"teacher-ready tips for stimulating curiosity in others. First, she suggests starting with the question, rather than the answer-which teachers will recognize as the foundation of inquiry-based or discovery learning (see: math teacher Dan Meyer's take on how to make math "irresistible" to students).
She then suggests offering some initial knowledge on the subject. "We're not curious about something we know absolutely nothing about," she writes. Again, teachers may know this as "activating prior knowledge" or "setting the stage" before a lesson.
Finally, she says it helps to require communication, or "open an information gap and then require learners to communicate with each other in order to fill it." The think-pair-share technique and vocabulary activities that require students to teach each other their words both exemplify this.
What would you add to the list? How does stimulating curiosity gel with other motivation tactics-or should teachers think of curiosity and motivation as one and the same?"
"Jennifer Symington, the Leader of Pedagogy at at the All Saints Catholic Girls College in Liverpool (Sydney), Australia. Teaching 12-16 year old students geography, English, math, history, and science, Jennifer has used Schoology for two years in her integrated studies course where she blends all the aforementioned subjects. Her video is a shining example of the incredible power of technology to foster global learning."
"http://www.ted.com Salman Khan talks about how and why he created the remarkable Khan Academy, a carefully structured series of educational videos offering complete curricula in math and, now, other subjects. He shows the power of interactive exercises, and calls for teachers to consider flipping the traditional classroom script -- give students video lectures to watch at home, and do "homework" in the classroom with the teacher available to help."
"As you are watching, ask yourself:
What changed by using, in this case, the iPad and ShowMe app?
Could the same [learning] have been accomplished by keeping students' illustrations analog?
Was there differentiation potential?
Can this type of "activity" be used as an assessment to replace/upgrade traditional assessment?
Are the movie clips potential artifacts for digital portfolios?
Could these movie clips be part of a variety of student work at a parent-teacher conference?
Was any learning amplified by placing it on the classroom blog to share with families?
What skills were practiced?
What literacies were supported?
Was it worth the extra time investment, the learning curve?"