Relevance of Developing Multidimensional Thinking Skills in Economics Students in Taking up Biology - Essay Example

?Critical Reflection to a (Teacher’s Perspective Evaluation of the Relevance of Developing Multidimensional Thinking Skills in Economics Students in Taking up Biology The body of knowledge that supports Biology, as well as the principles in teaching and facilitating learning, gives Biology teachers like myself a concrete idea on how the differences in age, gender, and other demographic characteristics affect the processes of acquiring knowledge and learning in people. Subsequently and in general, teachers of secondary education employ a different set of teaching principles from those who teach primary and post-secondary education. As a Biology teacher handling a class of 17- and 18-year old students of economics, the effectiveness of utilizing multidimensional thinking skills in generating ideas that will relate the concepts of Biology with Economics will be examined within the bounds of Singapore desired outcomes of education. The Ministry of Education (MOE) in Singapore believes that the secondary education, from which 17 and 18 years old students generally belong, is an important stage in their learning that will aid in providing them “An Education that Develops a Broad Range of Skills for Life” to assist them in becoming a “confident person,” “self-directed learner,” “active contributor,” and “concerned citizen” (MOE - Singapore, n.d., p. 5). There are three basic curriculums that the MOE has formulated which incorporate a holistic approach to education; that is, it does not only focus on Mathematics, Sciences, Humanities and Arts, and Languages. Issues on learning community involvement, civics, moral, and national education are also considered as fundamental pieces to the overall success rate of these teenagers in achieving their full potentials. Nevertheless, it is known that science and mathematics, today, have become an essential part of learning and living in general. Almost all aspects of human existence, such as in education, health care, transportation, business, and many more, have utilized products of technology, scientific and mathematical principles, laws, or theories (D’Ambrosio, 1990, p. 20; Tiles & Oberdiek, 1995, p. 12) that research and studies have noted a negative shift in the patterns of values, philosophy and religion of the modern generations as an impact of the trend in the intellectual development in humans (Sturgis & Allum, 2004). Though, there, too, have been researches and studies that have proposed to integrate religion, beliefs, philosophy, and others of the same kind, with the various bodies of science (Sperry, 1991). On the other hand, there are several noteworthy changes that were identified as the history of intellectual development was examined. The review was done to determine what factors can affect the practice of my profession as a teacher and to serve as a guide on what possible interventions can be formulated to incorporate Biology and Economics together in teaching a group of 17- to 18-year-old students within the context of the national educational goals presented by the MOE - Singapore (1997). Just as it has been said, members of the current generation are inclined to utilizing science, technology and mathematics in almost all of their functions and concerns; these, too, have equally influenced the teaching profession in its practice of facilitating learning among students, as they do in the other bodies of knowledge -- in morality, philosophy, politics and even religion. In fact, they are already being considered as the gold standard in the generation of new sources of information such as research. However, prior forms of knowledge did not have the same basis. People in the earlier times were educated using natural philosophy (specifically, Aristotelian natural philosophy) as discussed in the seminar. In its simplest form, natural philosophy provided a link between people’s faith (Christianity) and the events in the natural world. Simply, this supports the idea that promoting multidimensional thinking skills upon the students is possible by incorporating concepts from two different subjects, instead of separating them, through multidisciplinary projects. Consequently, this will not only develop multifaceted knowledge, skills and attitude among the students; it will also assist teachers such as myself in generating ideas that will interlink Biology and Economics in the discussion so that effective learning is facilitated. Nevertheless, it must also be noted that before science was considered as it is today, early civilizations have viewed it only as a minor part of a larger body of knowledge that mainly revolved in faith, philosophy, and religion. As this knowledge evolved, more philosophers and the early scientists came up with various laws, principles, and theories about man and all his affairs; some of which are until now applied while others have long been disregarded. In the advent of the ascendancy of science, the utilization of logic in reasoning has become the most common process of discussing issues in the society (e.g., politics, philosophy, health, etc.). Although it is complicated and may hail several sources of conflict, employing logic as the natural process of science would assist Biology teachers like myself in generating classroom Biology-linked discussions with students who are studying Economics. One way of doing so may include the discussion of the processes of production, distribution, and consumption of food resources and how they affect the lives of an organism as a member of an ecosystem and its interactions with the other members of the same and the other kingdoms. Its effects on the aspects such as health, nutrition, and their relationships with the other organisms, may also be deliberated. Yet, formulation of specific Economics-related projects about these remain to be a challenge as the process of determination of relationships and what factors are or are not of relevance need further research from the part of the teacher prior to such discussions. Collaboration with teachers from the economics department may also be a relevant approach, and attending related seminars that tackle such conflicts can help in the establishment of effective lesson plans. Still, the application of basic teaching principles for a group of teenager students must not be ignored. Employing creativity in teaching (e.g., dividing the class into groups for debate) and effective knowledge construction, utilizing technology (e.g., use of relative gadgets, film showing, etc.), and/or initiating an investigative project that uses the disciplines in research, mathematics (e.g., statistics), and science (through analysis) may encourage curiosity among these young adult learners as it has been primarily claimed; and hence, improve learning and retention about the concepts of Biology and how Economics is related to it. References D’Ambrosio, U. (1990, November). The role of mathematics education in building a democratic and just society. For the Learning of Mathematics, 10 (3), pp. 20-23. Ministry of Education (MOE) - Singapore. (n.d.). Secondary school education. Retrieved from http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/secondary/files/ secondary-school-education-booklet.pdf Ministry of Education (MOE) - Singapore. (1997). Desired outcomes of education. Retrieved from http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/desired-outcomes/ Sperry, R. W. (1991, June). Search for beliefs to live by consistent with science. Zygon®, 26 (2), pp. 237-258. Sturgis, P., & Allum, N. (2004). Science in society: re-evaluating the Deficit Model of Public Attitudes. Public Understanding of Science, 13 (1), pp. 55-74. Tiles, M., & Oberdiek, H. (1995). Living in a technological culture: human tools and human values. New Fetter Lane, London: Routledge. Read More