I do believe strongly that everything being taught in math and science classes should be related to as many real world examples as possible, as this leads to higher-order thinking and better understanding of complex concepts, but I think that an interdisciplinary way of teaching is really only possible in elementary schools. But then I also think that elementary schools should be more like the innovative Calgary Science School where teachers are subject specialists, not generalists from grades 4 and up. I don't think it's right that a teacher with a degree in the arts is teaching grade 7 and 8s math and science, or a teacher with a math or science degree is teaching them subjects such as art and history; something about that just doesn't seem right. If students who may be very good at math has teachers in elementary school that are not strong in math, this will lead to them falling behind and may lead to them being completely lost by the time they get to high school. I think that school needs more subject based at younger grades, in order for students to gain knowledge in the skills that they will need to succeed in all subjects in the future. I think each and every teacher a student has a huge effect on how they continue to look at that subject. Interdisciplinary learning is good in a sense of making connections and applying concepts, but in higher grades students chose the path they want to go on and go with it and because of this you need subject centred courses. Teachers should be creative in making real world and complex problems but in the end the subjects and units that the curriculum says each teacher needs to cover in a course are important.
When it comes to implementing creativity into a high school physics classroom, I think from the teachers approach it is important to design creative classes to allow students apply their knowledge, thinking in a higher-order and be intrinsically motivated. But in the end in subjects like math and science need to be marked on effort and getting to the right answer, not on creativity. I think creativity definitely needs to be used on things such as designing labs and experiments, and coming up with ways to solve problems but in the end the math and problem solving I believe out weigh the creativity aspect in these subjects.
Backward design is definitely important in creating these lessons that provoke motivation and investment as well as enthusiasm in what they are learning. Metacognition is also really important, students need to learn how they learn best and when teachers are creative and create complex problems with multiple approaches that all lead to the same solution will allow students to be creative in a sense of choosing a problem solving method.
In the end creativity is important in designing lessons that engage students and solving problems in math and science classrooms. The teacher needs to be an expert in this subject in order to do this and I believe this should start from a young age.
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