What is Reflection? The question that led back us to Piaget.

I'm not so good with learning theories but some Piaget experiences really marked me. And today, in a simple task on what we understood by reflection, Roberto (IFES) and I ended up rescuing one of them ...

In the pre-operational stage the child is still not able to perform operations, which are the tasks the child can do mentally, rather than Physically. Thinking in this stage is still egocentric, meaning the child has difficulty seeing the viewpoint of others.

Here is a video that can better illustrate this idea. The question is that sometimes the same happen with the  teachers and they have difficulty to put themselves in place of their students. 

Kaleidoscope

I need to ask publicly apologize for Deise (IFSudesteMG) because maybe I'm stealing her idea ... the fact is that I was very glad to see a kaleidoscope on the table and know that she bought to complete our room ... the genius and sensitivity of Deise surprises every day... in fact, nothing can be more significant than a kaleidoscope for all the senses ... are like a lot of colored stones that, given its peculiarities, leave to be a part form the whole into a composition that is as beautiful as changeable, but preserves the essence of each one.

 

Kaleidoscope is geometry, is symmetry... is transformation !!

The transformation that here we have is continuous and as a mixture that values ​​the whole, we exchanged all the time, think, discuss, process, interact and reflect together.

Today was the day to invest in our outstanding activities and also in our ideas, or perhaps even sow them, why not? So, in conversation with Professor Rodrigo Pebble (IFES) some common intentions were identified, particularly with regard to the actual concept of integration, causing the propaedeutical subjects effectively would support those identification of the course. A commented idea was a possible opening regular or exension course for the development of games and program language. He introduced me the Unity and the Scratch (in fact, this I had heard about before, from a student who have interesting in working with it) that are two tools possibilities to develop games.

Formative and summative assessment

Many questions about the difficult task to evaluate the learning process.

Formative and summative assessments should be combined, but how do this? Ana Luisa (Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal) shared with us her experience, quenched some of our anguish, said there was no magic formula, but the important thing is always making explicit to students the criteria used.

The idea, for me, was summed up in a Irma Kunnari's phrase that said: "The tool is not the solution, but the meaning of that"...I think that is absolutely the main point.

QR Code is Math also!!!

 Giselda (IFPI) shared with us the proposal that she developed with multimodal language - like videoclips - in classroom and about her project with QR Code to improve the learning process...it's a good possibility to integrate different areas in fact.

 One more time the math appeared in our class (last thursday in the "Video in Education" class, Niina used the Golden Ratio to show a important framing technique) but I think that went unnoticed as most of the time...why?

I think because normally math is associated with many formulas and algorithms...It's a pity...The math is in everywhere...much more than we can imagine...to explain a little bit better the advantages in to use QR code compared with bar code, I think QR Codes VS Bar Codes - What do You Need to Know and The Maths of Bar Codes
are good reading options.

With Irma we  discussed about constructivism and the main world in my point of view was "scaffolding" in the sense how can we do as teachers to help the students achieve different levels (supposedly in ascending order) in them learning process. In my mind, using the metaphorical images I remembered an old old game (from Atari) that the name was Frostbite...I'm not sure if was because the class or the weather context (maybe both), but the essence is that sometimes you need come back to the base and then move on with the necessary strength in pursuit of their goals.

Gamefication

After hear in the class about the needs in to make a real integration among different campuses from IF, like the good idea proposed by Julio Page (from IFRJ - Duque de Caxias) in create a unique system (platform) to register different kinds of resources that we have in different parts of Brasil to share, maybe, their use (like labs or another equipaments of eventual use -  why not share profesors too I thought?). Actually I remembered that was a cause I had defended also in my project, not exactly in the same sense, but how to approach some neighbor campuses.

