What I have learnt...

Written by Andy Rooney , a man who has the gift of saying so much with
so few words.

I’ve learned… That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of
an elderly person.

I’ve learned… That when you’re in love, it shows.

I’ve learned… That just one person saying to me, ‘You’ve made my day!’
makes my day.

I’ve learned… That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of
the most peaceful feelings in the world.

I’ve learned… That being kind is more important than being right.

I’ve learned… That you should never say no to a gift from a child.

I’ve learned… That I can always pray for someone when I don’t have the
strength to help him in some other way.

I’ve learned… That no matter how serious your life requires you to be,
everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.

I’ve learned… That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and
a heart to understand.

I’ve learned… That simple walks with my father around the block on
summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.

I’ve learned… That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it
gets to the end, the faster it goes.

I’ve learned… . That we should be glad God doesn’t give us everything
we ask for.

I’ve learned… That money doesn’t buy class.

I’ve learned… That it’s those small daily happenings that make life so
spectacular.

I’ve learned… That under everyone’s hard shell is someone who wants to
be appreciated and loved.

I’ve learned… That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.

I’ve learned… That when you plan to get even with someone, you are
only letting that person continue to hurt you.

I’ve learned… That love, not time, heals all wounds.

I’ve learned… That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to
surround myself with people smarter than I am.

I’ve learned… That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.

I’ve learned… That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.

I’ve learned… That life is tough, but I’m tougher.

I’ve learned… That opportunities are never lost; someone will take the
ones you miss.

I’ve learned… That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.

I’ve learned… That I wish I could have told my Mom that I love her one
more time before she passed away.

I’ve learned… That one should keep his words both soft and tender,
because tomorrow he may have to eat them.

I’ve learned… That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.

I’ve learned… That when your newly born grandchild holds your little
finger in his little fist, that you’re hooked for life.

I’ve learned… That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but
all the happiness, and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.

I’ve learned …. That the less time I have to work with, the more
things I get done.

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I never wanted

"I never wanted to be famous
I succeeded

I never wanted to be rich
I succeeded to degree level

I never wanted to be this age
It sort of came with experience

I never wanted to be good looking
Achieved at birth

I never wanted to be educated
I achieved in every school

I never wanted to believe in God
I tripped and stumbled into him

I never wanted to be a writer
I just started to reflect on life

I never wanted to be imaginative
It just happens as I strive to love

I never wanted to be comfortable
I had it once, before the faith began

I never wanted to be restless
I now choose it and yearn for it

I never wanted to be irritated
but now I refresh that irritation

I never wanted to be thirsty
then I discovered it in ever sense

I never wanted to be sexy
Thank you very much God

I never wanted to have a sense of humour
Then I discovered more than five senses

I never wanted to be vulnerable
I discovered it was a strength not a weakness

I never wanted to marry a rich woman
I think she is rich beyond compare

I never wanted to be beautiful
It took me 40 years to know
I was a beautiful human person

I never wanted to be in a band
I now have a great band of friends

I never wanted to be imperfect
I now know it is in synergy with beautiful

I never wanted to be on a road less travelled
I discovered it goes along with human development

I never wanted to be a great lover
I found it as a life mission

I never wanted to be disabled
I learned that I have abilities and disabilities

I never wanted an idol, mentor, guru, then
I met someone who said follow me
And that was all I ever wanted...................."

© Pip Wilson

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On this day...

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Be the Church

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7 compelling arguments for peer learning

via Donald Clark Plan B

 

Learning lurches between extremes: the formal v informal,didactic v discover , self-paced v social, teaching v learning. But is there a bridgebetween these extremes, something that cleverly combines teaching and learning?Over the years, starting with Judith Harris’s brilliant (and shocking) work onpeer pressure, then Eric Mazur’s work at Harvard but also through severalpresentations at a recent JISC E-assessment conference, I’ve been smitten bypeer learning. The idea is to encourage learners to learn from each other. Compellingarguments?

 

1. Powerfultheoretical underpinning

 

The bible for ‘peer’ pressure, and why parents and teachersshould know about this stuff, is Judith Harris’s wonderful The Nurture Assumption, the work for which she received the GeorgeMiller Medal in psychology. StephenPinker sang her praises in The BlankSlate, and claimed that she had turned the psychology of learning on itshead. I think he’s right. In a deep look at the data she found somethingtotally surprising, that far from parents and other adults, like teachers, influencingthe minds of young people, she found that 50% was genetic, just a few per centparents and a whopping 47% peer group. The initial evidence came fromlinguistics, where children unerringly pick up the accents of their peer group,not their parents (I know this from experience).

