Teach Me

 https://www.ted.com/talks/john_hunter_teaching_with_the_world_peace_game/transcript How a Classroom Game Built for Peace Teaches Kids to Lead John Hunter didn’t set out to change the world. He just wanted to teach fourth graders how to think. Armed with little more than a piece of plywood and an idea, he built the World Peace Game —a four-tier simulation where students tackle global crises like war, poverty, and climate change. They run countries. Make deals. Declare war. Negotiate peace. And through it all, they learn something many adults never do: The hardest problems don’t have easy answers. But they do have people behind them. A Game Where the Stakes Are Real At first glance, the World Peace Game looks like something out of a science fair—colorful pegs, paper signs, string connecting continents. But under the surface? It’s a pressure cooker. Each student is assigned a role: prime minister, defense minister, secretary of state. They inherit national debts, border conflicts, ...

  The article "Teaching the Science of Learning" by Yana Weinstein, Christopher R. Madan, and Megan A. Sumeracki ​ , offers a practical guide for educators, focusing on six cognitive strategies backed by decades of research: spaced practice, interleaving, retrieval practice, elaboration, concrete examples, and dual coding. ​ newdocs.opendeved.net +5 ResearchGate +5 PMC +5 Spaced Practice This involves distributing study sessions over time, rather than cramming. For example, reviewing material over several days helps reinforce memory. ​ Interleaving Mixing different topics or subjects during study sessions, rather than focusing on one at a time, can improve learning. For instance, alternating between math and science problems can enhance problem-solving skills. ​ Retrieval Practice Actively recalling information, such as through self-testing, strengthens memory and learning. Instead of rereading notes, testing oneself on the material can be more effective. ​ Elabora...

 Ted Talks worth talking about in educations. 1. Jane McGonigal: "Gaming Can Make a Better World" https://janemcgonigal.com book: https://a.co/d/9J6GS6Q In this TED Talk, game designer Jane McGonigal argues that gaming can be harnessed to solve real-world problems. She highlights how gamers are adept at collaboration, problem-solving, and perseverance. McGonigal introduces the concept of "urgent optimism"—the desire to act immediately to tackle an obstacle—and suggests that by channeling this mindset into real-life challenges, we can address issues like hunger, poverty, and climate change. She presents examples of games designed with this purpose, such as "World Without Oil" and "Superstruct," which simulate global crises to encourage players to develop innovative solutions. ​ Glasp +1 Glasp +1 2. Brenda Romero: "Gaming for Understanding" Game designer Brenda Romero discusses how games can be powerful tools for conveying complex ...

Rethinking Memory: What Every Teacher Should Know About How Students Learn By Jason T. Rogers There’s a powerful shift happening in education—one that doesn’t start with curriculum or testing. It starts with something much simpler: how memory actually works . I recently listened to a conversation with Jared Cooney Horvath , an educational neuroscientist and former teacher, who broke down what memory really is—and more importantly, what it isn’t . The talk was packed with wisdom, but not in a complicated, academic way. Just honest, down-to-earth insights that every teacher, parent, and learner needs to hear. Here’s what stuck with me. 📌 1. We Remember Only What We Pay Attention To That might sound obvious. But Jared walks through example after example showing how easily distracted the brain really is —how much we think we’re absorbing, but aren’t. If students aren’t actively tuned in, nothing gets stored . Multitasking? That’s not a strength. It’s a memory killer. Every time ...

I'm going to dive into the weeds of what neurosciences have categorized in memory. I'm not sure where to apply this knowledge and how it could help someone like me. But I feel like it is useful and worth pondering on.  ​ Neuroscientists have extensively studied and categorized various types of memory, leading to a comprehensive understanding of how information is processed and stored in the human brain. These classifications help delineate the mechanisms behind learning, recall, and the overall functioning of memory systems. ​ 1. Sensory Memory: This is the initial stage of memory that briefly retains sensory information after the original stimuli have ended. It includes: ​ PMC Iconic Memory: Visual sensory memory that holds a brief snapshot of what we have just seen. ​ PMC Echoic Memory: Auditory sensory memory that retains sounds we have just heard for a short duration. ​ Haptic Memory: Tactile sensory memory related to the sense of touch. ​ These forms of s...

  What Game Design Teaches Us About Learning Design By Jason T. Rogers I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how people learn—not just what they learn, but how the experience is built. And the more I explore that question, the more I find myself circling back to one unexpected source: game designers . That’s right—people who build video games might actually have something important to teach us about building better classrooms, better training environments, and better learning systems overall. I recently watched a video called "Why Game Designers Use Maslow" by Extra Credits. It’s a short, sharp explanation of how good game design lines up with something we usually only hear about in psychology class: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs . Watch here → Why Game Designers Use Maslow – Extra Credits And it got me thinking—maybe it’s time educators started thinking more like game designers. The Levels of Learning… and Why They Matter If you’ve ever seen Maslow’s pyramid, you ...