21st Century Test Taking...

Here's an article that's sure to raise some eyebrows, but I agree with the need to move testing into the 21st century too! Check out the article at http://www.districtadministration.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=1199.

I attended a conference in Boston this summer where several international educators told how texts, notebooks, computers, and other student-created materials are expected at their national exams! Why limit the students to a relatively small body of knowledge that can be memorized and spit back on a test?

Would Pink agree? Is Souderton ready for this? What do you think??

Getting Pink: Applications & Implications

Now that we've had some time to read through particular sections I'd like to hear about the "bigger picture" of how this book has influenced your thinking.

Here are a few (example) questions that you might respond to: How will AWNM change the way you approach your job this year? What aspect of Pink's discussion is most on-target with your thinking? Pick a point and expand on it, (ie. brain-based issues, MBA vs MFA, Asia, automation, design, empathy, play, story, etc.)

I'm anxious to hear what you're thinking....Dave

PS - Welcome Gail Ryan to the blog. Seems likes lots of SASD folk are reading Pink this summer! I've sent her invitation, and I'm sure she'll be joining the conversation soon....

Late Comer to the AWNM Blog

Hello Everyone,

Sorry I'm late. Dave is correct, I have been reading A Whole New Mind (AWNM), along with Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat. I guess that is more my kind of summer reading--although I find the AWNM as entertaining as informative. I presented both books at the Cabinet and Principals' Retreats this summer. I think we need to lead our schools and classrooms into the directions that Pink is describing--a globalized, digitized world. I was really struck by Pink's line, "Now that Asia can do left brain work cheaper, we must learn to do right brain work better." Right on the money.

Needless to say my mind has been open to a new set of "21st century skills"--skills of the R-Directed brain that we as educators feel much more comfortable with than standardized tests, narrow assessments of narrow L-Direected standards, etc.. I'm only half way through the book, and am looking forward to discussing it with you and as many people as possible.

Dave--thank you for letting me in to your blog group--I know it is a sign of what's to come with everyone's professional learning.

A Special Welcome...

I had a chance to chat with Jack Silva a few days ago and found out he is currently reading A Whole New Mind too. I told him about our blog group and invited him to join us as we respond to Pink's ideas with our classrooms in mind.
Look for Jack to join us when he has a chance to set up his account. Welcome to the conversation!!

European Design

After my past three weeks abroad, I would like to report that the Europeans are already at the design phase with "going green" in mind. The hotels are all "green" - automatic devices that turn lights off when the key is extracted, air conditioning systems that maintain cool air but not freezing. (I was soo happy that I did not have to wear a sweater everytime I went into a building.)
The Smart car is everywhere. People walk and ride mopeds rather than drive large SUVs. I was in awe of their concern for the planet, and wished that our government would get behind the "green" movement. The antique roads inside city limits may have made this necessary as well.
I also noted furniture designs involved the whimsy needed to sell an old product with a new face. Art was everywhere - from the antiquities to the modern - Even the graffiti in Greece was very artistic!
I think the Europeans (gross generalization, I know) entered the conceptual age well before those of us living in the United Sates because of government involvement. The governments of the EU realized they needed to shift thinking in order to stay competitive. I believe the Europeans have always exhibited a greater concern for our planet and living in limited space provides many challenges. Without government involvement, however, is it possible to make this gigantic shift a reality?
Laurie

The Future Is Now!

I know the books' themes of Asia, abundance, and automation, but I couldn't resist a link that Pink cites on his own blog that seems to merge these three forces into one event.
There is no way this idea could ever beat our school secretaries! Check out the story at http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nb20070713a2.html

Teaching Ideas

Really enjoying reading this book! I have been reading it with a few goals in mind. 1 - to look at things with a new perspective & 2 - to find ideas of how to incorporate these ideas into my classroom. I found it interesting that a school's physical environment could increase test scoes by 11%; even though I share teaching rooms, I have been trying to find a way to make the students feel like it's their room.

As I read this book, if I see an idea for the classroom, I have been writing TI (teaching idea) in the margin. Some ideas so far are:
page 94- students design their own Nike shoes
page 98 - place an object on the table - students write how the object affects their 5 senses. The section on story makes it obvious how important it is to be able to tell a story well. A lot of focus is on informational writing and persuasive writing but can most students tell a good story with both context and emotional impact ? (page 103)
2 other writing ideas I like are telling students they must write about something in exactly 50 words (page 119/121) and the ideas of interviewing a relative to tell their story. 1 more! - showing students a picture and having them create a story about it. (page 126)
I thought the process from the author's 1st picture to his final picture was interesting - I can't draw either!
Hope you are all enjoying your summer. My family and I are traveling to Costa Rica tomorrow - I will keep reading but probably not have time to access to a computer.

