Critical Question Mapping

Critical Question Mapping is a “technique for fast learning” developed by scientist and innovation consultsnt Dr. Terry Barnhart.  In critical question mapping, a group led by a facilitator generates the questions that need to be answered in order to accomlish a strategic goal or objective. Then the mass of questions are organized into coherent groupings by the participants ( you can also show connections between groups, sequencing etc. and other relationships).

8th grade students had a strategic objective of “Forming a perfect government”:

 

 

 

Making Learning Stick with S.U.C.C.E.S.S.

Interesting post at the wonderful Eide Neurolearning Blog regarding learning, creativity and memory:

Made to Stick Learning

Urban legends, conspiracy theories, Internet memes, and popular advertising campaigns all have something in common: they know how to make information ‘stick’ – now if we can just apply some of these tools to education, we might really have something. The brothers Heath in Made to Stick have come to an interesting conclusion about creativity – not only is it not highly unpredictable or idiosyncratic, in fact it’s just the opposite – it’s systematic and that means it can be taught.

In an interesting Israeli study assessing the effectiveness of advertising campaigns, researchers found that instruction in certain successful creative approaches improved the creativity and positive attitude ratings 50% higher than non-instructed controls.  In a similar vein, the Heaths began analyzing extra-sticky ideas and stories and found that they often shared the following qualities:

Simple
Unexpected
Concrete Imagery
Credible
Emotion-Provoking
Stories

The pattern makes sense if you think about how the brain is wired to remember (novelty / surprise, imagery, association, emotions, stories) and in regards to simplicity, the brain’s limitations regarding working memory. The Heath’s have a nice Teachers Guide (see below), but the emphasis is on helping students to realize how using the SUCCES  approach can focus and target their communication, but we could also envision a different Teachers Guide providing suggestions and examples for how to help teachers focus their own communication.

Imagine if lessons plans incorporated simplicity, novelty, imagery, and compelling personal stories on a daily basis! Michael Sandel’s great Justice course (bottom video below) shares SUCCES elements and that might be a reason for its extraordinary popularity.

Made to Stick Teachers Guide pdf

Boys, Learning, Gaming & the Culture of Public Education

Great TED talk on how the culture of public schools clash with the learning style and cultural interests of many boys and inhibit their reading and writing performance. Not “anti-girl” or “pro-boy” but a “pro-learning” presentation.

http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf

RSA Animate with Sir Ken Robinson: Changing Educational Paradigms

A great animated overview of how public education is changing/needs to change in the 21st century:

Children as Autotelic Learners

Education scientist Sugata Mitra tackles one of the greatest problems of education — the best teachers and schools don’t exist where they’re needed most.