Critical Thinking and expanding student minds

Two of my favourite subjects are science and social studies.  As far back as I can remember I was intrigued by the theories of science, the experiments, the lab, and the thrill of discovery.  The dissections were awesome and gross all at once, the challenge of creating and testing was novel and enjoyable, even if daunting at first glance.

The study of history was just as enthralling for me.  Trying to piece together reasons, judgment, understanding, analysis of events, issues and people has engaged my mind so many times.  As I headed to university I waffled between a major in biology and a major in history.  I settled on a liberal arts degree with a major in history, a minor in education and enough biology and chemistry to keep my fascination with the scientific alive and kicking. 

I could never kid myself, I'm not a genuis!  I didn't receive high honors or even straight A's at any point in my pursuit of knowledge in these areas but a bad grade never deterred me from wanting to learn more in either subject.

As I engage in a deeper understanding of science and social studies in relation to teaching them, I am excited to see a shift in mindset within the education community.  Recognizing that we learn more from the process of discovery and research and that the dialogue between researchers, scientists and historians spurs us to greater understanding than the one dimensional thinking of finding the "right" answer.  It appeals to me as a learner and an educator to know that as I put before my students concepts and big ideas, my job is not to fill them with right and wrong answers, my job is to encourage them to think outside themselves and critically view each scenario within a greater framework.  I am to help them formulate questions and facilitate discussion amongst the learners in my class so that they no longer rely on me, as the educator, to endow them with knowledge.  My job is to help them trust themselves to inquire and from that inquiry, observation, and discussion comes the act of learning and understanding.

As I prepare to head into my long practicum, I am eager to soak up the nuggets of information that are helping me see my students as critical minded at any age and to find more ways to engage the natural curiosity that enables them to learn in a richer and more meaningful way.