ILP Microcast 2: Playing the Whole Game & Creating Better Maps

This week I sat down with Mendon-Upton Superintendent Joe Maruszczak to discuss a range of ideas that shape and support Inspired Learning. We started with the concept "playing the whole game" in school that was developed by Harvard Professor David Perkins. In hindsight, the idea should have been unpacked more in the microcast and this excerpt from Education at Bat provides a succinct overview:

Why think about little league? Perkins says that in baseball, as in playing an instrument, one learns what it is to play the whole game first, and then to fine tune aspects of it over time.

“You don't learn to play baseball by a year of batting practice,” he says.

​The way to let young learners play the whole game is to find or construct a junior version of it. A junior version of baseball may involve fewer innings, a diamond that is smaller than standard, or teams consisting of whatever neighborhood kids show up in the park on a given day. Yet the junior version conveys the essence of baseball — swinging at and hitting a ball and then making your way around bases while the opposing team scrambles to put you out.

Authenticity is a hallmark of Inspired Learning and the idea of "playing the whole game" provides a useful heuristic for instructional design.

We also explored possible tools for capturing the outcomes of Inspired Learning experiences. Our conversation focused on portfolio tools that provide more comprehensive evidence of student learning. Among the resources we discussed were  Badgr (open digital badges), bulb, Richer Picture and tried and true blogging approaches like Wordpress. With these tools, we can support students as they craft multimedia stories that better capture the depth and meaning of their learning experiences.

The assessment component of our conversation was sparked by Shane Parrish's new book "The Great Mental Models." It's first model is "The Map is Not The Territory." This model is particularly relevant in public education where we often overly rely standardized assessments (the map) to assess the quality of our schools. It's not that this map doesn't provide useful information, but it can't possibly encompass all of of school quality or even most of it (the territory). Our current "maps" often do not capture the diversity of skills that are developed and expressed in Inspired Learning experiences. Thus, it's incumbent upon us to become cartographers and design maps that capture what we value.

​Give our conversation a listen and leave us a comment with your thoughts.

Bonus Content

,We recently spoke to Mike Caulfield, author of the free eBook Web Literacy for Student Fact-Checkers. We touched upon a wide range of topics in digital media literacy and learning as well as hs new open modular course, Check, Please! Any educator who is working with students to cultivate research skills, information literacy or civic engagement would benefit from both the interview and exploring the course. 

The Inspired Learning Conversation returns on Monday (10/28) at 4:00 PM with Dr. Julie Coiro to discuss her book From Curiosity to Deeper Learning. We'll focus on designing interest-driven inquiry experiences for students in grades K - 5. We hope you will join us.