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From: Charles Bayless <charles.bayless_at_ttmd.com>
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2013 14:05:29 -0400
I may have missed it but I don't think I have seen anything yet addressing the underlying nature of STEM. This is prompted by Megan's experience with that Aha! moment of surprised recognition or revelation which is such a critical element of science. We have identified numerous didactic books that tell us about the static portfolio of knowledge regarding biology or geology or electricity. And that is well and good. All knowledge acquisition has to start with some given body of knowledge and how and when we transmit that body of knowledge is important and can be done more or less effectively.
But that portfolio of knowledge is the product of a process - the scientific method, the process of discovery, speculation, etc. I advocate that while it is important to teach children the portfolio of knowledge around the various STEM silos, it is far more critical to inculcate in them the habits and orientation of the scientific method. The scientific method as defined by the OED is the process of "systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses." It relies on empirical, objective evidence filtered through a reasoning process (logic). Some of the habits and behaviors underpinning the scientific process are curiosity, persistence, acuity of observation, a commitment to accuracy, an ability to draw justifiable inferences, detail, precision, and ability to think logically, analogously, and metaphorically, pattern recognition, etc. In other words, the ability to generate a hypothesis, the ability to precisely articulate the hypothesis, the abili ty to test the hypothesis, and the willingness to reject, modify or accept the hypothesis based on the testing. And then there is the magic at its core; Archimedes' Eureka, or Megan's shivering Aha! when the page is turned. The excitement of effortful or serendipitous discovery.
Remarkably, given that so much of our current well-being is inextricably a product of the scientific method and its associated values and behaviors, very few people seem able to articulate, much less practice the elements of the scientific method. This isn't a recent phenomenon. Though his argument ended up going in a lot of other directions, this was the genesis of C.P. Snow's The Two Cultures (1959). As he provocatively put it, "So the great edifice of modern physics goes up, and the majority of the cleverest people in the western world have about as much insight into it as their neolithic ancestors would have had."
How do we encourage children to become familiar with and practitioners of the scientific method? I think Heather McNeil described part of the solution. Making observation and maths and inference drawing and logic and pattern recognition an integral part of the day, of the lesson, of the conversation. Kids mimic what is modeled.
And which books might encourage which elements of the scientific method? There is great flexibility when we think about the elements of the scientific method that we want to encourage and the stories that align with that. My Side of the Mountain is an adventure story, sure, but it absolutely is also a great tale of macro experimentation and discovery. It is not a science book per se but it fosters an interest in the behaviors and attributes that underpin the scientific method. Sherlock Holmes is a mystery series but it is entirely constructed upon observation and logic. I think science is all around in our children's literature even though they aren't "science" per se. It is simply a matter of pointing out the science ex post facto. Examples:
Observation - Books in the Where's Waldo? style. Walter Wick's I Spy series. The Day We Saw the Sun Come Up by Alice E. Goudey.
Logic - Sherlock Holmes and numerous other mystery style books
Curiosity, Discovery and Exploration - DK's Dinosaur Detectives by Peter Chrisp and other books of that ilk. Also exploration books. The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins by Barbara Kerley. Darwin and the Beagle by Alan Moorehead. Gods, Graves & Scholars by C.W. Ceram. Dr. Dolittle by Hugh Lofting. Curious George of course. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly.
Experimentation - My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. Professor Branestawm by Norman Hunter.
Numeracy, Measurement, Precision and Perspective - Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni. Jim and the Beanstalk by Raymond Briggs. Millions to Measure by David Schwartz. George Shrinks by William Joyce. How Tall, How Short, How Far Away? by David Adler. Is It Larger? Is It Smaller? by Tana Hoban. One Grain of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale by Demi. Flatland by Edwin Abbott.
Pattern Recognition - Any book of optical illusions. Art books. The Year At Maple Hill Farm by Alice Provensen. Pagoo or Minn of the Mississippi by Holling C. Holling.
Metaphor, Puns, Analogy, etc. - The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Any book of riddles.
What I am recommending is that STEM is founded on the scientific method broadly defined and that the best way to foster a scientific cast of mind is not so much a didactic exposure to a given body of knowledge but rather a coaching of the scientific method in conversation and discussion and pointing out to children that the fundamentals are in the core of much of our great children's literature; they just have to notice it.
I know I am sort of bridging over into the second half of the month's conversation but I think the issue is uniform across both younger and older readers. Whether young or old, the catalytic question is always Why? It forces children to connect observed outcome with speculated cause and when the why is repeated, it forces them to drill down on the chain of causation, eventually confronting just why it is they believe what they believe.
