“Mindset is engineered to make learning feel better; but the things that genuinely lead to long term learning are (often) the ones that feel worse. You cannot growth-mindset your way around that trade-off, and you certainly cannot believe your way around it; you can only teach a student to recognise the discomfort for what it is, and to carry on regardless.”
And this is what makes a Principal’s job so hard. Sure there are crap administrators out there, just as there are teachers. Teachers don’t want us painting broad strokes about their competence, but will do it in a heartbeat to Principals. Teachers want us to judge them individually, but will say quickly how EVERY Principal sucks.
"When every small mistake is magnified while poor behavior from others is expected and excused, people who hold themselves to those high standards will eventually feel defeated."
The Danger of Inconsistent Expectations https://t.co/wjPsh1Prl7
“Somewhere along the way, education started confusing complexity with rigor and entertainment with engagement. But learning itself is already demanding. It does not need to be constantly wrapped in gimmicks to matter.”
New from yours truly: Schools can’t fix the problem of "languishing teens" on their own and probably shouldn't try. But what happens after 3:00 PM shows up the next morning in classrooms as disengagement, anxiety, and lack of purpose.
https://t.co/7IImF164vi
💬 A point from Barb Oakley I found really interesting:
when students learn math w/ manipulatives, the concept can become tied to the object, which can make transfer harder. Manipulatives exist because companies sell them. Ultimately, math is a mental sport. Full episode below
When you ask for differentiated instruction, the teachers tell you that they have to teach to the middle.
When you expect to see good results in the middle, teachers say they're too busy differentiating.
Smokescreen, pipe dream, motte & bailey that hurts everyone. No thanks.
In the last 15 years, we’ve molded a school system where the students who follow the rules get the least attention…because all the energy goes into managing the ones who don’t.
School used to be this incredible communal experience with shared stories, shared challenges, shared identity.
Now it feels like everything is fragmented.
Maybe the future of school isn’t new. maybe it’s a return to community. I think kids are craving this.
Some learning happens by what teachers are doing in the classroom.
But a LOT more learning happens when teachers think about/examine/study how what they're doing in the classroom is effecting learning.
There IS a difference.
In practice, many forms of "active learning" become mostly passive when implemented for the class as a whole. Discussions, group projects, etc., are often structured in ways that make them passive for most students, most of the time.