24 NOV 2015 by ideonexus
Five Talk Moves
Move 1. Repeating
When a student says something that a teacher or student thinks is important, one way to highlight it is to repeat it. A teacher might ask, "Who can repeat what Mia just said?"
Repeating helps confirm that what the speaker said is what the listener heard, and it lets the speaker know that he or she was heard—and that it matters. It enables teachers to highlight an idea that's central to the discussion. Moreover, hearing the idea again, or multiple times, helps students lear... 1 
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notes28 APR 2015 by ideonexus
Standing Desks Improve Student Engagement
The research looked at the results of an experiment in which 282 participants in grades 2-4 were observed in the fall and spring during one school year. Student engagement was monitored by actions such as answering a question, raising a hand, or participating in discussion, while off-task behaviors included talking out of turn.
Engagement of the "treatment" classrooms was compared with the engagement of "control" classrooms. The researchers noted that both groups showed "general increases in... 1 notes
notes16 JUL 2013 by ideonexus
Sleepwalking into the Surveillance State
The historians say that we sleepwalked into a surveillance
state. They meant that the technology for widespread
surveillance progressed and was implemented
in a gradual manner, though quick considering the
actual time scales, and with little in the way of open
discussion about the ramifications, so that before
anyone thought to object it was already ingrained
into society. When the tables turned and the same
technology was used to watch the watchers, there
was a bit more resistance, but by th... 1 notes
notesExerpt from a futurist vision.
06 JUN 2013 by ideonexus
Check Your Privilege
Learn to Listen Rather Than Speak
This one is a lot harder than it sounds, and I say this as someone who loves speaking and voicing her opinion on things. One of the greatest things we, as privileged people, can bring to a discussion being held by non-privileged groups is our closed mouths and open ears/minds. When you enter a minority space, you need to realize that this is their soapbox, not yours. Your privilege gives you many other soapboxes that you can take advantage of, so when p... 1 notes
notesFrom the article that inspired the use of this term in debate.
26 APR 2012 by ideonexus
"Peculiar Difficulties" of Geology
Geology has its peculiar difficulties, from which all other sciences are exempt. Questions in chemistry may be settled in the laboratory by experiment. Mathematical and philosophical questions may be discussed, while the materials for discussion are ready furnished by our own intellectual reflections. Plants, animals and minerals, may be arranged in the museum, and all questions relating to their intrinsic principles may be discussed with facility. But the relative positions, the shades of di...Folksonomies: geology
Folksonomies: geology
1 notes
notesOther sciences have clear demarcations and methods of experimentation, while Geology is more muddled. I think the author overestimates the certainty of species classification.
28 MAR 2012 by ideonexus
Teaching Children About Death
In a discussion on my blog regarding teaching kids about death, one of my readers commented that he uses a book called Lifetimes, by Bryan Mellonie. He explained that the book describes the lifetimes of various living things and focuses on the life that happens in between birth and death.
He explained, “I tell my kids that they do continue, not only in the life matter and lineage cycle, but as part of the world/universe per se. ‘The world produced life and us along with it. We are not se... 1 notes
notesVarious strategies for secularists to teach children this fact of life.
09 SEP 2011 by ideonexus
Look at the Total Form
If any person thinks the examination of the rest of the animal kingdom an unworthy task, he must hold in like disesteem the study of man. For no one can look at the elements of the human frame—blood, flesh, bones, vessels, and the like—without much repugnance. Moreover, when anyone of the parts or structures, be it which it may, is under discussion, it must not be supposed that it is its material composition to which attention is being directed or which is the object of the discussion, bu... 1 notes
notesAristotle from "Parts of Animals". Appears to be arguing that the parts of a biological being do not matter, but rather the animal in totality.
03 JAN 2011 by ideonexus
The Energy Game
My father dealth a little bit with energy and used the term after I got a little bit of the idea about it. What he would have done I know, because he did in fact essentially the same thing--though not the same example of the toy dog. He would say, "It moves because the sun is shining," if he wanted to give the same lesson. I would say "No. What has that to do with the sun shining? It moved because you wound up the springs."
"And why, my friend, are you able to move to wind up this spring?"
"I...
2 
2 A game Feynman's father would play with him, asking what made things work, and following the chain of energy back to the sun.
03 JAN 2011 by ideonexus
Our Responsibility as Scientists
We are at the very beginning of time for the human race. It is not unreasonable that we grapple with problems. There are tens of thousands of years in the future. Our responsibility is to do what we can, learn what we can, improve the solutions and pass them on. It is our responsibility to leave the men of the future a free hand. In the impetuous youth of humanity, we can make grave errors that can stunt our growth for a long time. This we will do if we say we have the answers now, so young a... 1 notes
notesWe must leave the door open to speculation, and never declare that we have it all figured out, because that would doom future generations.
03 JAN 2011 by ideonexus
Communism and the scientific viewpoint
I would like to remark, in passing, since the word "atheism" is so closely connected with "communism," that the communist views are the antithesis of the scientific, in the sense that in communism the answers are given to all the questions - political questions as well as moral ones - without discussion and without doubt. The scientific viewpoint is the exact opposite of this; that is, all questions must be doubted and discussed; we must argue everything out - observe things, check them, and... 1 notes
notesCommunism deals with absolutes, which is the opposite of science, science lack a definite direction, which is more aligned with democracy.
