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Teaching and Learning
Recently, I finished the book A New Culture of Learning by Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown that was published in 2011. The book was a fascinating, albeit slightly out of date, reflection on how teaching and learning have changed over the last twenty years, especially examining the impact of new technology during the time…
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Rubrics – Killing Creativity?
If you are at all like me, you have sat through a student presentation that left much to be desired. When sitting down to apply a grade to the student’s work, they score surprising well on the rubric. The student managed to stumble through a presentation, barely grasping the concepts, and then scored surprising well…
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When a Grade is more than Academics
At the 2018 MACUL Conference, I joined a conversation around the topic of grading in the classroom, and one thing that popped up in the conversation was the idea of compliance-based grading. This was a topic that I have heard and dealt with before, but this renewed…
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Design Thinking Workshop at Idea Week
In late April, I had the chance to attend part of Idea Week, a collaboration between the IDEA Center, on the campus of Notre Dame, and the larger Michiana region. The event brings in many national leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs to share their insight with the students of Notre Dame and the Michiana community at…
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MACUL 18 Recap
As the month of March winds down, I am wrestling with a lot of big thoughts in my heads about grading, grades, school culture, design thinking, and school climate. I am really wrestling with it. I can’t quite get it down coherently at this time. So, instead, you get some resources from an event that…
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Goal for 2018 – Don’t Be the Sea, Change
While I am not one to set resolutions that the start of the year, I was able to travel to Eleuthera in the Bahamas over our winter break. We visited a beautiful place towards the north end of the island called Queen’s Bath, a formation that has been carved out thousands of years that has…
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Response to Ideas That Will Break Education
About every quarter, a group of tech coaches and integrators meet and discuss current projects, struggles, and what is happening in our schools at the Regional Education Service Agency. One of the county consultants shared Terry Heick’s 12 Ideas That Will Break Education. The goal was to have conversations around some of the items. I…
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STREAM? Why not STREAMMSSFLPE?
Full disclosure. I am a former social studies teacher. I have also taught math and engineering. I dabble in computer science with my students as well. I recently was invited to a webinar that was focused on STREAM education. Many are familiar with STEM and STEAM. But STREAM was new to me. The second part…
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The Use of Data and Algorithms in Education
Whoa! That title is likely a little misleading! This is a reflection on a podcast that I recently listened to that discussed how we use math, data, and algorithms to make decisions that are inequitable and further seclude people in our society. It also relates to a book that I am reading about Building Equity…
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MACUL Reflection!
Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the 41st Annual Michigan Association of Computer Users in Learning Conference held at Cobo Hall in Downtown Detroit. The conference has been a staple of my professional development since I entered the teaching profession. It is the conference that re-energizes, sparks, and guides me through the “Ides…
