TED Community » Garrett Hedman

More About Me

I'm passionate about

The day.

I'm an addictoholic. I've found interests in everything from the prefrontal cortex to slums in Mumbai. My current addiction (aka passion) is digital storytelling and science education.

An idea worth spreading

Rather than math, English, science, and art, lets teach students how to problem solve, enjoy life, seek and pursue opportunity, and be creative.

My TED Story

A student teacher of mine showed me a TED video 5 years ago, and I've been hooked ever since.

Comments

• TEDCred score: +12.20 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• +1

  A comment on Talk: Julie Burstein: 4 lessons in creativity

  Nov 12 2012: Let's talk about science, creativity, and the cup not breaking... loved it! Science and reason says the cup should break, but now that it hasn't what do we do?!
• +5

  A comment on Talk: Ed Gavagan: A story about knots and surgeons

  Sep 22 2012: It's alright to tear up at the end of a TED talk, right?
• +2

  A comment on Talk: Bryan Stevenson: We need to talk about an injustice

  Mar 13 2012: This was the most eloquent TED talk to date grounded in reason and passion. Love it.

• A comment on Talk: Chris Bliss: Comedy is translation

  Feb 24 2012: Like if you watched the Daily Show after this talk!

• A comment on Talk: Jonathan Drori: The beautiful tricks of flowers

  Jul 7 2011: 1. The personification of the plants almost convinced me that flowers have a personality. Love it.
  
  2. I'm glad he didn't tell us why we should learn or why education is important even though I would think he has many thoughts on the topic since he commissioned BBC's first website. Rather, he gave us a window to appreciate the dynamic beauty of this world, which in turn reminds us how wonderful learning and education is.
• +1

  A comment on Talk: Bill Ford: A future beyond traffic gridlock

  Jun 20 2011: Talking cars coupled with Google's self driving cars will make driving a pleasure in the future. Also, you have to admit that Ford is lucky to have a visionary such as Bill Ford. He understands that company profits don't have to be compromised with global issues (aka gridlock and environmental problems). Yay for social responsibility!
• +2

  A comment on Talk: Onyx Ashanti: This is beatjazz

  Jun 18 2011: Andrew Bird is a much better example of looping and talent. To restore your faith in TED's music check out his TED talk on Feb 2010.
• +5

  A comment on Talk: Handspring Puppet Co.: The genius puppetry behind War Horse

  Mar 30 2011: I love how they focused on breath to give the puppet life; if i focus on breath I feel like I'm alive.

• A comment on Talk: Anthony Atala: Printing a human kidney

  Mar 8 2011: Hopefully students around the world see this, so they too can be inspired to go into bioengineering, a field radically changing medicine. Teachers: squeeze it somewhere between cells and systems, but be sure to emphasize this isn't magic! Your students will probably be able to help create organs as a job!
• +3

  A comment on Conversation: Are Educational Institutions responding to the challenges of teaching and learning in the 21st Century?

  Feb 20 2011: As a Chemistry teacher in the Mississippi Delta, I have a few possible answers.
  
  Why do educational institutions continue to rely on traditional models of learning?
  - Before students can synthesize new ideas, they must have the foundation of information to build ideas with. They must have a core knowledge as E.D. Hirsch argues. Therefore, many of the current educational models teach facts very well. For example, Teach for America uses a simple model, "I do, we do, you do," that allows students to rapidly learn information. Once the information is learned, teacher's may probe at higher level thinking such as synthesizing and evaluating material (these are high depth of knowledge practices for more info look up Bloom's Taxonomy), but whether it be state tests, an intensive curriculum, or the subjectivity of evaluation, teacher's generally move on to the next unit.
  
  Why have schedules, disciplines and departments remained the same as in the 20th Century?
  Similar to the previous argument, schedules have remained the same because many institutions believe that students should learn a core knowledge. If a student is passionate about art and shows amazing talent in art, most schools still believe that student should learn math because it will provide a foundation for students to explore other fields. However, disciplines remaining the same is one area that I would like to see change. If math teaches students strategies to solve problems and recognize patters, then why don't we call the field Pattern Recgonition, a skill that can be developed and SHOULD be developed in the brain. Likewise if science teaches us to explore and find empirical answers to questions, then why don't we call the field Exploring, where we teach students how to use today's technology to explore and empirically answer questions.
  
  I'm running out of words for the last two questions, but if interested I'll continue to post my opinions, I don't want to overshadow other great thoughts!