What Professional Articles Have Caught My Attention

It is funny how the articles just seem to crop up when I am thinking about a topic. This week, I have been delving into some interesting work on thinking about how teachers and students function in this ever-changing world. I always compare my working, theoretical knowledge to the practical application that I see come from my children's experiences in school. So, 4 great articles that I recently read:

Redefining Teachers with a 21st Century Education Story:

(Thom Markham)

I love  this article because it reaches to my core identity: story-teller and story lover.  Life is a series of interconnected stories, so re-imagining the teacher's life in terms of a beautiful story is appealing. As a summary, the first part of the story is somewhat tragic, but the end can be a beautiful tale. This story is woven with the a future that teachers will co-invent, a global vision, an opportunity to instill a new definition of  "smart" and with a collaborative spirit. 

Navigating Chaos: The New 21st Century Skill (Thom Markham)

This article gets at the heart of what we need to foster as a new currency.  The ability to work in chaos.  This article by Thom Markham (I discovered his work this week!) makes a case for why we need to engage students in meaningful learning (PBL), but also challenges the conventional idea of getting lost in standards-- as he writes, "Chaos is not compatible with fixed, written standards that define what one ‘ought’ to know. We should aim at something more fluid and personal." Also, the idea of critical v. non-binary thinking is worth a few minutes of your time. As Markham asserts, "Teach them [students] to navigate the multi-polar chaos and choose their sources wisely."

How to Foster Collaboration and Team Spirit (Thom Markham)

This article frames a nice discussion around Collaboration and Teaming.  The approaches in the article is geared toward student teams, but they apply just as well to adult teams.  As we know, adults often have difficulty working in teams, so his advice and strategies serve as god talking points for adult teams in schools and the district to ponder.

What Do Students Really Think About Teaching and Learning:  (Dr. Mary Ann Wolf)

The last article that garnered my attention is this one by Dr. Mary Ann Wolf from the Friday institute at NC State. This article in may ways frames the thoughts that I have had for a while. Though standards and assessment are important, the less tangible aspects of students are what really drive instruction.  Often, Wolf argues, that we leave the voice of the student out of discussions about learning and teaching.  This article will remind you that the need to have student voice , relationships are key to learning, and students want to have a sense of context for learning.

Then, there is this TEDx talk that I have used for a few  trainings over the last month.  It is simple, but what strikes me is that I had the realization while watching this TEDx talk that students do not need to come to school to learn, and the mindset of  educators needs to be that our goal may very well be not what students are learning but how they are learning.  This video is from 2010,and its relevancy is more urgent today.

This reading has been enlightening.  The ecosystem in which we live is defined by chaos and vastness. Though the world seems smaller in our global view, the problems and intricacies in the world require more of us. Something different from us as students and teachers.