The World Needs Thinkers
As our society continues its movement away from an “industrial
age” and into an “information age” it becomes ever more
critical for students to develop the skills necessary to thrive in this
new environment. These skills have moved away from the physical, rote type
abilities of the past and into an era that necessitates the abilities to
collect and analyze the massive amounts of information being generated
by today's society in math, science, technology, and other disciplines.
As such, it is imperative that today's students be taught how to approach
today's problems; how to not just memorize the known, but rather,
to find solutions to the unknown. Indeed, it is vital that
students learn and practice how to think. It is with these concepts
in mind that I approach my classes and the driving force behind my classroom
activities and assignments.
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A Different Approach
As most students are quite familiar, historically, their classes have
been the dissemination of information from the teacher to the students
as the students sit in their chairs, likely lined up in a neat row. The
problem, though, as most adults are quite familiar, is that life doesn't
tend to present problems in a neat little package - and there often isn't
someone there to give you the answer. This is particularly true in science
where the very role of a scientist is to ask questions that have not yet
been answered. Furthermore, one must develop a process by which to investigate
a problem and derive possible solutions – this is also a fundamental
feature of science, the process of inquiry, experimentation, analysis,
and making conclusions. Therefore, it only makes sense that for a student
to be better prepared for life's challenges they must learn the process of
how to approach a problem, and how to go about finding a solution. This
is the type of person we need to make the future a better place for all
of us.
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