Welcome to Plato's Academy and ....

So this week we looked at education in Greece (Athens and Sparta) and Rome. It is funny to think of the Romans as the first to drop PE and music from the schools. Next week we will look at the Aztecs.

For Tuesday's class,

• please bring your values self-affirmation that you did at the end of class today. 
• Also, please bring whatever you can find on-line about introverts/extroverts and growth/fixed mindset and make note of what search terms you used even if you find little.
• Finally, please read carefully the article I distributed, "Picture Yourself as a Stereotypical Male," and make purposeful annotations to it. You can also find the article on-line (with explorable links to the research discussed).Bring your written answers to the folllowing questions: 

1. What are some hypotheses as to why men outperform women in a cluster of tests related to spatial ability?
2. What did the gender-priming experiment show?
3. What is "stereotype threat"?
4. Describe four of the experiments cited in the article that demonstrated the affects of stereotype threat.
5. What does the brain do in the ventral anterior cingulate cortex?
6. What social-psychological interventions can ameliorate the achievement gap? (N.B. look up words you aren't familiar with.)

If you look for the answers to these questions as you read and annotate, the task will be easier.

Here's the link the the Tedx talk on Neuroplasticy that we watched in class today.

Welcome to the Chinese Imperial Examination

I hope you all enjoyed today's visiting speakers in our first pod meeting. They offered a lot to consider on meditation and mindfulness. On Tuesday we will look at possible upsides to stress.

In addition, we will visit China to explore the history of the Imperial Examination System. Please read the article found at http://www.sacu.org/examinations.html before Tuesday's class.

Welcome to the Eduba (Sumerian School)

On Tuesday, we will visit Mesopotamia and explore the education system of the people who invented writing, the Sumerians. Please read up on 9 Things You May Not Know About the Ancient Sumerians before Tuesday.

Here is a link to a very short video from Oxford about cuneiform writing and cutting edge technology. If you are curious to know more about the Sumerian flood story, check out this video.

 

Finding and Sharing Good Information

As a seminar, we are working both independently and collectively. We are exploring new topics and ideas, and we are teaching and learning from each other. The next assignment does all of this explicitly.

Creating a Collaborative Bibliography
The assignment due in class on Thursday has four parts:

1. Find an on-line scholarly article on a topic related to learning. It can be a primary or well supported secondary article as long as it includes strong supporting evidence and good references. Opinion pieces and overly simplistic popular articles won't work. (Make sure you are not posting an article that someone else has already posted.)
2. Post the link to your article on the class padlet and make sure your name is on it. I will review the posts as they go up and let you know if your article doesn't meet the above criteria.
3. Download and do a close reading of your article with purposeful annotation. (Harvard's "Thinking Intensive Reading)
4. Write a short précis (summary) and be ready to discuss it in class. 

On Thursday, everyone will introduce his/her article to the class for discussion.

Low-tech Padlet

Fixed vs Growth Mindset

What do you have a fixed mindset about? How can you promote a growth mindset in yourself and others?

Here's a link to the Ted Talk by Eduardo Briceno and the Stanford Talk by Carol Dwek, on "Developing a Growth Mindset" that we watched in class today. You might want to watch them again without classroom distractions.

If you didn't turn in the close reading and reflection assignment that was due today, please complete it, and turn it on Tuesday in class. You will be expected to up your game immediately. Consider it a growth opportunity.

Tuesday's class will be held in our regular classroom and not in the library.

click to enlarge

Welcome to NDNU and the First Year Seminar!

Welcome! Please remember that if you run into difficulties or have any questions, you can almost always find me in 106 St Joseph's Hall after class until about 12:30 and by appointment.

Before Thursday's class, please download and read the article, "How Not to Talk to Your Kids." Use the methods described in class and in the Harvard Reading Strategies to purposefully annotate it, and then use your annotations to write a one-page response to the article. Both your annotated copy of the article and your response will be due in class on Thursday.