#TeachDifferent – Reading Roundup

A collection of articles and posts from my virtual PLN, inspiring innovation in education.

This roundup includes another look at school funding, the value of persistence in creativity, the difference between engagement and learning, and two insightful pieces on the maker movement.

School Funding

Can More Money Fix America’s Schools?–Sadly the short-sighted argument against increasing school funding is largely based on the notion that more funding doesn't guarantee an increase in test scores. I wonder if those making this argument think education's primary objective is to produce test scores rather than educate students.  It's easy to make this argument if you are blissfully unaware of of the gross inequality across our schools.  This story helps bring some of these issues to life.  It makes me sad to hear a student say "They're always going to be a step ahead of us. They'll have more money than us, and they'll get better jobs than us, always." NPR.org

Does Engagement Equal Learning?

How to Determine if Student Engagement is Leading to Learning–Eric Sheninger shares some insight from his book, cautioning us to be aware that engagement doesn't always equal learning.  He provides a list of questions to ask to determine if engagement is resulting in learning. MindShift

The Value of Persistence in Creativity

Study Shows We “Undervalue and Underutilize” Persistence in Creativity – Author Garth Sundem–Great insight on the importance of persistence in creativity. "Creativity isn’t given, it’s earned." Author Garth Sundem

The Maker Movement

Albemarle County Schools’ Journey From a Makerspace to a Maker District (EdSurge News)–You'll want to read this if you are looking for an example of successful, district-wide, implementation of the maker movement.  This district-wide initiative spans all grade levels and subjects. “Making puts the learner at the center of the work—and when that happens with our kids, the content makes sense to them.”   EdSurge

Tinkering Spaces: How Equity Means More Than Access–‘Kids are brilliant and it’s our responsibility to notice their brilliance and deepen it.’ An interesting look at accessibility to the maker movement.  While low-income schools are less likely to have makerspaces (as they place too much focus on raising test scores through low-level learning), inequity in the maker movement may be less about access.  It's the moment-to-moment interactions with educators that can have a larger impact on addressing inequity. To address this, it's suggested that "each educator must be on the lookout for her own biases at work and be willing to shift when they inevitably come up." It's an article that really got me thinking. MindShift