Source: Rio 2016

Source: Rio 2016

Source: Rio 2016

The hues and textures of the expanded torch pay tribute to the gold Brazilian sun, the green mountain curves, the blue ocean ripples, and the grounded Copacabana promenade. The winning design from Chelles & Hayashi was chosen unanimously from 76 nationwide submissions. Additionally, “each torch – crafted from recycled aluminum and resin with a satin finish – weighs between 1kg and 1.5kg and stands 63.5cm high when contracted and 69cm when expanded.”

Source: Olympic.org

Source: Olympic.org

• Visualizing The Summer Olympics – Mapping The 2016 Rio Torch Relay
• The Olympics As Teaching Tool – Going For The Gold
• Visualizing The Olympics – Shaping An Iconic Brand
• The Olympics In The Classroom – Videos And Motion Graphics

• analyse and organise information,
• facilitate others towards action,
• mediate,
• reflect,
• become impatient with no progress,
• get confused,
• suggest solutions.
  

We brainstormed some ideas about what being an expert learner might involve. As you can see, having some experience with learning,  knowing how to process information at high levels including metacognition and critical thinking were on the list. Flexibility, seeking out information and making connections to prior knowledge and proven theories was also regarded as important. After that we did some activities located on the Excellence Gateway Treasury, a UK site for learning and skills improvement.

For me learning at the level of metacognition and using critical thinking is really important. To do this you have to be really aware of how you learn and also how you regulate your cognitive processes. For me, this involves setting goals and engaging in reflective learning, and also knowing how to find, use and critique information and resources (including people) to develop new knowledge. It also means having the confidence to get on with it rather than waiting for someone to tell me what to do and how to do it. This confidence also means being able to problem-solve, be persistent, take risks and come out the other side with a different take on things. As an expert learner, I need to be open and flexible to whatever comes along, curious and autonomous, and for me learning collaboratively and sharing knowledge is high on the list. 

 This takes lots of experience and the development of many skills. Now that I have completed a PhD, I feel as if I now know how to learn. But should we have to go to that extreme to become an expert learner? I think not.

So what do the experts say? According to my reading, expert learners have many of the characteristics, I have mentioned and more. The resources and activities available for Developing the Expert Learner, also got us thinking about which characteristics were more important (high impact) or less important (low impact). Each group had different priorities. For example, one group considered that curiosity, being well organised and setting goals were important whereas the other group thought these characteristics were less important, choosing things like organising and analysing information and understanding the course or qualification requirements as priorities. 

When we thought  about which characteristics were more likely to show at each stage of the learning journey – from recruitment, induction, through an initial assessment, learning plans and the learning process, until assessment and graduation – a different set of priorities emerged. For example, at induction the group thought that a potential expert learner would be more likely to demonstrate flexibility when approaching new situations and be able to understand the qualification requirements, possibly already understanding how they learn but less able to establish goals and monitor progress, and be an autonomous learner since these are skills that would develop later on with experience and support.

Wild and Heck\’s (2011) website (ID 4 the Web) has a great synopsis about the characteristics of expert learners – who engage actively in learning by participating to develop their knowledge and understanding, take responsibility and lead their learning. They do this through self-regulation by planning, monitoring and evaluating their learning. I agree with their take on the expert learner since it relies heavily on active learning, metacognition and as such involves reflective learning. From my perspective an expert learner engages in reflective practice using critical reflection and as such transforming their behaviours, attitudes and perceptions about the knowledge they are developing. I wonder what you think about my view?

This 4 minute video about active learning by NWIACOMMCOLLEGE gives some ideas about basic activities that can encourage this in the face-to-face and online classrooms – it involves three types of approach: teaching strategies, small tasks and methods for \”discovering, processing and applying information\”. According to the message in the video, anything that encourages participation is active learning because deeper learning occurs when the students \”analyse, define, create and evaluate information\”. By doing this they retain \”90% of what they do\”. Compare this to retaining \”10% of what they read\” or \”20% of what they hear\” or \”70% of what they say and write\”. 

So the message is, you can read as much as you want or hear and write all sorts of stuff but unless you actively do something with the information to process it, you wont retain the knowledge or understand it adequately, and learning won\’t be as effective. Do you agree?

