Tagged: curriculum

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More about “getting out of the way”

The objective of education is learning. Or not even that, I’ll interject. More exactly, the true objective is “contentment”, a well adjusted individual. And the only way to reach this objective is to tap into the “feeling good about oneself” that is always there in...

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Being a teacher during a disaster

The recent tragic events in Japan have brought back memories of the 2005 tsunami when I was teaching grade 4 at Rose Ave. P.S. in Toronto. I’ve previously written about this multicultural school and the impact it had on my own teacher development. The tsunami...

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Stickiness – What makes what you do stick?

I’m putting together an online presentation for some Brazilian teachers and I’ll be talking about “Stickiness”. I thought it would be worthwhile to air my own thoughts specifically about what makes our teaching “stick”. In other words, how to make what we do transfer into...

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The Future of Learning II

The future of teaching is learning. This is an addendum to my last post – The future of learning. Just watched this now 3 year old presentation – A Manifesto for Learning. I think it appropriate, given what the last 3 years have presented to...

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For the video minded….Teach | Learn

Sorry to keep harping, but made this rather quickly and amateurishly but alas, it IS from the heart. A 4 min. review of the textbook I wrote. Here are the samples / links to view at your leisure.

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Teach | Learn coursebook now available!

[ Update: Now get this book FREE. I’ve sold the 220 copies to pay for its costs and now the world can download and share. Big thanks to all the teachers who purchased the book and who are now using it in classrooms around the...

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Viva la (textbook) revolucion!

I’ve been, like I’m sure many other have, watching the ongoing events in the Middle East with sheer fascination. The power of normal people to say – “we aren’t going to take it anymore”. The invigorating energy given by technology to inform and empower the...

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Teach | Learn example lesson

Last week I wrote about a forthcoming course book that I am publishing – Teach | Learn. It will be out next week but thought it would be interesting to some, to see a sample lesson and to get a few thoughts about the delivery...

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Interview with myself

{ I think this a great reflective activity for any teacher. Going to make this  part of the curriculum in some of my future courses, for sure. Find my full philosophy of education – here. } What subjects have you been teaching? What types of...

2

The Future of Learning

I have written and pounded the pulpit long and hard on the issue of teachers “getting out of the way”.  Ranted and pleaded with teachers to be more inductive in their approach, more sandbox about the learning environment. No greater compliment to my own constructivist...

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Textbook Talk – using SCC

I’m putting the finishing touches on my Teach – Learn:  Student Created Content coursebook. One of the basic principles (which are outlined in the book’s preface) is that the students practice language using language that comes from their own “selves”. The big textbook companies have...

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Self Directed Learning – Part 1

If I could meet just one guy who I’d like to chat about the future and place of education in the world – it would be a toss up between Ivan Illich and John Taylor Gatto. Illich the intellectual, the piercing and challenging mind –...

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Teachers – who needs them?

I just came home from the movies.  In the film I saw (The Kids Are Alright), one character when asked why he dropped out of school says, “I just thought it was a big waste of money for something I could learn myself, from a...

2

Chopping Wood (as a metaphor)

I’m returning to my home and native land Canada in a few weeks and I’ve been thinking incessantly about “chopping wood”. Chopping wood isn’t easy! Most city folk who try it, look like bumbling fools. Even if they manage to do okay, they last only...

Want something taught? Ask a busy teacher! 5

Want something taught? Ask a busy teacher!

{just an update – Bill Gates recently caught onto Khan and gave him his endorsement. Also, like myself, calls for more “online” learning and taking the learning out of the 4 walls and into the great wide open. The following post appeared Dec. 09} I...

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Using Technology the “Right” way

Around the education/technology twitterverse, there has been a lot of hand-wringing and “I told you so s” about THIS article  on TES, “Byte the Dust”. Basically, it outlines how tens of millions of dollars/pounds of educational technology are laying around gathering dust. This follows another study...

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More on “Killing Creativity”

Find more videos like this on EFL CLASSROOM 2.0The video above is simple and powerful. It speaks to us educators in a number of ways. The number of ways we should allow for more creativity in our classrooms – not just in language but in...