World Teacher Day Brussels 5th Oct. 2017

1. Enhancing creativity and
innovation in adult education
to make lifelong learning a
reality.
Bram Bruggeman
World Teachers’ Day
EPALE_Be
Brussels, 5th October 2017

2. teacher secondary education ~ teacher adult education
~ teacher trainer ~ innovation/ICT
~ burnout ~ school adviser provincial schools Flandres

3. Context of current society and adult education
Clarity in
concepts
Paradox as
pedagogical
design
open vs closed
individual vs group
with or without tech
silent vs dialogue
Brain
& thinking
Best of
both worlds
~ professional
awareness

4. A priest was driving. He saw a nun on the side of the road.
He stopped and offered her a lift. She got in and crossed
her legs, forcing her gown to open and reveal a lovely leg.
The priest could not resist and he carefully placed his
hand on her leg.
The nun looked at him and immediately said, "Father,
remember psalm 129?“
The priest was flustered and apologized. He forced himself
to remove his hand and continue the ride. However, after a
while, he again let his hand slide up again. The nun once
again said, "Father, remember psalm 129?" Once again the
priest apologized. "Sorry sorry sister, but the flesh is
weak.“
Arriving at the convent, the nun got out, gave him a
meaningful glance, and went on her way.
On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to retrieve
a bible and looked up psalm 129.
It said:
"Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory.
Always be well informed & keep sharpening your knowledge
or you’ll miss great opportunities …

5. Context of our current
society
5
UNESCO:
Today over 6 billion people have access to a connected
mobile device and for every one person who accesses
the internet from a computer two do so from a
mobile device.

6. 6

7. Huh??

10. New laws on adult education
Merging of centres for adult education
Less amount of adult students
Structural changes
School culture …

11. We live in highly exponential
and uncertain times.
Volatile – Uncertain –
Complex and Ambigue
Is this good or bad?
It’s neither good, nor bad, it
just is what it is ...
Both sides have possible
advantages.

12. But it tires our brain and
our-selves!
World Health Organization estimates that by 2020,
depression is the most common disease in Western countries.

13. Creativity
NOT:
creativity with
the small c …
BUT:
A capacity to change
the fundamental way
we see, understand,
appreciate the world
or do things.

14. Where do you get
creative ideas?

15. Our nervous system can only process about
110 bits of information per second.
Listening to someone speak takes up about
60 bits of neurological ‘bandwidth’ …

16. Innovation?
Looking differently ~ mindshift

18. The only way ‘out’
is the way ‘in’

19. Structural or creative tension

20. The paradox in a
learning space
open versus closed
individual versus group
silent versus dialogue
technology versus old-skool
DM

21. Learning environments
Integration of technological objects
IN
The problem with most current
learning environments is not the
technology but the mindset of those
who develop it …

22. Dichotomous thinking
Brain stem – Little brain and cortex

23. Our brain is not made
for ‘thinking’…
Thinking is slow,
effortful and uncertain

24. “People are naturally
curious, but we’re not
naturally good thinkers.
Unless the cognitive
conditions are right,
we will avoid thinking.”
Daniel Willingham

25. Learning environments should focus on:
Adequate information of the environment.
Room in working memory.
The required facts and procedures in
long term memory.
21st Century19th Century

26. Best of both worlds:
Mind-wandering &
Connectedness
Knowing what you do, why you
do it, in dialogue with others.
(Professional awareness)

27. “If we want to grow as teachers –
we must do something alien to academic
culture: we must talk to each other
about our inner lives –
risky stuff in a profession that fears
the personal and seeks safety in the
technical, the distant, the abstract.”
Parker Palmer

28. Literature-references
Bommerez, J. (2007). Minder moeten, meer flow.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1999). Flow: psychology of the
optimal experience.
Frankl, V. E. (1985). Man's search for meaning.
Geraerts, E. (2015). Mentaal kapitaal.
Palmer, P. J. (2017). The courage to teach: Exploring the
inner landscape of a teacher's life.
Palmgren, C., & Hagan, S. S. (1999, April). Chicken
Conspiracy: Breaking the Cycle of Personal Stress and
Organizational Mediocrity.
Willingham, D. T. (2009). Why don't students like school?
Slides available on
https://www.slideshare.net/brambruggeman/