Training children as researchers

Letter March 01, 2021
Give your children a daily task of exploring one unknown phenomenon or problem they don’t know yet

KARACHI:

Can we train our children as researchers? Yes, we can. There are usually two approaches to research: qualitative and quantitative. The purpose of qualitative research, in simple words, is to explore any unknown or unstudied phenomenon. Give your children a daily task of exploring one unknown phenomenon or problem they don’t know yet. For instance, you can ask your child to imagine one day of his or her life as a cat, dog, or a car and write it down on paper. Ask them to interview family members on what they think about the object they have imagined. You will be amazed to look at the answers and their observation.

And on quantitative research, ask them to check the counter positions to their existing knowledge. The purpose is to test theories in their mind. For instance, ask them if sharing their meals with others will make them happy or sad. After the question, put them in a situation (by asking them to share their meals with someone) to test their theory and show them the results. Doing so regularly will develop children’s brain as a researcher, and they will always be learning and testing new things.

Muhammad Abubakar Siddique

Lahore

Published in The Express Tribune, March 2nd, 2021.

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