Fink (2003) proposed a taxonomy of significant learning that reflects the aspects of learning commonly cites by advocates for deeper learning. According to Fink, significant learning comprises: Foundational knowledge which is the information that is transferred in the Standard Model of Education as well as broader concepts that help organized information; Application which finds learners using the foundational knowledge to solve (or at least attempt to solve) Read More
Author: Gary Ackerman
Perspectives on Learning
One of the reasons there is so much debate about teaching and learning and what we should have students spend their time doing when they are in schools is that there are different theories about human learning. By theories, of course, I mean ideas supported by evidence that accurately predict and explain what we observed. Read More
A Short Rant on School Improvement
“School improvement” has been the mantra of school leaders for generations. The story for educators who have been in the profession for more than about 10 years is familiar: An innovative new approach to education is presented as the panacea for finally realizing the schools that we want and that the described in our vision Read More
Digital Badges: A Credential Whose Time is Now?
The idea of digital badges has been kicking around for a few years. The microcredentials are exactly what the names suggest: Badges are credentials; they are awarded when a learner has completed some experience that leads the awarder to believe the learners can do things now that they couldn’t do previously. Badges are micro-credentials; they Read More
Discussions for Deeper Processing
“What is it weakest part of your online or blended course?” is a question I have posed to faculty who teach online. A synopsis of one of the most commonly encountered answers is: I’m afraid my students feel the same about my discussions as I do. They post and respond, and I tell them “say Read More
Can We Agree We are Wrong?
There is so many ideas about teaching and learning that are kicking around in the literature, the blogosphere, and the popular culture that some of them must be incorrect–we know this is true because many of these are contradictory. Let’s clarify that we are wrong about three of these… and these are three that are Read More
A Short Rant on “Effective Schools”
“Effective schools” is a nebulous term. We could define schools in which students earn top scores on standardized tests as effective; likewise, we could define schools in which students write cogent essays (or create paintings, music, and dance) expounding the evils of standardized tests as effective. In fact, these schools may not be exclusive; perhaps Read More
In Case You Didn’t Know, Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution
I walked past the books in the discount retailer I was visiting to purchase storage supplies for my wife’s home office. When she arrived at the section she needed, she noticed I was not with her. When I finally caught up with her, she noticed the book in my hands: Walter Isaacson’s 2014 The Innovators: Read More
Learning Online: The Student Experience
George Veletsianos’s book Learning Online: The Student Experience is both very timely and ill-timed in the spring of 2020. We all now of the widespread and nearly-instantaneous move to remote teaching. Online teaching and learning is on our minds and urgent request for “how do I…?” are filling our inboxes. It seems a book (especially Read More
On The Nature of Schools
Schools can only be understood as multifaceted organizations, and the decisions that are made and the actions that are taken within them and the conclusions we draw about them only make sense if we are clear about how we are defining schools at the moment. Consider this incomplete list: Schools are political organizations. Public schools Read More