#teacherlearner

“Inquiry is a dynamic process of being open to wonder and puzzlement and coming to know and understand the world.” An online e-book with downloadable PDF version with built-in multimedia components and related links. Chapters include building a culture of inquiry, discipline-based inquiry, teaching and learning in an inquiry-based classroom, rsearch/scholarship, and leadership.

"...[A] strong base of content knowledge makes us blind to the lengthy process of acquiring it. This curse has implications for all teachers... As a result, we end up assuming that our lesson's content is easy, clear, and straightforward. We assume that connections are apparent and will be made effortlessly. Assumptions are the root cause of poor instruction. And acknowledgment is the first step to recovery."

"Because success with technology depends largely upon critical thinking and reflection, teachers with relatively little technological skill can provide useful instruction. But schools must support these teachers by providing professional development and up-to-date technology for use in classrooms." This is the NCTE 2007 policy brief on 21st Century literacies summarized in the form of a blog post.

Can credentialing programs teach how to be "the guide on the side"? This post suggests that is coming, but what is more important is attracting teacher-learners with a distinct set of personality traits. This is not an issue of training: "Whether students engage, persevere, and open their mind to novel solutions depends on their resiliency, grit, curiosity, creativity, and empathy. Psychologists refer to these as 'personal assets,' but they’re far more mysterious than a bank account, and they don’t originate in a textbook, so how do we teach them?"

"Research on the growth mindset shows that students who believe they can grow their basic abilities have greater motivation and higher achievement than do students who believe their abilities are fixed, and that teachers can influence students’ mindsets. The beginning of the new school year is a great time to establish your classroom as a growth mindset environment."

Many interesting ideas, not all of which I agree with. But, most importantly, this: "I'd like to see the creation of a parallel conference, call it the Applied Educational Research for Improvement conference (AERI). At AERI, all of the presentations would be collaborative endeavors between researchers and practitioners and there would be a commitment to using what was learned in real time as part of improvement efforts." I couldn't agree more.

"I began to make a list some time ago to document the many ways I work to resist the corporate snakes who slither around my feet and try to strangle the love of learning out of my school....The following is simply a quick guide to resisting from within." This is an outline for a course I want to teach for teachers about personal and professional identity development.