Author Archives: Peter Skillen

About Peter Skillen

Peter Skillen is an independent educator in Ontario, Canada. He has been involved in technology supported, inquiry-based learning since the mid-1970s—particularly as it relates to learner agency, passion, & cognitive intent. Peter is currently Curriculum and Project Lead at CodeToLearn.ca

‘Making’ Does Not Equal ‘Constructionism’

Posted on April 23, 2016 by Peter Skillen

‘Making’ is about empowering students to ‘make up’ their own minds. ‘Making’ is about empowering students to ‘make up’ their own minds—quite literally—regardless of the artifacts being constructed. This is the view I prefer to take. ‘Making’ should focus on … Continue reading →

Posted in Collaboration, Inquiry | Tagged authentic learning, constructionism, constructivism, inquiry, Maker Movement, PBL, student centered learning | 6 Comments

Knowledge Building: What is it Really?

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Peter Skillen

Isn’t it really just learning by another name? We hear a lot about knowledge building in education circles these days! What is it anyway? Why don’t we just call it learning? Where did this term knowledge building come from? When … Continue reading →

Posted in Collaboration, Inquiry | Tagged authentic learning, collaboration, inquiry, Inquiry Based Learning, pedagogy, project-based learning, Reflection, visible thinking | 3 Comments

Using Visible Thinking Strategies to Develop Expert Learners

Posted on September 18, 2014 by Peter Skillen

Supporting Inquiry with Scaffolded, Collaborative Journal Writing Visible thinking is all the rage. I’m glad! Back in the day–we usually referred to visible thinking as explicit thinking. But, as with many solid, worthwhile constructs, they are not readily adopted and … Continue reading →

Posted in Collaboration, Inquiry | Tagged blogging, collaboration, Education, expertise, journal writing, scaffolding | Leave a comment

Project Based Learning: Don’t Start with a Question

Posted on September 9, 2014 by Peter Skillen

End with a Question through Tinkering-Based Learning Do you have to start project-based learning (PBL) with a question? (Oh, wait a second! Am I starting this post with a question?) This is something many people ask. I understand why this … Continue reading →