Embracing+Failure

[|Elluminate for Classroom Practice Track B]

Conversation Leader: Diana Laufenberg
=**Embracing Failure**=


Failure is instructive. The person who really thinks learns quite as much from his failures as from his successes. - John Dewey

Over the past 8 years, education has seen a narrowing of curriculum due to the implementation of No Child Left Behind. The growing 'culture of one right answer' is eroding the analytical and critical thinking abilities of American students who are being fed a diet of rote memorization and bubble sheets. This conversation will delve into the research and scholarship related to the need for a curriculum devoted to developing a thinking nation, complete with the ability to fail and learn from that experience. What are practical types of interventions that can be implemented to work contrary to the "culture of one right answer" standardized testing fervor? How do individual teachers work to provide a more hearty experience to students in the face of sanctions and mandated interventions? What does a classroom, school or set of standards look like when it is valuing success as much as failure in the learning process?

[|Barry Schwartz on our loss of wisdom - TED talk] (3:37-5:45) We also argue that practical wisdom is becoming increasingly difficult to nurture and display in modern society, so that attention must be paid to reshaping social institutions to encourage the use of practical wisdom rather than inhibiting it.

[|Bridging Differences - We Need Schools That 'Train' Our Judgment] I want a nation of citizens who are less inclined to think that the “truth” can be captured in one of four feasible answers—a,b,c, or d. I mention “feasible” because in constructing such tests it is crucial not to have one “right” and three absurd alternatives.

[|Ready to Innovate: Are Educators and Executives Aligned on the Creative Readiness of the U.S. Workforce?] Overwhelmingly, both the superintendents who educate future workers and the employers who hire them agree that creativity is increasingly important in U.S. workplaces, yet there is a gap between understanding this truth and putting it into meaningful practice.

[|You Play World of Warcraft? You're Hired!] Gaming tends to be regarded as a harmless diversion at best, a vile corruptor of youth at worst. But the usual critiques fail to recognize its potential for experiential learning. Unlike education acquired through textbooks, lectures, and classroom instruction, what takes place in massively multiplayer online games is what we call accidental learning. It's learning to be - a natural byproduct of adjusting to a new culture - as opposed to learning about. Where traditional learning is based on the execution of carefully graded challenges, accidental learning relies on failure. Virtual environments are safe platforms for trial and error. The chance of failure is high, but the cost is low and the lessons learned are immediate.

[|The Accountability Illusion] and [|Game] This study examines the NCLB accountability systems and the basic AYP rules for 28 states as they operate in practice. We did this by selecting 36 real schools from around the nation (half elementary, half middle)— schools that vary by size, achievement, diversity, and so on—and determining which of them would or would not make AYP when evaluated under each state’s accountability rules.

[|Failure: The Secret to Success] Failure. The mere thought can paralyze even the most heroic thinkers and keep great ideas off the drawing board. But is failing really that bad? We get an inside look at the mishaps of Honda racers, designers and engineers to learn how they draw upon failure to motivate them to succeed. From poor color choices to blown race engines, these risk-taking individuals provide an honest look at what most people fear most. Watch the film and discover the upside of failure. ([|specific place link])


 * ==Questions!== || ==Your Thoughts?== ||
 * ===What are the ways in which critical thinking are supported in your educational spaces?=== ||  ||
 * ===What are practical types of interventions that can be implemented to work contrary to the “culture of one right answer” standardized testing fervor?=== ||  ||
 * ===How do individual teachers work to provide a more hearty experience to students in the face of sanctions and mandated interventions?=== ||  ||
 * ===What does a classroom, school or set of standards look like when it is valuing success as much as failure in the learning process?=== ||  ||

Conversation Leader: Diana Laufenberg
[|Who I am?] blog-laufenberg.wordpress.com email-dlaufenberg at gmail dot com twitter-dlaufenberg skype-laufty AIM/iChat-dlaufenberg