Bring IT Together has come and gone. I presented a half-day workshop on Wednesday and the closing keynote on Friday. What a fantastic experience! There were over 120 people at the workshop and for a Friday afternoon I was pleased with the attendance. Huge shout out to my PLN! You were so encouraging and it was so appreciated.
A few thank yous are needed (and further down are many links) Continue Reading
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This week we spent time considering ideas, and how to think about them.
I had circulated through the class asking, “What have you always wondered about?” and recorded their thoughts. These thoughts became the resource for our work in thinking. It is a hard thing to have one’s thought put on display before the class, so the first thing we did for this activity was detach ourselves emotionally from our ideas. The questions and wonderings now belong to the class to consider using system 2 thinking.
Part 1 Continue Reading
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It is only a few weeks until Bring IT Together, Ontario’s education technology conference.
I am thrilled to be presenting an introductory workshop on Integrative Thinking on November 4th and even more thrilled to be providing the closing keynote on November 6th. I think it’s very important that front line workers, those testing out new models of learning directly with children, have the opportunity to share our Continue Reading
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My use of the knowledge building circle is becoming more deliberate and refined. This year I’ve introduced it earlier and we go to it more frequently. Continue Reading
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I am often asked by those wishing to improve classroom practice, “Where do I begin?”. Every teacher develops systems to start the school year and I have over the past few years devised, brought together and refined a series of activities to launch students into deep thinking and complex problem solving. Continue Reading
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Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending and presenting at Canada’s first Civic Design Camp held at the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto. The purpose of the day was to bring designers, public servants and innovators together to learn a process of design while working on real problems.
Reinventing civic society by design is gaining traction globally, but it was surprising to hear how far along some cities are. The mayor’s office of Boston has an innovation lab where new ideas to improve citizen experience are prototyped and tested with room for failure built right in. Clever ideas are improving citizen experience. As Nigel Jacobs said, “Good design makes people like you.” Spothole (a tool for getting potholes filled quickly), “Where’s My School Bus?” and City Hall to Go are some of the interesting solutions that have Continue Reading
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What would happen if an entire community became
better at thinking, collaboration and complex problem-solving? Continue Reading
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After 5 years of testing ideas in my classroom, and after the resounding success of the Spring Workshop for Educators, I am thrilled to bring a full day workshop to Ottawa on August 26. Continue Reading
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“By age 25, 20% of Canadian youth will have developed a mental illness.”
For those who work in education, this is no surprise. While organizations like the Continue Reading
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This winter/spring I have had the good fortune to be part of the Rotman IThink Practicum along with a small group of educators from TDSB, YRDSB, HWDSB and Bishop Strachan. This practicum grew out of a project that took place last year, during which Continue Reading
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Currently exploring complexity theory, decision-making, and system change in K-12 education.