Learn Lots!

As I was reading through a book on coding today (Saldana's, for the record), I was reminded of an idea I'd had previously.  He used an example a study on oppression among teenagers.  This reminded me of a previous roommate of mine who did her thesis on the presence of shame and its effects in certain situations.  In reflecting on that idea since then, I've realized that we as a society sometimes use shame to modify behavior.  For example, if someone is wearing an outfit or sporting a hairstyle we consider strange and thus socially unacceptable, we ostracize or verbally demean them. The shocking thing?  Using shame as a modifier has little to no effect on behavior that I've ever observed.  However, our attempts to reform someone through applying shame seem to take effect in the way they feel about themselves.  It is obviously not an effective strategy and shouldn't be employed even if it was.  Awareness about this issue might prove helpful not on...

This is an idea that has been burning inside my head since yesterday.  It was inspired by the presentation on Design-Based Research by Dr. Brenda Bannan of George Mason University.  The basic concept of such research, as I understand it, is applying design to other widely accepted research methods.  My thought was, why not apply the same concept to teaching and learning? As it often does, my mind flew to the realm of Elementary Education.  What if it was possible to create a charter school that taught students to design in addition to or as a way to teach content?  The possibilities are endless!  Students then leave the school not only with content knowledge, but with design as a strategy for problem-solving.  It's a skill they'll be able to use for the rest of their lives! I believe this idea could also have implications for higher education.  What if in teacher education, for example, we taught students how to design?  It's a skill that...