When Rittel and Webber (1973) first defined wicked problems, they concluded that leaders cannot reasonably identify a single solution to a given social problem. They observed “that diverse values are held by different groups of individuals—[so] what satisfies one may be abhorrent to another, [and] what comprise problem-solution for one is problem-generation for another,” and Read More
Author: Gary Ackerman
The Nature of Data
Different problems require different data, which require different methods. All education researchers must understand the nature of the problems they study and the nature of the methods available so that the correct data can be ethically gathered and reliable conclusions can be drawn. Quantitative methods are used to gather numeric data, which are analyzed using Read More
Ideas About Education that Deserve Our Attention #2
Mark Deuze (2006), a scholar from Indiana University, Bloomington, identified participation, remediation, and bricolage as skills needed for the 21st century media landscape. Social networking sites and media sharing sites are examples of technologies that encourage this participation. The Internet provides access to vast information from sources of dubious reliability; this necessitates individuals take a Read More
Ideas About Education that Deserve Our Attention #1
This is the first is a series of posts I intend to share in which I describe some ideas, concepts, and research about teaching and learning in digital landscapes that educators have not given sufficient attention, in my opinion. In many cases, these are ideas that held educators’ attention for a short time, but they Read More
On Electronic Portfolios
Over the decades I have been working with digital technologies, teachers, and learners; electronic portfolios have been a recurring topic. The story usually plays out like this: I arrive in a school (maybe k-12, maybe college) and there are groups (often departments in colleges) in which there is interest in adopting electronic portfolios. I hear, Read More
A Short Rant on the Future of Education
Education is a well-established social institution. In modern history, it has served the multiple purposes to prepare young people to participate in the economic, political, and cultural life of the society. They have also been developed to prepare novices to enter professions and function within organizations. For many decades, that society was stable and slowly Read More
Competence over Compliance
In courses organized around the instructionist recitation script, the ability of students to comply with the presented knowledge and provide expected answers is the valued outcome. In deeper, active, and authentic learning environments, students who show the greatest ability to apply multidimensional capacities to propose reasonable and fact-based solutions are the most competent learners. Mehlenbacher Read More
Teachers and Mindsets
I begin this post with three stories: First, I had an hour-long conversation with a teacher (while waiting for my son at the airport). He complained about students; he complained a lot. That is not unusual; all teachers have always complained about students, but this was different. He appeared to be blaming students for all Read More
Education for the Future
In drawing parallels between the history of life and the history of societies (including our 21st century society), biologist Geerat Vermeij observed, “the most effective adaptation for dealing with unforeseen circumstances is adaptability” (2010, 81). This theme has appeared in the literature regarding teacher preparation as well. Ben Williamson (2013) used the term flexible specialist Read More
Our Social Brains
Late in the 20th century, a diverse group of scholars (medical researchers, psychologists, computer scientists, philosophers, and others) started applying amazing new tools to the human brain. These tools include philosophical and epistemological tools (ideas to help us think about human learning), clinical and therapeutic tools (methods for studying patients in hospitals and similar setting), Read More