Posts worth reading - update on interesting posts and ideas from around the web
Here is an update on some recent posts from around the Internet that may be of interest:
What scientific idea is ready for retirement?
From Brian Christian at Edge.com
Scientific Knowledge Should Be Structured as "Literature" In my view, what's most outmoded within science, most badly in need of retirement, is the way we structure and organize scientific knowledge itself. Academic literature, even as it moves online, is a relic of the era of typesetting, modeled on static, irrevocable, toothpaste-out-of-the-tube publication. Just as the software industry has moved from a "waterfall" process to an "agile" process—from monolithic releases shipped from warehouses of mass-produced disks to over-the-air differential updates—so must academic publishing move from its current read-only model and embrace a process as dynamic, up-to-date, and collaborative as science itself. More on this post here.
An immodest proposal for medical education
From Jonathon Tomlinson at A Better NHS Right at the very beginning of their studies, medical students have strong ideas about what kind of doctor they want to be, even if they know very little about how to actually be a doctor. In one study medical students regarded empathy, motivation to be a doctor, good verbal communication, being ethically sound and honesty as the most important qualities. Medical education needs to be radically reformed if it is to support these ideals which are too easily lost. More on this post here.
Perspectives in motion
From Valerie Robin at Hybridpedagogy.com
In the introduction to the series attempting to answer the question above, I express my disdain about the phrase ‘the real world’ and the divide between the ‘in here’ of academia and the ‘out there,’ outside the ivory tower. I see a shift in the way the Western World views communication and valorizes experience, and I admit that though “I apologize often, I’m not sorry at all. I chose to live the life of an academic. I have been in a cubicle, wearing a power suit, finding ways to make my job more stimulating lest I should run out the security doors of the building screaming. As a result, I have developed a deep curiosity for the lives, jobs, and value systems of others.” And so I set out to investigate the perspectives of an underwater construction worker, a new public school teacher, and a university lecturer who has also lived as a ballerina, and a lawyer. What I got were three worldviews that were so different from one another, the process of writing this column has changed me. More on this post here.
Schools vs learning
By George Couros at The Principal of Change
I have been thinking a lot about the “traditional” model of school and how people actually learn. If done the wrong way, school can actually go against what is needed for learning. There are a lot of schools and classrooms that are doing amazing jobs at really promoting there students become learners as opposed to learning stuff. More on this post here.
A new book on Mobilities and Health
By Anthony Gatrell for Ashgate
Looking at health and health care in a new way, this book examines health risks and benefits as encountered 'on the move' rather than focusing on the risks and benefits incurred at fixed locations. The provision and utilization of health care is also investigated, as produced/delivered and consumed/accessed in mobile settings. More on this post here.