Working in fundamental science is fascinating. This is one small group of people who working hard to do things or develop processes that nobody has ever done before. At the heart of their work is pure discovery. The conversations I listen in on around the office are usually focused on taking research-based practical ideas and debating the potential application of those ideas to the new stuff they want to try out. Then they test those new ideas, look at their results, rework their plan, and try again. And I can only assume that there are hundreds or thousands of groups around the world simultaneously working on their own new stuff. That’s kind of mind-blowing to think about.
But . . . . . my teacher brain keeps going in circles. What is the point in discovering this cool new stuff?? Where will it lead?? Frustratingly, this idea is in direct opposition to an earlier post of mine where I stated:
"Searching for outcomes or application inhibits creativity. Why can't the answer to, "Why do you want to do that?" be "Because it would be super cool!". Let an outcome emerge as a result of passionate desire to test an idea. Perhaps I should take more of this approach in the classroom. End points and box checking does not make for quality learning. Like the famous saying goes, it’s about the journey not the destination.”
While I wholeheartedly still agree with myself, I also believe that it is important for our kids to see how scientific phenomena can and does affect their everyday lives. This doesn’t mean developing clear end points to their learning but it must involve application of knowledge, not just practical acquisition of it.
So I am stuck in a hole of wondering how what I am a part of here can be applied meaningfully to the lives of my students? And, how can they carry out their own genuine investigations into the micro-world? And, what is the key pieces of knowledge that I need to develop during my time here? I’m hoping that these questions will be answered as I gently put them to the side and continue to focus my attention on learning alongside my IFS colleagues and becoming engaged in their work.
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