CRUSH SCHOOL

5644 1st Avenue South Minneapolis, MN, 55419

I blog on Brain-Based Learning, Metacognition, EdTech, and Social-Emotional Learning. I am the author of the Crush School Series of Books, which help students understand how their brains process information and learn. I also wrote The Power of Three: How to Simplify Your Life to Amplify Your Personal and Professional Success, but be warned that it's meant for adults who want to thrive and are comfortable with four letter words.

Virtual Reality Learning

January 18, 2019  /  Oskar Cymerman

Virtual Reality Learning
“The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.”
— Jean Jacques Rousseau

We say "a picture is worth a thousand words" and then ask our students to imagine things they cannot see.

In chemistry, we show two-dimensional representations of atoms, create crude drawings of molecules on classroom boards, and use abstract notations to show where the electrons are. We constantly look for videos - some better than others - to show things and processes so small terms such as "nanotechnology" were invented to classify them. As technology miniaturization becomes more extensive the understanding of it becomes more paramount. But how can we make learning of such concepts more real, more vivid, and more effective?

Virtual reality.

Envision seeing the invisible. Imagine a student being able to enter a world of the atom and explore it thoroughly all the while being the hero of her own journey. Virtual reality (VR) headsets coupled with 3-D chemistry simulations and expeditions allow every student to not just see but experience the atom or the behavior of the gas inside of a helium balloon.

Later, we can place students in the middle of the action as ionic, covalent, and other bonds that make up everything are being formed. Later still, we give them the opportunity to make their own atoms or molecules from scratch. The possibilities are endless as VR knocks down the two-dimensional barriers of traditional technology and provides a fully immersive learning experience.

This can be done in any subject. How about taking your social studies students on a walk along the Great Wall of China? Or, helping physics or engineering students investigate how Burj Khalifa - the tallest building in the world - was built and why its design is appropriate for the hot desert it stands in. English teachers can incorporate virtual reality experiences while teaching students text analysis or writing. Check out a poetry analysis lesson and this persuasive writing one.

Students can even tour universities they might be interested in and skip the travel, lodging, and meal costs associated with traditional college tours. While a virtual college tour might not replace the full experience that includes talking to academic advisors and asking questions it gives a prospective student a realistic feel for what the campus is like and whether it is a good fit. Check out this UCLA virtual tour, but imagine being inside and looking around instead of just scrolling with your mouse or finger because this is what a good pair of VR goggles allows.

There are many more free and paid lessons and educational VR experiences available. As abstract as VR technology might seem, it can be used to improve student understanding of abstract concepts, difficult to reach locations, and things invisible to the naked eye by enhancing instruction with visual, interactive experiences that are more memorable and ultimately less abstract.

Above are just a few of the reasons why I decided to venture into virtual reality with my chemistry and engineering students and while I’ve been doing a lot of research in the last two months it is a new and largely unexplored education frontier for me. However, I am certain that full immersion and experimentation is one of the best ways to learn anything, VR included.

Thus, I started a Donor’s Choose campaign to help me fund 6 VR headsets I can use in my chemistry and engineering classes and I am asking for your support.

There are two ways you can help.

One, you can donate an amount of your choosing here knowing that your entire contribution will be used toward providing better, more progressive education to high school students.

Two, you can share this project on your social media. I have included an easy way to do this on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn below. All you have to do is click on the link and share it.

But whether you are able to help or not I promise you that I will share everything my students and I learn from this project here. I hope our experiences, failures, and successes will inspire and inform you to use virtual reality or look for new ways of helping your students learn.

Thanks for reading and remember that if you endeavor to change their experiences your students and your children will come away more prepared to change the world.

Click here to donate.

Click here to share on Facebook.

Click here to share on Twitter.

Click here to share on LinkedIn.

If you enjoyed this post and would like to keep track of my Venture into Virtual Reality or learn more about helping students learn consider signing up for my newsletter below.

Hi! I'm Oskar.          I teach, write, and speak to make learning better.

oc pro.png

BOOKS & TOOLS

Comment
categories / Virtual Reality
tags / teaching teens, deeper learning, independence, skills, learning, making life easier, kids, VR, AR, virtual reality, augmented reality

Best Practice Checklist

November 29, 2018  /  Oskar Cymerman

teaching checklist
“What you stay focused on will grow.”
— Roy T. Bennett

Blood everywhere, the nurse frantically switching one blood bag for another. Empty. Full. Empty. Full. Empty and a full one again.

Utter chaos, the doctor rhythmically squeezing the heart with bare hands to pump blood to the patient’s brain. Squeeze. Release. Squeeze. Release. Life and death.

Life wins but it was close.

Performing a surgery he has successfully attempted many times before Dr. Atul Gawande accidentally cut his patients vena cava, the blood vessel that carries deoxygenated blood from the lower half of the body to the heart. The amount of blood the patient lost was lethal ten times over. A checklist is why he lives.

