Gladwell, Malcolm. (2008). Outliers: The Story of Success. New York, NY: Hachette Book Group.
Here I've attached a Prezi Presentation of what I've taken from this book. It has made me reflect back into my past and consider various aspects of my family history. I've included questions that may help you consider your current life and what success you have found.
Reference:
Gladwell, Malcolm. (2008). Outliers: The Story of Success. New York, NY: Hachette Book Group.
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The second half of "Outliers" reaches beyond the immediate conditions and circumstances of the individual to their roots, surpassing their own lifetime and going back generations before them. Chapter six focuses on introducing the idea of "culture of honor" (Gladwell, 2008, Pg. 167). "It's a world where a man's reputation is at the centre of his livelihood and self-worth" (Pg. 167). The origins of a type of people establish certain characteristics due to the conditions of their habitat that forces them to live a certain lifestyle in order to survive. What it comes down to is behavior that would benefit "personal" gain, that appear to be "racial and ethnic stereotypes" (Pg. 169). Despite what we believe and how negative this type of thinking is, there is some truth to it that can not be avoided. Research conducted by psychologists Dov Cohen and Richard Nisbett discovered that even men in early 1990's who were not raised in similar circumstances as their ancestors, nor were they even part of the bloodline of the ancestors of the area they grew up in; they were university students raised in modern cosmopolitan conditions, exhibited similar behavior pre-known and pre-established to its location (Pg. 174). To sum it up, the chapter ends with how, "[Cultural legacies] persist, generation after generation, virtually intact, even as the economic and social and demographic conditions that spawned them have vanished, and they play such a role in directing attitudes and behaviour that we cannot make sense of our world without them" (Pg. 175).
Personally, I can understand this statement even within the boundaries of a city. I'm Vietnamese born in Vancouver, BC, Canada, and even so I have accumulated certain characteristics of the area I grew up in. I once had a mentor who was able to pin point which area of Vancouver each person was from simply by their "accent." I didn't even realize I had an accent (that wasn't because I was Vietnamese). Amongst my colleagues we can even "stereotype" truth to the various types of students in different areas of the city. We have all experienced the difference between teaching on the East Side versus the West Side, the "poorer" versus the "wealthier." I grew up on the East Side, whereas my husband grew up on the West Side. The difference in location has taught us different views of life and different challenges that have created us to encompass the already established culture of the area we grew up in. In Chapter seven, Gladwell, continues to explain how legacy is defined by our Ethnic background. He uses the examples of airline companies and how "mitigated speech" plays a role in how we communicate with one another. This refers to "any attempt to downplay or sugarcoat the meaning of what is being said. We mitigate when we're being polite, or when we're ashamed or embarrassed, or when we're bing deferential to authority" (Pg. 194). To further explain the relationship of migrated speech with ethnicity, Gladwell introduces "Hofstede's Dimensions" which aide in analyzing cross-cultural psychology (Pg. 202). This includes "individualism-collectivism scale," which different cultures can be measured by "how much they expect individuals to look after themselves," United States being at the highest end of the scale (Pg. 203). Another scale used to measure culture is the "uncertainty avoidance. How well does a culture tolerate ambiguity?" (Pg. 203). Finally, what Gladwell wants to focus on is the scale of "Power Distance Index (PDI)." "Power distance is concerned with attitudes toward hierarchy, specifically with how much a particular culture values and respects authority" (Pg. 204-205), United States being at the low end of this scale. Essentially, where you are on the PDI will affect your use of mitigated speech, and according to Aviation experts the battle against mitigation "accounts for the extraordinary decline in airline accidents in recent years" (Pg. 197). As a result, we can understand relationship types within each culture can affect an individuals' actions, which we need to realize does not determine their actual intentions.