So I was invited by Brian to share a little bit of my project with the others colleagues. I talked about the Geogebra, of course, and the work developed with my students (I missed them)  in the project "Reconstructing Da Vinci" from the IFRS. Brian told me that this was, in fact, PBL, even that I hadn't letterheaded that way. Was a good encouragement and a good oportunity to narrow the contact with Rodrigo Calhao (from IFES - Serra) about how we can integrate different areas with the same proposal.

The interesting was that after the class we followed talking about this and he introduced me a book about gamefication, a term that I never hear before, unless a few minutes ago in the class. The curious was because I had just bought a boardgame in a second hand (a typical commercial way here in Finland) and strategical games (although he explained me the difference between games and gamification) as many people know, beyond to be a hobby to me is a good teaching tool also.

A Geometrical Question

Today we had another class about Dialogue Methodologies...Beyound  a good surprise that was a visit of students our a neighbour class (Craft and Recreation), we had another dynamical techniques to discuss a different issues about education.

                                

                                

  

An important part of this class was about the brasilian's comunication culture: while some colleagues was discussing about the power of speech, I thought about the long discussion trough our mail list in IFRS, that sometimes started with a singular issue and assumed so big proportions and in many cases without any goal. In fact, we have some democratic spaces for discussion, but many times seems to lack objectivity..

                              

 However maybe a crucial point to discuss about dialogue methods are the physical spaces that we have, in compare with that we have seen here...our classrooms are almost all equals and their conception doesn't allowed many different compositions...obviously that we can't forget that our reality is to 30 or 40 students...even though I think is interesting to share some pictures of rooms that we have here for maybe future ideas ...

                                                       

                            

composition for 4 places                                 

                           

composition with 9 places                                 

                         

                           composition for 5 places

                         

                           composition for 10 places

                                                      

                      

                                                                                                                                                                       

IMovie and Videos in Education

Good tips with Niina for working with video in the classroom . I hope this activity can be completed with a professional point of view to point our successes and mistakes...

After an afternoon of work, our final video can be watched here.

The original idea, beyond explore the new tools (with a hint of joke) was to show how we can learn by ourselves and make new discoveries when we have an inherent interest, like the PBL methodology, I suppose...

Visiting TAMK

The visit to TAMK brought us new perspectives about entrpreneurship, but more directly in contact with students who do this in fact. We had the opportunity to visit to different experiences in different spaces: Y-Campus, where just coming we can note how they value the students well-being and truly believe that this can be rather constructive and Proacademy, an environment where the practice is the main word. There we could interview some students of Business Administration.

Here I put some highlights took by Sheylla (IFRO), because I think she summarized up well the main idea.  

• In order to get their degree Business Administration, students must have credits, which are achieved though the attendance or promotion of some workshop, lectures, projects (that they must get funded), etc...To help them manage their studies, they have to organize what they are doing in a "Study Plan", in a Excel spreadsheet.
• Trust is solid. Students do not have prove though certificates the courses and lectures they attended. They only register what they really have done.
• Students are given responsibility on their own learning and study management - they are giving.
• Students are given responsibility on their own learning and study management - they are giving opportunities to make choices, they lead workshops and solve their problems together during the learning process. That really makes the difference. Students are really entrepreneurs.
• Teachers are called coaches and they guide, support, help students through the course, but they are not heading the process. Students organize themselves so that they select materials and deliver their workshops. Coaches may be present as well as other guests.
• Students are independent learners, autonomous, critical, engaged, and focused.

   

  

        Y-Campus, TAMK

         

      

                                                               

Proacademy, TAMK

Symmetry

As math teacher, I like so much the concept of symmetry, of course...but is so interesting when we can see this in different contexts...so in this post I chose some pictures or theme that refer this idea...the first two are of geometric character, but the third is related to the methodology we worked today.

Yesterday night we went again to Seija house for dinner...The main course was rice with mushroom and was so good. And for dessert a great surprise: lingonberries with a syrup prepared with cream and brown sugar (the name is puolukat kinuskikastikkeella, but in english would be anything like frozen lingonberries with caramel sauce)...was really, really good. However I think the most important was not the food, but how Seija was so sensitive in involve us to do the dinner together...it's an effective learning model.

