Kevin Washburn posted an article on
Clerestory Learning Blog
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Mar 24, 2011, 11:13 am
This blog, "The Window," is moving to a new site: http://blog.clerestorylearning.com/.
This will be the final post at this site.
If you signed up to receive the blog posts via email, you should continue to receive them without interruption.
If you receive new posts via an RSS feed, you will need to ... Comment - Like
Kevin Washburn posted an article on
Clerestory Learning Blog
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Feb 9, 2011, 9:18 pm
“But hope is not disconnected from action or result; it is the drive that propels action and result. It is not an ungrounded feeling but a belief that action can bring about change.”
Hope is word #1, a characteristic of an atmosphere that enables optimal achievement.
The second: humility.
... Comment - Like
Kevin Washburn posted an article on
Clerestory Learning Blog
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Jan 24, 2011, 2:30 pm
Three words grabbed my attention. Ideas that can make the difference between a t-ball novice and A-Rod, between nephew Johnny’s string recital performance and a Yo-Yo Ma concert, between the weekend jogger and Paula Radcliffe.
No, not age, not time, nor even practice. (Though all these play a ... Comment - Like
Kevin Washburn posted an article on
Clerestory Learning Blog
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Jan 4, 2011, 9:52 am
Confession: as a student, I usually hate group work. I know, I know. Having students
work in groups reaps a bounty of benefits, including boosting students’ social skills and upping the number of “happy campers” in the classroom. Such findings filter through my thinking when I’m preparing t... Comment - Like
Kevin Washburn posted an article on
Clerestory Learning Blog
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Oct 18, 2010, 9:54 am
I’m convinced: our schools need to give fitness a place in the curriculum. Let me clarify one thing. By an emphasis on fitness, I’m not recommending more or longer recess periods (though they may help), nor more or longer physical education classes (though, again, they may help). I fear some sc... Comment - Like
Kevin Washburn posted an article on
Clerestory Learning Blog
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Sep 5, 2010, 12:14 pm
If our profession exists to enable understanding of new ideas, should we really have our own language? Consider the following opening paragraph from a recent journal article:
“Education is an all-encompassing institution where schools can be found in each and every continent, culture, and society... Comment - Like
Kevin Washburn posted an article on
Clerestory Learning Blog
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Jun 7, 2010, 1:46 pm
Daniel Willingham, a cognitive scientist and author of Why Don't Students Like School, made an insightful presentation at the Learning and the Brain Conference in DC. As you read through these "tweets," keep in mind that I was posting the comments/ideas of the presenter. These do not necessarily rep... Comment - Like
Kevin Washburn posted an article on
Clerestory Learning Blog
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Jun 7, 2010, 12:24 pm
One of my favorite conferences is the Learning and the Brain Conference held at various locations several times a year. The most recent conference was held in Washington, D.C. in early May. I tried to play the role of on-the-spot-reporter and "tweeted" live from the conference.
As you read through t... Comment - Like
Kevin Washburn posted an article on
Clerestory Learning Blog
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Jun 7, 2010, 9:40 am
“We need effective, high quality, meaningful professional development,” I wrote in a recent blog post. “Otherwise we do a disservice to hard-working professionals and deserve the bruises their opinions inflict on our egos.”
While leading the best possible professional development session for... Comment - Like
Kevin Washburn posted an article on
Clerestory Learning Blog
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May 28, 2010, 3:22 pm
One of my favorite conferences is the Learning and the Brain Conference held at various locations several times a year. The most recent conference was held in Washington, D.C. in early May. I tried to play the role of on-the-spot-reporter and posted on Twitter live from the conference.
To provide re... Comment - Like
Kevin Washburn posted an article on
Clerestory Learning Blog
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May 26, 2010, 4:09 pm
Teacher conversations about professional development often include the terms worthless and waste of time, and a general disdain for typical approaches is often evident. The back-and-forth can be a bruising arena for those who actually provide professional development, and I’ve been feeling a bit b... Comment - Like
Kevin Washburn posted an article on
Clerestory Learning Blog
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Apr 21, 2010, 9:41 am
“Come on, you can do it!”
They were wrong.
In my youth I played a sport that makes up a chunk of many-a-child’s early athletic endeavors. My father was passionate about it. My older brother was MVP of his high school team. And I…just didn’t get it. In the final game of my final year of eli... Comment - Like
Kevin Washburn posted an article on
Clerestory Learning Blog
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Apr 12, 2010, 8:16 pm
Time. Is there a greater challenge for educators? It seems like instructional time is often the target of well-meaning but time-devouring programs. Assemblies, pep rallies, fund-raising motivational events, and those intercom announcements eat precious minutes, and these are on top of an already blo... Comment - Like
Kevin Washburn posted an article on
Clerestory Learning Blog
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Apr 1, 2010, 10:42 am
Sirens seize our attention. They scream, “Crisis!” and we scan the horizon or media streams to secure the details.
