chaos theory in classroom

Applying Chaos Theory to the classroom

The Complex Adaptive Theory of Education
How you can use chaos and complexity theories in the classroom

Lee Chazen, M.A.

http://homepage.mac.com/lchazen/tutoring/FileSharing12.html

1. Turn the class into an open environment with broad units of study.

2. Use simple rules, but set high expectations.

3. Act like a facilitator by encouraging self-organization.

4. Encircle the "complex system," sending down occasional messages and reminders, while keeping broad parameters in place.

5. Set the tone for creativity, expectations and behavior early on in the semester.
These will serve as the broad parameters to guide creativity and scholarship.

9. Get students out of rows and into random arrangements where they will encounter divergent ideas and opinions.

10. Guide students to a middle ground or "edge of chaos," where they can look for new discoveries and make potential breakthroughs.

12. Work with colleagues to rid the school of rigid, black and white thinking where ideas of perfection or failure and winners and losers exist. Cross any and all imaginary pre-established lines to work with people from all departments.

13. Work on building a new ethic of camaraderie, cooperation and collegiality.

14. Create a "hub" in your class or at your school, that serves as a meeting place where collaboration and brainstorming can take place.

Selling the home theater systems on craigslist.

Pair of very good condition Mirage M-5si speakers. They have been wired for "bi-wiring". As pictured, they're setup as "normal" speakers. Very good condition. *Finish: Black High Gloss finish and perfect condition Grille cloth in black, acoustically transparent cloth.  Great for home theater or good audio listening!  $600 for the pair.

Specs: 6-ohm impedance nominal, 4-ohm minimum. 200 Watt power handling. 85 lbs. each. 49" x 16" x 8" (HxWxD)
Brochure from Mirage website: http://miragespeakers.com/PDFs/classic_manuals/M-si/M5-si/M5SIbrochure.pdf.

They're hooked up, so you can listen before buying.

THX 44- three channel graphic equalizer

The THX 44, a three channel graphic equalizer, provides electronic correction of varying speaker placement and room responses. The unit is designed to meet Lucasfilm THX specifications for home theater systems. Separate 11-band 1/3 octave equalizer sections for the front Left, Center, and Right channels compensate for varying room acoustics. Each channel has a 2-band parametric equalizer for additional high frequency adjustment, and a specially designed 2-band parametric channel to smooth out the extreme low end.
MSRP: $ 1.099  Sell for $250.00
Specs
• 11-bands of 1/3 octave graphic equalization covering 80Hz to 800Hz per channel
• 2-bands of parametric equalization, sweepable 1kHz to 10kHz centers, per channel
• Left, center and right channels and a 2-band parametric subwoofer channel
• Constant-Q filtering
• 20mm center detent sliders

   
   
Mirage MC-si Center Channel Speaker $100 (originally $550)
Specs:
*Type: Dual-vented QB3 alignment
*Tweeters: Magnetically shielded design with a pure 1" Titanium Dome and cloth suspension
*Bass/Mid Drivers: 2 - 5.25" Magnetically shielded design with Injection Molded Polypropylene Cones and rubber surround
*Frequency Response:
On-Axis: +/-3dB 47Hz-22KHz
Off-Axis: +/-3dB 47Hz-18KHz +/- 15 degrees
*Usable Bass Response: 36Hz
*Crossover Points: 2KHz
*Sensitivity:
2.83v/1m Anechoic Chamber: 88dB
*Impedence: 6 ohms (nom) / 4 ohms (min)
*Recommended Amp Power: 25-175 watts RMS
*Max Power Handling: 175 watts RMS
*Dimensions (HxWxD): 7 3/4 x 18 7/8 x 11 13/16
*Weight (each): 22 lbs.
*Finish: Black High Gloss
*Grille Color: Black, acoustically transparent cloth
   
   
Mirage BPSS-210 Subwoofer and LFX-3 Electronic Crossover; Servo-Feedback (accelerometer) Bipolar subwoofer; Two 10" drivers; frequency response 18 Hz - 100 Hz; excursion plus or minus 0.5"; 250 watt rms power amp built into enclosure; Size 18"H x 23"W x 18"D; weight 94 pounds includes

Mirage LFX-3 Electronic Crossover; Three channel active crossover; crossover frequencies - 50, 60, 80, 100 Hz; low pass 24 dB/octave; high pass 12 dB/octave; input impedance 100 kOhms; size 2.5"H x 17"W x 9"D; weight 6.4 pounds

$2,300 new, sell for $450.00


Fosgate Model Three THX digital signal processor
FOSGATE Model 3 Processor Paid 2800.00 USED 75.00


1206-Channel Class A Amp (Parasound HCA 1206). 180 Watts per channel for a total of 1080 Watts. Channels can be bridged to double-up power to speakers. Paid over $1600.00 new. Selling for $450.00.

