Dylan Smith

🇨🇦 Educator, Researcher, Writer.
Recent book: "Ready to Learn: A Crash Course in Development, and How Children Experience School"

[Dylan Smith @warmMagnet]

A new trailer for my book, "Ready to Learn: A Crash Course in Development, and How Children Experience School."

Thank you for sharing.

Available now at Friesen Press BookStore:
https://t.co/35rE5i9EJv

The book will become available in the coming days at your fav bookstores.

[Dylan Smith @warmMagnet]

Further reading on the "curb cut effect," a book excerpt/blog post of mine:
https://t.co/6B8ts2muy4

[Dylan Smith @warmMagnet]

This is a great classroom example of the "curb cut" effect.

[Learnus @LearnusUK]

Highlight 3️⃣:
Adaptations that help autistic students participate often boost engagement for the entire class. 📈

Learn evidence-based classroom strategies from Dr. Elizabeth Weir.

Watch it now⏱️!
🎥 https://t.co/GQ5ucglMuP
@ARC_Cambridge @bbkpsychology

[Ralph Pantozzi @mathillustrated]

I have observed that conservative educators seem to have little confidence in children.

They assume students

Cannot inquire or think for themselves
Do not bring useful knowledge to the classroom
Must be protected from difficult books and social questions
Should be sitting still and listening

[Dylan Smith @warmMagnet]

@jmdenouden @greg_ashman https://t.co/uQ1HiI626N

[Dylan Smith @warmMagnet]

@greg_ashman Not sure what you're calling out here.

Hunger likely impacts achievement at your own school, but it needn't compete for school resources. As a community leader, you could easily line up the 2-3 community partnerships plus volunteers needed to run an early morning breakfast club.

[Dylan Smith @warmMagnet]

@greg_ashman Not sure what you're calling out here.

Hunger likely impacts achievement at your own school, but it needn't compete for school resources. As a community leader, you could easily line up the 2-3 community partnerships plus volunteers needed to run an early morning breakfast club.

[Dylan Smith @warmMagnet]

@3dancingfeet Yes, they are a joy to watch—which I find interesting in itself!

[Dylan Smith @warmMagnet]

@sean_a_mcclure “Survival of the fittest” is often misinterpreted but it is not a popular misconception.

[Dylan Smith @warmMagnet]

@cbokhove @mathillustrated Isn't it a lot of navel gazing?
Doesn't the binary grow out of "Which is best?"
Can't each support the other?

[Dr. Tom D'Amico @TDOttawa]

Scottish Guidelines for AI in Schools - released March 2026 - focus on guardrails along with practical implementation and use cases https://t.co/K7ZspIipH3 #ai #aiEDU #aiLeadership

[Dylan Smith @warmMagnet]

@alephlove @olicav Thanks, Yudhistira, I'll have a look at that.

[Dylan Smith @warmMagnet]

I think there's some nuance to think about.

You have a case to say that critical thinking is constrained in the case of families of domain-specific vocab because those words/concepts can only be defined and understood in terms of one another. For example, to understand *area* of a *circle,* you must first understand *measurement* and *pi* and *radius.* Similarly, to learn and think critically about the words *sister* and *uncle,* one should probably receive instruction on *mother* and *father* too.

You get the idea.

But that’s not the case when we're speaking more generally—when we’re wondering about “critical thinking” as a natural behaviour. Why would any critical thinking theorist choose to enslave their theory building to a device as clumsy as a novice-expert binary? Lately, some on X have even brought up the question of whether novices have “enough” knowledge. How could we possibly define the word “enough”? Upshot: Please don’t leave “critical thinking” undefined and then tell me that someone needs enough knowledge to undertake it.

So let's pick up the eraser and wipe that white board clean.

A better working proposition would be something like this: Regardless of an individual’s age or breadth of experience, available knowledge/experience is brought to bear to interpret/navigate any and all situations.

And so thinking in general and even critical thinking in most situations does transfer. However imperfectly.

[Dylan Smith @warmMagnet]

@cbokhove I'll simply say I agree and leave it at that.
But remarkable is a good word!

[Dylan Smith @warmMagnet]

@cbokhove @dperkinsed @olicav @helenrey That's an unusually speculative paper.

[Dylan Smith @warmMagnet]

@helenrey @olicav @cbokhove I appreciate this question and do understand you are probably hoping for a response from another of my conversants. :)

But here's a question in return for you: Could we be making (one or more) assumptions when we ask, "What's best?"

[Dylan Smith @warmMagnet]

@cbokhove @olicav For sure.
If multiple effects were found to interact or even covary (and not simply compound), I might at least take that to mean "we're onto something."
Full disclosure: I could be a lot better acquainted with that literature.

[Dylan Smith @warmMagnet]

@cbokhove @olicav That's a problem in our profession because few edu consumers can recognize anomaly when it's dressed up, and before long they'd prefer to turn a blind eye to it.

[Christian Bokhove @cbokhove]

@warmMagnet @olicav Indeed, in Lakatos' terms how theories deal with anomalies is part of being a progressing or degenerating theory.

[Dylan Smith @warmMagnet]

@cbokhove @olicav Exactly.