Games, not grades!

If you’re interested in education, motivation, or doing right by our kids, you owe it to yourself to watch this Edutopia interview with James Paul Gee.
In eleven minutes, he offers an array of compelling insights, including:
  • How games, unlike schools, avoid the mistake of separating learning and assessment,
  • Why we should use textbooks the same way we use game manuals,
  • Why you can often learn more with a peer than from an expert.


HT: Dan Pink

Put Understanding First

The high school curriculum should start with the long-term goals of schooling: meaning making and transfer of learning.A local newspaper reporter asks students attending the town's high school to give their school a letter grade from A to F. One young man, a senior, rates his high school a B. When asked to explain, he replies with a single word: "Boring."A first-year algebra teacher tries to remain enthusiastic in the face of student apathy. Although she attempts to engender a love of math in her students, many typically respond with the same questions, "Why do we need to learn this stuff? When are we ever going to use this?" She's aware that her answers are not convincing. Read more...