Application of Knowledge and Solving Problems

To continue working on my second question and keeping myself fresh, I wanted to focus on some of my beliefs as an educator this week. One of my classmates drew my attention to this article, There are Nowadays Professors of Philosophy, but not Philosophers, and it just so happens to lean perfectly into some of my ideas about teaching and learning.

"To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, [...] but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust. It is to solve some of the problems of life, not only theoretically, but practically." (Thoreau, 1971 as cited in Hadot, Simmons & Marshall, 2005, p. 229)

I want to draw your attention to the last two parts of this quote.

“Not only theoretically, but practically”

I am a very strong believer that learning and understanding only truly occur when I student is able to apply or connect the knowledge they have learnt in a different context. The things students are learning in class should have some sort of practical application or connections that can be made. Checking in with what you’re teaching and recognizing the connections and allowing students opportunities to apply it helps answer the question “Why are we learning this?”.

“Solve some of the problems of life”. For this one I am actually going to borrow a quote from an assignment in one of my other classes.

"Conflict is the primary engine of creativity and innovation" -Ronald Heifetz

I think recognizing simple problems and trying to solve them is a very important aspect of teaching and learning. When you allow students to solve problems as they come up or give them problems to solve you are not only allowing, they to be innovative but also to use their critical and creative thinking skills. I know I have probably already bored you all with talking about the BC curriculum but I am just so strongly invested in the idea of teaching and learning 21^st century skills through the Core Competencies.

(http://nvsd44curriculumhub.ca/core-competencies/posters/)

For more info on the Core Competencies: https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/competencies

References:

Hadot, P., Simmons, J. A., & Marshall, M. (2005). There Are Nowadays Professors of Philosophy, but not Philosophers. The Journal of Speculative Philosophy, 19(3), 229–237. https://doi.org/10.1353/jsp.2005.0021

Quotefancy. (n.d.). Ronald A. Heifetz quotes. Quotefancy. https://quotefancy.com/ronald-a heifetz-quotes