T. H. I. N. K.ACRONOYM FOR “TTURNING H URNING HUNCHES I UNCHES INTO N NTO NEW K EW KNOWLEDGE”NOWLEDGE”

摘要

On February 11, 1998 ABC News presented a Primetime Live segment on the comparison of testscores of United States high school students with those of other countries. The results wereembarrassing when U.S. students were compared with students in forty (40) other economicallyadvanced countries. Overall, the U.S. students outperformed only seven (7) countries in theworld! It turned out that our top students were only average in the analysis.Surprisingly, factors such as class size, newer schools, more technologically advancedequipment, stricter discipline and slavish studying by the foreign students were not the reasonsfor their superior performance. The researchers from the Primetime live segment implied answerto improving the U. S. ranking did not involve less television viewing, more homework, betterteachers, school uniforms and more passion on the part of students and teachers! Rather, thesecret to exceptional student performance and learning in the United States will involve changesin what we teach and how we teach it! The conclusions from the Primetime Live segmentstressed that we can learn from other countries in this regard.This paper focuses on an innovative concept best represented by the key words of what and howwe teach our students. It discusses a new problem analysis methodology developed to encourageanother mode for student learning. The concept has been successfully applied to severalEngineering Technology courses and received excellent reviews from the students who givewitness to its effectiveness in helping them learn.Traditionally, subjects are presented in terms of these are the rules, equations, procedures andmethods for solving a problem. The underlying assumption implies that if students learn theapplicable math and engineering expressions they now know the subject material. In realitynothing could be further from the truth for effective learning.The “Turning Hunches Into New Knowledge” (“T.H.I.N.K.”) concept is unique in that itprovides students with a comprehension of the concepts underlying the solution to a problem. Itfits naturally into a class when new material must be presented. With 'T.H.I.N.K'., the professorlimits the initial formal lecture on the subject and then assigns the students a problem related tothe new material. Students work in teams and begin to 'T.H.I.N.K.' about the unfamiliarproblem and what is required to solve it. During this interactive and contemplative time studentsmake a significant intellectual and emotional investment in obtaining a solution. Graduallysolution ownership takes hold and becomes part of the student’s desires. Students are then required to explain their analysis thought process during a general classdiscussion. Ultimately, comprehension of the underlying concepts of the rules, equations,procedures, and methods give students more confidence in and a better retention of the newmaterial. These in turn serve as an excellent foundation for additional learning on the subject.