Presentation which sparked some wonderful discussion between an awesome group of educators today at @ICTEDU. Thank you all.

1. Designing for Learning: from Dojos
and Discussion Boards to Classrooms
and Corporations
Mary Loftus

2. Designing for Learning: from Dojos & Discussion Boards
to Classrooms & Corporations
Mary Loftus

3. Tony Wagner – Creating Innovators
The world does not ask, what knowledge you have?
It asks what skills do you have?
What can you do?
Are you motivated?

4. Systems of Learning
Traditional
• Assessment
• Performance
Innovation focused
• Making learners ‘awesome’
– Kathy Sierra
• Engagement
• Honouring the student
• Creativity

5. Elizabeth Gilbert – creativity is a kind of divine intervention –
arrived at by hard work

12. Creativity is not about creating
‘something out of nothing’…
Creativity encodes, selects, re-
combines synthesises already
existing facts, ideas, facilities, skills
Arthur Koestler (1964) The Act of Creation

13. We used to think creativity was given to just a special few
We were mostly afraid of them

14. What does a creative person look like?

16. My Grandfather cut more turf in a day than any other man on Toner’s bog.
Nicking and slicing neatly, heaving sods over his shoulder, going down and down.
For the good turf.
Digging.

17. 70s oil shortages? Not a problem :)

18. Power outages?

19. Stove Starter
Stove won’t light?

20. Leftover Wavin pipe?

21. And he’s infected his grandchildren…

22. Do we educate these attributes out of young people?
Risk Taking
Tenacious,
Never give
up
Not hung
up on
process
Just Do It

23. • PISA scores inversely correlated with
innovation – Pam Moran / Ira Socol

24. The font of creativity is vulnerability

25. How do you nurture your own
Creativity
How can you do more?

26. Contexts
Classroom
Structure &
Content
1->Many
Online
Structure &
Interaction
Many ->
Many
Work
Structure &
Performance
1 -> Many
Dojo
Little
Structure &
Interaction
Many ->
Many

27. Structure
Creativity
Dojo
Classroom
Work
Online
Learning

28. Kathy Sierra - creating passionate users
Action, agency
Passion

30. Classroom
Features
• Prescribed Curriculum
• Testing
• Closed?
• Colaiste Lurgan
• Ballinode College
• Coder Dojo in the classroom
• Personalisation
What does that feel like?

31. Schools are hugely powerful
Last community resource
• Keri Facer

33. 3rd Level
Bridge to Learn - Trinity
Student as Producer – Lincoln University
Online Education – NUI Galway
MOOCs – Sligo IT

34. Online Classroom
Features
• Discussion: the heart of the
programme
• Ask students to shape and
drive discussion
• Give them ownership – but
provide some basic
structure
• Questioning is key
What does that feel like?
http://www.temple.edu/tlc/resources/handouts/discussions/Discussion_as_a_Way_of_Teaching.pdf

36. Work
Features
• Goal Driven
• Problem Solving
• Meetings
• Performance Management
• Continuous Improvement
• Change Management
• Standards
What does that feel like?
Plan
DoCheck
Act

38. Dojo
Features
• Creativity
• Freedom
• Peer Learning
• Shared/Open Curriculum
• Performative
• Participative
• Puts young person in the
driving seat (power, agency)
• Gets them comfortable with
‘not knowing’ and failure
What does that feel like?
•

39. CoderDojo – notice where the parent is (left) and
where the children are (leading the room)

41. What would happen if….
• A company provided 2 team members to work
with a group of 2nd level students on a
community issue?
The world does not ask, what knowledge you have?
It asks what skills do you have?
What can you do?
Are you motivated?
- Tony Wagner

42. What would happen if….
• What if X did Y with Z to do P?

43. Battle or Opportunity
• Power: Central / Distributed
• Assessment: Central / Self
• Curriculum: Prescribed / Shared
• Access: Open/Closed
• Leadership: Hierarchical / Peer Led
• Agency vs Control
• Openness vs Closed
• Other-centred vs Self-centred
• Mindfulness…

45. Critical Pedagogy / Systems Thinking
•How do we
collaborate
•Can we
improve
performance of
the system?
•Why has this
been
happening?
•What is
happening?
Personal
Mastery
Mental
Models
Team
Learning
Building
Shared
Vision

46. Cross Fertilisation – how?
CoderDojos
Schools
Companies
Universities

48. Apps for Good

50. Youth Media Team

52. Student as Producer

53. What can each one of us do?
Nurture our own creativity
We have to be innovators, model, take risks, make
mistakes, learn from them, work collaboratively
Where am I modelling play, passion, purpose?
How can I connect with others doing the same

54. DojoCon2014

55. Questions / Issues
• Junior Cert Short Course in Coding?
• CoderDojos relationship with schools?
• CoderDojos relationship with companies?
• How do we manage the synergies?
• What are the possibilities?

56. Carl Rogers
‘Saw himself as a facilitator -
one who created the
environment for
engagement.
•Active Listening
•Creating a safe space
There were 'ways of being'
with others that foster
exploration and encounter‘
Smith (1999)
Further reading:
Joe McCarthy
Donald Clark
• Realness in the facilitator of
learning
• Prizing, acceptance, trust
• Empathetic understanding

58. Mentors
Is there a teacher or mentor who’s made a difference –
2/3rds said yes
Many of these mentor teachers were outliers