February 2, 2014
Categories: Elections, Politics
Tags: corruption, Myth
Corruption is by far not the main factor behind persisting poverty in the Global South. The Corruption Perceptions Index map does not tell the whole story [Transparency International] Transparency International recently published their latest annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), laid out in an eye-catching map of the world with the least corrupt nations coded in […]
January 31, 2014
Categories: Education, Lessons
Tags: classification, constructionism
eymour Papert and Idit Harel The following essay is the first chapter in Seymour Papert and Idit Harel’s book Constructionism (Ablex Publishing Corporation, 1991). It is easy enough to formulate simple catchy versions of the idea of constructionism; for example, thinking of it as “learning-by-making.” One purpose of this introductory chapter is to orient the […]
January 31, 2014
Categories: Pedagogy
Tags: metacognition, problem-solving
Fact Sheet: Metacognitive Processes Metacognition is one’s ability to use prior knowledge to plan a strategy for approaching a learning task, take necessary steps to problem solve, reflect on and evaluate results, and modify one’s approach as needed. It helps learners choose the right cognitive tool for the task and plays a critical role in […]
January 31, 2014
Categories: Pedagogy
Tags: class presentations, collaboration, discovery
E. Lee May, Salisbury State University, defines IBL : Inquiry-based learning (IBL) is a method of instruction that places the student, the subject, and their interaction at the center of the learning experience. At the same time, it transforms the role of the teacher from that of dispensing knowledge to one of facilitating learning. It repositions […]
January 31, 2014
Categories: Pedagogy
Tags: learning by building
The culmination of my quest for more powerful learning grounded in theory and research came when recently I conducted an experiment in pushing constructionism into the digital age. Constructionism is based on two types of construction. First, it asserts that learning is an active process, in which people actively construct knowledge from their experience […]