One Word 2016; Empowerment

Winter break is typically a time when I allow myself to go into what George Couros calls, "airplane mode". I unplug and pull back the reigns on my social media interactions so I can read a few books, spend a few extra hours at the gym, and enjoy some recreational time with friends and family. My wife, Natalie, and I were sitting poolside in Jamaica reading on our iPads when a Twitter notification flashed on my screen; we weren't completely off the grid. My friend, Joe Young, was inviting me into a slow chat conversation. The prompt, in recognition of the New Year, "What is your #OneWord for 2016?" #OneWord2016

I momentarily swiped away Walt Longmire and Vic Moretti, characters in the newest Craig Johnson novel I was reading and took a few moments to ponder Joe's question. How can I boil down what's important to me in one word? I looked down and noticed a small tattoo near my shoulder. It's the Chinese symbol for learning, and it's the first word that comes to mind when I think about education. In my book, everyone is born a learner. So, what's my one-word wish for all learners? Empowerment.

I've heard the word engagement used often to describe compliant students focused on their lesson. But, if our intention is to produce better learners, then engagement isn't enough. Empowerment supports the noblest of educational pursuits, the development of lifelong learners.

ENGAGEMENT = emotional involvement, or commitment; the state of being in gear

EMPOWERMENT = the giving of ability, enablement, or permission

Heutagogy is the study of self-determined learning. Knowing how to learn, specifically competencies and capabilities is a fundamental skill associated with empowered learning. Being a better, more empowered, learner is a personal goal of mine. My commitment for 2016, and beyond, is helping others become empowered as learners.

Take a moment to search hashtag #oneword2016 on Twitter. You will find powerful contributions from many inspired educators. Impact, balance, clarity, intentional, mindfulness, and reflective, are just several of my favorites.

What's your one word for 2016?

Comments

What Teachers Can Learn From Effective Coaches

In my educational world teaching and coaching involve the same processes. The people that impacted my own learning most significantly were coaches. Could it be that great coaches were ahead of their time with respects to instructional best practices? Let's take a look at ten coaching practices that thankfully have found their way into the classroom. http://www.coachwooden.com/files/PyramidThinkingSuccess.jpg Standards-based Grading - coaches aren't concerned with arbitrary measures of success such as letter grades. Great coaches identify a requisite set of skills that are necessary for advancement and success. Promotion and achievement are based upon clearly identified levels of skill mastery. Authentic assessment - coaches are looking for their athletes to demonstrate their skill mastery under game-like situations. The best coaches incorporate game simulations and competitive, game-like drills into their practices. Winning coaches will use the contests as assess

Board Games in the School Library: 3 Reasons Why It's a Winning Play

"Play is the highest form of research." - Albert Einstein “Play is the work of the child.” – Maria Montessori In our recently remodeled school media center, we have a space dedicated to active engagement in fun learning activities. Part maker space, part literacy lounge, board games are being incorporated to promote a culture of joyful learning. Whether it's a game of Rummy , Yahtzee , or Scrabble , family game night serves as a communication elixir and solidifies our domestic climate of togetherness. Shouldn't similar opportunities for interaction, challenge, and fun exist somewhere in our schools? Broken families, cultural fragmentation, and poverty are impacting opportunities for children to play. As we unpacked and tagged our new media center games, I was more disappointed than shocked by the number of students who had never played Monopoly , Boggle , or Sorry . One skeptical teacher commented, "Oh great, now we're letting students pl

Self-Directed vs. Self-Determined Learning; What's the Difference?

"We need to move beyond the idea that an education is something that is provided for us, and toward the idea that an education is something that we create for ourselves." - Stephen Downes In this age of abundance of information, shifting classroom pedagogy isn't nearly enough to make learning in school more relevant and authentic for the learner. Self-directed learning ( andragogy ), and self-determined learning ( heutagogy ) are the ideals necessary in making students " future ready " to live and learn in a web-connected world. While original research applied these concepts to mature learners, it has become apparent that even young children have an abundant capacity for recognizing and directing their learning. Anyone who has observed toddlers learning how to walk and talk understand the motivation and skill development that quickly develops during these processes. Considered by some to be on a learning continuum, self-directed learning, and self-determined

Nocking the Arrow

Search This Blog