Entry Slip - November 14
Permitting Creativity in Science - Janet Beavin Bavelas
The very first article of the quote,
"To everything, there is a season, and a time to every purpose...
A time to plant and time to pluck up that which is planted...
A time to break down, and a time to build up"
made me stop and revisit some of my own beliefs about how certain things in life happen at their own time and how kind of all things fall in their place with time. Though I would have referred to this quote in other contexts in my life at other times, at this moment I could think of an analogy with my teaching philosophy. Everything we plan to teach our students tends to have a purpose and we try to follow an order or logically sequence our lessons. Then we give students some time to process and analyze the information before we take a quiz or any form of assessment to evaluate students' learning. This is followed by further building up of concepts slowly by breaking down bigger picture into smaller ideas. All this organization requires lot of creative and critical thinking before it is presented to students.
Secondly, the idea that "research too is a generative process, full of passion, fumbling and disorderly"
in a way coincides with my own ideology about the research process. During my master's degree in India, I often had discussions with my friends and peers about what it takes to be a scientist or who do we call a scientist in a real sense. They used to laugh at my vague notion of developing/observing something super or extraordinary even while cooking or just making a cup of tea. I still believe that scientists are not only the people working in isolated environments or labs and reading a lot of books and articles but are also the people who are curious about the world around them and can formulate their observations in words and hypothesize about it. I believe in encouraging the students to inquire and communicate their ideas with others.
My third stop was at this interesting conclusion by Lewis Thomas," A good way to tell how the work is going is to listen in the corridors/ If you hear the word 'Impossible' spoken as an expletive, followed by laughter, you will know that someone's orderly research plan is coming along nicely"
This sounds so true as the word Impossible itself means I am possible. Also, someone's creativity might be at peak for other's to understand. The research is not only about coming up with new ideas but refining old ideas by giving explanations and providing pieces of evidence.
As for me, I want my students not just to memorize concepts but question and inquire why it is so or what If this/that. I want to provide my students' opportunities to explore their creativity and interests, inquire and make predictions about their observations rather than seek textual answers. Inquiry-based learning, open, guided, structured inquiry help students build mind habits by exercising healthy and creative thinking practises for learning, innovating and applying their knowledge to the natural world around them.
Permitting Creativity in Science - Janet Beavin Bavelas
The very first article of the quote,
"To everything, there is a season, and a time to every purpose...
A time to plant and time to pluck up that which is planted...
A time to break down, and a time to build up"
made me stop and revisit some of my own beliefs about how certain things in life happen at their own time and how kind of all things fall in their place with time. Though I would have referred to this quote in other contexts in my life at other times, at this moment I could think of an analogy with my teaching philosophy. Everything we plan to teach our students tends to have a purpose and we try to follow an order or logically sequence our lessons. Then we give students some time to process and analyze the information before we take a quiz or any form of assessment to evaluate students' learning. This is followed by further building up of concepts slowly by breaking down bigger picture into smaller ideas. All this organization requires lot of creative and critical thinking before it is presented to students.
Secondly, the idea that "research too is a generative process, full of passion, fumbling and disorderly"
in a way coincides with my own ideology about the research process. During my master's degree in India, I often had discussions with my friends and peers about what it takes to be a scientist or who do we call a scientist in a real sense. They used to laugh at my vague notion of developing/observing something super or extraordinary even while cooking or just making a cup of tea. I still believe that scientists are not only the people working in isolated environments or labs and reading a lot of books and articles but are also the people who are curious about the world around them and can formulate their observations in words and hypothesize about it. I believe in encouraging the students to inquire and communicate their ideas with others.
My third stop was at this interesting conclusion by Lewis Thomas," A good way to tell how the work is going is to listen in the corridors/ If you hear the word 'Impossible' spoken as an expletive, followed by laughter, you will know that someone's orderly research plan is coming along nicely"
This sounds so true as the word Impossible itself means I am possible. Also, someone's creativity might be at peak for other's to understand. The research is not only about coming up with new ideas but refining old ideas by giving explanations and providing pieces of evidence.
As for me, I want my students not just to memorize concepts but question and inquire why it is so or what If this/that. I want to provide my students' opportunities to explore their creativity and interests, inquire and make predictions about their observations rather than seek textual answers. Inquiry-based learning, open, guided, structured inquiry help students build mind habits by exercising healthy and creative thinking practises for learning, innovating and applying their knowledge to the natural world around them.
Lovely, KK!
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