Surprise or Humor?
I'm blessed to learn often with my precious little granddaughter, who is almost three years old. Recently, I asked her if she wanted to make Snickerdoodle cookies. Her whole face lit up with a smile and she fell to the floor and started laughing. She said, "Snickerdoodle, you crack me up Grammy!"
Does the best learning happen when we are surprised? Or if something seems silly or funny?
In 2012, I experienced my first professional learning that was filled with surprise and humor, the Discovery Education Network Summer Institute. About 150 educators met together to spend a week exploring, swapping stories and resources, and experiencing adventure. In between surprise guest speakers like Reed Timmer from StormChasers and team-building challenges, there were friendships being created. We discovered that we all had a goal in common: Create the best learning experiences for our students!
Source: http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/densi-group/
While listening to conversations through an #IMMOOC Google Hangout tonight with three fantastic authors, George Couros, Katie Martin, and AJ Juliani, I decided to journey back to one of the most memorable professional learning experiences that I've had. While listening to the importance of how to facilitate professional learning by providing time for productivity, like real time...three hours for a working lunch and then coming back to share what you've created. In addition, providing time to observe other teachers, along with time for reflecting on what was discovered. These were all features of my first best professional learning experience that encouraged me to think about being a learner in my profession as a teacher. As a learner, I was given the freedom to wonder and play!
I'm bringing this blog back to life tonight to remind me to find my own "snickerdoodles" in my learning and to encourage others to do the same. Let's have some fun as we share in the learning process together!
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