As educators who are faced with huge diversities, and encounter students of varying cultures, we need to really focus on clear communication, and take away the expectation of how students need to respond. Instead, we can teach them what we may see most effective and to remember that, "Each of us has his or her own distinct personality. But overlaid on top of that are tendencies and assumptions and reflexes handed down to us by the history of the community we grew up in, and those differences are extraordinarily specific" (Pg. 204). What a great reminder to consider the differences in our students, and to make the effort to create a relationship with each student to have positive learning experiences. For the second half of Part 2: Legacy, we examine how learning can be affected by language and time frames. In Chapter Eight: Rice Paddies and Math Tests, we see that, interestingly, humans can "store digits in a memory loop that runs for about two seconds" (Pg. 228). In Western number-naming systems, it requires long words to pronounce compared to Asian languages, which are faster to say. Therefore, in Chinese, the same numbers that are said in English would be orated faster, and hence, in Chinese, a longer string of numbers can be memorized in two seconds. How understand numbers also affect how we calculate numbers. "The regularity of their number system also means that Asian children can perform basic functions, such as addition, far more easily" (Pg. 229). As a result we find math skills are not correlated to IQ. If there is a slight advantage because of language what can be done to improve those who don't have it? In reference to the "Rice Paddies" we are introduced to how time can have an impact on our work ethics. Rice farmers "improved their yields by becoming smarter, by being better makers of their own time, and by making better choices. [... ]Throughout history, not surprisingly, the people who grow rice have always worked harder than almost any other kind of farmer" (Pg. 233). In comparison, we see non rice farmers generally "hibernating" during winter time. The differences in these two types of living philosophies could still be identified today, "Go to any Western college campus and you'll find that Asian students have a reputation for being in the library long after everyone else has left" (Pg. 238), which leads us to the other part of time. With tenacity built into Asian culture, they are more likely to take more time to solve math problems, and they know that the harder they work at something the bigger the reward. Therefore, "Success is a function of persistence and doggedness and the willingness to work hard..." (Pg. 246). If time improves the chances for success, how do we encourage students who have the time, to actually use it towards their own success? Gladwell ends chapter nine with the debate of whether or not extended break, more particularly, summer break, actually affects learning. With multiple studies arguing that students should be given time to rest and prevent "exhaustion" (according to Western culture), research by Karl Alexander states otherwise. His results show that, "The only problem with school, for the kids who aren't achieving, is that there isn't enough of it" (Pg. 259). The story of KIPP Academy exemplifies the benefit of extra time given to students and staff. Originally established in one of the poorest neighbourhoods in New York City, the school helps elementary students of low income families, who appear to fall behind, to meet or surpass standard expectations. Time allows those who are unable to afford continual learning over summer break, or even weekends, that wealthier students have access to, to make up for that loss time. It also allows more time for teachers to explain lessons, allowing better understanding, increase retention, decrease stress, allow time for games and questions, and most importantly, give meaning to their efforts (Pg. 262). All in all, what I've discovered from this reading is that despite our background, our culture, the influences of our community, our parents, we each have a chance if we take opportunities that are given our way, and to make good use out of it. Instead of settling for what we know of ourselves, we work hard to use it or change it. In schools, we need to really encourage students to make choices for themselves, and to do so, we must show them what the bigger picture looks like. I know that I will always face that challenge and I know that I won't be able to help them all, but at the least, I know I have to try my hardest if I want them to do so as well. Reference: Gladwell, Malcolm. (2008). Outliers: The Story of Success. New York, NY: Hachette Book Group.
Reading Austin Kleon's book was quite amusing, but not really life changing in terms of how I approach the online world. Along with the few other reads I've included in this post, what I really got, was some interesting advice and perspectives to consider.