Charles
Received on Thu 14 Mar 2013 02:05:29 PM CDT
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2013 14:05:29 -0400
I may have missed it but I don't think I have seen anything yet addressing the underlying nature of STEM. This is prompted by Megan's experience with that Aha! moment of surprised recognition or revelation which is such a critical element of science. We have identified numerous didactic books that tell us about the static portfolio of knowledge regarding biology or geology or electricity. And that is well and good. All knowledge acquisition has to start with some given body of knowledge and how and when we transmit that body of knowledge is important and can be done more or less effectively.
But that portfolio of knowledge is the product of a process - the scientific method, the process of discovery, speculation, etc. I advocate that while it is important to teach children the portfolio of knowledge around the various STEM silos, it is far more critical to inculcate in them the habits and orientation of the scientific method. The scientific method as defined by the OED is the process of "systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses." It relies on empirical, objective evidence filtered through a reasoning process (logic). Some of the habits and behaviors underpinning the scientific process are curiosity, persistence, acuity of observation, a commitment to accuracy, an ability to draw justifiable inferences, detail, precision, and ability to think logically, analogously, and metaphorically, pattern recognition, etc. In other words, the ability to generate a hypothesis, the ability to precisely articulate the hypothesis, the abili ty to test the hypothesis, and the willingness to reject, modify or accept the hypothesis based on the testing. And then there is the magic at its core; Archimedes' Eureka, or Megan's shivering Aha! when the page is turned. The excitement of effortful or serendipitous discovery.
Remarkably, given that so much of our current well-being is inextricably a product of the scientific method and its associated values and behaviors, very few people seem able to articulate, much less practice the elements of the scientific method. This isn't a recent phenomenon. Though his argument ended up going in a lot of other directions, this was the genesis of C.P. Snow's The Two Cultures (1959). As he provocatively put it, "So the great edifice of modern physics goes up, and the majority of the cleverest people in the western world have about as much insight into it as their neolithic ancestors would have had."
How do we encourage children to become familiar with and practitioners of the scientific method? I think Heather McNeil described part of the solution. Making observation and maths and inference drawing and logic and pattern recognition an integral part of the day, of the lesson, of the conversation. Kids mimic what is modeled.
And which books might encourage which elements of the scientific method? There is great flexibility when we think about the elements of the scientific method that we want to encourage and the stories that align with that. My Side of the Mountain is an adventure story, sure, but it absolutely is also a great tale of macro experimentation and discovery. It is not a science book per se but it fosters an interest in the behaviors and attributes that underpin the scientific method. Sherlock Holmes is a mystery series but it is entirely constructed upon observation and logic. I think science is all around in our children's literature even though they aren't "science" per se. It is simply a matter of pointing out the science ex post facto. Examples:
Observation - Books in the Where's Waldo? style. Walter Wick's I Spy series. The Day We Saw the Sun Come Up by Alice E. Goudey.
Logic - Sherlock Holmes and numerous other mystery style books
Curiosity, Discovery and Exploration - DK's Dinosaur Detectives by Peter Chrisp and other books of that ilk. Also exploration books. The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins by Barbara Kerley. Darwin and the Beagle by Alan Moorehead. Gods, Graves & Scholars by C.W. Ceram. Dr. Dolittle by Hugh Lofting. Curious George of course. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly.
Experimentation - My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. Professor Branestawm by Norman Hunter.
Numeracy, Measurement, Precision and Perspective - Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni. Jim and the Beanstalk by Raymond Briggs. Millions to Measure by David Schwartz. George Shrinks by William Joyce. How Tall, How Short, How Far Away? by David Adler. Is It Larger? Is It Smaller? by Tana Hoban. One Grain of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale by Demi. Flatland by Edwin Abbott.
Pattern Recognition - Any book of optical illusions. Art books. The Year At Maple Hill Farm by Alice Provensen. Pagoo or Minn of the Mississippi by Holling C. Holling.
Metaphor, Puns, Analogy, etc. - The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Any book of riddles.
What I am recommending is that STEM is founded on the scientific method broadly defined and that the best way to foster a scientific cast of mind is not so much a didactic exposure to a given body of knowledge but rather a coaching of the scientific method in conversation and discussion and pointing out to children that the fundamentals are in the core of much of our great children's literature; they just have to notice it.
I know I am sort of bridging over into the second half of the month's conversation but I think the issue is uniform across both younger and older readers. Whether young or old, the catalytic question is always Why? It forces children to connect observed outcome with speculated cause and when the why is repeated, it forces them to drill down on the chain of causation, eventually confronting just why it is they believe what they believe.
Charles
Received on Thu 14 Mar 2013 02:05:29 PM CDT
