Weekend Building Blocks - 22 SEPT 2017


There's no value in collecting blocks unless you're connecting them to build something awesome!
Defining terms within systems thinking. Student agency. Failing firearms trainers. AI and organizational values. Scribbling ideas.
  1. Tools for Systems Thinkers: The 6 Fundamental Concepts of Systems Thinking. Leyla Acaroglu dials down the intensity and returns us to the basics of systems thinking. Whether you're brand new to it, or been studying it for years, Leyla's piece defines and explains terms in a simple-to-understand method.
  2. The Intersection of Critical Thinking and Student Agency. Jenny Pieratt argues that teachers too often (and wrongly!) focus on the outcome of knowledge and less on the process of thought. But how can we develop learners who take control of their own learning? Is it possible to teach our students how to think?
  3. A Tale of Two Failures - Part 1: Two way the firearms and tactical training industry gets it fundamentally wrong. Dustin Salomon critiques the learning methods used in the firearms, defense, and tactical training world. (Yes, I'm referenced in this article, but I promise you that I'd be sharing it even had I not.) I completely agree that with proper delivery methods, the right training costs less in time, money, and overall effort - even as ridiculous as that might sound!
  4. How AI Will Change the Way We Make Decisions. Authors Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans, and Avi Goldfarb offer up suggestions on how artificial intelligence (AI) will be used to analyze data, make predictions....and then allow human judgement to take over. Also, how do games hurt the case for AI and how does the concept of organizational values help the case for human decision-making?
  5. 10 reasons why creatives should start working with a pen and paper. John Long says ditch the technology and pick up pen and paper to create things and record ideas. In an age of idea-collecting and curating apps, we might be losing the value of old fashioned ink. I keep a few notebooks around just for doodling and diagramming. It definitely helps my ideas flow and connect-my-dots! 
I appreciate you allowing me to make these recommendations to you each Friday.
    Lou Hayes, Jr.
    thinking & adapting like a Tactical Philosopher
    at The Illinois Model in Chicago.

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