"Show Your Work!" went through ten points on "A New Way of Operating," 1. You don't have to be a genius. Thank goodness, because I am far from it. Kleon introduces a term I've never heard of before, "scenius;" where achievements are not because of the individual but the collaboration and connections to others. My effort is to make those connections, especially through Twitter, because I seem to lack both genius and scenius, and what I'd want is to express my work and get feedback for improvement. 2. Think process, not product. Another word I haven't heard of before, "documentarian." I actually find that documenting breaks up my rhythm and takes up a lot of time, extending the amount of time it would take me to finish something. However, as an educator, I should know better. The process is always the learning aspect, documenting only helps it further; and when others can give input along the way, that extra time, will actually help in the end result. 3. Share something small every day. Why every day though? Just like the video on "Instagram i love you" there needs to be "chill" time between posts. Therefore, "something small" needs to be really emphasized. Otherwise, time commitment could be an issue. Saying this, I'm glad Twitter really limits the amount of text you can have per tweet, forcing you to really think about what you want to say - clear, to the point, and worth it. 4. Open up your cabinet of curiosities. "Sharing is caring" and to be able to do it correctly, it needs to be done honestly and sincerely. Others will appreciate it, and I'm sure they would do the same in return. "You give a little, you get a little," and the Golden Rule are recurring advices that doesn't stop when you grow up. For example, referencing work is a pain sometimes, but it's the right thing to do. 5. Tell good stories. My problem with this chapter is, I'm no writer. In fact, I'm sure I have plenty of grammatical and punctuational errors in my posts. My voice must sound boring, I think I do at least. But this is all I have, and I sure hope it's good enough. Maybe because I just don't talk much in general, such as to people I barely know, I'm sure I'm not the only one out there that feels this way. 6. Teach what you know. Or teach what you don't know. Many of my posts and what I share are based on what I generally didn't know and how learning came from it. I think it's important to not pretend that you do know something and be willing to let others give you guidance. Empowering others allows growth in so many areas. 7. Don't turn into human spam. Some things to add to my list of what I do not want to be: a "hoarder," a "spammer," a "vampire." What I do want to be: a "contributor," a "quality" follower, a "fellow knuckleballer," a "IRL" (in real life) friend. 8. Learn to take a punch. This part of the chapter is difficult for me to accomplish. I'm quite sensitive to how people respond to me and when it's negative, the punch feels extra hard. Honestly, I would probably cry if it wasn't for all those years in the performing arts. Even with my difficult students, it's hard to keep my cool sometimes. I'm not sure how I can simply not care. It's easier said than done, that's for certain. 9. Sell out. Kleon ends this chapter with, "You just have to be generous as you can, but selfish enough to get your work done" (Pg. 177). That's what it comes down to, your work, let's not get that mixed in with who you are. There is a greater goal in reaching out and trying to understand this global age, but we still have individual lives and we still need to survive. Addicted to social media, not getting any work done, and getting lost from your passion is dangerous. When I did my diploma in Interior Decorating and Design, they taught us to never giver our services, including consultations, for free because we are trained and certified. But in this day and age, no one wants to pay for ideas and recommendations and qualified advice, because they already get it all for free. There is a certain amount of selling and a certain amount of giving that needs to be distinguished. Money is always a hot topic, and I think everyone will have to figure that part out on their own. 10. Stick around. My biggest fear, is self motivation. When you build up and find yourself in limbo, stuck, lacking momentum, then what? What if you take a sabbatical and come back with still nothing? What if you've exhausted all your options? Again, Kleon makes it sound easy, and I know they're just suggestions, but that's like saying, "Just do it," (no reference to Nike). The benefits of all this is, in my opinion, is to be a better professional in my job, as a teacher. If I conduct the appropriate activity and exemplify my work as if it were representing my CV, then not only will I be comfortable sharing the tools with my students and showing them how they can prepare their own "portfolio," I could connect with them better, and continue to build on my own skills from others in the profession. Lead by example, but never fail to follow.
This Twitter Chat turned out better than I had expected! After nearly a week of trying to hunt down a chat that I could attend, I discovered a handful of chats that were listed to be scheduled but did not occur. I also found another handful of chats that were cancelled for the whole summer or changed from a weekly chat to a "slow chat" which would include one question per week.
