February 23, 2021 Phyllis Hillwig Current Events

Discovery's Importance for Tomorrow's Skills

Three Ways to Incorporate Discovery in Learning

According to Merriam-Webster, Discover means to obtain sight or knowledge of for the first time. Without a doubt, there were many new discoveries post COVID that we’ve experienced as a society. For example, did you ever think wearing a mask everyday was important, that you’d value cleaning products, personal space, and online shopping more than you ever did over a year ago? Often times, we discover new things about ourselves when we are pushed out of our comfort zone and into unknown territory – one that is undefined, uncertain, and unclear – in other words, where imagination often lives.

World travelers imagined kingdoms and lands beyond what they knew at the time and discovered new continents and cultures from which we still benefit from today. New discoveries pave the way for innovation and challenge the old assumptions.

But – how important is imagination and discovery in education and do we have time for it? One can argue it is difficult when you are pressed for time, juggling student abilities, and planning required curriculum.

A 2018 Harvard Business Review article titled, “The Future of Human Work is Imagination, Creativity, and Strategy” noted what we mostly learn – knowledge and skills – can be outsourced or automated. What will be valued, will be skills that require imagination, persuasion, and critical creative thinking.

So how do you teach valuable skills and knowledge yet still have the time to push imagination and discovery at home or in a classroom?

Here are three simple examples to increase discovery while practicing the skills most valuable to your children for their future job prospects.

1. Wrestle with questions with no one solution

Google and other large tech corporations are known to ask interview questions with non-trivial solutions to evaluate a candidate’s critical-thinking, problem-solving, and imagination skills. Here are a few such examples:

“How many different ways can you find a needle in a haystack?”

“What would be required to design an alarm clock for hearing-

impaired people?”

In every discipline taught or just in everyday conversations, challenge children to imagine new approaches to complex problems.

2. Challenge with a new way to communicate and persuade

Yes writing an essay and citing sources to support arguments is important and should not be replaced. But in the digital era why not give students another way to communicate using a non-traditional medium -one that is video-based, visual, and multi-dimensional? According to Digital.gov, video is the preferred tool to communicate information far above text and even simple pictures. Don’t like videos? How about designing a multi-player game? As an educator or parent, allow yourself and your students to discover new ways to communicate their ideas and thoughts using tools and technology common to their generation and interests.

3. Make time for your mind to wander.

We live in a world with too many distractions. We are ON constantly – our phones, our computers, running from point A to point B and there is no time to rest. Many apps, especially games and social media ones are designed to keep us addicted to our phones. We cannot imagine or gain new perspectives if we are constantly distracted. In the journal Thinking and Reasoning, psychologists found that when people have to solve complex problems, they are much more successful when their minds don’t have to be ‘on’ or ‘alert’. Another article published by Nature.com cites that our creativity is fostered by tasks that allow the mind to wander. We must give our students time to stop and reflect, to think openly without constraints of time or distractions.

Are these three things hard to do – yes – Is it worth it? absolutely.

Albert Einstein said, “What you can’t imagine, you can’t discover.” While we never want to waste time in education, we should remember how the wheel was invented back in 3500BC – someone simply watched a rock roll down a hill and discovered a new way of moving things.