Mythbuster on Learning by Doing

A reader talked recently about the robotics program at Ingraham but whether it's robotics or shop or the arts, Adam Savage is right.  Kids learn from doing.

Comments

Unknown said…
A reader talked recently about the robotics program at Ingraham but whether it's robotics or shop or the arts, Adam Savage is right.

Lahore Board 9th Class Result 2015
4/20/15, 8:26 AM
Catherine said…
Adam Savage right... over a century of educational results make it clear that hands on is a vital component of learning. But today we have a bunch of consultants talking in the ear of elected leaders saying "there's no evidence" of that. SMH
4/20/15, 9:33 AM
Helen said…
There must be something else to discuss aside from school testing. What more is there to say? There are other things happening in the district.
4/20/15, 12:12 PM
Melissa Westbrook said…
Helen, I'm sorry you missed the Friday Open Thread where several other issues were discussed. Or the story on state funding and local levy money. Or the story on naming the Wilson-Pacific building.

But this forum is NOT just about the district. The national attention on public education has forced us to look beyond our boundaries because there are issues going on that affect our district.

For now, those two big outside issues are ESEA (NCLB which includes assessments) and opting out of testing going on right now.
4/20/15, 1:30 PM
n said…
I've always believed that the hands teach the brain. No, I've no proof but I didn't coin the phrase either. Especially for our young students who are still in concrete learning mode and that is provable.

Also, several students in my classroom have been getting a little sick and visiting the nurse frequently. We adults finally talked about it and it turns out they are hungry. They didn't know it was hunger. They just knew they were feeling sick. Sometimes before and sometimes after lunch. Well, we decided to try feeding them before lunch when they felt sick and after lunch when they felt sick and guess what? They were no longer sick.

Lunch for my primary kids is late. They are hungry. The kids who felt sick after lunch simply weren't eating their lunch. They were headed to recess . . .

This actually happened. I don't know when administrators parted ways with educational decisions that were based on the best interests of kids. But it has happened. And I don't see it changing any time soon.
4/20/15, 9:19 PM
Anonymous said…
Why is testing such a prominent topic? Because, that's pretty much all schools are doing now until the end of the year. And, that's all we've been doing for a month. Yesterday, our secondary school math teachers spent the day teaching the SBAC equation editor. Not the the test, not math, not anything that will be on the test, and not test taking strategies, but the computer interface. Eg. How to represent fractions, exponents, mathematical symbols in the SBAC editor. More obscure, how to create graphs and delete various graphical items. Teachers also pointed out salient editor functionality relevant to the test, like a calculator icon, and a well hidden delete button. Since all of the school's computers are already being used for testing, no computers were available for this editor instruction. Instead, teachers had to lecture and demonstrate with the overhead projector... on how to use the SBAC editor. Next up, SBAC practice. Of course, students could just as easily do this at home if they have a computer and internet access. And finally, the big moment, the actual SBAC, which will take about a week per test.

Reality Check
4/21/15, 5:26 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday Open Thread

The speaker list is up for the Board meeting tomorrow; not as packed as I thought with just four people on the waitlist. The majority of the speakers are speaking on high school boundaries (with several wanting to talk about Ballard High). There are only three of us speaking about the Green Dot resolution asking the City to not grant the zoning departures that Green Dot has requested.  It's me, long-time watchdog, Chris Jackins, and the head of the Washington State Charter Schools Association, Patrick D'Amelio.  (I knew Mr. D'Amelio when he headed the Alliance for Education and Big Brothers and Big Sisters; he's a stand-up guy.)
Read more

Breaking It Down: Where the District Might Close Schools

Update 2: an absolutely fabulous interactive map made by parent Beth Day (@thebethocracy on Twitter - she covers Board meetings and is fun to read).   end of update    Update 1: Mea culpa, I did indeed get Decatur and Thornton Creek mixed up. Thanks to all for the correction. end of update   I suspect some who read this post will be irate. Why do this? Because the district seems very hellbent on this effort with no oversight skid marks from the Board.    To clearly state - I do not believe that closing 20 schools is a good idea. I think they hit on 20 because they thought it might bring in the most savings. But the jury is still out on the savings because the district has not shown its work nor its data. I suspect closing schools and THEN leasing/renting them is the big plan but that means the district really has to keep the buildings up.   But this district, with its happy talk about "well-resourced schools" is NOT acknowledging the pain and yes, grief, that is to come fro
Read more

MEETING CANCELED - Hey Kids, A Meeting with Three(!) Seattle Schools Board Directors

 Update 2: So I have seen a message from President Liza Rankin on why she, Director Evan Briggs, and Director Michelle Sarju backed out of this meeting.  In a nutshell: - She says there was no organization to the meeting which is just not true. They had a moderator lined up and naturally the board members could have set parameters for what to discuss, length of meeting, etc. All that was fleshed out. - She also claimed that if the meeting was PTA sponsored, they needed to have liability insurance to use the school space. Hello? PTAs use school space all the time and know they have to have this insurance.  - She seems to be worried about the Open Public Meetings law. Look, if she has a meeting in a school building on a non-personnel topic, it should be an open meeting. It appears that Rankin is trying, over and over, to narrow the window of access that parents have to Board members. She even says in her message - "...with decisions made in public." Hmmm - She also says that th
Read more