Blog - Page 36 of 48 - Spencer Education

Nov 27 2016

Is it time to reinvent the wheel?

By John Spencer Creativity One Comment

It’s Thanksgiving evening and I trudge up the stairs with every anticipation of writing a post about food and family and gratitude. I pull up my chair and flip open my MacBook. A black screen appears. I tap on the buttons. Nothing happens. I click…

Nov 25 2016

How I’m Using Design Thinking for My #NaNoWriMo Novel Project

By John Spencer Design Thinking, Podcast No Comments

A few months ago, my son came to me to pitch a story idea. "I want a story about a superhero taco." "You mean, like a superhero that eats tacos?" "No, a superhero taco. Like a real taco, though. Not those fake hardshell tacos." "Got…

Nov 24 2016

I’m Thankful for Teachers

By John Spencer Podcast One Comment

It's late morning on a Wednesday. I have a string of meetings and a stack of paperwork. Right now, I'm thinking of the classroom. I'm remembering the way we would do a maker project on the day before Thanksgiving. We were learning, but it never…

Nov 08 2016

10 Things That Happen When Students Engage in Design Thinking

By John Spencer Design Thinking 23 Comments

In a recent post, I wrote about why I want to see students become innovators: Subscribe to YouTube Channel Unfortunately, the system isn't designed for innovation. For years, schools have been stuck in a one-size-fits-all factory model, where students passively consume content. Some people will point…

Nov 04 2016

It’s Time to Celebrate the Small Stuff

By John Spencer Creativity, Podcast 2 Comments

When my grandpa died, my grandma told me that she missed the small stuff. She had plenty of photo albums packed full of memories, but what she missed the most was waking up next to him in the morning. I remember visiting her on a hard…

Nov 02 2016

Innovation May Be a Buzzword, But It’s a Term I’ve Grown to Love

By John Spencer Innovation, Podcast 2 Comments

Subscribe to YouTube Channel I used to hate the word “innovative.” See those quotes right there around the word? Those are actually air quotes that I would use whenever I used the term. “It’s a buzzword,” I would say. “It’s overused,” I would point out.…

Oct 30 2016

Start with the Mindset, Not the Space

By John Spencer Podcast One Comment

Yesterday, I got the chance to lead a discussion on makerspaces. I felt out of place as a facilitator, because I've never actually created a maker space. I know my limitations; and that includes redesigning the physical space of the classroom. If you asked me…

Oct 22 2016

The Power of Hands-On Simulations to Push Critical Thinking

By John Spencer Podcast 5 Comments

I've been exploring this idea of "vintage learning" all month. It's a simple idea. Sometimes the best way to look forward is to look back. Some of our most innovative lessons are actually low-tech. Two students in my social studies pedagogy class chose an area that…

Oct 16 2016

Why Duct Tape and Cardboard Might Be a Better Option than a 3D Printer

By John Spencer Creativity 6 Comments

A few days ago, I met Manuel Herrera at MORENet. He has an amazing maker space where students engage in creative thinking on a daily basis. It's a bastion of creativity and wonder and his passion for it is contagious. However, as we talked about…

Oct 11 2016

Should School Be More Confusing?

By John Spencer Innovation 4 Comments

I recently listened to a 99% Invisible podcast where they mentioned an excavation of a ship deep underground in the San Francisco business district. I paused the podcast and pondered how a ship would end up buried deep within the city. Who put it there?…