In his 1981 book The Mismeasure of Man, the late biologist Stephen Jay Gould noted that mental capacity is important to humans, and—whatever it is—it is a uniquely human characteristic that has, in many and diverse forms, contributed to the development of our species. Alfred Binet, the French scientist who began developing tests to measure Read More
As an undergraduate student studying botany, I got quite good at using dichotomous keys. Mine is still on my bookshelf and the $40.00 price tag is still attached (it was among the most expensive books I bought during my studies). It is almost 800 pages of plant descriptions along with either or questions. Does the Read More
Whether we admit it or not, much of teaching requires students to do things they would not otherwise. Some students will read, write, compute, think, and interact for their own motivations or to comply, but in the absence of school and the assignments that accompany class, most students would not choose the work that comprises school. If we accept my premise, then one Read More
On January 17, 2022, I posted the tweet that is embedded below. It generated far more conversation than most of what I tweet, and the replies are worth the time to read. Some of the replies did challenge my overgeneralization and my lack of citing any references. Of course, those criticisms were spot-on. Most teachers Read More
In the 1960’s, a television executive proposed the concept of the least objectionable program. According to this idea, programmers will broadcast the shows that are least likely to offend large parts of the population. It has been argued that adhering to this principle led television executives to support programming that was uninspired. In the time Read More
Only when teachers/ learning designers are doing their jobs! https://t.co/DNbvfwFoFy — Dr. Gary Ackerman (@GaryAckermanPhD) January 14, 2022 My snarky reply to Derek Moore’s tweet drew the “tell me more” response. I tried to compose a few 280-character responses, but I didn’t have time, so I took to my blog. There is a companion tweet Read More
In recent decades, scholars have rediscovered the very effective learning that happens outside of classrooms. Because it is so difficult for “school learning” to displace the concepts learned outside of classrooms seems to confirm the strength of what is learned outside of school. As cognitive and neuroscientists have illuminated the changes in human bodies and Read More
Educated individuals value the free expression of ideas, yet we recognize some ideas are distasteful, others harmful, and some are likely promoted by quacks. It is through our capacity to critically analyze ideas to decide which deserve our attention, which should be seriously considered, and which dismissed. Our human nature and our professional ethics lead us to Read More
Consider my friend and former colleague Mrs. D. Until recently, she was a first and second grade students teaching for decades. She knows the students that arrive in her classroom are diverse; some are readers and writers, some some are still trying to learn the alphabet. Mrs. D. is always looking for the next thing Read More
Lev Vygotsky, a man who was born November 5, 1896 and died at 38 years of age. His death at such a young age was due to tuberculosis. Vygotsky attended school in Orsha, which is is north of Moscow, Russia. After he completed his degree at Moscow University in 1917, he taught literature and psychology Read More