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Showing posts from August, 2016

Students and lecturers of India should be asked to review research articles

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Peer-review increases critical thinking, questioning, and reasoning skills among research faculties should be given in projects to earn credits, not just for publishing paper, in universities A peer-reviewer decides and introspects the authenticity of the article. Finding the error in a technical article requires rigorous effort and knowledge about the subject. Also, a peer-reviewer contribution is outstandingly important and shouldn't be ignored when compared with the author. Post-publication peer-review and pre-publication peer-review, both can be given to research faculties, so that they can earn credit for it. What projects can be given to students at elementary schools and undergraduate or higher  level? Let's talk about a project at undergraduate level: After a particular concept of a subject is taught, e.g genetics, students can be asked to review an article searching the database such as PubMed using the keyword. Let them describe a particular article in the

Collaborative work like questioning and answering, how its even possible in an exam oriented environment in India?

While going through the article http://www.learningscientists.org/blog/2016/7/7-1 ,  Learn How to Study Using... Elaboration, it made me think of my past education or even present schooling system in India from my siblings. It's like turning the education system upside down, just changing everything, from teacher centric to student-centric. But how it will be possible? Here the reasons that don't allow it to happen because: 1) Exam oriented environment Exam oriented environment in India, marks means everything, no matter how you secure it, through copying, through cramming, memorizing or any method you like. You are judged through your marks. Even to tackle it CCE was brought. But it has become even a greater failure because of our smart teachers who could circumvent the effort, by distributing marks for free, showing good scores to parents and everyone. The end result is negligible learning due to CCE. 2) Lack of time Leave about a lazy teacher for a while, what abou

Books that promote critical thinking among science students at undergraduate level

Most undergraduate and post graduate books in India are not well written, promote rote memorization, state board books are just full of errors, you can't even read a page while solving problems without finding errors in the answers given. A book is not a book, if any statement you pick, does not say something useful, does not allow you to think. In the age of the internet, where data is enormous and easily available, we need a method to extract knowledge from these data.  Books allow presenting information in a form that  we can understand, grasp it as it is written in a concise and precise manner.  We need books that allow not filling the vessel but kindling the flame. Books that promote critical thinking. Here are some the books which our students and especially teachers need to follow and should be in every library: Conceptual Physics, by Paul G. Hewitt The book is very well written, the book almost relate everything in physics with real world examples. You will under

In order to understand a student understanding, ask how they are imagining things?

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Aphantasia , is about not able imagine the image vividly, does it trouble to create new imagination? I have always a difficulty from childhood, for recalling the image vividly, I can’t get into details of the image. In order to remember a person's face, I need to meet up with the person again at least 3 or 4 times.  Even I have trouble in navigation. But all the issues are based upon generalized context, but there are exceptions. For example, I will reach the place second time again without trouble, if I  think of/ paid attention to the landmarks, I can recognize the person with his/her face again, if I think of or paid attention to the details of his/her face while the meeting. But in common I usually can’t recall the faces vividly,  but many have a very excellent capabilities imagining person's face or knowing the direction of a place which they have visited just once. I scored http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34039054  22 out of 40 in the test of Aphantasia. But doe