Hacking Metaphors, Frames and Other Ideas
How to read this This will take about 18 minutes to read (at 230 words/min ) but the text is structured to make it easy to jump around and find the key points faster. I tend to go into more detail than most people find necessary. Two reasons to read : Explore a different perspective…
Read more →I became a feminist because a woman once told me not to be an idiot and I decided that it was good advice. That was in 1998. But I was all ready to be a feminist long before that, so it really just took a small push to get me over the hump. I was…
Read more →Publication note An earlier version of this was published in the Oxford Magazine No 422. This post expands certain sections based on questions and feedback I received following the first publication of the piece. It is also available on Medium . The state of digital dislocation The current state of digital dislocation is forcing us…
Read more →Some time ago, Thomas Basbøll followed up his excellent post on how to write a paragraph with a much more daring endeavour on how to write a sentence . And while the post is a pleasure to read, I think it did not quite overcome the challenge the author stated at the start: “it is…
Read more →Recently, I've been exploring the notion of explanation and understanding . I was (partly implicitly) relying on the notion of 'mental representations' as built through deliberate practice. My plan was to write next about how I think we can reconceptualize deliberate practice in such a way that it draws on a richer conception of 'mental…
Read more →This book will perhaps only be understood by those who have themselves already thought the thoughts which are expressed in it—or similar thoughts. It is therefore not a text-book. Its object would be attained if there were one person who read it with understanding and to whom it afforded pleasure. (opening sentence of the preface…
Read more →TL;DR This post outlines 5 levels or types of understanding to help us better to think about the role of metaphor in explanation : Associative understanding: Place a concept in context without any understanding. Dictionary understanding: Repeat definitions, give examples, and make basic connections. Inferential understanding: Make useful inferences based on knowledge about - but…
Read more →TL;DR There are at least 3 uses of metaphor in the educational process: 1. Invitation to enter; 2. An instrument to grasp knowledge with; 3. Catalyst to transform understanding. Many educators assume that 1 is enough but it rarely leads to any useful understanding. Explanation is a salient part of the educational process to such…
Read more →A few days ago, I tweeted a link to an article in TES : What Miss really means < It's always worthwhile re-examining ingrained inequalities http://t.co/GKhjc4VgUP #edchat #ukedchat #feminism — Dominik Lukes (@techczech) May 17, 2014 Today, I got the following response back: @techczech 'really means' talks about origins. It doesn't mean that to me…
Read more →Drafty This was written in some haste and needs further refinement. Maybe one day that will come. For now, it will be left as it stands. Background This post outlines what I think are the key learnings from the output of the research of the field of linguistics that should be reflected in the general…
Read more →I have been asked (as every year) to nominate three books of the year for Lidové Noviny (a Czech paper I contribute to occasionally). This is always a tough choice for me and some years I don't even bother responding. This is because I don't tend to read books 'of the moment' and range widely…
Read more →I am a gaming semi-literate! I was listening to the discussion of the latest BioShock game on the latest TWiT podcast when I realized that I am in fact game illiterate. I am hearing these stories and descriptions of experiences but I know I can't access them directly without a major investment in knowledge and…
Read more →[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300"] Teacher in primary school in northern Laos (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption] Most of us are all too happy to repeat clichés about education to motivate ourselves and others to engage in this liminal ritual of mass socialization. One such phrase is "knowledge is power". It is used to refer not just to…
Read more →Jim Shimabukuro uses Rupert Murdoch's quote “We have a 21st century economy with a 19th century education system” to pose a question of what should 21st Century Education look like ( http://etcjournal.com/2008/11/03/174/ ) "what are the key elements for an effective 21st century model for schools and colleges?". However, what he is essentially asking us…
Read more →