Then I started trying to enter chat's that were "live" during times I was free, but I would always catch them midway through or just about to end. Finally, I came across #blogchat and thought it started out well, but then I quickly realized no productive conversation was going to happen. I left and tried to see what else there was at the time and found this, #txeduchat. At first, I skipped it, because it was a chat organized by a state that I had no personal connection to. Then I thought, why not? We're connecting through the Internet! I'm grateful that I decided to join, because in the end, it was a learning experience that I was really looking for and being selective doesn't help one bit.
Malcolm Gladwell has opened my eyes to a new understanding of what the meaning behind "success" encompasses. I immediately got intrigued because of his ability to story tell with a voice that has depth. The next reason was because he started off Chapter 1: The Matthew Effect with reference to Vancouver, British Columbia, my home city. Furthermore, he gets into the facts of hockey, and our Vancouver Giants hockey team, who are actually in fact, still a great team. Hence, he has roped me in.
What's interesting about this chapter is the relationship to a verse in the Bible and how Robert Merton, a sociologist, explains that, "It is those who are successful, in other words, who are most likely to be given the kinds of special opportunities that lead to further success[...] Success is the result of what sociologists like to call "accumulative advantage"" (Gladwell, 2008, Pg. 30). The success found in hockey players specifically had the advantage due to their birth date and cut off dates of league recruitments. These same standards fall under anything that has a cutoff, for example school. Students born earlier in the year, have had more development time and more exposure to learning. Gladwell continues to explain how the amount of time matters as well. To reach mastery level, to be really good, you have to reach 10,000 hours of practice and experience. The examples given are of Bill Joy and how he came to be the "Edison of the Internet" due to "a combination of ability, opportunity, and utterly arbitrary advantage[...]Achievement is talent plus preparation" (Pg. 37-38); The Beatles and their opportunity to play in Hamburg gave them 8 hours of stage time, 7 days a week, for a total experience of 1,200 live performances before they were "successful" in 1964 (Pg. 50); and Bill Gates, who grew up having access to computer time and programming for nearly seven consecutive years before he "dropped out of Harvard after his sophomore year to try his hand at his own software company[...]He was way past ten thousand hours" (Pg. 54). However, I really wonder where this number came from. Why 10,000 hours and does quality of what is done in that time get quantified? I would assume then, practice, practice, practice, as anyone could have guessed, will get you closer to achievement according to one's own standards.
The most amusing thing that Gladwell uses to analyze, is the list of the top 75 wealthiest people in history, "Of the seventy-five names, an astonishing fourteen are Americans born within nine years of one another in the mid nineteenth century" (Pg. 61). Gladwell explains it is because, "in the 1860s and 1870s the American economy went through perhaps the greatest transformation in its history. This was when the railroads were being built and when Wall Street emerged. It was when industrial manufacturing started in earnest" (Pg. 62). Bill Gates, however was born in 1955, but that doesn't change the fact that there was a historical cultural influence to his success as well. He grew up during the right time when the personal computer age started in January 1975, when Gates would be in his prime at 20 years old.
