Nocking the Arrow

Today's institute day included several professional learning sessions. Differentiated, personalized, and engaging, these sessions were designed to provide 60 minutes of learning a new tool, technique, or strategy, followed by 60 minutes of practical application; making something usable for students or staff. I facilitated a BreakoutEDU game for a dozen brave teachers looking to try something new. Modeled after " escape room experiences ", breakout games rely on collaboration, communication, and creative problem solving to achieve success. High energy, engagement, and interaction are the norm in a breakout game. The purpose of this BreakoutEDU session was to immerse participants in an " out of the box " learning experience. I had experienced breakout games during recent EdCamps, and each one was uniquely challenging and enjoyable. Using Will Richardson's popular book, " From Master Teacher to Master Learner ", we used the breakout game to ...

People who know me have experienced my affinity for the latest technology gadgets. This doesn't apply to my transportation; older is better. I have a bicycle that's 30 years old, I have a car, originally purchased by my parents, that's nearly fifty years old, and my daily transportation is a truck that's twelve years old. A few weeks ago, my old truck had a loping idle, and fluctuating RPMs with the cruise control set during highway driving.   How would a modern learner , a parent with two college-age children, and two more in high school, solve this problem, inexpensively? Identify the Problem :  I heard the strange pulse of the 4.7-liter engine and observed the fluctuating tachometer while driving. My observations and experiences helped me identify a problem.  Inquiry :   What is causing the fluctuating engine speed? Am I able to fix it? Not only did I need to gain some knowledge about the truck, I needed to assess my mechanical repair abiliti...