Tech Talk Roundtable 81 | Everyone is “Fine”

But does teamwork have to be a lost cause? Psychologists have been working on the problem for a long time. And for good reason: Nowadays, though we may still idolize the charismatic leader or creative genius, almost every decision of consequence is made by a group. When Facebook’s board of directors establishes a privacy policy, when the C.I.A.’s operatives strike a suspected terrorist hide-out or when a jury decides whether to convict a defendant, what matters is not just the intelligence and wisdom of the individual actors involved. Groups of smart people can make horrible decisions — or great ones.

I read technology articles quite often and see plenty of authors attempt to dissect or describe the teenage audience, especially in regards to social media. However, I have yet to see a teenager contribute their voice to this discussion. This is where I would like to provide my own humble opinion.

Teaching cannot simply be about imparting content. Our job is to teach students how to think much more than it is to teach kids what to know. As a profession we are duty-bound to assess our students’ the depths of knowledge and levels of skill acquisition. These challenges can only be met by formative assessments.

I believe that all learning begins with an effective question. Stanford agrees with me. Get beyond surface understanding and get into the meat of learning by using probing questions in your classroom. You will love the results!