Category: social learning

Learning as Work and Play, social learningLeave a comment

Learning as the intersection of work and play, part 3: Queries, freedom, and bushwhacking

Chris Loeffler

If we don’t challenge students with queries that dig deep, we limit ourselves in many ways. One is that we limit their ability to see themselves as critical thinkers, as capable of answering big questions. The second is that we limit the opportunity to hear their voices. As Shalaby says, the teacher is the outsider in a classroom of children, not the other way around. In a classroom of children, the restraint of children’s voices is chosen ignorance. Continue reading Learning as the intersection of work and play, part 3: Queries, freedom, and bushwhacking

Learning as Work and Play, social learning2 Comments

Learning as the intersection of work and play, Part 2: Run for the race, not the finish line

Chris Loeffler

Sometimes it’s important to run directly and cross the finish line, to test yourself, to gauge where you are. More often, however, it is critical to explore different routes, to try new strategies, review certain courses, to take the adventure where you need it to go. Continue reading Learning as the intersection of work and play, Part 2: Run for the race, not the finish line

Innovative teaching, Learning as Work and Play, social learning1 Comment

What is learning? The intersection of work and play

Chris Loeffler

As I have progressed as a teacher, the most valuable teaching and learning accomplished in my classroom have always felt like play, even when it is work. I think that true learning is the intersection of work and play. If the goal of teaching is to enhance learning, than our goal should be to create that intersection of work and play every day. Continue reading What is learning? The intersection of work and play

social learning, Uncategorized2 Comments

How much influence do other kid’s parents have on classroom discipline?

Chris Loeffler

This post is a reflection on an article I just read by Katherine Reynolds Lewis. The article, titled “What if everything you knew about disciplining kids was wrong?” My goal in this post is not only to share my experience, but also to start a conversation about how teachers manage the challenge of teaching while needing to focus what can be a lot of time and energy on an individual student. Continue reading How much influence do other kid’s parents have on classroom discipline?

Introvert, social learning1 Comment

“Cool is overrated.”

Chris Loeffler

“Cool is overrated.”

But how do I convince a ten year old of this. Do I just have to let them figure it out for themselves? Will any advice I give them really work? Will something I say possibly stick with them? I don’t remember my fifth grade teachers saying anything to this effect.
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I have always felt like young children have an inherent wisdom that adults have forgotten along the way. Yet, they also lack the experience that gives adults the knowledge necessary to act wisely. Continue reading “Cool is overrated.”