learning | Making things... Learning Things

Strand A, Coding, and the new Ontario Mathematics Curriculum

Where’s the joy? Creating something, and sharing it, is an exciting and motivating endeavour. With the new 2020 Ontario Mathematics Curriculum now guiding mathematics in classrooms across Ontario, I think there is renewed excitement and potential to encourage creative learning with students, especially with coding activities. Unfortunately, after accessing and reading through a long list […]

Mathland Actually

Posted on April 27, 2019 1 Comment

If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that Mathland actually is all around. Introduction I have spent a fair amount of time thinking about a question Seymour Papert asks in the following video (and in many other ways in a various books and papers): “How can we create a mathland? […]

Summer Learning 2018

Posted on June 18, 2018 6 Comments

Don’t get me wrong. In the summer, I think it is essential for teachers to relax, unplug, take a break, spend tons of time with family and/or friends, and enjoy some sunny summer weather. The summer break makes us fresher in the fall and reconnects us to other parts of our lives, friends, family and […]

Scratch vs. Swift Playgrounds

Posted on May 29, 2018 10 Comments

[Note: The post below was updated in July, 2019 (originally written May, 2018). This article might be a useful read if you are teacher considering Scratch vs Swift Playgrounds or are caught up in discussions / arguments about the two. I think that juxtaposing these two coding environments helps reveal the distinction between children “learning […]

Rethinking Empowerment

Posted on April 7, 2018 3 Comments

No, I am not rethinking “empowerment” in the sense of is it a good or bad thing? But after reading a very thought provoking essay called Empowerwashing Education by Benjamin Doxtdator @doxtdatorb I am rethinking how I have used the term and what the term means and implies. The first thing that jumped at me as I started […]

Play and Learning

Posted on March 4, 2018 Leave a Comment

Why is it that the older children get, the less play seems to be connected with learning? Personally, I think the two concepts are nearly synonymous. Sometimes I read things that imply that play is great for young children but not so great for older, more serious students. Often, the notion is that all children […]