Posing Questions—Part III: Nourishing Great QuestionsPosted on November 8, 2013 by David RhoadsHow can we create a hospitable atmosphere in which question-asking is an integral and valued part of the classroom experience for students and teachers alike?Maybe we need to be absolutely clear that we actually, really, honestly do want questions! To try and generate an atmosphere hospitable for questions, I have sometimes said, “You may have had a bad experience in the past asking questions in class. But I want you to know I welcome them. I know you may feel they expose what you do not know. But that is the whole point of learning. . . .
Posing Questions—Part II: Teaching CuriousityPosted on October 28, 2013 by David RhoadsPerhaps curiosity is a character trait that cannot be taught. But maybe it can be picked up by example or contagion or osmosis. You see someone who is fascinated with things and loves to investigate them, and you are just drawn to imitate that person….
Scared but Not Too Scared? Fear & the Creative ActPosted on September 16, 2013 by A+ Brooke Lester, CuratorHe turned to me, looked at my face and said sharply, “Something on your mind, son? Speak up!” “Uh—” I blurted it out. “Sir, that temporary third lieutenant—the one that got cashiered. How could I find out what happened?” “Oh. Young man, I didn’t mean to scare the daylights out of you; I simply intended to wake you up.” (dialogue from R.A. Heinlein, Starship Troopers, 1951.“I didn’t mean to scare the daylights out of you; I simply intended to wake you up.” Two of our Seminarium bloggers have raised, each in her or his own way, the observation that frightened people don’t learn…