January 13 - January 20, 2019
The two feature articles this week have interesting synergy:
Brooks' piece on relationships as central to learning remind us that the interpersonal experiences of education are as if not more important than the specific skills and content of our lessons. Feelings that an adult cares for and has high expectations of a student can be among the most important drivers of success.
Similarly, the featured post on Learning Goals, while it leads with prose meant more to provoke than persuade, closes with a number of meaningful reminders that much of a student's character development happens outside the scripted lesson. What is the right balance between structure and flexibility? I'm reminded that the answer is often: what you choose is less important than *that* you choose -- and then live by it. (See the pull quote under History of Education for an echo of this.)
Enjoy these and other thoughtful pieces this week!
Peter
PS. If you're an early riser and clicked on any of last week's posts by Harvard GSE, such as the "Consent at Every Age" article, you might have found an "Access Denied" error. Harvard's website was being updated last Sunday morning, and you should be able to access those posts now if you revisit them. Here is last week's issue.
FEATURED ARTICLES
David Brooks: Relationships Are Essential For Learning New York Times
"Students have got to have a good relationship with teachers. Suzanne Dikker of New York University has shown that when classes are going well, the student brain activity synchronizes with the teacher's brain activity. In good times and bad, good teachers and good students co-regulate each other. The bottom line is this, a defining question for any school or company is: What is the quality of the emotional relationships here?"
"How Learning Goals Can Stifle Deeper Learning" Lustre Education
"It is worth critically examining whether the practice of telling students what they will learn before they learn it equates to the kind of deeper learning that will allow students to thrive in a rapidly changing 21st century job market."
ASSESSMENT
Consider Delaying The Grade When Returning Assessments Cult of Pedagogy
ATHLETICS
The Math Of Basketball: Why The Mid-Range Shot Is Vanishing Flowing Data
"On average, 3-pointers produced 1.07 points. Mid-Range shots produced only 0.81 points."
CHARACTER
On Happiness: "The Joy Of Being A Women In Her 70s" New York Times
"We may not have control, but we have choices. With intention and focused inattention, we can always find a forward path. We discover what we are looking for. If we look for evidence of love in the universe, we will find it. If we seek beauty, it will spill into our lives any moment we wish. If we search for events to appreciate, we discover them to be abundant."
Goals: Duckworth On Making Your New Year's Resolutions A Reality Character Lab
Cal Newport: "How To Actually, Truly Focus On What You're Doing" New York Times
Aspiration Vs. Ambition, And How We Make Decisions New Yorker
COGNITIVE SCIENCE
"Why Attention Is The Currency Of Achievement" Medium
CREATIVITY
Ten Traits Of Successful Innovators McKinsey
HIGHER ED
"What Is A University Without A History Major?" New York Times
Hampshire College Looks For Partner To Stay Afloat Inside Higher Ed
HISTORY OF EDUCATION
What Happened To Schools That Group Students Of Different Ages? Larry Cuban
"Adoption of an innovation in schooling has less to do with what the research says and far more about what school leaders and practitioners believe about students, teaching, learning, and knowledge."
LANGUAGE
Doctor Has A Stroke, Then Can't Stop Rhyming, Becomes Rap Legend. Atlantic
"Like many other survivors of stroke, he sometimes stuttered, and his speech became slurred. His personality also seemed to change. He suddenly became obsessed with reading and writing poetry. Soon Hershfield's friends noticed another unusual side effect: He couldn't stop speaking in rhyme. He finished everyday sentences with rhyming couplets."
LEADERSHIP
"Managing By Status And Positional Authority Kills Engagement" Inc.
PEDAGOGY
College Instructor Reshapes 75-Minute Lecture Blocks For Active Learning Chron. of Higher Ed
READING/WRITING
How iOS Notes Is Shaping Writing (Of Public Apologies) New York Times
STEM
"Beauty Is Truth..." Is It Also Evolution? Scientists Ponder... New York Times
On Introducing Students To Computational Thinking (Via Wolfram) Wolfram
OTHER
Largest Early World Map, Centuries Ahead Of Its Time, Unveiled Medium
The History And Future Vision Of Tesla, In Five Minutes [Video] Visual Capitalist
Do Alumni Networks Actually Help Graduates? Survey Says: Not Much Gallup
School Revises Dress Code To Remove Gender-Specific Items eSchool News
Brooks' piece on relationships as central to learning remind us that the interpersonal experiences of education are as if not more important than the specific skills and content of our lessons. Feelings that an adult cares for and has high expectations of a student can be among the most important drivers of success.
