When we try to teach *how science works* we seem to either present the scientific
method as a prepackaged recipe, or describe various phenomena in nature. Neither
prepares students to think and act scientifically throughout their lives. There is a
better way to teach science. We should be creating everyday scientific thinkers!
You can turn your activities and assignments into effective practice of scientific thinking just by adding the four-step Improvement Kata framework to them. The Improvement Kata is a scientific working pattern that comes from research on adaptive organizations. It helps your students develop a way of thinking, and practice the following life skills:
-
Scientific/Creative Thinking. Generate & refine solutions to obstacles through experimentation.
-
Collaboration. Work in a team to accomplish a next goal on the way to a larger challenge.
-
Communication. Organize thoughts, data and findings, and share them effectively.
The value of classroom activities depends on what students are practicing when they engage in them. This website gives you free materials & instructions for adding the Improvement Kata pattern to your classroom. All it takes to get started is running the two fun, 50-minute hands-on exercises described in this website. Please help yourself to them.
NO NEW CONTENT IS NEEDED. After you run the first exercise (KiC-1) to introduce
the Improvement Kata pattern, you can start overlaying its 4-step framework onto selected assignments and activities. See the "Applications" page for examples.
Educators in all subjects are using the Improvement Kata pattern to integrate deliberate practice of metacognitive scientific-thinking skill, across all age levels.
Start by watching this 2-minute video:
Click through this short SlideShare:
Copyright Information
The materials on this website are intended to support persons who are teaching, practicing or interested in the Improvement Kata & Coaching Kata. They are periodically updated and are copyrighted under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license. You are free to copy, use, remix, transform, build upon and redistribute them as long as you note the source as katatogrow.com, but these materials may not be used for sale in any form.
In encourage you to use and share these materials freely. That way we all continue to learn and the topic continues to evolve!