As teachers, it is fun to dream about nurturing the next creative inventor or scientist—perhaps someone who will help us harness pollution to make energy or feed those in areas where drought devastates crops. Or maybe we imagine one of our students thanking us in a Tony award speech, or seeing her writing on a … 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
A few weeks ago I wrote a series of posts about students as questioners, ending with posts on questions in particular disciplines: What do historians ask? How about scientists? Mathematicians? Then, I’ll admit, I got stuck. In each of the previous subject areas I considered the types of questions professionals asked when engaged in creative … Continue reading
If there is one discipline that is associated with the terms “question” or “problem,” it seems to be math. When preparing to write this I thought, “Well, I have some ideas, but let’s see what’s out there on the web.” When I used my trusty search engines to look for “mathematical questions” or “student questions … Continue reading
Which is denser, concentrated detergent or regular strength? Which fish swim more quickly, those with plants in their tank or a mechanical aerator? Which cleaner kills more bacteria on cafeteria tables? What would happen if we poured milk instead of water on bean plants? These are just a few of the questions from my elementary … Continue reading
One key way to encourage student questioning is to think about the questions that creative professionals in a discipline might ask. Every field moves forward when individuals ask questions. Helping students understand the questions in a field helps them envision how the creative processes of the discipline move forward. So, what about history? As a … 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
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