CONTEXTover

CONTENTAbbreviated version

“There are some THINGS you just HAVE to know”

What is yourESSENTIALKnowledge?

Are these ESSENTIAL?

“Why does it matter when

King Tut died?”

“Why do I have to study the

area of trapezoids?”

“Because one day…it’s going to be really

valuable!”

What do we tell them?

CONTENT

is king.

There are 4 issues with the current paradigm of

CONTENT

Irrelevanceis deadly to

learning

Abundantand

Changeable

Availableand

everywhere

masteryis unnecessary to

create

1

Irrelevance is deadly to learning…

Not all content is relevant to every person

2

GLUT and FLUX of knowledge

Information changes faster than every before

The western cannon is no longer enough in an increasingly connected/cosmopolitan world

3

Technology makes content available instantly

Sorting information becomes more important than memorizing it.

4

Background knowledge can be vital, but we need to recognize that the point of learning is often

obscured by the need to “COVER MATERIAL”

You don’t need to know it ALL to

makecreate

connect

FACTS: Does this mean throw

out CONTENT?

Of course not…

C o n

t e x t

kis e yWhat we think of as CONTENT should be the CONTEXT to learn and practice skills and habits.

What do COLLEGES and BUSINESSES want?

CommunicationCritical thinkingProblem solving

Collaboration

So THINKING iswhat’s MOST IMPORTANT

Call to action

Resist the seductive lure of

CONTENTin favor of creating rich and varied

learning CONTEXTS