a good friend asked for some advice on how to best use her 30 minutes of mass transit commute time: reading vs meditating vs podcasting etc. I recommend podcasting and/or audio books, because they come in bite size chunks, and there are plenty of them avail for free at the library (i have a ton […]
Tag: classroom discussion
Hearing the Voiceless- Part 2
In the ongoing conversation re: Action research into an entreprenurial curriculum for middle school and high school age students, one of our fellow students offered a detailed set of interventions based on the initial readout from the first exploratory meeting, a reported by the “insider”. While the ideas were excellent and interesting, I felt moved to […]
Hearing the voiceless
a friend of mine is starting a Participatory Action Research (PAR) project inquiring into an entreprenurial curriculum that has both enabled and disabled students in her classroom. From an email, she said: I met with the students who are disabled, and we had a discussion on their feelings toward working with their counterparts who are […]
Transformational Leadership through Action Research
I have been convening groups of faculty and students to consider the future of our professional education in our college, and relating it to the larger issue of learning organizations and sustainability in the world. As part of this I have been considering the TRADOC white papers on Commander’s Appreciation and Campaign Design (CACD) and […]
Asking good questions vs :”knowing where you want to go” in participatory action research (PAR)
In the very beginning of a PAR (participatory action research) project, I would draw a distinction between asking good questions and “knowing where you want to go”. Going into the PAR with a preconceived notion of a certain outcome or of a preferred method of proceeding, particularly as a researcher, can lead to advocacy. It may […]
Pyramid Teaching: More discussions, better feedback
You’re a new teacher looking for ways to engage adult learners in interesting discussions in your class or you’re simply trying to find another way to encourage your students to think for themselves and share their ideas with others. Here is a technique called pyramid teaching that I think you will find to be very effective. […]
Learning logs
The learning log is a simple technique that you can use in the classroom or in your own personal growth to help you simultaneously improve in three critical areas: writing, thinking and reflection. It’s a simple technique that only requires paper and pencil and a little bit of time and a few simple instructions. Here’s […]
Socratic questioning: creating engaging discusions
If you do a web search on Socratic questioning or the Socratic method. You will literally find tens of thousands of entries. This article summarizes a number of the most important, questions that you can ask of yourself and of people you’re having a dialogue or an argument with that will lead you to deeper […]