One of the In Paradise, Gently Weeping series

In Paradise, Gently Weeping #4

Watching you again this morning, still somewhere near dark
lazy and languid with your others across the square. Every
day I'm getting jailed with Paul and Silas, bounded

by stark affection. I'll pray to a rusted-out box of Marys long since
lost to you, worship only honey colored things. This, my dappled one,
is what hounds wait and listen for. I will wash you with warm water,

get stumpbucket full of mole, mezcal and con carne
before our hard won second act, slim chanced. Carve it
in the rocks out the parkway. I am a means of grace.

I know about your pastures full of red cattle, I know
how roasted bones cleave and the rooted surfaces of desire
gone dyslexic, spun round like so much yarn on a clear waxed floor.

Newish Poem

Props to Ellen Dissanysake "Make Special" is from Homo Aestheticus
The line "I am sorry. Look at me. I am miserable." comes from a note I found on my classroom floor.

Make special for me
By praying we see
Ornaments and Embellishments for finding
Our voice of authentic submissions.

Bonded within my secular temperaments.
I will get rid of my books of belief.
I never met God. Close sometimes.
Pleasure has always loved Him.

Priests go to town, drawing on balances
The deal-making around a wish for a happy death
Make special for me
By praying we see a new

Everywhere I went I was
I Was confused by the death of Carlos
I am sorry. Look at me.
I am Miserable

Did you pray to her?
No, I prayed that faith gives
dead to the dance?
Make special for me

Godic rightly claims that what is lost
Is nothing to what is found.
Watching the heavy frost melt
Saturday in bed after sex and reading

What is the main idea of the world
According to what we draw pictures of.
Oh God. My body craves.
Men and mothers.

I have been lead by zealots.
Led as a precious child by many
I am grooved For zealotry,
utopian schemes are Morphine to me.

Who are they that seduced me with something
Elastic and soon set hard and inevitable.
Zealots who have been educated
To loosen their innocence bound by worship

To make prairie it
Takes clover and bees
Reverence alone
Will do, if the bees Are Few.

By praying we see
Make special for me

Bird of the day Lazuli Bunting

At the feeding station in the backyard. Each cracked corn.

Inspired by Ian

Ian's blog discipline inspired me to re-kindle this old one. Hope to be consistent

My cousin Boone's blog is worth checking.

student rules posters made into quicktime movie

My students made first day posters of rules for them and rules for me as a teacher to give us all a better than average chance of success. I will post a link to the quicktime movie with the "stir it up" soundtrack of the 25 posters.

It will be on u tube at this link. This is an 18 mb file. Email me if you want the compressed version.

Last, but not final experience at Boys and Girls Club

This was a fun day with the Blue Hawks. I have spend enough time to get to know most of their names and they know mine. During the health checkup today, the Junior staff were busy keeping the kids in line, with their paperwork and at each health check station. Once the children were done moving through the checks they were supposed to sit quietly. Talk about unreal expectations for 4 year olds. So I devised a game. The kids had to take off their shoes for height and weight checks and the shoes were piled and scattered all over the floor of the mulit-purpose/video room. So Sade, Horton, Sonny and Dion organized the shoes in a row, matched the pairs against the wall. As kids finished the check, they had to count the shoes and count the pairs. I was surprised that many of the kids could count 19 pairs and 38 shoes. It was fun to tease them about odd number counts! They didn't think that any of their friends had only one foot.

After the health check we went to the Pearson farm to learn about rototilling and planting some more potatoes. Again, during some of the wait time that staff and Mr. P were setting up, I had a bunch of kids to work with and keep from stepping on the garden rows, the farm implements and the weeds. I had them write their names in the dust. Then they drew their favorite animals in the dust and then I had them draw faces in the dust. Most of the kids could do all of these tasks. The puppies stayed away from the kids today and so a couple of the youngsters could participate fully without being scared of the dogs.

I thought that it was odd that the junior staff sold candy to kids that remembered to bring some money. Kids were told not to share and not to ask for candy. Kids with money/candy had to be separated from the others to enforce the no share/no ask rule. I hope that drawing in the dirt was a distraction enough. It seems to me that the overall learning I came away with is that I cannot exercise appropriate "teacher" authority/expectations until I get to know the kids and they get to know me. The senior staff and junior staff have that relationship and with that foundation, they can work with kids, move them from task to task and maintain expectations.