Category Archives: Thought

Thoughts about thinking, learning, cognition, and the like.

Physician, Heal Thyself!

Posted on October 5, 2006 by Ian

Failure leads to humility, which leads to brutal self-inspection, which leads to insight. I’m an educational researcher by profession. I tend to believe that I know a lot about how to teach well, especially physics. I’ve read the literature, attended … Continue reading →

Posted in Educational Research, Learning & Teaching, Me, Physics Education Research, Thought | Leave a comment

Eating My Own Dog Food: Stereotyping Africa

Posted on June 29, 2006 by Ian

When writers like Ethan Zuckerman and Binyavanga Wainaina chide people for painting Africa with broad brush-strokes and remind readers that Africa is a richly varied continent of many different countries, cultures, and ecosystems, I nod sagely. I know better. After … Continue reading →

Posted in Educational Research, Thought, Travel | Leave a comment

Irritation and Laughter

Posted on May 27, 2006 by Ian

Is umbrage a choice? I’ve been in Uganda for the last week, visiting my good friend and colleague Silas Oluka at Makerere University in Kampala. Tuesday we met up with Silas’ brother Stephen in order to visit a couple of … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Thought, Travel | 1 Comment

Waiting

Posted on February 20, 2006 by Ian

This is a follow-up to my previous post about normalcy, Incarceration Makes Me Crabby. My most scarce commodity, by far, is time. Given my goals, resources, and lifestyle, I’m neither cash-limited nor opportunity-limited nor knowledge-limited. I’m time-limited. There just isn’t … Continue reading →

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Incarceration Makes Me Crabby

Posted on February 17, 2006 by Ian

I’m two months into a half-year sojourn in South Africa. A colleague and I are working at the University of Fort Hare, guest lecturing and conducting workshops for rural secondary school science teachers. My colleague is here on a Fulbright-funded … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Culture, Me, Thought, Travel | Leave a comment