Self-Motivation
David Goggins
Former Navy Seal
Career Development
Bryan Cranston
Actor
Critical Thinking
Liv Boeree
International Poker Champion
Emotional Intelligence
Amaryllis Fox
Former CIA Clandestine Operative
Management
Chris Hadfield
Retired Canadian Astronaut & Author
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Changing the way we grade students could trigger a wave of innovation
How students apply what they've learned is more important than a letter or number grade.
01 July, 2020
- Schools are places where learning happens, but how much of what students learn there matters? "Almost all of our learning happens through experience and very little of it actually happens in these kinds of organized, contrived, constrained environments," argues Will Richardson, co-founder of The Big Questions Institute and one of the world's leading edupreneurs.
- There is a shift starting, Richardson says, in terms of how we look at grading and assessments and how they have traditionally dictated students' futures. Consortiums like Mastery.com are pushing back on the idea that what students know can be reflected in numbers and letter grades.
- One of the crucial steps in changing how things are done is first changing the narratives. Students should be assessed on how they can apply what they've learned, not scored based on what they know.
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<a href="https://bigthink.com/future-of-learning/" target="_blank"><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM4MjI4Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwNDYwMTAyNH0.HcyXGsDebKwteIO_Z3ByjC802bN88sPB9pZ3N4AbGcs/img.jpg?width=980" id="716e9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="95ca2d05be116ccc1f0eaaa12054d3ba" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt=""></a>
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This is how you overcome a language barrier
Don't worry about grammar rules at first. They'll only trip you up.
17 June, 2020
- Learning a language can be a tricky process, but it's important to remember that it is a process.
- Having learned 20 languages so far, Canadian polyglot and LingQ founder Steve Kaufmann's advice is to not focus on the grammar. Constantly thinking about the rules while attempting to speak only makes it harder.
- Investing time (often several months) into listening, reading, and practicing words before trying to speak a language will help you feel more comfortable with it. You will make mistakes, but you will learn from them and people will be patient with you.
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This is the superpower teachers need to flex
It takes a special person with a special set of skills to reach students on an emotional level.
08 June, 2020
- Teachers have arguably the most important job on Earth. It's their responsibility to help shape who young people will become by inspiring them and connecting with them as human beings.
- Trust has to be earned before any meaningful learning can happen.
- The superpower that poet and children's fiction author Kwame Alexander learned from his mother is the ability to connect emotionally with his audience first so that they are open and interested in tackling heavier subjects and having challenging conversations.
<p><em>This video is part of <a href="https://z17.global/" target="_blank">Z 17 Collective</a>'s <a href="https://bigthink.com/future-of-learning/" target="_self">Future of Learning</a> series, which asks education thought leaders what learning can and should look like in the midst and wake of the coronavirus pandemic.</em></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<a href="https://bigthink.com/future-of-learning/" target="_blank"><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM3NjEwNi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwNDE1MjE0NH0.OTXor_7TyqmqfbD28FFFT0IeEtR5AK26HofJGiseOnc/img.jpg?width=980" id="32cd4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="19f15e14a04ac1e728a1dc00a2d29791" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt=""></a>
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Over 400 Ivy League courses are free online right now
With the coronavirus pandemic upending summer plans, now's the perfect time to learn something new.
01 June, 2020
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<p>Even as states <a href="https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2020/us/states-reopen-coronavirus-trnd/" target="_blank">begin to reopen</a>, the coronavirus pandemic has already derailed our <a href="https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-tips/travel-trends/summer-travel-predictions-coronavirus" target="_blank">traditional summer plans</a>. Around the world, airplanes remain <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2020/apr/22/planes-grounded-coronavirus-pandemicsit-idle-airports-world-pictures" target="_blank">grounded</a>. Festivals, performances, and destination spots <a href="https://qz.com/1844734/where-are-travelers-going-on-vacation-this-summer/" target="_blank">will be closed</a> or severely restricted. And though we've hoped the warmer season would suppress the virus, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/08/health/virus-summer-pandemic.html" target="_blank">one study found</a> that variations in heat and humidity had little to no effect on its transmission.</p><p>Summer has been all but canceled, and as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/24/opinion/coronavirus-parents-work-from-home.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage" target="_blank">millions of parents are already aware</a>, summer school is in session.</p><p>That doesn't have to be a raw deal, though. As we spend more time at home, we can dive into hobbies we love or learn about subjects that prod our curiosity. To help, Ivy League universities are offering hundreds of free MOOCs.</p>
What's in a MOOC?
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM2MjUyMy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NTYzMTcxNH0.Dtz4ixF56_YuKy56-089I7A43avL3KLRr6vJO_QoalA/img.jpg?width=1245&coordinates=0%2C69%2C0%2C290&height=700" id="1bf85" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8ac20c6c17d1344b6e3b4154367791a4" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Harvard and MIT founded edX, a massive open online course platform, in 2012.