In the next couple of chapters, Gladwell tells us what's "The Trouble with Geniuses." He introduces the concept of a threshold. Where, yes IQ has a significant part of one's success, however, after surpassing a certain level other variants come into play. Chris Langan vs. Robert Oppenheimer exemplifies how two exceptional individuals with high IQ proved success depended on their "practical intelligence," their personality. Oppenheimer, who "headed the American effort to develop the nuclear bomb during World War II" (Pg. 97) was a "successful" physicist. Langan became a married man with an IQ of 195 who lived on a horse farm working on a project that he may not ever publish. Support from family, teachers, and community play such a great roll in one's development. Gladwell ends the first part of his book with reference to Joe Flom, the partner in a law firm in Manhattan, NY. What Gladwell really wanted to emphasizes is the influences outside of Flom's intelligence, personality and ambition, including his Jewish background, the demographic luck, and the garment industry and its meaningful work (Pg. 119). Going through the stories of others, Gladwell displays how "autonomy, complexity, and a relationship between effort and reward in doing creative work[...]is meaningful. Being a teacher is meaningful" (Pg. 150). I wish it was all so simple in finding happiness from hard work. From a teacher's perspective, the work we put ourselves through sometimes don't match this type of "meaningful" because we don't see immediate affects in all our students. We still see students slipping through the cracks because there is only so much we can do to help with the resources available. Essentially, what did I learn? According to Malcolm Gladwell, the "Outlier" is someone who has the advantage because of a number of specific opportunities that enhance one's own talent and abilities more so than others. Their birthdate and how it relates to deadlines associated in the areas of their interest, and how it relates to the culture of where and when they were born is a factor. Furthermore, it depends on the people around them, especially their parents, their teachings, their cultures and traditions. It depends on how wealthy their families are and the type of work and discipline they go through. It also, depends on the resources and the time to accumulate experience in a specific field. These are some of the items that need to be considered in regarding one's achievements. When we think of technology and what the future holds, we need to think of how we can produce more "successful" people. Family support, student individualized learning, practice time, community involvement, and funding is required now to foster students to grow up prepared to do great things with what the technology age will offer them. References: Gates, Bill. (2013, May 8). Bill Gates: Teachers need real feedback. TED. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81Ub0SMxZQo Gladwell, Malcolm. (2008). Outliers: The Story of Success. New York, NY: Hachette Book Group. Hill, Richard. (2008, August 4). The Beatles - A Taste of Honey (Live in Hamburg). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQH7Xa4A-os techonomyllc. (2010, November 2). Techonomy LLC: The Philosophy. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuzMM6ELKko
CHAPTER 8: HANGING OUT, MESSING AROUND, AND GEEKING OUT
Quote: "This kind of learning [geeking out] highlights the importance of understanding the power of collaboration. It includes the ways in which the social functions of hanging out and the exploratory functions of messing around can be harnessed and compounded, through collaboration, to produce specialized knowledge networks and Internet-based communities and organizations." Yet another way to look at the "new culture of learning" is through a series of "practices." The transition of change includes a "focus from social agency to personal agency" and to take technology as an "extension of oneself." The process must lead to personal interest and identifying the self amongst many to share with. Question: The chapter ends with an excellent question that I in turn ask myself, "How can I utilize the available resources, both social and technological, for deep exploration?" The last thing I want, is to find my blog and all my work in the various social media whither away because I cannot uphold the time and effort that is demanded to do so. Because I am new to all this, I feel as if my work is slow and extremely hard to continually proceed, unless it becomes indwelling. Connection: Finally, I understand where this class was going with the three badges we are to be awarded at the end of the course, which is named to reference this exact chapter. I can clearly see where I stand, from "hanging out...learning how to be with others in spaces that are mediated by digital technology" to making my way to "messing around...[and] begin to take an interest in and focus on the workings and content of the technology and media themselves, tinkering, exploring, and extending [my] understanding." Now, I must visualize my own goals in able to reach "geeking out."
Images by Jeffery Heil
Epiphany/Aha: What I think it all comes down to is practice. With any skill we would like to specialize in, effort and time is needed. Problems will arise, and in this digital age, with so much information out there, help to surpass them is right around the corner. Teaching, is the same way. We must be patient, allow time for natural growth, but guide and direct the students in progressive steps to learn from media resources as a way for them to learn for themselves.
