Gary Ackerman @garyackerman@qoto.org

If you don’t rethink what you used to think, then the time in class was wasted.

IT and Control
https://hackscience.education/2019/04/29/it-and-control/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

Why We Scaffold https://hackscience.net/2024/03/22/why-we-scaffold/

What our students have learned in life and previously in school are deeply held concepts and even the most effective schooling does little to dislodge these false ideas.

Educators know with reliability how to transfer the information in the curriculum into human brains. This is inaccurate; or at least partly so.

"The curriculum comprises the information students are expected to learn, and that it is well-known, agreed upon, and accurately reflects the world." Yeah... that's a myth.

Technology and Society
https://hackscience.education/2019/04/26/technology-and-society/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

Humans are variable creatures; clear cause and effect relationships do not exist in education.

“I taught it, but they didn’t learn it.” 🤦

Teachers complain. They complain a lot. No, really. You can’t imagine the things teachers say about students, students’ previous teachers, colleagues, administrators, parents and society, and everyone else.

If students could accurately recall what they were taught for a long time after they were taught it, then we assumed they had learned it well. That concept of learning seems inadequate.

I am convinced learning is happening in all classrooms. Sometimes it reflects that the teacher intends. Often it does not.

Pencil and paper to perform calculations, which are technologies in every way, are generally acceptable, but digital electronic calculators are not.

Thinking About Identity in the Digital World
https://hackscience.education/2019/04/22/thinking-about-identity-in-the-digital-world/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

Social interaction is perceived as play rather than learning... those perceptions are wrong.

If our students leave with their abilities unchanged, then they (and we) have wasted their time and energy and money while there.

We have capacity to solve much more complex problems when working together compared to when we work alone, but we also have greater capacity to deceive ourselves.

The conspiracy theorists among us keep busy for hours contriving explanations, each more convoluted than the other. Humans are very skilled at creating patterns and explanations where none really exist.

A Rationale for Interaction in Online Courses
https://hackscience.education/2019/04/19/a-rationale-for-interaction-in-online-courses/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

Technology follows rules with inhuman speed and accuracy. Let's use it for those things, but not things we do well.