Book Review: The Real World of College (Fischman & Gardner)

We conclude that if higher education in the United States is to be successful in the twenty-first century, it needs to be sharply REFRAMED. Pervasive issues of mental health and belonging must be addressed; extensive onboarding is needed with respect to the centrality of the academic educational agenda; any goal that is not strictly tied…
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Book Review: “Potlach as Pedagogy” (Sara Florence Davidson & Robert Davidson)

“Potlatch as Pedagogy” was recommended to me by Mike Carlson, a teacher at Wandering Spirits school (TDSB) and an Indigenous educational consultant. This book strongly resonates with “The Nordic Secret” and “Ecological Learning“, in that the approaches are student-centred, holistic and reciprocal. What I really enjoyed about this book was the 9 Principles of “Sk’ad’a”,…
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Book Review: Blended Learning in Action (Tucker)

Inspired by colleagues to pick up this book, written in 2017, and one in a series by Catlin Tucker, it is a very practical guide to Blended Learning in many ways. Written more for individual teacher and leaders in larger boards, there are many insight, charts and resources that can support a sustainable approach to…
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Book Review: “The Yes Brain” (Seigel & Bryson)

This book has strong resonance with “Reframed” by Stuart Shanker (Which I reviewed HERE), but it is written with families in mind. In “Reframed” the big takeaway is “See a child differently and you see a different child.” In “The Yes Brain” they write: When we see our children’s behaviour as communication that’s letting us know…
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A Time to Reflect

Having just read @jgravel‘s post on integrating reflection into her practice, I’ve been inspired to examine my own use of reflection in my sphere of influence. One area that I am responsible for is experiential learning. One of the key parts of really good experiential learning is the reflecting on experiences. This is captured in…
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Reframing XR & AI for the Future of Education

Are you afraid of Artificial Intelligence? Does it conjure up a scary version of “The Singularity”, mass unemployment, or worse: The Terminator?!   I’ve blogged before about the acronym VUCA and the present and future (that theworld is Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) and AI  and XR play a role in making the future and…
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“Education is about Relationships” ~ Science

After this past Friday’s Cohort 21 3rd F2F, I was prompted to think about why these days resonate so powerfully. There are all those ‘ways of knowing’ that are intangible and quite personal that tell me that these days work for me, that I learn deeply, that I am changed by the information of others….
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Project Based Learning: Levelling Up

Project Based Learning is far more than simply setting students on a path to complete a project on a given date. Rather, Project Based Learning is a complex pedagogy that requires attention, a shift in one’s role as a teacher and one’s mindset. I believe that Project Based Learning is a combination between student skills and…
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Book Review: Competing Against Luck

Clayton Christensen, in his latest book “Competing Against Luck”, puts innovation under the microscope. Like all things under a microscope, minutiae is revealed, studied and made clearer. He frames his book as an answer to below: Is innovation truly a crapshoot? Or is innovation difficult because we don’t know what causes it to succeed? You…
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