The story above and the subsequent a-has it evokes are part of the Hidden Brain podcast episode You 2.0: Check Yourself. The podcast takes on the subject of checklists in a non-traditional sense. Rather than looking at checklists as a tool that merely helps one remember a list of things to do the show host, Shankar Vedantam explores the ways in which checklists help highly competent and skilled professionals such as doctors or pilots minimize procedural risk and improve performance.

This article looks at designing simple, general checklists professionals such as teachers can follow to help them improve their craft.

Checklists Do More Than Help Memory

I don’t know about you but I sometimes forget to do this or that in the classroom as a result of the morning I’m having. Maybe I’m rushing and my mind dismisses things that are routine. Thus, a simple 5 - 7 item checklist - an agenda of classroom (or office) routines repeated daily - can be a helpful tool preventing their consignment into oblivion.

All we need to do is decide on the absolute must haves, write them down, and display them as a checklist to follow daily. Next time your mind is drawing a blank go to your list. You will not just maintain consistency. In fact, your process and outcomes will improve just as it did in aviation, medicine, and other industries. A checklist also saved the crew of Apollo 13.

Your checklist might not save lives of patients, pilots, or astronauts but it will illuminate your way. Though they may seem rudimentary, checklists are often designed for highly skilled professionals who know their respective crafts well. Checklists not only help prevent mistakes but lead to continual improvement of the process, the professional, and the profession they are applied in.

Designing a Classroom Checklist

The checklist below is my attempt at designing an easy to use tool that promotes best practice in the classroom. It can be customized to what you do and your teaching style.

  1. Before learning: Opening activity intended to help students recall key concepts from the previous lesson. I usually ask my students to solve problems or recall concepts in small groups first as I walk around the room. Then, the answers are recorded on the classroom board.

  2. School announcements: Is there anything that needs to be passed on to the students such as charitable drives, assemblies etc.?

  3. Class announcements: Is there a test or an assignment deadline approaching? Just because it’s written on the class board doesn’t mean the students know/remember it. Most likely do not.

  4. Front-loading: What’s the most student-friendly way for my students to receive today’s material? Does this topic call for direct instruction and modeling? Or, can students use technology and discovery? Project? Lab?

  5. Learning: What can my students do to learn? How can they apply the information they received to construct understanding? This calls for doing (active learning) - practicing, problem-solving, drawing diagrams, recording video, modeling etc.

  6. Review: Quick activity that summarizes or reviews the key concept(s) such as asking students to compare or contrast or scribble down or tweet a summary of what they’ve learned.

And while it may not be feasible to do everything on my list every day, having a checklist helps me be a better teacher.

It helps me remember to design lessons that minimize “me talking” and maximize “them doing.”

It brings focus to the fact that receiving and learning information are not the same.

It reminds me to include continual repetition (items 1, 5, 6) and, as I often forget to announce school- and class-related information, the checklist is there to save it from oblivion.

Try it for yourself. Or make your own. Checklist your plan. Follow it. Grow.

If you enjoyed this post consider signing up for my newsletter below.

Hi! I'm Oskar.          I teach, write, and speak to make learning better.

oc pro.png

BOOKS & TOOLS

Comment
categories / Learning
tags / teaching teens, parenting teens, deeper learning, independence, lifelong learning, simplicity, skills, success skills, learning, making life easier, kids

Speed It Up

November 21, 2018  /  Oskar Cymerman

speed it up
“Life is like a ten speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use. ”
— Charles M. Schulz

This tip is super simple but most friends or colleagues I mention it to are surprised they have not considered it before. They are also thankful because this underutilized tweak saves them time and speeds up their learning.

When consuming informational podcasts or YouTube videos go into settings and change the replay speed to 1.5. You will find yourself finishing a 30-minute podcast in 20 minutes without skipping a beat. This is because most people speak at a significantly slower pace than the human mind can process and comprehend.

This is why we space out all the while tricking our conversation partners into thinking we’re listening to their rambling-ons with an occassional slow nod, fast “mhm,” or medium “right.”

If you’ve never tried to listen to audio at one-and-a-half times the normal speed the above point will be proven to you the first time you do it.

It is possible you might be able to double the default speed and still fully comprehend what you’re listening to or watching if you can focus intensely. Experiment and find out what your brain’s optimal speed setting is and you might find yourself consuming audio and video at 2 times the replay speed from now on.

See if you can do it with a turkey or tofurkey-filled belly.

Learning supercharged and it’s stupid simple. You’re welcome.

If you enjoyed this post consider signing up for my newsletter by clicking “Subscribe.”

Hi! I'm Oskar.          I teach, write, and speak to make learning better.

oc pro.png

BOOKS & TOOLS

Comment
tags / teaching teens, parenting teens, deeper learning, independence, lifelong learning, simplicity, skills, success skills, learning, making life easier, kids

ⓒ 2024 Crush School