Nina kindly shares her slides with public. If you are interested in her research or further research collaboration, feel free to contact Nina, nina.powell@nus.edu.sg.

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Really excited with sharing a new session by Nina from Psychology department is coming soon.

Date and time: 19 November, 2019 (Tuesday), 2-4PM

Title: Cultivating a culture of uncertainty in the classroom

Abstract: Certainty, specifically needs for epistemic certainty, often result in the use of heuristics in judgment and decision-making, and an overall shallow processing of information. This has been well documented in social cognition, and applies to judgments of people and actions in many domains (e.g., moral decisions, planning, stereotyping, attitudes, etc.). Generally, people are very happy to make judgments on the basis of very little information, and can quickly rely on shallow and emotional processing of information in order to reach a conclusion. A desire for certainty is very powerful, and often motivates us to reach conclusions quickly, maximising our efforts and conserving our resources. Certainty also has important consequences for our self-image, helping to increase self-esteem. I wish to extend this understanding in psychology to the classroom – how can a need and desire for certainty – a natural consequence of contact with knowledge and information – adversely affect students’ understanding of a topic, and their desire to pursue more information? I will explore the theoretical basis for my assertion that we should be cautious of students’ certainty, and cultivate a learning environment that favours uncertainty – that the purpose of education is not to  know, but to consider.

I am sure we will learn something new! See you there.