One of the reasons that Central Communications is so good at what we do is our ability to solve problems. That is one thing that does not come as a required or even elective course in most high schools or colleges, yet it is an essential part of our ability to succeed in life.
There is an organization called Overdeck Family Foundation and Bedtime Math that contributes to schools and teachers who actively engage their students in instructional methods which help students activate their ability to problem solve.This is an interesting post by Laura Bilodeau:
“When I was in 11th grade, my physics teacher, Dr. Stoneback, shocked the entire class — literally — while demonstrating a Van de Graaff sphere. With one student touching the odd-looking silver machine, the rest of us linked hands in a circle, expecting our hair to stand up on end. But the instant the last person in the chain touched the sphere, our “circuit” closed, and the charge it released made everyone practically jump out of their skins.
Looking back, the voltage may have been a bit too high, but the experience got the whole class — indeed, the whole school — talking. It also (pardon the pun) supercharged my interest in math and science, ultimately propelling me toward a degree in astrophysics.
Aside from teaching me about electromagnetism, that day taught me another important lesson: Inspirational moments in school, the kind that transform students from passive attendees into active participants in their own learning, often come not from a textbook or a worksheet, but from fun, hands-on experiences. Ms. Napolitano, my daughter’s fourth-grade science teacher, could have simply explained “force equals mass times acceleration” on a whiteboard, for example. Instead, she had her students make marshmallow catapults and discover Newton’s first law for themselves — to the profound chagrin of the kids who missed that particular class.”
To read more about what this organization is doing to help our next generation engage in science and math, and to encourage students to solve problems, go to http://overdeck.org/ or http://bedtimemath.org/
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