Despite their obvious function, sirens do little to actually address the emergencies they signal. After awareness is achieved, sirens fall silent while those charged with solving pr... Comment - Like
Kevin Washburn posted an article on
Clerestory Learning Blog
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Mar 17, 2010, 11:05 am
No matter how close to the center their shot lands, beginning marksmen achieve success simply by hitting the target. As they learn, practice, and gain experience, the target’s center becomes their focus. They develop accuracy, intentionally steadying their state and securing the center in their si... Comment - Like
Kevin Washburn posted an article on
Clerestory Learning Blog
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Feb 15, 2010, 10:20 am
Kyle examined his bookmarks. If he’d printed out all the information he’d found the paper would pile up to well over an inch high. Even though he’d been discerning in the references he noted, the information available was overwhelming and defeating, an obstacle that prevented Kyle from moving ... Comment - Like
Kevin Washburn posted an article on
Clerestory Learning Blog
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Feb 4, 2010, 11:06 am
I’ve been thinking about thinking lately, and I’ve had it with critical thinking. Note the italics. I’ve had it with the term critical thinking, not the actual practice. From a recent immersion in thinking-related research, I’ve concluded that critical thinking is like the weather: everybody... Comment - Like
Kevin Washburn posted an article on
Clerestory Learning Blog
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Jan 22, 2010, 9:09 am
You’ve probably seen the commercial. Two exasperated teens telling their parents that all this social media use has got to stop. The parents are invading worlds formerly considered havens of youth-only interaction. Partway through the role reversal, the father sends out a “tweet” that says som... Comment - Like
Kevin Washburn posted an article on
Clerestory Learning Blog
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Jan 19, 2010, 12:56 pm
My cell phone rang when we were deciding which package of paper towels to buy.
“Kevin, this is John Paine. Do you have a few moments to talk?”
I had both anticipated and dreaded this call, and the paper goods lane of Publix was not my ideal setting for the conversation. My wife, sensing it was t... Comment - Like
Kevin Washburn posted an article on
Clerestory Learning Blog
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Jan 15, 2010, 11:27 am
I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. My first book is about to be published, but the printing/binding process is taking longer than I’d like. (Don’t worry, this isn’t really about the book.) This period between final revisions and publication has given me time to reflect on the journey, and, as... Comment - Like
Kevin Washburn posted an article on
Clerestory Learning Blog
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Jan 14, 2010, 9:51 am
I'm currently working on a revision of the Architecture of Learning Basic Course. In an apparently analogy-minded moment, I wrote the following Introduction to the Course Book: Why is effective teaching such a challenge?
On its surface, teaching seems like a simple activity. The teacher teaches, ex... Comment - Like
Kevin Washburn posted an article on
Clerestory Learning Blog
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Jan 4, 2010, 4:22 pm
If you’ve ever swum in a hotel swimming pool, you’ve likely seen the sign: “No diving! Water depth is too shallow.” The pool is not deep enough to allow safe diving, and the fear, of course, is that the hotel will be sued if swimmers injure themselves by diving head-first into the pool.
It ... Comment - Like
Kevin Washburn posted an article on
Clerestory Learning Blog
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Nov 30, 2009, 1:51 pm
But time keeps flowing like a river (on and on)
To the sea, to the sea ’til it's gone forever…
At least that’s what the Alan Parsons Project suggested in their hit song. But poets and songwriters aren’t the only ones seemingly consumed by the passage of time. Educators frequently talk a... Comment - Like
Kevin Washburn posted an article on
Clerestory Learning Blog
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Nov 8, 2009, 12:09 pm
Every teacher experiences the frustration. Content and skills taught throughout the year seem to abandon students during springtime standardized testing. “How can they not know this?” thinks the the teacher. “We learned this back in November.”
Recent research reveals some likely causes, and ... Comment - Like
Kevin Washburn posted an article on
Clerestory Learning Blog
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Oct 15, 2009, 4:08 pm
Authors and illustrators get treated like rock stars at the National Book Festival. Readers crowd into tents, some literally with standing room only, to see and hear the people behind favorite narratives and artwork. The payoff is worth the effort. Many authors and illustrators are as interesting in... Comment - Like
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