Thread by @therealjohntan

How do we help kids embrace uncertainty?

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Kids regurgitate without realising the knowledge they have been taught may be incomplete.

Or that new knowledge is created all the time.

Complacency and conceit sets in when kids believe they know everything there is to know about a subject.

Grappling with uncertainty can spark curiosity and better prepare kids for the real world.

Answers are seldom clear cut or permanent.

“We’re much more certain about facts than we should be.” - Jamie Holmes

Learning in an environment where ambiguity is welcome can be difficult for both adults and kids.

Here are some strategies to help kids become comfortable with ambiguity.

1. Let kids know confusion is part of the learning process.

Acknowledge their emotional response and encourage them to view ambiguity as a learning opportunity.

2. Assign projects that will flummox kids.

The best assignments should make students make mistakes, be confused and feel uncertain.

Help kids get used to projects where they can make mistakes, but where there are also multiple ways of accomplishing the goals.

3. Instruct with a sense of humanity, curiosity and humility.

Don't teach like a sage imparting wisdom.

Let kids know you're learning all the time as well.

Question everything.

4. Show how the process of discovery is often messy and non-linear.

“Groping and probing and poking, and some bumbling and bungling, and then a switch is discovered, often by accident, and the light is lit.” - Stuart Firestein

This thread is based on an essay by @LindaFlanagan2 published on @KQED.

kqed.org/mindshift/4251…