Group items tagged

I found this webpage interesting because of the different spins and explanations on the dialogue process. Indeed, it is very well grounded process that enables an interactions that acknowledges all individuals as equals, and with unique and valueble perspectives. I really appreciated David Bohm's conditions for dialogue: "[p]articipants must suspend their assumptions, [...] [p]articipants must view each other as colleagues or peers and [...] [i]n the early stages there needs to be a facilitator who 'holds the context' of dialogue." Cultivating conversation serves as a conduit for encouraging a critical perspective about society.

IBM is releasing a real world came around urban planning solutions. But the idea of embedding real-world solutions into a gaming environment might be one way to tackle science based issues and the policies and plans surrounding them.

Interesting. I would like to know the assumptions behind the simulations. Indeed, this game or "tool" may be helpful, yet its results may be assumption-driven. Nevertheless, it seems worthwhile learning more about it. Thanks Felicia!

Link to the Massachusetts Curriculum frameworks by subject. Download-able pdfs and word documents.

On-the-job learning

Those lunch pictures look great! But the real reason I responded here is that the Scott Arboretum and other public horticulture organizations across the country have assisted with many school gardens. The problems always fall back to maintenance when the children are not in school over the summer months and then they lay dormant most of the winter in colder climates.

Rhoda, those are good points. This might open up opportunities for small groups. Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts, Youth Center groups, and Community Service could handle the summer months and vacation days and weeks. I am not sure if there is much that could be done in the winter in New England. I will try to have something on this for my PowerPoint.

Short stories from people about how climate change has influenced their lives in Africa.

Are facts enough? Humans tend to ignore facts they don't like. Sometimes facts that disprove the legitimacy of one's beliefs only cause one to believe more strongly in their original (and demonstrably false) opinion.

This might be useful for those of you trying to parse out how climate science is being received by the public -- skeptics are farther between than we think, perhaps?

big business won't budge with out govt assistance and govt assistance comes from tax dollars

a history of FEMA with bad bush

a look on the bright side of post-copenhagen reality

This paper by Lord et al. provides evidence on the benefits of the constructivist teaching and learning approach. The authors show how students in a constructivist classroom environment learn more and are more motivated towards learning than those in classroom with a teacher-centric approach. I thought the constructivist approach was only effective in the social sciences yet this article shows that in the hard sciences it is also effective in increasing academic performance. I just wanted to share this with the group.