Wonder and Awe as a Habit of Mind

When students approach me with amazement in their new knowledge, I can hear the awe in their voices for all there is to learn about the world and I ask myself, “How can we inspire such excitement every day? How can we identify the best vehicles to facilitate student learning by fostering wonder and awe in our classrooms? Some of the true experts in fostering a habit of responding with wonderment and awe are early childhood and primary grade teachers. Teachers of our youngest learners fill ...

 Games Use Constant Feedback

Moreover, games use systems of points, scores, leaderboards, achievement walls, and other clever mechanisms to reinforce how well you are playing (or not playing). Feedback should force us to face reality and redirect our efforts where they are needed. Regular, systemic feedback is a rarity in the traditional school; it is, however, de rigueur in even the most poorly designed game. It is this regular, rapid feedback that not only stimulates persistence and self-direction but also gets people ...

 Lifelong Learning

Seneca, the Latin philosopher, wrote, “As long as you live, keep learning how to live.” Centuries later Andre Gide, the French critic and novelist said, “The wise man is he who constantly wonders afresh.” The scientific and technological explosion in this century has caused us all to recognize that learning is a continuous, permanent, lifelong pursuit. It is a process which commences with birth and only terminates at death and is then carried on by others in a never-ending cont...