Because of my engagement in the first session, I decided to continue with Daniel’s Q&A session. Again, these are my notes so I hope I will use them in the very near future. I would love to brainstorm some ideas on change in our district – if anyone is interested. By the way – you have to read “A Whole New Mind” to really get the gist of the conversation.
Here it goes…
What is your best guess – to jar the shift into action – while NCLB is in place?
- “Difficult – takes time and work. Begin with conversation with teachers, principals, and Superintendent. What are we doing to prepare kids for the future? Get conversation roaring! Make the case in a left brain way. White guys in suits and guys that are left brained. Show the numbers! What are you doing to smuggle some of this into the classroom. Educational subversiveness with conversations with people who can make change. “You think change is difficult – you should try irrelevance.”
What do you think of Presidential Obama “getting it” and could change come from the top down?
- “Maybe but I am not going to hold my breath. I wont bank on it. That would be more of a 2nd term priority. Economic downturn, Infrastructure, losing jobs, health care system, moving current energy system to renewable energy is huge agenda for the president elect. What can happen is to start classroom by classroom, building by building”
Story – what are the thoughts of simple power of story meets technology?
- Sometimes using technology can overwhelm story. Don’t obsess over transitions – obsess over the value of what you are saying. Adventure of Johnny Bunko – look for artists in US. Were extreme expert in drawing – not expert in storytelling. Technology Tools can amplify storytelling by telling it and distributing it.
If you Dan are middle left brain – how did you get over to the right?
- I need to get better. Cary a Notebook “design” look for really good design and really bad design. right down 1 good instance of design, 1 bad design. Some stick, and most are thoughtless. He now Notices things now that he wouldn’t have years ago. Empathy – learn more about facial expressions. Working to be better.
Do you have daughters – you as a white guy with a tie support women in STEM careers.
- Brains are similar – and are differences btw woman and men. Empathy – woman more empathetic than men. Design, story, play meaning – not as much differences. Is STEM education misaligned to women? More competitive than collaborative. Sometime engineering is disconnected from the world. Education needs to engage in real world problems, teamwork, project based.
If you look at how schools use technology, (currently scheduled in the day) – how is that conducive to problem solving?
- Not conducive to problem solving. We didn’t have pencil labs. Its a tool – lets use it to do something. Older school design is problem. Time is the issue because we work in a locket time design. This an industrial age issue. Conceptual age is different and is out of sync with society in a 45 segment. Startup time end time. Web 2.0 technology extends classroom time. Too often in school kids get a problem that is clearly defined, single disciplined, and has 1 right answer. Compare that to the Workforce where we have big problems that are poorly defined, multiple disciplines, multiple answers, and none of which are perfect.
Tear down the walls. There are too many. english, science, ect… Need more collaborating. Infuse arts education throughout the curriculum. Cognitive skills will be more used in workplace. Urgency of establishing new metrics. You have to have old metrics, right brain are harder. JSPE – measure empathy. Level of empathy. Students with higher schores on empathy. Empathy is being taught in medical schools around america. Teachers have very little autonomy. Involves time and task and techniques.