New Learning

Hi all - I'm writing this post from the Building Learning Communities (BLC) conference in Boston. It's a conference dedicated to online learning pedagogies and resources.
I plan to bring all kinds of new resources and ideas back to Souderton.

Hi everyone,

I just finished the chapter on STORY. Really enjoyed all his examples of how important STORY is to learning better and more deeply. The practice of the "parallel" chart of interns, and mentionning of why "scrapbooking" has become so popular were really interesting .

The exercices in the Portfolio section of STORY are really fun and challenging! I also love how Pink lists so many web sites to explore! An absolutely GREAT book to read this summer. Thanks Dave! Got to go for now...Marcy

Concept Driven Lives

After completing Pink's book, I am more certain than ever that every educator should read this book. (And anyone who has an eye toward the future.) If we don't heed what he says and change what we do, we are doing our students a disservice.
I have always thought that humor is one of the surest signs of intelligence. Thinking of Jon Stewart's version of the news on the Daily Show reminds me of how intelligent he is. He needs to take the hard news and synthesize it into a humorous broadcast. I need to develop my sense of humor and help my students develop theirs. I tend to be very synical, but often in my synicism I see beyond the immediate. I think it helps me synthesize what is happening in the world and see it not as one event, but how it fits into the whole. The symphony.
Empathy is key to future jobs. Building empathy in our students is essential. Reading and discussing, role playing etc will help us develop this in our students. It is interesting to think about the role of the physician being downplayed and that of the nurse becoming more important. Our role as educator has always been empathic, but Pink does not write much about the future of education. I would like to hear his thoughts on this issue.
I think we should get together "live" sometime later this summer to share our thoughts. What do you think? I will be out of the country until July 25th but I would love to get together after that.

One quick thought

I don't mean to hog the blog, but I keep thinking of things I would like to run by the group. This book presents some very compelling arguments for change. It worries me when I listen to the discussions of our school directors. Their ideas of how to save the district money may limit our use of the concepts Pink suggests are most important to our 21st century students. (Maybe we should send them a copy of this book to read.) More importantly, how do we shift the paradigm without overwhelming the budget?

Design comments

Hi everyone. I've enjoyed reading all the fun facets Pink mentions about design. The "cutensils" caught my eye. We have been up in Quebec, and as I was looking around a kitchen store, I realized that the "cute" measuring cups that are now collapsable also caught my eye just because of their "nifty" design.

Also, the blurb about the evolution of cell phone design into "an accessorized expression of individuality" is so accurate and scairy to this "more seasoned" person! And that $4 billion worth of ring tones have been downloaded! Gleek!

I just saw the assignment about the online brain test, so I'll try to go there now! Marcy

Design

Thanks for the discussion so far. I hope to hear from some of our other members. I want to mention design as a way to help "connect" the two hemispheres. Good design results in a highly functional, yet beautiful and creative device, solution, or physical space. Design is often overlooked in our "factory" mentality. Ironically good design can actually increase efficiency - something our 150-year-old school model was set up to accomplish.

So perhaps the question to ponder is related to the idea Laurie brought up in a previous post - how could your classroom space be (re)designed to create a more powerful learning environment for your students?

Can't put it down

I hope you don't mind, but I am reading the book quickly. Pink's findings are fascinating. I especially like the idea of changes for the SAT. I agree with Pink in that much standardized testing is based on the old standards of our "knoweldge" society. It would be great to have an alternative to the SAT. I have often thought that jobs of the future would be in the arts. Looking around, where do we excell as a nation - the entertainment industry. Now, I don't believe everyone should be an actress or actor, but the entertainment field is burgeoning.
I like the idea of changing our social studies curriculum to focus more on a design aspect of society like CHAD did by integrating it with the history or culture that is being studied. We study communities in third grade. I can picture my third graders coming into my classroom on the first day of school, desks organized in the middle of the classroom and the students designing the physical structure of their learning environment. Do you think that might be too radical?
Since we study communities in third grade, it would be a great design project for us to design our own community. Students would take into consideration environmental aspects, demographic aspects, - what things need to be in place for the oldest part of the population and the youngest, etc. City planners could be brought in to talk to the students about urban planning. Dr. Dugan was on the right track when she proposed the outcome project for third grade social studies - to create an imaginary community. I think we need to reconsider what we are doing in social studies, but it is in that curriculum where I could see instituting some of these ideas.

