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There is a short editorial in Science Magazine, June 24th, which I'd like to share, that encapsulates, educational (and museum) practices that speaks most strongly to the role of classroom and informal learning settings.  Briefly quoting from Stipek, Dean of Stanford School of Education

"Extensive research shows that students will become more emotionally engaged (and even passionate) if simple principles are followed: if the subject matter is connected to students’ personal lives and interests; if students have opportunities to be actively involved in solving or designing solutions to novel and multidimensional problems, doing experiments, debating the implications of findings, or working collaboratively; if students have multiple opportunities to earn a good grade (by rewriting papers or retaking tests); if attention is drawn to the knowledge and skills that students are developing, not to grades or scores; and if all learning and skill development is celebrated, whatever the level."

I would suggest that this observation doesn't require rocket science to figure out, but it does take human brain, passion, and a focus on communication and sharing.  I don't think it's necessarily about new forms of learning, nor necessarily new tools, nor probably lots of careful distracting quantification.  It sounds more like the stuff that evolution and chemistry have honed us to be. The human brain is a complex array of a trillion cells essentially wired together on the fly that shift and modulate their connections as necessary to make meaningful sense of a variety of situations.

It's a nicely relevant, one pager: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/332/6037.toc#Editorial
Enjoy,
Charlie


The opinions and thoughts expressed here are my own and should in no way be construed or attributed to the Exploratorium or related organization, and do not represent an institutional position.
Charles Carlson
Senior Scientist
exploratorium
3601 Lyon St.
San Francisco, CA 94123
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Tel:   415-561-0319
Fax:  415-561-0370
http://blogs.exploratorium.edu/whyintercept/









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