I recently read The Falconer by Grant Lichtman and thoroughly encourage each of you to do the same!
It really pulled some thought threads together for me and I found myself nodding away and tweeting quotes the whole way through the book. I had read the book to try and find ways to take Design Thinking from a process to a mindset and it has absolutely helped me to do this.
A colleague and I presented some thoughts from ICOT2013 to the staff for our PD session this morning. I focused on Ewan McIntosh’s Keynote, The Learning Pit and the Key Competencies Indicator project. During this, I set a task to come up with an ungoogleable question based in their subject areas (with donuts for the best).
ICOT was easily the best conference that I have been part of. It provided a mass of ideas and thoughts in a good balance of keynote and breakout sessions. I met lots of great people that I had known only over twitter previously and also had great discussions with completely new people. Everyone of these discussions was a valuable addition to my week at the conference and many of these people have now become part of my wider personal learning network through twitter. There are a string of great comments and blogs coming out (see other blogs on these links by Karen, Matt and Stephanie) but here is my final wrap up of the conference. Continue reading
Some statements and questions to reflect on from the breakouts I attended at ICOT on Wednesday and Thursday
Rose Hipkins
Embodied thinking is intuitive, ‘rational’ decisions are usually after-the-fact justifications
How do you develop students’ intuitive thinking?
Thinking in the spaces between individuals or ideas is a more apt metaphor for the changes afforded by information technologies
We need to push past our urge to stick with people like us. Learn to love difference – then you will learn
Epistemic experiences are moments when we become conscious of something about our knowing
Martin Renton – In the Learning Pit
Moving from clarity to confusion is a positive step in the learning process
No such thing as a bad question. The important part is the reason for asking the question
Get comfortable with silence, it helps us process our thinking
How often do you question to confuse your students
Hana Olds
Active thinking is where creative, critical and caring thinking overlap
Do your inquiries allow for passion, persistence and purpose?
“I don’t want a project, I want something with a purpose”
Rich Allen
Don’t just think differently, act differently
Good teachers are always learning from their students
Lesson plans are hallucinations
Karen Melhuish Spencer
Social networks privilege the individual, online communities privilege the relationship
Do you use social networks to check or challenge your thinking?
What social network has the most effective impact on your teaching? How? Can you prove this?
As educators we are morally obliged to share our practice for the good of all students
ICOT 2013 opened in Wellington yesterday with a challenge from Uncle Sam of local iwi Te Ati Awa to think deeply, and take action to make a difference. Continue reading
Steve Mouldey 