It encourages the quintessential example of a thought experiment.
And what an exciting hypothesis that is. Einstein recalled how, at the age of 16, he imagined chasing after a beam of light and that the thought experiment had played a memorable role in his development of special relativity.
Galileo’s famous thought experiment centuries earlier demonstrated rather counter intuitively that two objects of a different weight must fall at the same speed, reasoning that Aristotle would have predicted that the heavy body would fall faster than the lighter one.
A thought experiment promotes critical thinking and imagining a “what if” scenario, moving thinking forward in the process of creation and imagination.
It asserts what Plutarch affirmed – that minds are not vessels to be filled but fires to be kindled.
This is nothing new to education, but in order to further spark the curiosity of an imagined hypothesis amongst young minds, the role and enhancement of the quality of teaching, and the teachers facilitating this, are prime.
Saheti endorses this and is engaging in a developmental thought experiment for both its students and its teachers.
Learning and acquired knowledge is ongoing. Research coming out of Finland since 2010 suggests that top quality education is primarily attributable to excellent teachers who do not see that their academic journey has ended once they have achieved their teaching qualification.
At Saheti, we are proud of the rich heritage of our graduating students who have continued as top academics, both locally and internationally in their chosen fields of expertise.
Our thought experiment rests in believing, that now more than ever, the professional development of our staff is a major prerequisite for an ongoing superior offering. We actively engage in promoting, adding knowledge and sharpening skills whether it’s reading for academic tertiary studies, developmental courses, or school initiated specialized programmes.
Each of these encourages our staff to think beyond, to see how ideas further may be ignited, to entice a “what if” scenario.
Recently for example, Dr Mary Reynolds, Archivist at Saheti, shared her passion for e-learning and its potential in our classrooms which, in turn, will move teaching to new and exciting horizons.
The South African Council of Educators (SACE) has initiated a new requirement for on-going professional learning as an integral part of teaching from January 2015. Heads and heads of department are being encouraged to sign up for professional development programmes where points will be accrued for learning.
We welcome this initiative and believe that in line with what we are doing, not only senior management but all teachers need to engage in some form of continued professional development. Teachers cannot stop learning.
At Saheti, an encouraging number of teachers have already undertaken to further their studies. Whether it is a study of imaginary end time narratives in South African literature, or theological studies, or an analysis of history, or inclusion in education, a new dimension is created in the classroom where teachers engage, encourage and promote interesting and sophisticated thought experiments, thus extending the already enriched curriculum. Exciting discourse moves to a different level.
According to Peter Senge (1990:3) learning organisations are “…organisations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to see the whole together.”
Through ongoing staff development, we envisage a school that is reflective and engages students and teachers to expand their capacity and to work collaboratively in an environment that stimulates curiosity and imagination.
According to John Hattie, a leading educationalist, visible learning and teaching occurs when teachers can, “see learning through the eyes of their students”. Hattie’s eight mind frames for effective teachers have at their core the idea of a teacher who is self-reflective in his or her teaching.
We believe that continuing education of our teachers is an effective way of developing these “mind frames” which will ultimately enhance student learning so that they are agile, adaptable and analytical, as well as innovative in a diverse and ever-changing world.
If our students are to successfully engage in more profound thought experiments at tertiary level, then we, at school level, need to ensure that we provide the stimulation and knowledge to make this possible.
(Co-authored by Warwick Taylor & Daniela Pitt).
