Thoughts about questions

I have chosen not to structure my blog posts around the guiding questions that were given to us at the start of the quarter because I thought it would be boring (for me and you) to loop through them again and again. Perhaps it wouldn't have. But what I did instead was talk about what is on my mind, trying always to relate it to the discussions in class and the broader issues related to teaching.

Questions lie at the heart of education. How a teacher asks and answers a question reveals what she thinks about learning and education. It is the crucial pivot in all communication, and teaching is communication.

To ask a real, not merely trivial, question is to tell your students that you care what they think. It is letting them know that, if they want to invite you into their minds, you are willing to go there. When a student asks a question, often she is asking you to step out of your own mind so that you can see things from her perspective. I had a math teacher recently who was brilliant at explaining his own ideas, but really couldn't be bothered to interpret his student's questions in order to uncover the sense that was in them. People make sense of the world in different ways, and the skill of the teacher is to keep trying to think the way other people do so that you can find a common language.

Recently, I had a good experience in Karen's Adoloscent Development class. We were in small group discussions about Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of moral development. Because of my academic background (philosophy), I had more developed opinions about the issue than my other group members. I decided to be the informal moderator of our discussion simply by asking a bunch of focused questions in a way that, I hope, drew people out and helped to focus their thinking. I was able to connect with people and instigate a pretty meaningful discussion without making a single declarative statement of my own opinions.

science

I've been off the reservation for a few weeks, but I'm back! Going to do a few more posts before this quarter is through.

I was deeply impressed by Jeff's (was it Jeff? John?) presentation on astrobiology. Honestly, I felt humbled and a little embarrassed at my general ignorance of science. I was I could still explain to someone what oxidation is, for example. I took college level physics and chemistry, but after a dozen years it has mostly washed out with the tide.

I stopped at 3rd place books on the way home and bought a couple science books. One of them is "The Brain Rules" by John Medina, a neuroscientist who lives in Seattle. He has some pretty interesting ideas about learning and education based on his understanding of the brain. He believes that brain development is so unique in each person that we really ought to de-standardize education as much as possible. Also, he argues that multitasking is largely a myth: we can walk and chew gum at the same time, but two or more activities that each require focused attention, such as driving and texting, or reading and listening, simply cannot be performed simultaneously. Some people learn to switch back and forth very quickly, but switching is extremely taxing for the brain and tends to decrease overall efficiency.

That was a bit of a digression, but it does relate to some discussions we've had this semester.

More to come later.