 

2. Massively scalable

 

Given the massification of education, here’s an interestingargument. Peer learning may actually be better with large classes, as you havemore scope in terms of selected peer groups. As many struggle with thechallenge of large classes, here’s a technique that amplifies both teaching andlearning. Peer reviewing and learning works because it is scalable, especiallywhen good web-based tools are used.

 

3. Learning byteaching is probably the most powerful way to learn

 

Unsurprisingly, to teach is to learn, as peer learninginvolves high-order, deep-processing activity. In fact, the teacher mayactually gain more than the learner. In any case, the peer’s voice is oftenclearer and better than teacher’s voice as they are closer to the mindset ofthe learner and can often see what problems they have, as well as solutions tothose problems.

 

4. Encouragescritical thinking

 

You can easily see how peer learning produces diversity ofjudgement. It is this enlargement of perspectives that is the starting pointfor critical thinking and complex reasoning, the very skills that Arum foundlacking in his recent research in the US.. It also increases self-evaluation.

 

5. Group bonding aside effect

 

In addition to enhanced social and communication skills,peer groups bond. In one nursing case study at the University of Glasgow, thestudents started off a bit sceptical but soon demanded and volunteeredparticipation.

 

6. Dramatic drops indrop-out rates

 

In all the case studies I saw, higher attendance and lowerdrop-out rates were claimed. This is not surprising, as continuing failure anddisillusionment are often the result of isolation and a feeling of helplessnessin learners, especially in large classes and courses.

 

7. Higher attainment

 

Mazur has recorded some startling improvements, not only inthe core understanding of physics, but in general measured attainment throughsummative assessment. The peer learning was, in effect, the result of cleverformative assessment. In a nursing course, they experienced better note takingand higher attainment and in a psychology course with 550 students, reciprocalpeer critiques also led to higher attainment.

 

Problems?

 

Do students muck about? Apparently not, in the case studiesI’ve seen the groups self-moderate. Indeed, the peer pressure preventsdisruptive and non-participatory behaviour. It becomes cool to participate.

 

How do you know they’re not feeding each other false things?There’s certainly the danger of the blind leading the blind, but overall, thecase studies show that real growth occurs. There’s real peer pressure in termsof not being exposed and not bullshitting the others. The approaches and toolshelp overcome this danger through the clever selection of mixed-ability, peergroups.

 

Of course there’s a difference between peer marking and peerreview. Some advise against peer marking as it can be seen as a step too far,peer review, with constructive comments, however, seems to be more powerful.

 

Peer tools

 

You don’t actually need any tools to get started. As Mazurhas shown, simple coloured cards that allow students to respond to theteacher’s diagnostic questions can be enough to spark peer group learning. He actuallyuses clickers, with histograms appearing on the screen, but mobile phones areincreasingly being used for this function. However, for more technology-driven peerlearning, Aropa, Peerwise or Peermark can be used.

 

Aropais an open source tool from the University of Glasgowthat allows teachers to set assignments then set up peer reviews betweenstudents. You review other students’ work, then receive reviews on your ownwork.

 

 

Peerwiseis a free tool from NZ that flips assessment andallows students to create questions, share and see answers, a sort ofpeer-based, formative assessment generator. I like this angle as building goodquestions really does make you think in depth about the subject. It’s used byhundreds of institutions.

 

 

Peermark allows instructors to write assignments, fromturnitin, the plagiarism folks. You set dates, can see how many assignmentshave been submitted, set how many students you want to review each assignmentand whether you or the students choose what to review, pair up students, addreview questions, reorder them. There's a nice video demo here..

 

 

Conclusion

 

I’m really convinced that this moves us on. We have tobounce teachers and learners out of that mindset that sees teaching as one tomany and adopt the wisdom of the network. Pamela Katona at the University ofUtrecht showed that students are less than satisfied with the teaching andfeedback they receive. So many learners wait too long for feedback, receivecursory feedback, don’t have access to the marking scheme and often don’t seethe final marked paper.

 

Arum, in AcademicallyAdrift, has presented good research to show that critical thinking, complexreasoning and communications skills are all too lacking in our universities. Sohere’s a technique that moves us on, combing the best of teaching with the bestof learning. All it takes is just that first step towards student interactivityand participation. And, to repeat, it’s SCALABLE, indeed, the more the merrier.

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do it anyway!

from The Shiny Headed Prophet by Rob

  

People are often unreasonable and self centred.

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of alterier motives.

Be kind anyway.

If you are honest, people may cheat you.

Be honest anyway.

If you find happiness, people may be jealous.

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough.

Give your best anyway.

 

 

For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.

It was never between you and them anyway.

 

Mother Teresa, 1979 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

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Here's to the crazy ones

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