It has been an exceptional two weeks in Class 71. The new layout is working and it came just in time for an inquiry that I was not expecting at all. @pomeranian99 shared an article on twitter from The New Yorker written by @garymarcus on the subject of moral machines. The premise (that at some point robots will be able to make life and death decisions on behalf of humans) provoked intense reactions from my students and has led to some of the most exceptional conversations, reflections, insights and questioning that I have witnessed from grade 7 students. It has also sent us on a journey of inquiry. What pleases me most about this is that given that work I have done professionally over the past two years, I am able to facilitate this process with greater expertise. I have left the trial and error phase of inquiry and now understand that if I structure activities in certain ways magic will happen. This is a nice feeling to have. I haven't had time to blog daily, which is a pity because of what I am witnessing in my students.
Below is a record of 1 collaborative task. After our initial two-day discussion, I realized that much of my students' reactions to the idea of robots was fear-based and that they needed to learn more. I gave groups the task of identifying what they actually knew about robots and then asked them to discuss and record their questions.
This was followed by a virtual visit to MIT Media Lab's Personal Robot Projects to begin learning more. Students were enthralled by what they saw and learned and are now engaged in a larger inquiry than I had originally anticipated. That is it: the beauty of learning when one is not occupied with standards-based education where the outcomes have been pre-determined.
Below is a record of 1 collaborative task. After our initial two-day discussion, I realized that much of my students' reactions to the idea of robots was fear-based and that they needed to learn more. I gave groups the task of identifying what they actually knew about robots and then asked them to discuss and record their questions.
This was followed by a virtual visit to MIT Media Lab's Personal Robot Projects to begin learning more. Students were enthralled by what they saw and learned and are now engaged in a larger inquiry than I had originally anticipated. That is it: the beauty of learning when one is not occupied with standards-based education where the outcomes have been pre-determined.
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