When we came back from Seija house, Damione invited me to make a SNOWMAN,  and what was to be a joke was a great learning how work together and how do this in fact, because we never tried before. Then gradually we discovered and developed our own techniques and finally, I think it seems almost like we had imagined (maybe like the Damione's draw). I think it was a great example of persistence and partnership because endure more than two hours in the cold was not easy...ah, and the SNOWMAN name was in honour to Damione's daugther: Biotriz.

Ok, the symmetry (where is) until now is a exercise to you...


But I would like talk a little bit more about the symmetry in the pedagogical method, more specifically in Dialogue Methods.

Today we work with this methodology whose principle among others, listen as much as talk, so important in our activities.

In one of the dynamic proposals we had as a group to discuss what we understood as essential in the role of the teacher ... I think we all were very happy in our definitions, which I share here because in addition to agree, I think that sums up very way conscious of the importance of our exercise in the classroom



I really think each one is essential and only works well in combination with other:

Damione - plans;
Diego - knowledge;
Luis - respect and listen the students;
Rodrigo - autonomy and creativity;
Vico - be an example and sharing;

In another activity, I enjoyed having won the "93 Million Miles" music from Sheylla.

Live like horses

The class just ended and I remembered an Elton John song: LIVE LIKE HORSES. I particularly appreciate the partnership he did with Pavarotti, so I put here the mains chorus that sums up the idea of this music...

Vivrem come cavalli                  Someday we'll live lik horses        

Liberi dai recinti di ferro             Free rein from your old iron fences
Che piu non voglio                    There's more ways than one 
Rinnegare i sensi                      to regain your senses
Su dai fuggiam                          Break out the stalls
Vivrem come cavalli                  and we'll live like horses 

But what did I think this?

Because in class I liked the metaphor that Brian used to compare many educational systems: like blinkered horses...

                                   

So, wich is the model that we want to our teaching, especially in the education sense...

We need change this and make from own our experience almost like the music...break out the stalls and we'll live like FREE horses

NABC model

Yesterday we had another intensive day in Visamäki Campus working over entrepreneurial proposals, especially with the NAPC model, that is focused in NEED,  APPROACH, BENEFITS and COMPETITION also. The dynamical activities was so special because we had a important brainstorm moment to think and discuss about our own educational system in small group and change experience with people from other countries too, like Denmark, Czech Republic and Holand.

Visamäki program II - Canvas

Important point of view to discuss in IF's... highlighted are my favorites.

Slide of the lecture "The Entrepreneurial University", by Paul Coyle

But I think the great issue is if possible (and how can we do that) to join the pieces of this puzzles in the same scenarium?

Visamäki Program I - Entrepreneurship Class

What is ENTREPRENEURSHIP?

What is CHANGE?

What is INNOVATION?

What is SERVICES TO BUSINESS?

These were the questions that conducted the first part that we worked today (discussing in pairs and after that with all the group).

       

REFLECTING ABOUT...
(with metaphoral images)

As the class began with a famous toy to introduce the question (being honest in my opinion a Barbie wasn't a good reference) I thought that a LEGO is so more popular and "entreprenour" toy in the sense of the discussion because it allows who play try differents ways to do and change all the time your construction until get a good result.




By the way another famous toy, indeed a puzzle, could be quoted...

Hardly you can solve  a Rubik's cube without change your point of view... 

In the afternoon we worked together with a finish students, Annie and Kristina: they help us (Ivanildo and me) constructed a Rocket. In fact I missed a better closing of this activity, although it was quite integrative.

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In this visit, we ca see how thy wor with a aplyed courses in fact, For example, the course of shoes fashion m

Stupidly today I deleted my yesterday post...Summary I putted a good answer to my question:

HOW  CAN APLY THE NEW METHODOLOGIES IF OUR GOVERNAMENTAL GUIDLENESS...