Wow! That week flew by. I returned from Florida this afternoon.
My son and I enjoyed the Brain Quiz. I am more right brained (12to7), which did not surprise me. I like to see the big picture. I really did not know what to expect out of this book. I enjoyed reading chapter 1 ( on the plane today!) This book will apply not only to the classroom but also to my 2 teenagers who are just beginning to decide what career path to follow; the facts in chapter 2 about overseas hiring are eye opening.

Right Brainer

I must admit, I already knew it was highly likely that my right brain would dominate. There were a few questions where I could have answered with both possibilities. My final score was 11 to 8, so my idea that I had many tendencies of both, was correct.
I thought about the implications for my classroom. I have been working with the autistic support classroom for many years now, and I believe many of the high functioning students would have a dominant left brain - math often strong, but social skills limited for these students. Perhaps along with their social skills classes more emphasis could be placed on use of artistic drawings/pictures to help these students develop their right hemisphere. Maybe art therapy would be another alternative. What do you think about students with behavior issues ADHD/ADD?

Chapter 1

First, I would like to respond to Marcy. I found the filling in the vowels intriguing. I went with stamp in bag rather than stomp on bug. I wonder what that says about me (left side?). John and I were trying to decide which side is dominant for us, and we both decided that we were equally divided. I think I am a little more right brained though, but I cannot create art. I can draw something that is pictured by picturing it in my head and "tracing" the outline.
I look to my right side to value those students who may not necessarily be getting all the linear, sequential stuff. I think it helps to realize that there are some students who really have a dominance. I wonder what would happen if school curriculum would allow each student to develop his or her dominant side. Would the world function more appropriately? Would we see more gifted students?
I was reading about the charter schools in the newspaper yesterday where some of this theory is put into practice. It seems to me that the more we allow students to use their dominant sides, the better students they will be.

Chapter One - "Assignment"

Marcy, thanks for posting already! I wanted to give you all a chance to read through the first chapter. I have a fun little online test site so you can get an idea of your hemispheric dominance. Check out this link.

Please print out the page that shows your results so we can talk about the ways we're wired during some other discussions. How do you think this hemispheric dominance relates to the students in your classroom? How will it influence the way you design a learning environment?

Optional - related to the left/right issues is a test you've probably seen called the "Stroop Task". You are asked to identify words and colors in several formats - and one of them is much trickier than the others! Learn more at this site set up at the University of Michigan.

first chapter success!

Hi everyone. I've just read the first chapter, and can just feel how much I'm going to enjoy this author and book. First, I like how he compared the MRI as being "the high-tech Pringles can"! I can also "picture" what he means when he describes #4; the left hemisphere analyzes the details, the right synthesizes the big picture. The other part of interest was the explanation( on pg.21) of why, in other languages where you have to fill vowels in by context, that the brain's right hemisphere is the guiding force. Humm...very interesting! Marcy

I did it!

I figured out how to access the blog all by myself! I have ordered the book, and I should be able to post my first actual posting by next Thursday! I can't wait to read and learn!

First posting

This is my first posting. I can't wait to begin reading the book by Pink.. A Whole New Mind... maybe that's what I need.

First attempt at posting!

This is quite empowering! I hope to learn how to add a link! My students will be sooooo amazingly proud of me in September when I "WOW" them with my new "techie" abilities! Marcy

summer musings

Summer is here. On my fourth day of summer vacation I have already explored new ways to add fun to my class.

Daniel Pink's Web Site

I haven't explored this site, but I thought it might have some nice resources for us as we learn together.

Post #1

I hope I remember all this at home!

Welcome

Here is the blog that we'll use to extend our interaction for the Daniel Pink book study group. In case you need to purchase the book I've included a link to "A Whole New Mind" at Amazon.com. It's been out long enough to be in the used category too.

I look forward to sharing interactions on this site as we model the use of technology for our own professional learning. Feedback and questions are always welcome!

See you on the web....Dave