Reflections
Imagination or Knowledge? Which is more important for science education?
One of my favourite episodes of The Big Bang Theory is when Penny, (cheerleader, prom queen, aspiring actress) asks Sheldon (theoretical physicist, studying string theory) to help her understand the current research of her boyfriend, Leonard (experimental physicist, studying the movement of sub-atomic particles). Sheldon agrees, and his lesson plan has merit. He believes that if Penny is to truly understand quantum theory, she has to appreciate its development from its origins in Ancient Greece, circa 600BC, and take a ‘2600-year journey’: from Isaac Newton; to Neils Bohr; to Erwin Schrodinger; and to a group of Dutch researchers currently doing work similar to Leonard’s. Some time into this journey, Sheldon’s whiteboard shows evidence of both physical representations and mathematical models designed to help Penny visualise abstract scientific concepts relevant to the topic.
During the instruction, Penny criticises Sheldon’s teaching style while demonstrating several common characteristics of someone who, while enthusiastic, is not prepared for the learning to come. She has a lack of background knowledge (what are sub-atomic particles?), poor mathematical skills (she can’t cancel mass from both sides of an equation and does not understand exponents), does not want to take notes (she comes to class with neither pen nor paper), and complains that the pace of instruction is too fast for her to keep up. Of course, Sheldon doesn’t help. He treats Penny as a subject rather than a learner, and is both disparaging and condescending. He also raises the stakes, and thereby diminishes Penny’s confidence, by telling her she is to be tested. A considerable hindrance to her capacity to learn about quantum theory is that Penny is clearly not motivated to acquire a deep understanding of the topic; instead, she is happy to memorise the gist of (Sheldon’s perspective of) Leonard’s research to show him and his friends that she is interested in his work.
A historical approach to quantum physics (sans the contribution of the Dutch research team) is very familiar in contemporary physics textbooks. I used a similar approach when my Year 12 Physics class studied the topic in Term 2. The class investigated the development of atomic theory by examining a model of the atom, identifying what known observations it could and could not explain, and following the line of thinking and discoveries that led to the next iteration of the model—Thomson, Rutherford, Bohr, De Broglie, Schrödinger. For the most part, our Year 12 Physics students have all the skills that Penny lacked but, as with many abstract scientific concepts, the most important skill of all is the ability to use one’s imagination.
Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Albert EinsteinImagination is often considered a trait of the arts, synonymous with creativity, and it is sometimes dismissed as frivolous because of its association with play. However, everything that requires constructing something new involves imagination. In our everyday lives, our imagination allows us to solve problems, enjoy a good book, redecorate, or put together an outfit. In the fields of science and mathematics, imagination is typically linked to innovation and the development of new ideas, but its role in the rigorous intellectual pursuit of meaning-making can be underappreciated. In science education, students use their imaginations to make sense of challenging concepts and processes that are not new to science, but are new to them. They are not innovating, they are learning.
Imagination is more than just the formulation of mental images because we can imagine things that are non-imageable, like heat or mathematical solutions. There is a difference between picturing a physics-related scenario and imagining how to solve a mathematical problem associated with it. In physics, visualising often precedes successful problem-solving. For example, when faced with a problem like ‘calculating the induced electromotive force across the wings of a plane moving horizontally towards the north’, students first aim to create a mental image of the orientation of the physics phenomena pertinent to the scenario, possibly committing it to paper, before imagining the mathematical steps required for its solution. When learning, imagination allows the abstract, the invisible, and the non-imageable to be perceived. It is primarily an individual construct, but its results can be shared and refined through collaboration, to which many learners can attest.
Information is easier to remember if represented in both visual and verbal forms, which is why concrete concepts are easier to learn than abstract ones. When students learn rudimentary abstract concepts, teachers concretise them as much as possible by means of:
- contextualisation, using hands-on and other real-life experiences
- visual aids, in the form of still and animated images, audio recordings, and physical models
- simple analogies
- basic mathematical models
- discussion, as a way of forming connections.
This is where students begin to develop their skills in applying their imaginations to meaning-making. However, challenging abstract concepts—like quantum theory in physics, microscopic processes in biology, and subatomic mechanisms in chemistry—are not easily represented in visual or verbal forms. They rely on students using their imaginations to merge their experiences, observations, and scientific knowledge with the visual and verbal cues provided.
Certainly, a lack of background scientific knowledge and essential mathematical skills can impede the learning process. But, importantly, so can an underdeveloped imagination. As illustrated through her challenges in understanding quantum theory, Penny was doubly doomed. Even if she had a good imagination, which in this instance she didn’t, she didn’t have the basic building blocks (of knowledge and skills) to imagine with. While knowledge and skills provide the foundation, imagination propels learners toward deeper comprehension and innovation, and facilitates the understanding of abstract concepts.
Einstein argued that imagination is more important than knowledge because imagination allows us to explore possibilities beyond our current understanding and see beyond the obvious, but both are important to the learning process. It is through the imaginative application of knowledge that students can fully appreciate the complexities of science and develop the skills necessary for intellectual growth. Therefore, nurturing imagination alongside knowledge in science education is not only beneficial, but essential for fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of the world around us.