The teacher incorporates a combination of traditional teaching methods and a modified 6D inquiry-based approach. Some basic content is presented traditionally, while a 6D-style inquiry is used to promote deep understanding. For example, teaching atomic structure requires presenting basic facts about subatomic particles first before having students discover the structure through an interactive "game." This allows for an effective 6D lesson sequence by providing necessary background before the inquiry. The goal is to teach students solution fluency and develop their ability to solve problems through thoughtful trial and error, like scientists and innovators do.

1. Module 2 Discussion

2. My classroom teaching
incorporates an approach to
solution fluency.

3. There are TWO Pieces
● Basic content is presented in a traditional format.
● An inquiry-based form similar to 6D is implemented.

4. Why is my teaching a
combination of traditional
methods combined with a
modified 6D approach?

5. In order to have the most
effective 6D lesson sequence,
some basic content tools are
necessary to launch a 6D
methodology.

6. Example:
Teaching the structure of the atom requires some basic facts
about subatomic particles (e.g. protons are + and have a
mass of 1 / neutrons are neutral and have a mass of 1/
electrons are negative and have a mass of zero)

7. However, solution fluency as
presented by the 6D method is
critical for deep understanding.

8. Example:
In an inquiry method similar to “Pin the Tail on the Donkey” or
“Battleship,” students use a small cotton ball with prescribed
properties to test different locations on a blank paper posted
on a wall. Other students have the key and report success or
failure of each test.

9. A cotton ball might have a mass of one and when pressed on
one location of the paper, students with the key will answer
“deflect” or “pass-through.” If “deflect” is announced, the
student with the cotton ball knows a neutron or proton was
encountered. If “pass-through” is announced, then the
student knows either an electron or empty space was
encountered.

10. Similar tests are done to determine if positive or negative
sub-atomic particles are encountered. This inquiry game on
discovering the structure of atom-sized particles is used to
allow students to ultimately discover the current theory of
atomic structure.
The game emphasizes the “Dream” part of the 6D method.

11. ALTERNATIVE STRATEGY to
teaching solution frequency

12. In this exercise, I walk my students through the process of
inventing a mousetrap and then a slinky. I use the InvenTeam
methodology for this or even the 6D process. BUT THEN, the
essential question is for the students to “discover” the
process for inventing itself … NOT the process for inventing
the mousetrap or slinky.

13. Does the atomic
structure game
teach students to
solve real world
problems?

14. Yes, the trial and error approach to determining the hidden
atomic structure is analogous to the thoughtful trial and error
process adults use to solve the myriad problems faced in the
everyday world.

15. Essential Questions

16. My students are not particularly adept at distilling the
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS in a learning activity.

17. My Solution:
We engage in a thoughtful Socratic method where students
are asked to defend their choice for an action they take in an
activity.

18. Example:
In the atomic structure game, we might ask:
Why did you pick a cotton ball with certain properties first?
Is it better to pick a cotton ball with other properties first?
Did you have a strategy for placing your cotton ball on the paper?
Is there a most efficient way of building a testing pattern?
And so on …

19. As that Socratic back and forth develops, we ask if that is the essential question
they are trying to determine:
Are we trying to find the locations of sub-atomic particles? OR
Are we trying to find the pattern of sub-atomic particles? OR
Are we trying to determine the shape of an atom? OR PERHAPS
Are we trying to teach a discovery method for any situation?
At each step we try to successfully extract the real “essential question!”

20. The final ESSENTIAL QUESTION might be: Are we, in fact,
teaching the 6Ds?
Define, Discover, Dream, Design, Deliver, Debrief

21. The most important
D is the D for
Dream.

22. This is the essential step in innovation. It is the “gap analysis”
part of the 6Ds. It is the essence of what programs like the
Lemelson/MIT InvenTeam program are trying to teach young
inventors. (See http://lemelson.mit.edu/inventeams)

23. And, as Crockett noted, it is this creativity part, the D for
Dream, which is so valuable to society.

24. The Dream part of Solution Fluency is also the most difficult
to implement. This is because you are asking the mind to
create in spaces it has not yet encountered.

25. Before mankind saw this
image, the view of the
Earth in this way had never
been contemplated. The
ability to conjure such an
idea in ADVANCE is the
type of thinking we as
teachers are trying to teach
our students.

26. BENEFITS of Solution Fluency
Invention, innovation, outside the box thinking, or solution
fluency are all similar ideas. And, they are the essence of a
society’s competitive advantage.

27. CHALLENGES of Solution Fluency
Teaching solution fluency is difficult because students don’t
immediately see the benefits until they have had the time to
go through multiple iterations. And those iterations can take
a lot of time.