Dr. Gary Ackerman

Gadflies, mavericks, renegades. I feel so much better when I am around them.

Wait. Browser tabs can be closed?

I just realized I’m the reason the algorithms suck. I never answer the questions used to train them. Sorry everyone.

I started teaching so long ago that I’ve seen folks come in to schools to wander around to “see how things have changed.”

An elderly acquaintance and I talk about current events. Their response is often, “but that will never happen, will it?”

I'm cleaning out some old files on a hard drive. One of the early web pages I wrote pointed to my "frequently visited pages." The collection included "Yahoo" and "Alta Vista." Those were the days.

Motivation is far more complicated that most think. There are lots of shades between intrinsic and extrinsic, if we never recognize them we can’t leverage them.

Do you ever assess your data? Remember: garbage in, garbage out.

“Assess everything” is not conducive to learning.

Learning has so many adjectives associated with it [active, student-centered, brain-based, to get the list started]. So many teachers look at the most recent one to capture the attention of leaders and conclude, “that’s what I’ve been doing all along.”

A blog post on how theories are used in educational technology; this is an exceprt from my book: www.hackscience.education/how-we-use-t...

“Who could have seen that coming?” Well… lots of folks.

I call it cherry picking. You call it being data driven.

We seem to disagree. Let’s make sure we are framing the problem in the same way.

One thing about which we can be sure is that consistent reasoning is not our strength.

We seem to disagree. Let’s make sure we are using the same data.

We seem to disagree. Let’s start by making sure we are answering the same question.

It is called “natural science” for a reason. If you posit “supernatural” causes, it cannot fall within our field. It must remain outside despite your protestations.

“You cannot explain every irrational idea I have, therefore I am right.” Such reasoning is distressingly common.

I don’t understand it, therefore it is not true. Such reasoning is very common.

Be careful. Tests are biased. Computer programs are biased. Any instrument of data collection and analysis is biased. If you recognize the biases and attempt to reconcile them, I’ll pay attention. If you assume they are unbiased, then I won’t.

I hear you sounding credible and using sophisticated language. I’ve also heard these arguments before. If you are going to use lame old ideas, please don’t be indignant when you are dismissed.

How you react when you are caught lying tells me all I need to know about your leadership.

You have the freedom to believe what you like. Part of this is the freedom to be wrong… and to be roundly criticized for it.

This person has never worked or led an organization in which [this very challenging local factor] is an issue, but let’s hire them anyways. This isn’t going to end well.

“The answer is simple.” No. Actually, it isn’t.

If it wasn’t for scientifically gathered, reliable, and valid data, some folks would not know what to reject.

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Einstein or not, it does accurately describe those who send cold call emails expecting I'll buy their product.

Defining and framing the problem must be done by a diverse team, otherwise the solution solves no real problem.

“Tough” and “being a jerk” are synonymous… almost always.

The more questions you ask—questions with difficult and complete answers—the more seriously I take you.

Innovations must be conceived, developed, and adopted. All three. Failure at any step is failure of the whole.

If we were “data-driven,” we would make far different decisions.

You ghosted me after I applied for a position, yet I still get promotional emails from you. I guess the “your application is confidential” message was not quite accurate now, was it?

You know the plan you have in your head about how it’s going to go… it’s always wrong.

Sometimes I hear edtech requests for help and am amazed at the reluctance of many to even try. Then I think back to my colleagues in the late 1980’s who sent students with papers to the office to get they copied because they couldn’t run the photocopier.

I really do not understand how “make it accessible” is seen as an obstacle.

Implicit in how to think is what to think. Good thinkers all come to similar conclusions as they become skilled at judging ideas independently.

No tool is value-free.

Effortful. You are not learning if you aren’t.

“Do you have an example?” “How might I use this?” I like these questions from teachers, but I also find them disheartening. Let’s play and see if we can find a connection to your cassroom. Rejecting innovation until an advocate guesses something that satisfies you is a recipe for stagnation.

Some people just can’t fathom not being the highest priority for everyone at every moment. Please try to identify and cull those candidates when hiring leaders and teachers.

So many curriculum decisions are made to get rid of the one that showed such promise 3 years ago.

Meeting without agendas. Why?

One thing I learned during 35+ years in #education: if you talk about *the* way to teach you are wrong.

One this I learned during 30 years in education: students appreciate a real rationale for what teachers ask them to do.

Yup Schools are political, regulated, authoritarian institutions where the rationale is always “it’s best for the students.” Studying cognitive/ learning science leads to teachers becoming disillusioned. #school #education

One thing I learned during 35+ years in education: those complaints (e.g. grade inflation) were common when the complainers were students too.

I’m at that age where I just don’t know what some folks are saying because they speak in acronyms.

So many “rational choices” are not.