sharing the future: how you need to think to help young people think past you march 10, 2015 dr....
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Sharing the Future: How You Need To Think To Help Young People Think Past You
March 10, 2015Dr. Marc Aronson
Who Am I and Why Am I Here?
• Ph.D. In US Cultural History• 25+ Years as an editor and author of books for
children and teenagers• Often Write Books With Scientists Describing
Their Process of Discovery• Seeking a Mathematician to Craft Similar Book• Full-time professor in Rutgers MLIS program• Frequent speaker on Common Core State
Standards
Whether The Singularity Is
• Science Fiction• Utopia• Dystopia• Some/none/all of the above
• The accelerating pace of change is inevitable
We See That in
• New Insights to Disease:• “Study on Chronic Fatigue May Help With
Diagnoses” NYT 2/27• New Products:• “Apple to hold Watch event March 9” CNBC
2/26• New Insights to History:• “After 8 centuries, rats exonerated in spread of
Black Death. Gerbils implicated.” WPost 2/24
And
• New Jobs• “Health Care Opens Stable Career Path, Taken
Mainly by Women” NYT 2/22• New Social Policy Questions:• “Obama Focuses on Cyber Security, but NSA
Remains an Issue” Re/Code 2/13• New Biological/Medical Questions:• “‘Three-parent’ babies explained: what are the
concerns and are they justified?” The Guardian 2/1
Whether We
• Discuss and debate products, treatments, historical theories, career choices, social-political, or medical-ethical issues – we are surrounded by rapid change
• We must train students to function in a world whose rules may not yet have been invented
We Must Help Them
• To use tools that don’t exist• To solve problems not yet defined• To evaluate streams of information we cannot
comprehend• To hold jobs in as-yet-unborn-businesses with
colleagues throughout the globe
Math Science
ELA
E2. Build a strong base of knowledge through content rich texts
E5. Read, write, and speak grounded in evidence
M3 & E4. Construct viable arguments & critique reasoning of others
S7. Engage in argument from
evidence
E2. Build a strong base of knowledge through content rich texts
E5. Read, write, and speak grounded in evidence
M3 & E4. Construct viable arguments & critique reasoning of others
S7. Engage in argument from evidence
Why The Venn Diagram Is Key
• Once a student knows how to seek out evidence, analyze contentions, build his or her own arguments, and compare and contrast views
• S/he can tackle anything• S/he knows how to know
Whether It is The Latest
• Book of Records• Magic Treehouse• I Survived• Rick Riordan• Rainbow Rowell• John Green• Dystopian, Utopian, Grasshopper Jungle
Avid Readers
• Are in training• They make connections• They develop expertise• They naturally compare and contrast
As the Venn Diagram Shows
• It is not whether you read fiction or nonfiction• Award-winners or popular fads• It is how much you read• How you read• And how you think about your reading
Around Now You Must Be Thinking
• Sounds fine, but encouraging students to read is hardly new
• Can you be more specific? • What about students who are passive,
occasional, or reluctant readers?
Building Knowledge Through Volume Reading
• This is the subject of my workshop• Applies to all readers• Text sets are specifically designed to build
knowledge, expand vocabulary, and create engagement in independent reading
We Share With Young People
• Constant exploration – which shows them how much there is to be explored.
With Fiction
• Discussion groups, pairing with nonfiction, pairing with film, making fan covers, trailers, writing book reviews to place on library site
• Use readers’ passion for a book/author/genre as a starting place for the activities at the heart of the Venn Diagram
Loree Griffin Burns
• http://loreeburns.com/beetlebusters/• Three directions:• Subject of book is scientist’s quest for answers• Author describes her research quest on her
site• Book offers paths for students to become
citizen scientists
Griffin, RS
• Griffin
• http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/blog/rising-star-expedition/page/2/
In One Book
• The pathway to inventing a new science• While another leads to discoveries taking
place right now.
Within Any Book
• Notes are the key – make this a display, an activity
• Create a Sticky Pad with the phrase:
Every Reader Has a Right to Know
• Where the information in a book comes from• Have students examine and question ANY
source• Have them rank, judge, citations• Have them trace citations to see if accurate• Have them look for counterexamples
The Reader Is an Investigator
• A book is a beginning not an ending• It offers messages, clues, help along the quest• It does not deliver final answers• Because answers are rarely final
Which is a Great Philosophical Mystery
• Why Is Math True?• Is Math Invented?• Is Math Discovered?• http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/16/
opinion/sunday/is-the-universe-a-simulation.html?_r=0
• Perfect question to pose in a display
Social/Political Issues
• The point is not to direct students to one view or another
• The point is to enable them to be media literate, to parse contentions made to them
Nonfiction 2: Between Books
• Cluster• Arrange set of books/articles that take
differing views of• Pluto, Dinos, Fracking, Salaries for College
Athletes, the Glass Ceiling in Silicon Valley, the Singularity…
Instead of Displays
• Showing Only Pretty New Covers• Clusters Feature the Debate, the Contention,
Among authors, experts, books• Invite Students to Help Build Clusters
The Entire School
• Devoted to the man who embodied the Venn Diagram – drawing, painting, science, engineering, technology, military history, aviation, medicine, mirror writing….
ENGAGEMENT
• Engage young people in reading, thinking, questioning – with a heavy dose of humor, a swell of passion, an inspiration from the arts, the thrill of logic, the firm foundation of building and making,
• I see this work ALL the Time!
He Built a World
• In Which He Was Possible:• A bookish, poor, African-American male who
was word-struck, in love with Joyce, Balzac, Baldwin, and basketball
• All of his books were maps, invitations, into a world in which he could see himself
Because You
• Love discovery• Love to find that word, that phrase, that
character, that story, that invention, that insight
You Bring Young People Books
• To allow them to share the world, the experiences, the pleasures you love
These Are the Two Pathways to the Future
• We lead young people to surpass us by constantly inviting them to investigate, inquire, and discover
• And through pleasure – by communicating our passion