CHAPTER 9:THE NEW CULTURE OF LEARNING FOR A WORLD OF CONSTANT CHANGE Quote: "In order to succeed, players immerse themselves in the game, creating and constructing identities, relationships, and practices that constitute deep and profound acts of imagination. And that act of immersion is itself, at base, an act of imagination and collaboration." What's important to note here, is the "deep and profound acts of imagination," is what will enable one to adapt to a changing environment. The skill to do so is developed through practicing creativity, and to be creative requires the knowledge of what already is the "norm," then to move past that and contribute. Imagination essentially, from my understanding, is a full cycle, a wheel that spins and takes you to various places, never treading on the same path twice; yet, at the same time requires leading and following as part of nature. The more help spinning that wheel, with the power of many, will allow greater growth in unfamiliar areas. Question: How do you prevent gaming from becoming an addiction, over consuming of one's time, and distracting from other learning opportunities? Connection: The problem I've faced when introducing "games" in the classroom, is getting students to break out of their shell. Furthermore, it's difficult to make time for games that can only focus on a small chunk of material while taking a long period of time to play. Although, quite effective, there is too much in curriculum to cover with not enough time to teach all in the same manner. Finding a way to introduce a gaming environment as ideal learning environments will be harder said than done. Epiphany/Aha: "...if a game is good, you never play it the same way twice." A great quote for teachers, and myself, to ensure that our lessons be as interesting as unique to the group of students per class and to avoid settling for comfortable and easy. To be good requires thought and direction for multiple ways of learning. Material used in classes should constantly be updated and reformatted to improve one's own practice. Reference: Thomas, D. & Brown, J. (2011). A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change (Kindle Ed.). CreateSpace.
CHAPTER 4: LEARNING IN THE COLLECTIVE
Quote: "In communities, people learn in order to belong. In a collective, people belong in order to learn. Communities derive their strength from creating a sense of belonging, while collectives derive theirs from participation." Here, what is emphasized is that the best type of learning is through peer-to-peer interactions that happen on a neutral foundation; where skills and talents are shared on common grounds. Additionally, the level of participation does not require specific expectations of involvement. Question: The problem is, figuring out the balance of all types of learning, in the collective and as an independent. How do we teach students the proper skills to be able to actively succeed in these collective environments? Connection: This chapter really hits home on this exact website, my Weebly blogs, and my intentions for it. Not only is this a space to record my assignments, but I am hoping, that this will help me continue to keep me connected to others who share similar career goals beyond this course. "The power of a blog, for example, rests in part with the author or authors who start it [myself]; in part with the readers who leave comments [my cohort peers]; in part with those who link to, cite, reference, or respond to it; and in part with the readers, who may do nothing more than have their presence recorded by a web server [everyone else including those connected through my peers, "friends of friends," and even those who follow me on twitter]." I would like to keep learning by investment into these spaces. Epiphany/Aha: What appears to be successful in these collective learning environments are the empowerment participants must feel, to be able to "take on the role of mentor at any time" in subject areas of their passion and interest. As well, there are no tests or evaluations monitoring their efforts, hence no right or wrong answer. I've tried a number of times to provide my students with the opportunity to be empowered and responsible for their own learning. Now I can understand how unnatural it is to nearly force these "expectations" on my students without taking away the evaluation aspect, and why instead I receive results of inert attitudes. CHAPTER 5: THE PERSONAL WITH THE COLLECTIVE Quote: "Adding one's personal perspective to the mix, and allowing the personal to be addressed and transformed through interaction with others, puts identity in play. The collective is, in the most basic sense, a group constantly playing with and reimagining its own identity." In determining the understanding of what the collective is, the personal contribution of every individual needs to be recognized as part of its establishment. Both personal and collective are "intertwin[ed] and