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Research on Science Education

 
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Slide 17

Extrapolations are questionable

"Limits or boundaries, defined as constraints for projects, rooms, locations or rules, are great for non-learning activities. However, having limitless boundaries, which focus on defined project parameters will allow learners to think out of the box and learn more concepts, truly reach higher levels of achievement and envision that the sky is really the limit."

Speaker's notes:

Consider, for instance, the material in this slide from a recent issue of a periodical that promotes itself as providing "effective and proven methodologies and strategies for teaching and learning science."

I don't know what to make of the jaunty vacuousness of terms such as "thinking outside the box," "the sky as the limit," and "limitless boundaries." Nor do I think there is much chance that effective and proven methodologies for teaching science are going to emerge from such formulations. I see far too much of this type of pop cognitive psychology in discussions of science teaching.