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The school of Natural Science at Hampshire College supposedly only
changes its policies based on
principals, and this was my (the student) document of
principles about Div 1s that
I presented when NS was considering whether to have
2-course option in NS. I presented it at a meeting in
spring of 1995.
proposal spring 1995 by Chris Kawecki, student
For the division 1 in Natural Science each student should:
- 1)increase their competence in science. Depending on the
experiences of the student, this means different things. For some,
discovering that there is a way of thinking called science, and
that they personally are capable of it; for others, to see that there
is no objective science and that scientists (them!) must develop their
own legitimate approach, not just blindly follow rules laid down by
authorities. Other students might discover that science is not
objective and is really part of a broad social, historical context.
- 2) develop problems-solving skills by dealing with problems and
experimenting in self-designed ways. Often, this includes contact
with data. It must be noted that the instructor generally does not
need experience in problem-solving and experiment design, so that
instructor should not dominate it. The student should. Obviously
transmitting information is not the goal. But also remember,
developing problem-solving skills is the goal, not making sure
students have gotten to the same experiments/solutions a professor
would propose.
- 3)get individual attention and enthusiasm from a prof or other
students. They should be taken seriously, and their ideas should be
taken seriously. Every student can think like a scientist, and we must
be careful to encourage them, not intimidate them.
- 4)improve their communication by practicing it. First, this
means the opportunity to see how communication can be helpful in
learning (through conversations, the internet, and the
library). Second, it means communicating ideas or discoveries of the
student to other people (through a discussion, paper, letter,
presentation, poster, or ... ) -- whatever the student believes is
the appropriate way to share what the student has to share.
- 5) be encouraged to reflect on their education. This includes
thinking about and discussing the kind of learning that happens in a
project or class (what the advantages and disadvantes of the two (?)
models are, and how they will pursue the rest of their
education. Specifically, it is the students learning that is
important, and that should be forefront in their mind in getting an
education, and not completion of syllabi!!
ckawecki@hampshire.edu
Last modified: Tue Jan 9 22:00:06 1996