remix[ed]" together as a whole, allowing all participants who interact to benefit. Question: How do we reach out to families, parents, to support their child(ren)'s with networking as a means to learn and grow outside the classroom, and to eliminate the stigmatism that they are just wasting time? Connection: Networking activities occurring amongst students are recognized by law, and the "California law is strongly protective of all forms of student free speech," so long as the content does not "create a risk of substantial disruption within the school environment" even outside of school (Kemerer & Sansom, 2013, Ch. 6). Henceforth, it is the educators that need to enforce the same expectations and respectable behaviour, that is established by the school, to be student responsibility. By leading by example, and allowing opportunities for "practice" in a controlled setting, students can learn how to learn on their own. Epiphany/Aha: I have had great difficulty in evaluating group projects, even when groups are selected by students, or managed by myself, or a bit of both. "[Their] personal sense of identity and agency" does not match with their assigned collective, something non-personal, makes complete sense. The trouble is finding middle ground, where all participants could contribute the way they would online. However, because the subject matter is unfamiliar and new, there will always be students reluctant to be involved. So then what? I really need to consider how to blend students' interest and passion with new material within an assignment; and not simply create an assignment by first expressing new material, then adding in aspects of possible student interest. CHAPTER 6: WE KNOW MORE THAN WE CAN SAY Quote: "With just a small shift, from answering questions to asking them, inquiry emerges as a tool for harnessing not only the passion of students but also the stockpile of tacit knowledge that comes form a lifetime of experience doing the things that have become second nature to them." There are a couple of ways to categorize knowledge, as explicit or tacit; stable information that are "easily identified, articulated, transferred, and testable" or experiential "through all our senses" and non-transferrable. Both affect how each person learns according to their gained interest and flexibility, followed by the boundaries they are placed in. The important factor here is realizing that asking questions requires the test of their imagination and thus provokes a "style of learning inquiry." Question: As educators, how do we gauge how much and how long of an experience is required for learning to succeed, and how could it then be evaluated if each person learns differently? Connection: Through my 20% Time Project, I had created 10 Inquiry Questions that I used as steps to proceed. Honestly, they have been useful in guiding my learning experience and forced me to explore areas that are unfamiliar. Epiphany/Aha: The example provided by the text, shows how teaching physics by using the student's interest in basketball as the content had only "[cloaked] a typical physics problem with a basketball theme." The problem I face, is asking a more open ended question, like "What is the best way to shoot a basketball," and hope the students use physics as part of their answer, or worse find that they've only conveyed what they know and failed to explore the variety of answers possible. The challenge then is to really understand how my 20% Time Project is teaching me, and adapt the use of inquiry to the classroom under a different context. Reference: Thomas, D. & Brown, J. (2011). A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change (Kindle Ed.). CreateSpace.
Question: To be successful in this type of mindset, schools still need teachers to aide learners to build these skills of leadership and confidence to interact and socialize appropriately. How does teaching come in to play here exactly? Furthermore, to be able to make any changes in accommodating this new type of "culture" then how do we reach out to the rest of society, including all school stages from elementary to post secondary (and beyond) and parents to support this?
Connection: This book continues the trend of the various books and videos I've already referenced in my previous blog posts, especially to the teachings of Sir Ken Robinson. When looking for his talks on YouTube, I also came across this great visual representation of how the school system needs to change in order to have "life long learners" called "The Future of Learning":
Epiphany/Aha: Although the chapter focused on introducing what the "new culture of learning" was, it ended with a guiding statement "to clarify what we mean by "culture."" At this point, I didn't really think about "culture" needing defining; however, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that to be a better teacher in this 21st century, I need to know what exactly I am signing myself up for.
