Magic CAN BE TAUGHT!!!

I was just reading Shannon Doak’s G+ postings when I found her posting about Christopher Emdin’s TED talk called Teach Teachers How to Create Magic.  In this presentation, he talks about using Hip Hop Pedagogy to engage students in learning.  He is a dynamic teacher who knows how to talk with people.


I must admit that I was a little disappointed in his work because he was just talking about teachers talking with students. His Hip Hop talk was about how to make lecturing more engaging. My question is that maybe the problem is in the pedagogical structure where the basis of the teaching is lecturing. I would like to see less lecturing and more student-based interaction with content.

I found his Dr. Emdin’s website and Dr. Emdin is a prolific writer and engaging speaker who makes learning interesting. The only question that I have is that if the students are just listening to a teacher rap, where is their proactive learning occurring? I watched another of his videos where he talked about students sharing their ideas on a blackboard wall, but what were the projects that they were completing? Should a learner’s sense of engagement be based upon how well a teacher can speak or how well teachers can challenge students to create projects to solve problems.

I watched another of his videos and he talked about more student-based learning:

I don’t know much about Dr. Emdin’s Hip Hop learning, but he appears to be a man who is addressing change in education and will be well worth following.

What else should we know about his work and vision?

What do you know?

What’s YOUR opinion?
Leave a comment and keep the discussion going.

0 thoughts on “Magic CAN BE TAUGHT!!!

  1. I agree! Talking/lecturing a student with a different "voice" is just "fluff" with no substance. We need to think about how restructure the delivering of the message, not just the style of "voice."

  2. I agree! Talking/lecturing a student with a different "voice" is just "fluff" with no substance. We need to think about how restructure the delivering of the message, not just the style of "voice."

  3. I agree! Talking/lecturing a student with a different "voice" is just "fluff" with no substance. We need to think about how restructure the delivering of the message, not just the style of "voice."

  4. I use different mediums to get my message across, whether I have my students use a "Show Me" whiteboard demonstration, or have my students go through various blogs I've created to let them go at their own pace. I also try to get my students to create more than memorize when I do give direct instruction. I also have puppets that I use with my students.

  5. I use different mediums to get my message across, whether I have my students use a "Show Me" whiteboard demonstration, or have my students go through various blogs I've created to let them go at their own pace. I also try to get my students to create more than memorize when I do give direct instruction. I also have puppets that I use with my students.

  6. I use different mediums to get my message across, whether I have my students use a "Show Me" whiteboard demonstration, or have my students go through various blogs I've created to let them go at their own pace. I also try to get my students to create more than memorize when I do give direct instruction. I also have puppets that I use with my students.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *