Points to Ponder from ICOT Wednesday & Thursday

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

Mali: An emerging flashpoint

The situation in Mali has now escalated to an international conflict with European troops (particularly French) becoming involved, the Algiers incident and African Union troops being sent in as well. The New Zealand Herald today included a thorough article with a great map demonstrating where this is occurring.

Normally, when approaching current events such as this, I work with the following set of thinking prompts:

  • Why has this occurred in this specific location?
  • What are the root causes of the incident?
  • Which factors (human and/or physical) had the greatest influence on the event?
  • What perspectives are covered in this information?
  • Are there perspectives missing that should be covered?
  • What are the implications or consequences?
  • What evidence is used to support the author’s argument?
  • Who is responsible?
  • Who is this issue significant for?
  • What can be done about this?

With this situation though, I feel the main forces may be too complex so require a further set of information sources for students to more completely understand what is occurring. The following articles are ones that I plan to use with my classes in the coming weeks:

National Geographic provide a great backgrounder to the situation.

More depth can be added to the background with this article from International Political Forum

BBC have this article about the key players in the crisis

Hope these help you and your students (and me!) understand the developing situation in Mali.

 

2013: the Year of Conferences, Explorations and Journals

It may sound odd but am really keen to get back in the swing of things this year with work. It is already looking like it will be action-packed and I hope that translates meaningfully for my students. It will be year of Conferences, Explorations and Journals.

Conferences

Conference-wise I am starting my year off next week at the International Conference On Thinking in Wellington. It is packed with internationally renowned speakers such as Edward de Bono and David Perkins (who I am particularly looking forward to) but also local inspirations such as 12 year old Hana Olds, Rose Hipkins from NZCER and Mark Osborne.

I am also really looking forward to Soccon later in the year in Hamilton. This is the conference for Social Sciences teachers in NZ that happens every 2 years. I am looking to take workshops on Guerrilla Geography and potentially Geographic Thinking but more than anything I am looking forward to all the ideas that come up in conversations with people after and in between presentations.

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