Unconnected Classroom

A few suggestions are to:Schedule your class(es) as much as possible Prepare you class(es) for the lab visit just like you would prepare them for a field trip (that's what this lab visit is) Use the lab time as a portion of a collaborative group project rather than as an individual typing assignment Prepare rubrics, and prepare your class(es) before arriving at the lab Provide all instructions about the assignment before arriving at the lab Develop an online presence of your own, and allows students to access the project resources from home Test the lab and work through the processes first, alone Plan on reusing the same rules, rubrics, strategy, or project method for every lab visit for the year Make the original assignment generic Build the assignment or project in a modular fashion Train students at every step of the project Check each student to ensure that they know what to do before you arrive at the lab Assign helpers, partners, buddies for each student. These are the first line helpers that students will turn to before seeking their teacher's help.Plan on a strategy where every student is doing something different while your class is using the lab.

Dr. Wagner shared with us his “Seven Survival Skills for the New Economy” which he discusses in length (with examples from interviews with business leaders and from his weekly classroom observations): Critical thinking and problem-solving Collaboration across networks (across distance, time, space) and leadership by influence (as opposed to “by position”) Adaptability and agility Initiative and entrepreneurialship Effective oral and written communication skills Accessing and analyzing information — information is constantly changing & growing exponentially (here he really criticized our current testing curriculum and gave examples of countries who outperform us on exams, but who use performance assessment or portfolios or oral/written exams rather than multiple choice.) Curiosity and imagination — innovation and creativity — we can’t continue to produce innovators randomly or by chance, we must produce them intentionally (AMEN!)

Most revealing was the percentage of Tokyo pupils who thought education was necessary "to live a happy and fulfilled life": only 40%, compared with over 50% in Seoul and Beijing, and almost 75% in London and Washington DC. Also, only 25% of Tokyo pupils believed they would be happy "if I graduate from a good university (40% in Beijing, 60% in Seoul, 80% in London, 85% in Washington DC.) It was also revealed that a whopping 87% of Japanese pupils say they "talk with my family a lot," compared with about 75% of pupils in the other cities.