This is a lovely episode that I recorded towards the end of the summer featuring two of my favorite people in education and edutwitter, Becky Lim and Dr. Matthew Rhoads. Becky and Matt are enthusiastic about the potential for edtech in the classroom, and in this episode they share some of their strategies for developing … Continue reading S2E5: Becky Lim and Matt Rhoads on EdTech and Global Collaborations
Instructional Videos: Perfect for Learning Styles, Popular with Students, and THE FUTURE of Education!
Last week I attended a government-sponsored training on instructional video that began with three weird reasons for why teachers should use more instructional video: Instructional videos cater to students' learning stylesInstructional videos are more popular with students (i.e., they like them) than alternative methodsInstructional videos are the future of learning I'm sure fans of this … Continue reading Instructional Videos: Perfect for Learning Styles, Popular with Students, and THE FUTURE of Education!
Transferable Skills Are Cool. But Do They Transfer?
There is a widely-held theory that by learning an instrument, playing chess, or even swinging a Wii remote around in P.E, students' cognitive abilities and academic skills will increase, which will help them be better thinkers across the subjects. This isn't a new theory; people used to think taking Latin unlocked something inside you so … Continue reading Transferable Skills Are Cool. But Do They Transfer?
How to Make the PYP Design Space Accessible, Flexible, Responsive?
Since moving into the role of PYP design teacher I have been playing with ideas about how to provide students access to their design space, which at my school we affectionately call The Pit. The students come to me two or three times every 8 day cycle for 45 minutes at a time and whenever … Continue reading How to Make the PYP Design Space Accessible, Flexible, Responsive?
New Workshop in Beijing: Hands-on, Minds-on: Keeping Play Cognitive
Note: For participants of this workshop, here's the presentation: Hands on MINDS on Final I'm excited to announce a new workshop that I'm leading at The Future of Education Now Conference (#FOEN2019) at Western Academy of Beijing. It is one based around some my recent explorations in cognitive science research, and creativity & design. It also includes … Continue reading New Workshop in Beijing: Hands-on, Minds-on: Keeping Play Cognitive
Lessons from Cognitive Science that I’ve Used to Improve my Teaching
I recently gave a presentation called The Cognitive Science of Creative Subjects at Learning2Asia, a conference which I thought was an incredibly well-run by Nanjing International School. The format of the workshop was really fun: Teachers do mostly hands-on, design-related experiments on themselves to sort of demonstrate how different principles in cognitive science work. I also … Continue reading Lessons from Cognitive Science that I’ve Used to Improve my Teaching
What is Instructional Design and does it Matter for K-12 Education?
Instructional design (ID) is the systematic design, development, and implementation of efficient and effective instructional solutions for the purpose of improving learning and performance. Put more simply, instructional design is a reliable way of thinking and acting to design quality instruction. Instructional designers design instructional and performance solutions in a variety of settings, from private corporations … Continue reading What is Instructional Design and does it Matter for K-12 Education?
NEW WORKSHOP: The Cognitive Science of Creative Subjects at Learning2 2019!
I'm (Zach) excited to share that I will be presenting at yet another conference, this time at Learning2 in Nanjing, China. Take a look at the description of the workshop below, which I hope will merge some of my passion for utilizing research to inform teaching with my work in creativity. Hope to see you … Continue reading NEW WORKSHOP: The Cognitive Science of Creative Subjects at Learning2 2019!
11 Books to Start a Book Club for Teachers
I love professional book clubs. If schools are serious about teacher agency and differentiating professional learning for teachers, administrators should consider teacher book clubs as an option. The following is an updated list of 10 books for professional book clubs that I've had the pleasure of either facilitating, attending, or just think could be great if … Continue reading 11 Books to Start a Book Club for Teachers
Does Design/MakerED/STEM even need a curriculum?
I get the sense from some in the creative subjects that the simple practice of putting something down in the form of a written curriculum is too restrictive or too cold and methodical to be worth doing. While schools tend to provide math and reading teachers things like off-the-shelf resources, scope and sequences, and pacing … Continue reading Does Design/MakerED/STEM even need a curriculum?
Education Rickshaw 