<p>MOOC is the unfortunate acronym of "<a href="https://www.classcentral.com/help/moocs/" target="_blank">massive open online course</a>." I say unfortunate because there's no way to say it aloud without sounding like you're impersonating an old-timey mafioso ("This guy, what a mook!").</p><p>Thankfully, the idea is better than the acronym. A MOOC is an online class that explores a specific subject, topic, or skill. Most are self-paced, while some parcel out material over the course of several weeks. Because they're online, they can be open to anyone and support hundreds of students the world over.</p><p>That online nature also means teaching methods lean heavily on readings and lecture videos—though some incorporate assessment tools such as quizzes and class discussions. Discussions are with other students on a forum, and quiz grades really don't matter much. Even the most anxious of test-takers needn't fear a "See me after class…" scribbled next to their name. </p><p>For instructors, teaching is typically a pre-recorded, hands-off affair. For students, it's self-motivated.</p><p>MOOCs are provided on a variety of platforms. One of the most popular is <a href="https://www.edx.org/about-us" target="_blank">edX</a>, founded by Harvard and MIT, which has more than 20 million users. Other platforms include <a href="https://www.udemy.com/" target="_blank">Udemy</a>, <a href="https://www.coursera.org/" target="_blank">Coursera</a>, <a href="https://www.udacity.com/" target="_blank">Udacity</a>, <a href="https://www.skillshare.com/" target="_blank">Skillshare</a>, and <a href="https://www.futurelearn.com/" target="_blank">FutureLearn</a>.</p><p>When choosing a platform, know that some only produce classes guided by university professors or experts in their field, while others open their platform to anyone with a desire to teach.</p>Education free of charge
<p>Granted, universities have been creating MOOCs for longer than novel coronavirus has been around. edX and Coursera were both introduced in 2012. But in light of the need induced by the pandemic, universities and course providers have stepped up their efforts to issue free, far-reaching education materials.</p><p><a href="https://www.classcentral.com/about" target="_blank">Class Central</a>, a listing for online courses, maintains a page dedicated to free courses issued in response to COVID-19. Continuously updated, it's a massive resource for those looking to upskill or increase their knowledge while shelter-in-place restrictions remain in effect.</p><p>The website maintains a robust catalog of free online classes and <a href="https://www.classcentral.com/universities" target="_blank">the universities offering them</a>, too. As of this writing, <a href="https://www.classcentral.com/collection/ivy-league-moocs?page=3" target="_blank">it lists more than 400 free online courses</a> from Ivy League universities. Available subjects were as diverse as mythology, Linux basics, data science, religious literacy, Roman architecture, and the ethics of eating. The catalog is simply too expansive to do it justice here.</p><p>Because these courses are from Ivy League schools, many are taught by instructors at the top of their field. For example, Harvard professor <a href="https://english.fas.harvard.edu/people/stephen-greenblatt" target="_blank">Stephen Greenblatt</a> teaches the currently available classes on "<a href="https://www.classcentral.com/course/edx-shakespeare-s-othello-the-moor-11951" target="_blank">Othello</a>" and "<a href="https://www.classcentral.com/course/edx-shakespeare-s-hamlet-the-ghost-7016" target="_blank">Hamlet</a>." He's also the general editor to the "Norton Anthology of English Literature."</p>But how free is free?
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-media_id="BFIpq4jk" data-player_id="FvQKszTI" data-rm-shortcode-id="f356e46b8bf782db1ecb952c49bd2a90"> <div id="botr_BFIpq4jk_FvQKszTI_div" class="jwplayer-media" data-jwplayer-video-src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/BFIpq4jk-FvQKszTI.js"> <img src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/thumbs/BFIpq4jk-1920.jpg" class="jwplayer-media-preview" /> </div> <script src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/BFIpq4jk-FvQKszTI.js"></script> </div> <p>Most MOOCs listed on Class Central are free to audit, but they do come with monetary upsells. Users can often earn certificates for completing courses, but the option is tucked behind a paywall. Some courses also limit access to certain materials and content unless unlocked with a credit card.</p><p>Users also pay in other, less direct ways. In place of money, edX users pay their tuition in the form of data, the currency of the 21<sup>st</sup> century. </p><p>The universities use data generated through student participation in research and to improve the quality of their educational endeavors. Collected data is free of personally identifiable information (PII); however, it's worth noting that edX retains the right to share aggregate data with other parties (again, without PII). </p>Will coronavirus change education?
<p>Summers will return as we remember them, but many experts wonder whether education has been irreversibly changed by the pandemic.</p><p>"The horrible loss and fallout of the pandemic are unmistakable, but for so many in education, this is a crisis that simply cannot be wasted. Historically, transformation comes primarily when there are forcing conditions— when the current model simply cannot be sustained," <a href="https://bigthink.com/future-of-learning/education-innovation" target="_self">Craig Vezina</a>, executive director of Z-17, wrote.</p><p>As schools and parents scramble to teach children spread across towns, and university students increasingly receive their education through screens, online learning will continue to expand its share of educational systems. Whether online learning is better or worse than traditional education is a question with many nuances—one too complex to answer here. Either way, the barriers to online education will continue to become more permeable, allowing more people to access it.</p>
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Six-month-olds recognize (and like) when they’re being imitated
A new study may help us better understand how children build social cognition through caregiver interaction.