Source: Postcards For Peace

This Monday, September 21, marks the thirty-third anniversary of the United Nations International Day of Peace that invites all nations and people to cease hostilities by commemorating the day through awareness on issues related to peace. In our effort this year to bring mindfulness into our curricula, we see this day as an ideal place to connect our year-long endeavor to develop kind, empathetic, young citizens of the world.

We see taking the time to make room to recognize the importance of peaceful, non-violent solutions as imperative to learning. It’s worth every minute to talk about it, particularly in today’s world. The resource materials listed in this post provide a multitude of options for educators to integrate the International Day of Peace into classroom instruction.

Source: Peace On Day

Peace On Day, founded by Jeremy Gilley in 1999, is a good place to start for free, educational resources and curriculum guides. Check out its “Peace Projects” page for curriculum ideas that connect to subject areas with links to Postcards For Peace, Face To Faith, or Pinwheels For Peace.

Postcards For Peace’s mission is to improve the well-being of those people around the world whose lives are affected by violence or prejudice by promoting change and offering hope, support, and compassion through sending postcards of goodwill.

Its short, introductory video is just right for introducing the project to young learners, in addition to promoting writing and creativity. Download the postcard template, or make your own. Either way, it’s a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness with students through acts of kindness.



Postcards For Peace – An Introduction from Postcards For Peace on Vimeo.

Source: Kids For Peace

The last resource we’d like to bring attention to is the website called Kids For Peace. Its mission is to promote peace through youth leadership, community service, global friendships, and thoughtful acts of kindness. The Peace Pledge in this post can be easily downloaded from its website.

If you can do nothing else this Monday, try to have the students take the pledge. We are hoping to have everyone at our school take part in this. Kids For Peace also has a simple “Peace Day Challenge” to promote acts of peace. It’s perfect for any age level.

Source: Kids For Peace

Sometimes we feel crunched for time to cover course material, but sometimes the right thing to do should force us to stop for something so important as PEACE!

For other resources, please see:

• Peace Through Understanding – GPI 2015
• Media Literacy: War And Peace Journalism
• Collaborative Hearts And Minds Help Kids Cope

Source: ASIDE 2016

As our nation’s children head to back to the classroom, many schools find themselves trying to rein in kids’ summer impulses. Strict conduct policies are emphasizing rules and enforcing straight lines on students who are used to gamboling in backyards and lolling for hours.

Many Scandinavian countries, most brain science, and all veteran teachers would encourage the exact opposite. They would argue that instead of limiting play, educators should expand the amount of free time dedicated to socialization and creativity. Imagination itself is not learned, but it can be unlearned due to the drone of worksheets and mandates.

Source: ASIDE 2016

While many schools nationwide are reducing free play opportunities, our neighboring Patchogue-Medford district here on Long Island has actually doubled recess time from 20 to 40 minutes. In fact, a few Texas and Oklahoma schools now schedule recess four times a day. These changes are not capricious; they are part of studies such as the LiiNK Project, which has found that physical activity increases students\’ emotional well-being and reduces instances of bullying and stress. The American Academy of Pediatrics supports these findings with its seminal white paper about \”The Crucial Role Of Recess In School.\”

Across the board, students, teachers, parents, administrators, kinesiologists, therapists, and test graders are all witnessing the positive outcomes of enhanced play time. The scientist Jaak Panksepp has devoted a career of research to answering two pivotal questions: Where in the brain does play come from? And is it a learned activity, or is it a basic function?

Source: ASIDE 2016

NPR has highlighted Panksepp’s studies, showcasing that play is deep and instinctive, shared across mammals, and integral to survival. Important social skills stem from play, in testing interactions, probing limits, and navigating hierarchies. In other words, play is primitive, the natural outcome of time and trust.

Children need this unstructured time to make mistakes and develop friendships on their own terms. The arena of the soccer field or the sand box is ideal in nurturing successful adults. Recess is not a privilege. It should not be an afterthought. It should instead be written into the students’ Bill Of Rights.

Source: KOIN

Otherwise, what are our playgrounds? Are they monuments to eras past? Are they the still testaments to the naivety of earlier generations? Are they just another hallmark of the sped-up modern day, the never-enough-time-for day, when the things we wish for are just that — wishes?