I don’t expect a log of blog traffic on Thanksgiving Day. I surely hope that those of you in the U.S. are enjoying time with friends, family, and, of course, food! But perhaps you are looking for some pre- or post-feast entertainment, or perhaps you are in another country wondering what all the fuss is … Continue reading
It is nearly Thanksgiving time in Michigan, and so, of course, all thoughts turn to feasting. All across the United States people are contemplating turkey, stuffing, pie and—delicious numbers? Possibly. Because today’s post features the appropriately titled website, Yummy Math. Yummy Math focuses on bringing real-world thinking and problem solving into the classroom. It is … Continue reading
Have you ever found yourself in trouble with a teacher because you were doodling in class? Have you doodled through a meeting? Or maybe every meeting? Because last week I described a possible link between stress and perceived boredom, this seemed a good time for a tribute to the underestimated art of doodling. Being able … Continue reading
It is easy to mistake adding and subtracting for math. Or (oh, the horror of it!) long division. So many of us have spent long hours as students, or maybe even as teachers, drilling the basics of computation that we can lose track of the wonder of numbers. And it is the wonder that makes … Continue reading
Have you been bored recently? What was the problem? Were you listening to a speaker who droned on and on? Were you in a meeting discussing the same topic for the 100th time, or matching the 100th pair of socks? Or, perhaps, were you confused, distracted, or stressed? Canadian researchers Eastwood, Frischen, Fenske and Smilek … Continue reading
In the United States, November is associated with Thanksgiving, a time to reflect on the bounties of our lives. That seemed an appropriate topic for this month’s family fun—with some harvest ideas thrown in for good measure. Did you know there is a company called Thanks.com? Really. It is dedicated to helping businesses make gestures … Continue reading
Have you ever been in a situation when you really needed a new idea and your brain seemed to freeze? Or maybe you’ve tried to solve a problem and every idea seemed like a bad one? You are not alone. Creativity and anxiety—or even small amounts of uncertainty—don’t necessarily mix well. Researchers Mueller, Melwani and … Continue reading
What images of our human earth would you hope might last longer than humanity itself? That is the question artist Trevor Paglen asked himself in compiling a collection of 100 “Last Pictures” of earth, recorded on an ultra-archival disc and encased in a gold-plated shell. Paglen spent five years interviewing scientists, artists, anthropologists, and philosophers … Continue reading
Class blogs can be a fabulous way to motivate students to write and to provide families with insight into your class. Sites like Edublogs and Kidblog make it easy to get started. But if students are to blog safely, it is important to have clear and effective blogging guidelines. Luckily, such things are not hard … Continue reading
It is almost Halloween, which means in the U.S., it is time for SPOOKY STORIES. Spooky stories are fun, and a fine opportunity to practice skills of description, elaboration, and plot development in a novel way. It is also, particularly for older students, a chance to help them distinguish between artfully created suspense and gory … Continue reading
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