A classroom exercise to help teach scientific thinking Mike Rother katatogrow.com

Kata in the Classroom / katatogrow.com 2 Give you some first-hand experience with a classroom exercise that helps teach the meta skill of scientific thinking. PURPOSE OF THIS SESSION Scientific Powers

3 A Pattern of Scientific Thinking + Routines of Deliberate Practice MAKING SCIENTIFIC THINKING SOMETHING THAT CAN BE LEARNED BY ANYONE Kata in the Classroom / katatogrow.com

4 DESIRED OUTCOME Scientific Powers The desired outcome for today is that you: (1) Run the exercise in your classroom (2) Build on its four-step pattern in ways that suit your classroom. Give you some first-hand experience with a classroom exercise that helps teach the meta skill of scientific thinking.

Kata in the Classroom / katatogrow.com 5 1.Brief Intro 2.Run the Exercise 3.Discussion

Kata in the Classroom / katatogrow.com 6 The instructions, step-by-step PowerPoint and materials for the KiC exercise are at THE KiC MATERIALS ARE A FREE DOWNLOAD

Kata in the Classroom / katatogrow.com 7 HAS THIS HAPPENED TO YOU?

8 Current Knowledge Threshold OUR BRAIN FILLS IN THE BLANKS AUTOMATICALLY Kata in the Classroom / katatogrow.com

9 THIS COGNITIVE MECHANISM HELPS US GET THROUGH THE DAY Kata in the Classroom / katatogrow.com

10 THIS COGNITIVE MECHANISM HELPS US GET THROUGH THE DAY But it also causes problems We often don't notice our Knowledge Thresholds. We feel quite sure and make faulty decisions. Kata in the Classroom / katatogrow.com

 SCIENTIFIC THINKING "A routine of intentional coordination between what we think will happen, what actually happens, and adjusting based on what we learn from the difference." "Let's try it and see" What we expect to happen What actually happened Learning A Countermeasure: Kata in the Classroom / katatogrow.com 11

IT'S A SKILL FOR EVERY DAY 12 What we expect to happen What actually happened Learning Kata in the Classroom / katatogrow.com

13 Born Scientific Thinking It's not our default mode. Adults are notoriously bad at scientific thinking, due to those natural, unconscious mental mechanisms. Learned through Practice Kata in the Classroom / katatogrow.com

A 50-minute activity with three minute rounds that involves student teams working on a number of self- generated iterations to complete a small puzzle. The student teams follow the Improvement Kata pattern to establish a goal and then experiment toward it from round to round. KiC is being used in the USA, Sweden and Germany WHAT IS KATA IN THE CLASSROOM? It's an exercise that introduces a practical pattern of scientific thinking, in an engaging way that easily fits within a teacher's existing instructional plan. Kata in the Classroom / katatogrow.com 14

Kata in the Classroom / katatogrow.com 15 Conduct Experiments to get there Grasp the Current Condition Establish your Next Target Condition Get the Direction or Challenge THE IMPROVEMENT KATA PATTERN The "Improvement Kata" is a four-step scientific pattern of thinking and working that is a practice routine in business organizations. You experiment your way forward, instead of trying to decide your way forward.

Kata in the Classroom / katatogrow.com 16 Conduct Experiments to get there Grasp the Current Condition Establish your Next Target Condition Get the Direction or Challenge 1 THE IMPROVEMENT KATA PATTERN The "Improvement Kata" is a four-step scientific pattern of thinking and working that is a practice routine in business organizations. You experiment your way forward, instead of trying to decide your way forward.

Kata in the Classroom / katatogrow.com 17 Conduct Experiments to get there Grasp the Current Condition Establish your Next Target Condition Get the Direction or Challenge 1 2 THE IMPROVEMENT KATA PATTERN The "Improvement Kata" is a four-step scientific pattern of thinking and working that is a practice routine in business organizations. You experiment your way forward, instead of trying to decide your way forward.

Kata in the Classroom / katatogrow.com 18 Conduct Experiments to get there Grasp the Current Condition Establish your Next Target Condition Get the Direction or Challenge THE IMPROVEMENT KATA PATTERN The "Improvement Kata" is a four-step scientific pattern of thinking and working that is a practice routine in business organizations. You experiment your way forward, instead of trying to decide your way forward.

Kata in the Classroom / katatogrow.com 19 Conduct Experiments to get there Grasp the Current Condition Establish your Next Target Condition Get the Direction or Challenge THE IMPROVEMENT KATA PATTERN The "Improvement Kata" is a four-step scientific pattern of thinking and working that is a practice routine in business organizations. You experiment your way forward, instead of trying to decide your way forward.

A Simulation Game A Way of Working A TEACHING CHALLENGE Students' Awareness Graphics and simple tools keep students aware of the pattern they are practicing, rather than only playing a fun game Kata in the Classroom / katatogrow.com 20

Kata in the Classroom / katatogrow.com 21 SIMPLE KiC TOOLS

Kata in the Classroom / katatogrow.com 22

Kata in the Classroom / katatogrow.com 23 A teacher's PowerPoint (provided) is used to lead the KiC exercise. It goes through each step and includes comments and prompts for the teacher. A POWERPOINT FILE WALKS THE TEACHER THROUGH THE EXERCISE The KiC materials can be used as they are, or easily adjusted to suit your particular needs.

Kata in the Classroom / katatogrow.com 24 THE EDUCATOR IS A KiC FOCUS! If you (the teacher) have a positive experience with the Improvement Kata pattern through the KiC exercise, it increases the likelihood that you will have students use the same working pattern with other assignments during the school year. That, then, is where repeated (deliberate) practice comes from, which is necessary for the acquisition of scientific skills and mindset. One 50-minute exercise alone is not enough practice for developing new skills and mindset. For that reason the target with KiC is not just the students, but the teacher.

Kata in the Classroom / katatogrow.com 25 BUILDING FOR TOMORROW

Kata in the Classroom / katatogrow.com 26 LET'S TRY IT!