Strategies used to make ideas and concepts easier for your audience to understand.
A few “business culture” articles came to mind with INC.’s “How to Make Complex Ideas Easy to Understand for Everyone” and Presentation Guru’s “The Best Way to Explain Complex Concepts.” We view these and other resources from an adult learning/ business perspective.
When I am grading assignments or coming up with analyzing compositional elements of a photograph for future books, I try working in different areas of the house and of course remove myself from grandkids who are off school due to inclement weather. At times I will drive to Panera to work on ideas over coffee in front of the fireplace.
I gleaned a few ideas from this web article (2016) on the best writing environment. After reading it, I believe we are all different in creating our own best environment for creative endeavors. It appears the target audience for the article is younger aspirating writers.
World War II Observation Tower, South Bethany Beach, Delaware.
Changing the culture of a school or group requires a “systems thinking” and change theory viewpoint. In our series we examine the research of Donald Ely and Everett Rogers for markers of successful innovations in schools.
Another question surfaces: How can we as professionals make informed decisions to successfully plan and implement effective professional development (PD)?
We have learned that K-12 professional development should be treated as a “process” and not a “product.” Spirrison (2017) asserts, “In this environment, continual and perpetual education is essential.” We hear the latest buzz words in professional development: “Continuous Learning Platforms.” Check out Spirrison’s recent brief article, “Five Reasons Continuous Learning Platforms are the Future of PD” (Participate.com).
A Formal assessment, pertaining to an exceptional population, may be commonly thought as an IQ test. Depending how we view IQ tests, these tests can help predict how a student will cognitively perform in school. For example, in order to be considered academically gifted, a score of 130 is required on Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC). Students having a score of 130 or more on the WISC generally have a high level of academic success. Conversely, children receiving a score below, 80 for example may learn at a slower rate and may not be able to master higher level concepts. Of course there are many factors that influence academic success.
The other types of frequently used tests in schools are achievement tests. Simply put, achievement tests give us information on how a student is achieving in the classroom compared other students in a number of measurable skills areas. We may compare by age, grade, or aptitude. For example, if a fifth grade student with an IQ of 130 has scored on a third grade level, there may be other factors that could interfere with his/her ability to learn. What are those factors?
We can look to educational psychology to explore additional factors that could possibly impact learning. Heckman & Kautz’s Hard Evidence of Soft Skills (University of Chicago, 2012) delve into “the important skills that achievement tests miss or mismeasure” (p.2). The authors assert, “Achievement tests do not adequately capture, soft skills— personality traits, goals, motivations, and preferences that are valued in school, and in many other domains. Children who are more academically motivated and more curious learn more and have higher test scores” (p. 2). In addition, Heckman and Kautz believe that, “Personality traits foster the development of cognition but not vice versa” (p. 37).
“Digital badges have the potential to be the effective and flexible tools teachers have long sought to guide, recognize, assess and spur learning. And they can recognize the soft skills [my emphasis] not captured by standardized tests, such as critical or innovative thinking, teamwork or effective communication” (p.2).
A contrast of verticals is evident with the slight left-leaning diagonals of the trees contrasting with the slight right-lean of the lighthouse.
Khan Academy or massive open online courses (MOOCs) where people earn badges that can only be displayed within the technical system where they were awarded. The badges are thus only visible to those who are logged into the system, which limits the value and portability of the reputation to outside audiences. Open digital badges, however, contain standard technical specifications, and these open standards (not to be confused with academic standards) help foster a digital medium of exchange for credentials that previously did not exist, allowing learners to collect, keep, and share the reputation they have built across different platforms. (p. 4). Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition.
The three main purposes of badge systems are to map progress and foster discovery, signal reputation beyond the community where it was earned, and incentivize learners to engage in pro-social behaviors (Gibson, Ostashewski, Flintoff, Grant, & Knight, 2013).
There is certainly motivation from the instructional technology community to experiment with badges and develop platforms. Lin Y. Muilenburg; Zane L. Berge (2016-03-22). Digital Badges in Education: Trends, Issues, and Cases (p. 9).
This ecosystem consists of the expected stakeholders— the badge issuers, earners, and employers, who directly exchange badges for recognition, reputation, and evaluation— in concert with organizations and entities that add standards and endorsements to the badges to influence their valuation. The complexity does not stop there, as the interplay of these stakeholders, perceived value, and usage of the badges involves much more than the badges themselves; also involved are authentication, verification, and validation of the competencies and learning they represent. Lin Y. Muilenburg; Zane L. Berge (2016-03-22). Digital Badges in Education: Trends, Issues, and Cases (p. 19).
Lin Y. Muilenburg; Zane L. Berge (2016-03-22). Digital Badges in Education: Trends, Issues, and Cases (p. 35). Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition.
A storm approaches the neighborhood in the early evening. The white spots are raindrops on the camera lens. The out-of-place lighter values of the tree in the right foreground edge of the photograph and the small tree in the lower left mid-ground is created by the effect of the limited “throw” of the flash in the landscape.
Freezing rain and light snowfall creates a glaze on the snow in the yard resulting in the reflection of the tree trunk of the trimmed tree in the lower right-of-center mid-ground.
Freezing rain after light snowfall.
The repeating shapes of the towering trees dominate the center of the composition reinforcing the vertical motif of the photograph.
The implied lines of the surrounding landscape, other houses and street/sidewalk shapes tend to converge in a general one-point perspective at the center of the photograph at the house. The contrast between the warm colors of the house reflecting the morning sun and the surrounding cooler colors add to the area of emphasis.