What Inspired Us this Week
Here are some of the articles, images and videos that made us pause, think, wonder, laugh and hope. Enjoy!
Daring Boards
Has school started for you yet? If so, share photos of creative and #daringboards in your classroom!
In Education, How Do We Create a Culture of Experimentation?
As part of Bright’s Build on This letter series between education leaders, Tom Vander Ark, who leads design firm Getting Smart, and Matt Candler, who leads education incubator 4.0 Schools, discuss barriers and strategies for creating a culture of experimentation in schools. (Hint: focus on opt-in from the community and small scale experimentation).
“The future of school, and the future of school reform, means experimenting with, and not on, each other.”
Teacher Collaboration: Matching Complementary Strengths
In this excellent guide, Edutopia highlights Wildwood IB World Magnet School where teacher collaboration fosters a supportive professional culture and lessens teacher conflict. The guide has a wonderful “How It’s Done” and Resources page to help you create or deepen the collaborative culture at your school.
Zen Pencils Teacher Guide Free Download
Zen Pencils is a cartoon blog by Gavin Aung Than, which adapts inspirational quotes into comic stories. Gavin, along with his publisher Andrews McMeel Publishing, have just released a Teacher’s Guide to bring these delightful nuggets of inspiration and creativity into your classroom.
High school students are at a critical age. They are deeply engaged in assessing what is important to them, figuring out who they are, and thinking about how they want to live their lives. Zen Pencils explores these themes in complex and engaging visual narratives that are great springboards for introspection, conversation, and creation in the classroom. This guide provides discussion questions and activity ideas to help high school students analyze the comics in Zen Pencils; think about how they apply to their lives; and then discuss, write, and draw about what they are thinking.
via: Zen Pencils. Download the Teachers Guide here.
Online Teacher Book Clubs: Promoting a Culture of Professional Development
Learn how creating an online book club for sharing ideas can invigorate teachers and encourage professional reading and conversations. The article also gives you some tips on starting a book club at your own school. Stay on the lookout for a Teachers Guild book club coming soon!
via: Edutopia
Missed last week’s inspiration digest? Check it out here.
We’d love to know what inspired you this week — share with us in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter, using the hashtag #dare2design and don’t forget to share your boards with us by using the hashtag #daringboards
