In one of my previous blogs I discussed this question
a little bit: how much credence should we give our intuition? Is there
something intrinsically simple or ‘true’ about that which we can intuitively
deduce? Just like the framework of a building needs foundation, the framework
for science education needs some kind of base and the student brings a very
important base to the equation. Intuition is one component. The innate drive to
investigate is another. The experiences and observations that they make in the
life leading up to education is a very important one as well. And what I love
so much about this thorough framework is that the ‘firm foundations’ set
provide the proper tone, persay, for the manifestation of the rest of the
framework. Utilizing what is already present is what makes the framework and
framework in the first place.
My
experience in engineering here at Vanderbilt has taught me the indespensible
importance of clearly defining the initial problem and allowing all the
information to explain the best possible solution for itself right from the
beginning. A proper definiton and framing of the problem can make all of the
difference as you take the next steps. I admire the planning stages of the
Science classroom practices in Box 3-1. Letting the ‘foundational’ aspects of
the framework guide the introductory stages of a concept provides a much more
dynamic bridge than just presenting static information in (maybe) a more
traditional sense. I can really see how a lot of the valuable concepts we have
covered in SciLit to this point in the semester are synthesized in this
article/book. Seeing the argumentative steps later in the framwork as well puts
me at rest a little bit since I injected so much discussion and argumentation
into my design project, as it stands. J
Since you're an engineer, I'm sure you can relate to the fact that currently most science classrooms are not fully equipping students with the inquiry skills they need to be successful in an engineering or a science classroom. I love how this framework took that into account! I also think you're right about it being a good thing to base teaching off of the students' innate intuition of the subjects. Children know a lot more than we give them credit for, and at the very least their keen and raw observations help them to understand complex subjects.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you . I see often students or teachers first have been taught to teach to a test forcing students to follow that lead. So my question to you or to ponder is how would you especially in engineering or in lower tiers of education such as high school and middle school strive to implement a foundation first instead of teaching toward the test and flooding the student with knowledge.
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