In his brilliant TED Talk, Jonathan Drori presents questions to the audience that most people know the answer to, but then explains why that answer is wrong. Through this ingenious interactive speaking style he explains how what we think we know may not be true.
Although it was not presented as so, I think at its core his talk was about the failures of education. When we grow up, we learn through common sense and experiences, but these can often lead to false conclusions. As soon as people get these ideas, they often fit all other evidence to fit this model. Education’s job should be to eliminate these misconceptions, but in order to do so it must convince students to give up their “models”. I think the best way for students to do this is through hands-on activity. Unless you see something with your own eyes, it is impossible to completely understand it. Textbooks, diagrams, and lectures not only have trouble eliminating misconceptions, but they can cause them. As Drori explains in his talk, people believe planets’ orbits are elongated ellipses, not near perfect circles that they are, because textbook diagrams always show the solar system from the side. If students build an accurate model of the solar system or are shown a three-dimensional one, people would not have this misconception. Through his talk I think Drori redefines what a good teacher is: not someone who tells facts to kids, but rather someone that shows students the evidence and facts so that the student can use his common sense to come to the correct conclusion.
Drori’s talk was very eye-opening to me as it makes me question teaching methods today and what I think I know.
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