Similarly, the featured post on Learning Goals, while it leads with prose meant more to provoke than persuade, closes with a number of meaningful reminders that much of a student's character development happens outside the scripted lesson. What is the right balance between structure and flexibility? I'm reminded that the answer is often: what you choose is less important than *that* you choose -- and then live by it. (See the pull quote under History of Education for an echo of this.)
Enjoy these and other thoughtful pieces this week!
Peter
PS. If you're an early riser and clicked on any of last week's posts by Harvard GSE, such as the "Consent at Every Age" article, you might have found an "Access Denied" error. Harvard's website was being updated last Sunday morning, and you should be able to access those posts now if you revisit them. Here is last week's issue.
FEATURED ARTICLES
David Brooks: Relationships Are Essential For Learning New York Times
"Students have got to have a good relationship with teachers. Suzanne Dikker of New York University has shown that when classes are going well, the student brain activity synchronizes with the teacher's brain activity. In good times and bad, good teachers and good students co-regulate each other. The bottom line is this, a defining question for any school or company is: What is the quality of the emotional relationships here?"
"How Learning Goals Can Stifle Deeper Learning" Lustre Education
"It is worth critically examining whether the practice of telling students what they will learn before they learn it equates to the kind of deeper learning that will allow students to thrive in a rapidly changing 21st century job market."
ASSESSMENT
Consider Delaying The Grade When Returning Assessments Cult of Pedagogy
ATHLETICS
The Math Of Basketball: Why The Mid-Range Shot Is Vanishing Flowing Data
"On average, 3-pointers produced 1.07 points. Mid-Range shots produced only 0.81 points."
CHARACTER
On Happiness: "The Joy Of Being A Women In Her 70s" New York Times
"We may not have control, but we have choices. With intention and focused inattention, we can always find a forward path. We discover what we are looking for. If we look for evidence of love in the universe, we will find it. If we seek beauty, it will spill into our lives any moment we wish. If we search for events to appreciate, we discover them to be abundant."
Goals: Duckworth On Making Your New Year's Resolutions A Reality Character Lab
Cal Newport: "How To Actually, Truly Focus On What You're Doing" New York Times
Aspiration Vs. Ambition, And How We Make Decisions New Yorker
COGNITIVE SCIENCE
"Why Attention Is The Currency Of Achievement" Medium
CREATIVITY
Ten Traits Of Successful Innovators McKinsey
HIGHER ED
"What Is A University Without A History Major?" New York Times
Hampshire College Looks For Partner To Stay Afloat Inside Higher Ed
HISTORY OF EDUCATION
What Happened To Schools That Group Students Of Different Ages? Larry Cuban
"Adoption of an innovation in schooling has less to do with what the research says and far more about what school leaders and practitioners believe about students, teaching, learning, and knowledge."
LANGUAGE
Doctor Has A Stroke, Then Can't Stop Rhyming, Becomes Rap Legend. Atlantic
"Like many other survivors of stroke, he sometimes stuttered, and his speech became slurred. His personality also seemed to change. He suddenly became obsessed with reading and writing poetry. Soon Hershfield's friends noticed another unusual side effect: He couldn't stop speaking in rhyme. He finished everyday sentences with rhyming couplets."
LEADERSHIP
"Managing By Status And Positional Authority Kills Engagement" Inc.
PEDAGOGY
College Instructor Reshapes 75-Minute Lecture Blocks For Active Learning Chron. of Higher Ed
READING/WRITING
How iOS Notes Is Shaping Writing (Of Public Apologies) New York Times
STEM
"Beauty Is Truth..." Is It Also Evolution? Scientists Ponder... New York Times
On Introducing Students To Computational Thinking (Via Wolfram) Wolfram
OTHER
Largest Early World Map, Centuries Ahead Of Its Time, Unveiled Medium
The History And Future Vision Of Tesla, In Five Minutes [Video] Visual Capitalist
Do Alumni Networks Actually Help Graduates? Survey Says: Not Much Gallup
School Revises Dress Code To Remove Gender-Specific Items eSchool News