Quote:
Originally Posted by KHall
Thank-you for your comments...
So here is the skinny: If you believe something to be true, prove it. Create a hypothesis, design an experiment to test that hypothesis, collect data and analyze the results to see if it supports or denies your hypothesis. That is the essence of science. Everything else is arm waving.
The next step would be to have the results peer reviewed and published in a reputable journal. This is where I believe we fall short. ....
Please understand that I’m on FIRST’s side here. All the claims in this thread are valid in my opinion, I’ve seen FIRST work miracles too. But I don’t have the credentials that matter, so nobody really cares what I think.
How do we find someone like Dr. Sullivan and get that person motivated to do a study about just how FIRST impacts learning?
KHall
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I hope everyone agrees that you are on FIRST's side. And the side of VEX and Science Fairs and everyone else who gives a darn about making science, technology, engineering and our whole darn world more exciting and engaging for young people.
But education treads an interesting line between a science and an art. There are some things we can do and measure... certain classroom strategies and class sizes and compositions that work... and other things that we do are like music or painting. Is John Williams a better composer than Beethoven? Maybe in 200 years we'll have some perspective on that.
My background is in engineering. I love science. I love facts. I love the scientific method. But my profession is education, and my scientific opinion is that people... especially young people... are weird and wonderful beings that rarely conform to efficient experiments when one tries to measure the things that really matter.
Come up with a test that measures passion and inspiration, and your Ph.D awaits.
Jason
P.S. Williams>Beethoven, but my opinion is currently swayed by having watched Star Wars on Blu Ray twice tonight.