At its best, creativity allows individuals to pursue new ideas, express themselves, and explore problems that are important to them. This month I read about a group of middle school students who did exactly that. AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) Youth Rising describes itself as follows. AAPI Youth Rising is an organization started by … Continue reading
In 1995, Carl Sagan published an essay titled “Wonder and Skepticism,” in which he described the push/pull of wonder and skepticism as the bedrocks of science. Science involves a seemingly self‐contradictory mix of attitudes: On the one hand it requires an almost complete openness to all ideas, no matter how bizarre and weird they sound, … Continue reading
Brian Grazer, producer of such movies as Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, and Friday Night Lights, is on mission. He wants to promote curiosity. He is passionate about it. And from that passion comes a book, A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life. In the introduction he says: Curiosity is what gives energy … Continue reading
It doesn’t take long watching any type of media to be reminded that we change as we get older. There is no shortage of products claiming to help us preserve our youth–dyes for our hair, creams for our wrinkles, and any number of prescriptions about which we are charged to “ask our doctors.” But perhaps … Continue reading
It seems questioning is in the air. Years ago, when I talked about helping students ask questions I was often met with “And when do you think we have time to do that?” stares. And given our educational climate, there were good reasons. But times shift. I’m told that my naturally curly hair is going … Continue reading
One of the three keys I’ve identified for supporting creativity in the classroom is teaching the creative methodologies of the disciplines you are teaching. “Teaching the creative methodologies” is a fancy phrase for the idea that, whatever subject you are teaching, you teach not just the “what” of the subject but the “how” as well. … Continue reading
Dan Rothstein and Luz Santana’s book, Make Just One Change, suggests the one strategy that will transform education is teaching students to ask their own questions. Interestingly, their journey to this conclusion began, not with students, but with parents. Working with parents in a dropout prevention program in the 1980s, the authors repeatedly heard from … Continue reading
Questions. We ask them when we need directions. We ask them when we don’t understand. Sometimes we ask questions in outrage, other times we ask them in curiosity and wonder. Sometimes questions are rhetorical, other times they are urgent. If we want to help students be questioners, we need to help them understand the types … Continue reading
Teaching students to “think like a scientist” is a tricky thing. Many of us have experienced science classes that required memorizing seemingly irrelevant from ancient textbooks. On the other hand, other activities include spectacular demonstrations or hands-on activities, but do not lead students to scientific understanding, operating more than a magic show than a lesson. … Continue reading
For me, it started with popcorn. I discovered The New York Times ScienceTake video explaining the physics behind the glorious dance of the popcorn kernel, and I was entranced. Sadly, I can’t manage to get the video to embed, so you are going to have to Click here to see it. I know, it’s annoying. … Continue reading
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