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Agency Through FortNite? Sure. Why not?
Fortnite, and other games like it, require students to practice “teamwork, collaboration, strategic thinking, spatial understanding, and imagination,” Stanford Graduate School of Education experts say. 5th graders would agree, although they didn’t realize it at first. I’ve been working with small groups of teachers to critically examine student agency, and how it is developed, nurtured, and
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Lucid Wonderings
I’ve been overwhelmed lately by life changes – my Navy daughter moved to the East Coast for her first duty assignment; my boyfriend and I bought a house; my work responsibilities have increased; and I have resumed teaching college courses parttime. All of these changes had my mind and my heart going in a million
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Book Read: Building a Better Teacher
I thought I knew the history of American education. After all, I had studied John Dewey in school, and isn’t he the source of all things education? Guess not, according to Building a Better Teacher by Elizabeth Green. Turns out, there was a lot of misguided efforts to create a teacher education program, and a lot
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You Have To Find Ways Around Things
I received this email from a colleague: In the mix of conferences… What if…. We completely reimagined what that looked like??? How would we make that change? It made me think about IDEO’s blog vignettes called “Thoughtless Acts.” Human-centered design requires us to observe human behavior with beginner’s eyes, so that we can spot the
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I Want Your Absolute Worst Thinking
“I want your absolute WORST thinking…” The other day I was co-presenting a session to educators that focused on why design thinking is needed in K-8 classrooms. We talked about the need for empathy, for designing a new future, for “soft” skill development, etc. You know how it goes… you sit and listen to a
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Innovate Forward: Our Story
When you know your ‘why’ then your ‘what’ has more impact, because you’re working towards your purpose. – Michael Jr. Today I was fortunate to present at the online #InnovateSD conference hosted by San Diego County Office of Education, thanks to an invitation extended to me by PowerSchool Senior Director of Educator Engagement Mike Lawrence.
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Empathy is Always Worth the Time
There are days when we all probably ask ourselves, “Is anyone actually listening?!?” Then I read tweets from teachers like this, and I realize the ripple effects from a pebble can travel much farther than seen from shore. Meg is one of those teachers I get excited to know and work with because she is
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The Pyramid Scheme of Bloom and Maslow
I’m not sure when I was introduced to the triangle guys… Bloom and his taxonomy, and Maslow and his hierarchy… but it was early on in my teaching career. I remember being told how important it was that students learn the basics before moving up the hierarchy of thinking. I also remember being told that
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Concierge Culture of Change
Sometimes, we have to acknowledge that people have baggage before we can offer to take it off their hands. In shifting our educational culture, we need to see ourselves as the hotel concierge. When someone asks for help, they may not know what exactly they are seeking. It’s the job of the concierge to figure
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Lucid Curiosity
I have a tendency to share articles, podcasts, books, movies, and anything else I consume with those around me. I have friends who tell me they keep folders in their email account full of my shares so they can hold on to them for later. And so I figured, why not share them with everyone.
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Beware of the person of one book.
During lunch today, I was skimming Facebook and came across a post from an awesome teacher friend Autumn with the following intro: ISO: 21 Generous friends who are looking to bless one of my students for the year! I was intrigued. I kept on reading… Each month I receive the Scholastic Book Club fliers to
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So You Want to Create a Flexible Learning Environment…
Curated resources for those looking to create a flexible learning environment for students.
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Laura K Spencer, Ed.D. 