Inspire Kids to Want to Learn

Windham LINK has discussed sharing current articles in Education that spark our interest. Today, we are sharing a blog post and TEDx Talk by Will Richardson. Richardson is a parent of two teenagers, international speaker and writer about the intersection of social online learning networks and education. He blogs about education (willrichardson.com) and is an outspoken advocate for change in schools and classrooms. 

In Richardson’s blog post, “Stop Innovating in Schools. Please.”, he suggests that innovative technology undermines our efforts to improve teaching, and ultimately, to improve learning. (Now, we are not in any way suggesting that Windham would be better off without our Chromebooks, SmartBoards, and MacBooks. We love our technology (and our educators) for sure!   

However, Richardson argues, “To put it simply, innovation in schools today is far too focused on improving teaching, not amplifying learning.” For deep learning to take place, “As learners ourselves, we know that real learning that sticks with us over time occurs when it’s built on passion, when it has an authentic purpose and audience, when it’s relevant to our lives in the moment and beyond, when it’s not constrained by time, and more.”

Richardson’s TEDx Talk, “The Surprising Truth About Learning in Schools” is thought-provoking. He explains that the conditions for powerful learning, require education that is fun, relevant to the learner, and has real world application; just to name a few of the conditions. 

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We can all recall that one teacher, that one class, that sparked our curiosity and ignited our enthusiasm for learning.  Sure, technology can assist in that process and is a relevant tool for 21st century learning. But it can’t do the work for our teachers or worse, our kids.  The kind of innovation Richardson is talking about, at it’s best, inspires kids to want to learn more.

We would love to see your comments here.