CHAPTER 2: A TALE OF TWO CULTURES Quote: "...learning should be viewed in terms of an environment - combined with the rich resources provided by the digital information network - where the context in which learning happens, the boundaries that define it, and the students, teachers, and information within it all coexist and shape each other in mutually reinforcing way." When understanding what the "new learning culture" is, the key word here is, "coexist." Learning is best seen as a "symbiotic" relationship between student, teacher, and resources, the individual and the world wide web, as part of one environment and as "organic" and non "mechanical." Question: If engagement requires the embodiment of the world "within" and culture cannot be created but adapted to, where does it all begin? With the creation of most things, there was a beginning, a foundation that was build on to what exists today. Where does the act of creation from beyond the available resources come into play? How do we bring something new to the table instead of just "re-creating"? Connection: This chapter completely reflects my experiences in this course thus far. To be part of this Internet Culture, I've been trying to quickly learn the use of various applications, including Weebly, Pinterest, and Twitter. These various networking programs have been created to adopt members who want to be part of each. There are limitations and boundaries, but they are all resources for a greater type of learning. To be able to understand the capabilities of each, it has helped me to intertwine them to convey my own work. Epiphany/Aha: The part in this chapter that really got me was how "people today often describing schools as "broken."" I am a victim to this. Even in the video I've included in Chapter 1, noted schools as "broken." To visualize the education system as an environment rather than a machine, "it makes no sense to talk about them being broken because environments don't break." Therefore, I must re-evaluate how I understand the change in learning, as not a problem to be fixed, but rather as solution to a better means. CHAPTER 3: EMBRACING CHANGE Quote: "As information is constantly produced, consumed, updated, and altered new practices of reading, writing, thinking, and learning have evolved with it." When we look at the term "evolution" we can imagine the slow change that occurs in environment and the transformation of inhabitants that go along with it. The same could be seen with the evolution of learning, and how we have progressed from how knowledge is acquired. Through technology, interactions within these "informational spaces" are gradual and contain endless "new possibilities, rather than something that forces us to adjust." The idea is that this change is natural and should "embraced." Question: Not everything that changes is for the better of society though. Look at cancers, deformities, abnormalities that cause more damage than good. Viruses, obscene content, predators, all of which are part of the online network. Therefore, what are the ideal fundamentals and basics that should be taught at the traditional level? We are still in the process of change, so what is priority? Connection: After reading this chapter, I immediately thought of this YouTube clip I came across when looking up the various videos to respond to. "The history of technology in education," goes through the timeline of "technological" tools in the classroom, and clearly depicts what has changed and what hasn't. The teacher-student relationship in education is still prominent and is probably one of the factors that is still existent; how the teacher teaches, and how the student learns is what's focused. Epiphany/Aha: This chapter has reminded me of how standardized testing, along with evaluation in general, is questionable of its efficiency. The example given of learning taking place without any formal testing, is with the Harry Potter books, "To most people, that doesn't sound very much like "real" learning. What good are made-up facts absorbed from a fictional universe?...The important thing about the Harry Potter phenomenon is not so much what the kids are learning, but how they were learning." With change in resources, content, teaching methods, and physical space the consideration of assessment needs to also be included in the discussion. References: The Future of Learning. (2012, March 1). 2 Revolutions. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoSJ3_dZcm8 The history of technology in education. (2011, October 3). SMART Technologies EMEA (Education). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFwWWsz_X9s Thomas, D. & Brown, J. (2011). A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change (Kindle Ed.). CreateSpace.
I've decided to read "Outliers: The Story of Success" by Malcolm Gladwell for a number of different reasons. When I looked through the list of Suggested Readings for my EDL680 class and saw this book, I immediately thought, "Where have I heard of this author before?" Then I remembered, Gladwell's trending book, "What the Dog Saw," was a big deal in Chapters & Indigo along with a number of other bookstores I went through.
In fact, my husband read "What the Dog Saw" and enjoyed it. His cousin is currently reading "Outliers" and also recommends it. With personal ties to this author, I want to see what the hype is all about. Even on Goodreads, it is currently rated 4.07 out of 5 from 272,716 ratings. Content-wise, it will be interesting to view Gladwell's perspective of where success is from and the details he pin-points. The challenge will be knowing how to take the information and apply them to teaching our students. |
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April 2016
Kay's Books
Some very interesting concepts of how the education system needs to be adjusted.
Very informative. Although quite repetitive and a few oddly worded parts.
by Austin Kleon
Easy read. Interesting perspective and reminder for many aspects of how to look at one's own work and work habits.
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