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Re: [Phys-l] Is Teaching an Art or a Science? (was valid assessment)



Teaching sounds a lot like scientific investigation:

Scientific investigation is a craft with knowledges, skills and
judgment. Scientists must know their subjects and they must know methods
of investigation. They should know that there are lots of ways to
investigate, but they also must know that not all of them work. Even
among the methods that work, some are better in some situations. Master
scientists have the judgment to select the right technique for the right
time, even knowing when to pick something that wouldn't work most of the
rest of the time. Brilliant scientists know how to fashion the
investigation in the moment with the tools at hand.

Like most crafts, scientific investigation is hard to learn. The
combination of scientific knowledge and judgment is not easy to obtain.
Individuals can learn on their own from experience but it is slow.
Perhaps it is time return to apprenticeships where masters help the
novices learn.

Larry Woolf