down”. Redefining How Success is Measured in First Nations, Inuit and Métis LearningIncreasingly, Aboriginal communities are administering educational programs and services formerly delivered by non-Aboriginal governments. They are developing culturally relevant curricula and community-based language and culture programs, and creating their own educational institutions. As Aboriginal people work to improve community wellbeing through lifelong learning, they recognize the need to identify appropriate measurement tools that will help them assess what is working and what is not. (Source: Canadian Council on Learning) Not by Genes Alone: How Culture Transformed Human EvolutionMon, 01/07/2008 - 14:36 -- adminHumans are a striking anomaly in the natural world. While we are similar to other mammals in many ways, our behavior sets us apart. Our unparalleled ability to adapt has allowed us to occupy virtually every habitat on earth using an incredible variety of tools and subsistence techniques. Our societies are larger, more complex, and more cooperative than any other mammal’s. In this stunning exploration of human adaptation, Peter J. Richerson and Robert Boyd argue that only a Darwinian theory of cultural evolution can explain these unique characteristics. Mindset: The New Psychology of SuccessThu, 12/27/2007 - 14:45 -- adminA leading expert in motivation and personality psychology, Carol Dweck has discovered in more than twenty years of research that our mindset is not a minor personality quirk: it creates our whole mental world. It explains how we become optimistic or pessimistic. It shapes our goals, our attitude toward work and relationships, and how we raise our kids, ultimately predicting whether or not we will fulfill our potential. Dweck has found that everyone has one of two basic mindsets. Students' View of Intelligence Can Help GradesIf you teach students that their intelligence can grow and increase, they do better in school says a 2007 study by psychologist Carol Dweck from Stanford University. Related items [[http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2007/february7/dweck-020707.html| Read a brief report]] from the Stanford University news service on the implications of Carol Dweck’s research in this area. View [[http://changelearning.trevortwining.com/books/mindset-new-psychology-success|Mindset: the New Psychology of Success]],Dweck’s book on the topic. Students' View of Intelligence Can Help Grades: Carol Dweck SpeaksThu, 12/27/2007 - 14:15 -- admin A 2007 study by psychologist Carol Dweck from Stanford University shows that if you teach students that their intelligence can grow and increase, they do better in school. This video captures a conversation between Stanford Report writer Lisa Trei and psychologist Carol Dweck about the ways in which people’s self-theories about intelligence have a profound influence on their motivation to learn. Related items [[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7406521| Listen to an interview]] with study author psychologist Carol Dweck on the National Public Radio website. Do Schools Kill Creativity?: Ken Robinson speaksThu, 12/20/2007 - 19:28 -- admin Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining (and profoundly moving) case for creating an education system that nurtures creativity, rather than undermining it. With ample anecdotes and witty asides, Robinson points out the many ways our schools fail to recognize — much less cultivate — the talents of many brilliant people. “We are educating people out of their creativity,” Robinson says. The universality of his message is evidenced by its rampant popularity online. Watch it now. (Description from ted.com) (Runtime: 19:29) Education is Inside Out, Upside Down: John Abbott SpeaksWed, 12/19/2007 - 18:33 -- admin John Abbott speaks about how schools have it wrong. Featured in this video: John Abbott is the President of the [[http://www.21learn.org/|21st Century Learning Initiative]], an initiative to facilitate the emergence of new approaches to learning in the United Kingdom. The changelearning website project emerged from the collaboration of John Abbott and Heather MacTaggart, the Executive Director of [[http://classroomconnections.ca/|Classroom Connections]], a Canadian non-profit educational organization dedicated to optimizing student learning. |
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