29 May, 2020
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<p>The human mind is one of evolution's marvels, and it's never more marvelous than in our youth. In our first few years of life, our brains create more than <a href="https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/brain-architecture/#neuron-footnote" target="_blank">a million new neural connections per second</a>. Three months after birth, our cerebellums double in volume to manage those tricky motor functions. We <a href="https://www.linguisticsociety.org/resource/faq-how-do-we-learn-language" target="_blank">acquire language with no formal instruction</a>. By the time we're toddlers, we develop the realization that <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/theory-of-mind" target="_blank">oneself and others have desires</a>, emotions, experiences, and intentions.</p><p>That last one may seem a heavy lift for munchkins still grappling with the fact that cows go moo, but <a href="http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/social-cognition/according-experts/development-theory-mind-early-childhood" target="_blank">research has shown</a> that we come to that realization young. It's a critical piece in the development of our social cognition, our ability to analyze and apply our knowledge of other people and ourselves within social situations.</p><p>Where things become difficult is understanding when and how social cognition develops in children. Because researchers can't ask infants questions directly, they have to conceive of experiments to perceive thought by way of action. This leads to questions of interpretation. Some researchers think babies are already aware of others, while some argue that our theory of mind solidifies during the social hazing of preschool.</p><p>A new clue comes from <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0232717" target="_blank">research recently published in PLOS One</a>, which shows that six-month-olds can recognize when they are being imitated.<br></p>
Adults see, adults do?
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM0NjQyMy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyOTIxODE5Nn0.3BFaCBDhJQjW0sDw6rOuTOgpO20uhMTdVqaJaQ5YIy4/img.jpg?width=980" id="55d69" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b0b614d3c0622cc4480f47e659a1b52c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Babies imitated by the researcher (shown in green) gave their imitator more attention, smiles, and approaching behavior than babies who received a non-imitative response (blue).
<p>According to the study, the experience of being imitated provides infants the scaffolding for their social cognition. When infants see their actions mimicked, it leads them to realize that these actions have social consequences. They learn that movements, vocalizations, and facial expressions cause others around them to behave in certain ways. It's much like how they'll later experiment with cause and effect by banging about blocks.</p><p>To measure the effects imitation has on infants, the researchers set up an experiment with six-month-old babies. A researcher would go to the baby's home and play with them in four different ways. They would either:</p> <ul><li>Imitate everything the baby did (green/MI on the graph),</li><li>Imitate the reverse of the baby's actions (red/CI).</li><li>Imitate the baby but remain expressionless (orange/BI), or</li><li>Respond with a "contingent response" action (blue/CR).</li></ul> <p>A contingent response means the researcher acted as most adults would. Instead of imitating the act of reaching for a toy, they would pick it up and hand it to the baby.</p><p>The researchers found that the closer they emulated a baby, the longer they held his or her attention. Such imitation was also correlated with more smiling and a greater desire to approach the researcher.</p><p>"Imitating young infants seems to be an effective way to catch their interest and bond with them. The mothers were quite surprised to see their infants joyfully engaging in imitation games with a stranger, but also impressed by the infants' behaviours," Gabriela-Alina Sauciuc, a researcher at Lund University and the study's lead author, said in <a href="https://eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-05/lu-wbk052420.php" target="_blank">a press release</a>.</p><p>According to the release, the babies being imitated also initiated testing behavior. If a baby smacked the table and the research imitated the action, the baby would then repeat the action several times to see how the adult responded.</p><p>"This was quite interesting. When someone actively tests the person who is imitating them, it is usually seen as an indication that the imitated individual is aware that there is a correspondence between their own behaviour and the behaviour of the other," Sauciuc said.</p>The sincerest form of flattery
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="50de73501f0d26df9dc5bf92e524d2e1"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/63u7l5-x1Hk?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>The study had 16 baby participants, five girls and 11 boys, a small but meaningful sample size. In the study, the researchers note that they hope their data will spur additional research into imitation recognition as well as how infants perceive body language and their awareness of another's intentions toward them.</p><p>"By showing that 6-month-old infants recognise when they are being imitated, and that imitation has a positive effect on interaction, we begin to fill up this [research] gap. We still have to find out when exactly imitation begins to have such effects, and what role imitation recognition actually plays for babies," Sauciuc noted in the same release.</p><p>Those are important questions to answer as early caregiver interactions provide the foundation for many social traits. These may include empathy, self-awareness, reading others' intentions, and cultural norms like turn-taking. They may further expand to other areas of social competency like creativity and confidence. Best of all, for babies and caregivers, imitation provides a fun, and fruitful, way to play.</p>
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