Have you ever wondered how Newton came to think about a falling apple? Have you ever thought that phenomena as bizarre as the speed of light made a genius out of Einstein? How do these people look at the world? How does the world seem so different to them?

This is nothing but what we call is ‘scientific thinking’ that differs them from the typical pattern of traditional thinking. The production of a scientifically literate population is a fundamental goal of our educational system. Virtually everything you can see, touch, taste, and smell is the product of a scientific process. And the scientific method isn’t just for big problems. It also applies to the little decisions in our life that make a big difference. Having a scientific mindset is an essential part of everyday life. It encompasses everything from waking up in the morning to cooking breakfast, driving your car, and even falling asleep.

Frequently, substantial effort has been devoted to determining how to increase the likelihood that, as students progress through school, they will acquire at least a mindset that they would use for critical and logical thinking along with a scientific temperament. To develop scientific thinking skill in students, we need to answer two questions- first, what is scientific thinking? And secondly, how can it be taught?

What is Scientific Thinking?

Scientific thinking is a particular form of human problem-solving that involves mental representations of hypotheses or conspiracy theories about the structure and processes of the natural world and various methods of inquiry used to determine the extent to which those hypotheses are consistent with phenomena. Basically, scientific thinking in simple terms is to think beyond the explanation that has been given regarding a certain topic. To ask questions of why? how? What if? etc. based on that certain topic apart from merely accepting the explanation that has been provided. There is a process of evaluating the evidence in scientific thinking.

Whether your child is a preteen or a toddler, she has a natural tendency to seek out reasons for the various mysteries of life that she comes across. Your child's scientific temper is directly related to the environment she is in and the company she keeps. Therefore, your parenting style has a lot to offer towards the development of scientific temper in your child. There are a few ideas to nurture your child with which they can develop a scientific temper with evidence-based curiosity for anything happening around them.

Now we know why scientific temper and its development is necessary in a child but now let us understand how to develop the scientific temper in the students –

      How to develop a Scientific Temper?

• A pro-science home will encourage your child to make the most of his inquiring mind. 

Here are a few tips like, encourage them to ask more questions and seek out answers on their own. Whenever they come to you for any questions, direct them to reliable sources like the encyclopedia or the dictionaries instead of directly giving them access to “google” or “Alexa”. Also, you can encourage them to watch more of scientific shows on the TV instead of only entertainment all the time.

• Develop their critical and logical thinking skills to upgrade their IQ level.

       Your child needs to use her reasoning and ask questions like, 'Why is this happening?' or 'Is this the right way to respond?' or 'Who said this? Can I trust this instruction? Also, Do not hinder your child's willingness to test so-called established ideas. One more thing to keep in mind is that never halt your child's evaluation processes by saying 'because I said so'. Instead encourage them to ask, 'How do I know if this is true?' or 'How can I be sure?’. Another thing to do is teach your child the logical sequence of science. General principles can create specific instances like how the laws of gravity works. How physics work in real life. This will make them develop an interest right from the early ages.

• Steer your child away from finding answers on the internet –

When your child will google their queries directly on the internet and get the answer their mind will not do any thinking. No brainstorming will be done and as a result, the children won’t develop any logical or scientific thinking skills. They need that ‘brain exercise’ to open up their minds and for that always encourage them to find the answers from alternative sources other than google.   

       Your child will use her knowledge with ease as you explore things together. Have discussions with them. To develop a scientific temper and encourage more and more young is what should be our motive and to ensure the same SFS Guwahati has always been engaged in continuous efforts to impart quality education and with the very same motive DIEP (Desalite Integrated Exam Prep) has been introduced for the students, an integrated coaching program that would be helpful for the students and enable developing the scientific approach to their thought processes. Hope this blog was helpful enough to let you develop that scientific thinking skills within your children. Nevertheless, in a world that is replete with misinformation, uncertainty, and flux, your child needs to be unreservedly reliant on his scientific temperament. This is a strength that will equip him to be an invaluable citizen of the world, regardless of the career path he chooses to embark on.