MicroscopyEducation
school, at home, and throughout life. Analogizing is at the heart of original work, inventions, and solutions, be they literary, artistic, technological, mathematical, or scientific [ 7 , 13 ]. Because there is no wrong answer to The Private Eye Questions, students and adults bloom. They build habits of close observation and analogical thinking as they create their initial loupe-analogy lists and then use these “bones” for writing short and long pieces of increasing complexity and charm. Across genres, this writing exhibits the traits of voice, ideas, detail, and internal organization: traits necessary for high-quality writing [ 14 ]. Loupe-looking, loupe-writing analogies, and yes, loupe-drawing, unite as a springboard for compelling experiences of writing-across- the-curriculum. Research indicates that students improve their understanding of disciplines as they write in the context of those disciplines [ 15 ].
Figure 10 : Pattern on the underside of a starfi sh (sea star) at 10×.
Nonlinguistic representation . Drawing with a loupe is a form of nonlinguistic representation. T e more we use both systems of representation, linguistic and nonlinguistic, the better we are able to think about and recall knowledge. As students loupe-draw, they elaborate on knowledge gained when writing a loupe-analogy list as well as knowledge gained when connecting a loupe-subject to textbooks and other resources [ 8 ]. Moreover, drawing with the loupe integrates art into the curriculum, and art integration has been shown to improve test scores [ 10 ]. Neurocognitive research . Research into how people learn and, consequently, how we should be educating our students has been gathered and summarized by John Bransford et al. [ 11 ]. Neurocognitive research indicates that the brain is a dynamic organ, that it is changed by experience, by how kids are taught in school. It bolsters the case students can literally build into their lives the habits of mind embedded in The Private Eye process. Recent research also stresses the need for students to practice transfer of learning, the flexible adaptation of what is already known, to solving new problems and gaining new insights. Transference boosts student achievement [ 11 ]. Generating analogies, which students do in the first step of The Private Eye, followed by drawing cross-curricular connections, hypotheses, solutions, and insights from these analogies dramatically aids the transfer of learning. At the same time, students using The Private Eye process, regardless of the subject, engage in significant “place-based learning,” which research also solidly links to achievement [ 12 ].
Habits of Mind
The Private Eye was founded on the premise that we are born thinking by analogy but that we can ramp that up in
56
Program Evaluation Teacher comments . Teachers who have attended the Portland State University Private Eye STEM course, focused on grades K–6, report similar results to what teachers at all grade levels have said over the years. Fiſt h-grade teacher Christine Campanella, at Sitton Elementary in Portland, Oregon: “T e most exciting part was the engagement of the students. … We have used loupes on everything from dirt to coins to plants to parts of animals. And everywhere we go the kids are looking for connections: ‘T at reminds me of… T at makes me think of…’ Now they make connections from the beginning of the day to the end of the day.”
Student self-assessment . Students regularly report that their Private Eye work during the school year is a favorite. A typical comment from a third-grader at Alki Elementary in Seattle: “T e Private Eye has changed my perspective of the world. Instead of just saying what it is, I think and say what it looks like. If I see something and I don’t know what it is, I put in analogies which help me fi nd out what it is.” Wider evaluations . The Private Eye has spread from teacher to teacher, parent to parent, professor to professor. Budget constraints have prevented a longitudinal study, and such studies are difficult to generalize from unless they are large. However, the accumulating force of research into how students learn and effective instructional practices underscores the program’s effect and its popularity. Research is currently underway at the Portland Metro STEM Center to determine the impact of The Private Eye on teacher effectiveness.
Conclusion With T e Private Eye, students journey again and again into the drama and wonder of looking closely at the world, thinking by analogy, changing scale, hypothesizing, inventing, and problem solving in all subjects. T e journey matters. It builds the most important habits of mind for success in school and in life. It magnifi es minds.
References [1] Kerry Ruef , T e Private Eye — (5X) Looking/T inking by Analogy: A Guide to Developing the Interdisciplinary Mind, T e Private Eye Project, 1992, 1998, 2003: http://
www.the-private-eye.com .
www.microscopy-today.com • 2015 May
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76