"The
requirements placed on the workforce now change rapidly, demanding
a continuous capacity to translate thinking skills to new areas and
new contexts."
A
Science Way of Thinking
Leon M. Lederman
Principle
4
We must all be
encouraged to become life-long learners. Life long learning requires
the capacity to teach oneself.
People cannot be innovative unless they have conceptual frameworks/models
in their minds; of the principles they are going to employ, in the area
in which they intend to be innovative.
And
. . ..
They must be capable
of creating new conceptual models of understanding independently, as
they realise Just in Time that they require additional knowledge.
Therefore
this implies . . . . . .
We must teach students
to be teachers of themselves and to not be solely dependent on external
teaching agencies.
Just in time learning requires students to be able to access appropriate
information sources, be able to choose from a selection of information
manipulation tools, and use these tools in combination with the thinking
process
Principle
5:
In building models
of understanding the currency traded is principles. In building models
of understanding, principles are key building blocks, as principles
are extensible whereas facts, by their very nature, are not.
Wherever possible,
it is better to teach principles that can be applied across many different
applications rather than to teach individual facts that are limited
to one application only. In short the principle of "where the foot
points, the ball follows" as applied to sports as varied as volleyball,
basketball, tennis and rugby, once understood by students, can be applied,
just as appropriately to a plethora of other situations.
Principle
6:
Taking someone
else's original idea, deconstructing it and then reconstructing a new
original idea is the basis for innovation and knowledge building. Rarely
do we, or will students, "invent" new knowledge in a vacuum.
In general, new ideas and innovations come about through experience
and review of other people's experiences and knowledge. Working together
in teams, individuals can learn from each other and reflect on their
own learning.
