Gary Ackerman @garyackerman@qoto.org

Naturalistic approaches to education acknowledge the complexity of learning and the active role of the educator in shaping the environment. They embrace diverse data and seek multiple perspectives. They are too uncommon.

Many students and teachers prefer easier study it feels easier but provides a false sense of progress.

The involvement of human judgment and control in the design, implementation, and operation of AI systems is essential.

AI-driven hiring is no more effective than traditional methods. This raises concerns about the potential for AI to exacerbate existing inequalities without offering significant improvements in hiring outcomes.

Learners often hold "naïve theories" about learning that can hinder the adoption of effective strategies.

If students are provided with predetermined categories for sorting, the activity is active. However, if students need to create their own categories based on understanding, the activity becomes constructive. Yes, it is harder to construct, but that is the point .

Data. If you don't define it before your start, it can't drive you decisions.

Interleaving is a learning strategy where you mix up different subjects or topics while you are studying, rather than studying one topic at a time. It feels more difficult (because it is), but it improves memory and understanding .

Passive learning: Students pay attention to information presented without actively manipulating or generating anything. Examples: listening to a lecture, watching a demonstration. Let's minimize this.

If you don't have an agenda, don't have the meeting.

Asking students questions before they learn new material (prequestions) can significantly boost learning. This technique is supported by research in cognitive science.

“Science is the great antidote to the poison of enthusiasm and superstition.”
― Adam Smith
I sure wish all of those who advocate for his bastardized economics with such zeal advocated this part of Smith's thought equally.

Sailors on the HMS Beagle called Charles Darwin "the Flycatcher."

My life is better knowing this fact.

The best education planning is non-linear. Unlike a step-by-step process, it's a continuous cycle of assessment, design, implementation, and evaluation, responding to the ever-changing reality of the classroom.

Designing solutions for education requires recognizing diversity. Different groups have different needs and values. Successful solutions must consider these varied perspectives to be effective.

Technology is non-neutral. The tools we use shape our thinking and actions. In education, technology influences how we teach, learn, and even define knowledge itself.

School administrators often make #edtech based on their "pain points." That is unfortunate as fixing those points may not improve learning; actually it never fixes it. At least it hasn't in the 30+years I've been working in the space.

Education is recursive and modular, meaning it's made up of smaller parts (like classrooms) that are part of larger systems (like districts). Changes in one part ripple through the whole system.

Ideas are uninteresting without evidence. Empirical evidence. And maybe some logic.

Equations are a form of shorthand. Nothing more. Nothing less. The meaning we draw from them is where it gets interesting.