Gary Ackerman @garyackerman@qoto.org

Yes there are some great teaching tools... think-pair-share, exit tickets, critical explorations, etc.... but when they are used all the time, for every lesson, they become annoyances that are not taken seriously by students. #TeachingIdeas #teachertips #TeachBetter #teacher

"Yeah, I know a thing or two now." Lyrics that comprise the soundtrack of my life.

“It seems impossible to analyze education... without considering its relationship to the world for which it prepares people.” It seems many who define #education policy are not familiar with Jean Lave and others with quotes like this. #school #teaching

Maybe get the syllabus and look it up... it’s called modeling... a very effective teaching method.

“Several decades of practice tell us this is important.” OK, but is there research to support your practice?

The more deeply held your beliefs, the deeper you must question their veracity.

Ideas precede information. Theory precedes observation.

Information is not the substance of thought.

Too much information gets in the way of thought in the same way too many initiatives get in the way of progress.

Note to authors: please avoid “space doesn’t allow me to write what I need.” Summarize or leave it out.

Scientists look for the simplest solution to a problem. Leaders would do well to follow that model. #leadership #leader

When IT professionals are making #education decisions they are about as effective as #teachers making IT decisions.

Learning styles. Can we please just stop? #education. You cannot claim to be evidence driven and encourage #teachers align with #students learning styles. They don’t exist!

Papert used to say about computer programs “the question is not whether it is right or wrong, but is it fixable?”

“Stay inside the wall, follow the rules, and you can do whatever you want.” Theodore Roszak’s assessment of the thinking one practices when programming.

If you are a #teacher talking about “how students can learn the information they need,” then you need to stop. Students don’t need information... they need application, connection, to learn how to learn, expertise, ability to frame and analyze and solve problems, etc.

Just because you can do it doesn’t mean you should do it. That’s what ethics are all about.

Yeah... so... if your strategy “makes learning easier,” I’m going to be skeptical... very skeptical... you seem to misunderstand learning.

When cognition evolved, humans became capable of “thinking their way through” unfamiliar situations. I wonder why schools now treat “the standards” as capturing every possible exigency.

Understanding is grounded in knowing how you are wrong.