Gary Ackerman @garyackerman@qoto.org
- On the web:
- https://hackscience.education/
Director of Teaching and Learning Innovation at a community college in New England
Retired k-12 science/ math/ technology teacher/ technology integration specialist/ coordinator
Joined Nov 2022
Especially in education, our unquestioned assumptions are the most incorrect.
I always see folks who challenge my decisions or actions as a chance to both explain my rationale and understand it from their perspective. This cannot be done if one is immediately defensive.
If you get offended by contradictory ideas, you don't belong in education.
Go into a classroom of students using computers. Do you hear tying and mouse clicking? The teachers are doing it wrong.
Diversifying the Fleet of School Computing Devices
https://hackscience.education/2018/05/29/diversifying-the-fleet-of-school-computing-devices/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon
Curiosity, testing, synthesizing , analyzing, problem solving, inventing... maybe we reintroduce these to classrooms.
At the top of every educator's "to do" list should be to shift from grades to learning.
A leader recently indicated they were going to appoint one of two people to lead an initiative. They were puzzled to hear that the two had vastly different stances towards the initiate and would take it in very different directions. This is what happens when leaders lack guiding principles.
What is the effect size?
Recent observation suggests asking this question of one who is a self-described "evidence-driven educator" results in blank stares.
Ostensibly, education is a simple endeavor. In reality, it is complex and difficult.
Can we finally ditch this idea? But let's keep the idea (which is well-founded) that learners benefit from a variety of experiences.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41539-023-00190-x
Schools are interesting and rewarding workplaces for IT professionals, but they can be challenging as well. The differences between business and industry and schools can make the strategies and methods they developed less effect than they might predict when applied in schools.
The best data begins from the null hypothesis. We assume, "there is no difference" or "our intervention had no effect." We then look for evidence that we can reject that hypothesis. If you "look for evidence in the data" you are not using data but you are cherry picking data.
Becoming educated means you will encounter ideas that make you feel uncomfortable and challenge your notions. When educators demonstrate they cannot stand challenging ideas without becoming offended, then they cease to be effective educators.
While IT professionals may not exert direct control over teaching and school management decisions, the priorities they set and the devices and configurations they deploy do exert influence on what happens in classrooms and how it happens.
A completely debunked theory usually has as many adherents after the debunking as before .
- On the web:
- https://hackscience.education/
Director of Teaching and Learning Innovation at a community college in New England
Retired k-12 science/ math/ technology teacher/ technology integration specialist/ coordinator
Joined Nov 2022
