Tag archives for science
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STEAM Adding Arts to STEM?
I've recently started to see references to STEAM, which is STEM with an added A. Nothing to do with old fashioned trains or kettles, although the former could be part of ; Most people are probably familiar with the term STEM as an acronym formed from Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. There has been lots of promotion in the last five years or so to promote STEM to kids, especially girls, so that we have enough technically minded people to run our economy in the ; STEAM STEAM is based on a fundamental premise that the Arts are as important to our way of life as the STEM subjects. However the point of STEAM isn't a reactionary attempt to recover balance. It's more that effective innovation embraces the power of story and culture as much as engineering and technology. People…
Inquiry as a Tool for Leaders (B204)
Inquiry should form the basis for leadership decision-making and action, because without productive inquiry you cannot be certain what needs to be done. Here's a bit I wrote for an assignment while studying B204 Leadership, Influencing and Change with the Open University. What is Inquiry? Dewey defines it as “determination of an indeterminate situation” in his book Logic: the Theory of Inquiry (1938). He sees patterns of inquiry as a sequential process which iterates following experimentation. Dewey links this to the scientific method, there is a need to gather information, and to make conscious practical tests of theory developed through reflection. Cook & Seely Brown (1999) expanded on Dewey’s theory by bringing in organisational theory, distinguishing between knowledge and knowing, and interaction with the real world. In blending these ideas Cook & Seely Brown show that there is more to learning than simply…
What if? by Randall Munroe [Book Review]
What If? : Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is just fab. It made me laugh out loud several times. Also science, lots of lovely science with nice twists. Well I say nice, but really evil twists. That's what makes it funny and interesting. What if? by Randall Munroe English: Last panel of the xkcd webcomic "Philosophy". On the xkcd site, it displays with the tooltip "It's like the squirt bottle we use with the cat." (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Randall Munroe is best known for the xkcd comics (and if you haven't read them then you really must). 'What if?' comes from an offshoot of the popularity of xkcd. People have been sending Randall their 'what if?' questions and Randall has been off to do some research to answer…