Human learning has aspects that are cognitive, but it also has social and emotional aspects, and deeper learning requires students connect with the curriculum in all three ways. The emotional and social aspects of human learning appear to be deeply embedded in our nature. It is reasoned our brain evolved to pay attention to what Read More
Author: Gary Ackerman
Thinking About Deeper Learning
In rejecting the Standard Model of Education, we are rejecting the definition of learning that aligns with students as vessels to be filled with information. Some faculty and other educators might interject at this point and ask, “Wait. What’s wrong with that kind of education?” That question will be followed by holding themselves and their Read More
Lets’ Be Clear: Schools are Not Business
We often hear that schools should be run as businesses are run. We also hear we should support school choice as it will increase competition, thus improve quality for all. Those who advocate these stances appear to misunderstand the realities of schools that make them different from businesses. The practices used to make business successful Read More
On Applied Course
For generations, one of the questions teachers must contemplate and answer for themselves is “What do I want my students to be able to do with the lessons I teach them?” As I have answered that question, I have come to view my answers along a continuum. My continuum of goals I have for students Read More
Students, Teachers, and Effective Lessons
The time since COVID, I have noticed a growing trend in posts related to teaching on social media. In a nutshell: Teachers are “complaining” the students are “doing nothing.” They are getting pushback suggesting they need to make their courses more interesting and engaging. This is certainly not a new trend—I recall both the complaints Read More
Text Written by AI: Five Questions and Answers
Students are using generative AI to write papers. It seems scholars are as well. (https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-this-doctor-wrote-dozens-of-science-papers-with-chatgpt) So, what are we to make of all of this? What is the future of intellectual works when they can be generated by AI? I wonder, first, how is this different from the other tools we use to extend human Read More
On Trusting Students
There are three signals that you have been hanging out (either physically or virtually) the people you should be. In the last week, I experienced all three. At the New England Educational Research Organization’s annual conference, I attended a session in which two papers were presented. The authors of these papers “proved” I was right Read More
Generative AI: Six Months In
I am no longer a full-time teacher, but I support a community of full-time and adjunct faculty and I am an adjunct faculty member. Throughout the almost 40 years of my professional life (I started my undergraduate preparation to be a teacher in the fall of 1983), I have been a user of technology in Read More
#edtech for IT: Digital Divides
Since about 2010, one-to-one computing and cloud-based computing have come to dominate school computing. In many schools, students carry Chromebook with them, and sometimes they take them home. (While the market share of educational computing devices is difficult to ascertain, estimates are that Chromebooks represent over 60% of the devices purchased for school users.) Some Read More
On Teachers’ Technology Knowledge
Technological knowledge refers to one’s ability to use digital tools. Over time, the tools that provide educational relevant capacity have expanded. Today, we include: Exactly which tools one uses depends on personal preferences, those used in one’s profession, and those provided by the school where one teaches. We can differentiate two types of technological Read More