Intelligent Floundering
flounder (verb) : to struggle mentally; show or feel great confusion. Or, to be in serious difficulty.
Intelligently (adverb) : in a knowledgeable and insightful way; cleverly.
How to Flounder Intelligently ...
Prof. Guy Claxton from University of Winchester has used the phrase ‘floundering intelligently’ to describe how we might respond when confronted with a challenge that requires us to think in genuinely new ways. The concept of ‘floundering intelligently’ initially arose due to the difficulties that successful academic students encounter during ‘Oxbridge’ interviews: Students that he was interviewing struggled to ‘Flounder Intelligently’; or to ’think on their feet’.
Hence, ‘’Floundering Intelligently’’ can loosely be interpreted as ‘’thinking on your feet’’. This has nothing to do with IQ or how smart you are. It is your ability to see things differently rather than panicking when presented with challenging, new material. Some characteristics that you should display when floundering are: look at problems with fresh eyes, tolerate uncertainty, learn agility, persevere and question the familiar.
Push Harder Until Your Brain Aches!
This is the catalyst between Floundering Intelligently and Floundering Miserably!
Does it ever feel like this when you don't know how to do something in a lesson?
How do we change the dynamics of these feelings?
Have A Go
‘Have a go’ and engage with the genuinely unfamiliar before asking for help, scaffolding and explanation.
"nOT yET!"
If your teacher asks if you need help, say "Not Yet!"
Give yourself time to think about things.
Push Yourself
Push yourself to a point at which you can go no further: how often do you feel that you have been pushed beyond your current limits by a lesson in terms of rigour and sophistication of thinking, NOT in terms of workload?
Holistic Approach
Connect different units of information and understanding from different lessons. So, you appreciate the interconnection of different subjects?
Unfamiliar audience
Discuss your learning with someone other than your teacher. Can experts or other ‘real audiences’ outside of the classroom help evaluate and drive forward learning?
Embrace Failure
How often do you feel satisfied after making a mistake? Don't worry because you've just learned something new. Pick yourself up and try again BUT be determined not to make the same mistake twice.
When Thomas Edison was being questioned by a mischievous journalist on how he felt for having failed for 999 times before getting the idea of the light bulb, his confident response was: “I have not failed 999 times, I have learnt 999 ways of how not to make a light bulb.”
Here are some techniques you could use in lessons:
The 'See,Think, Wonder' method
When presented with challenging subject matter, follow this simple formula:
- See - What do you see? Write a list of all the things that are there or a list of the component objects, artefacts.
- Think - What do you think? Connect your thinking to what you can see. Based on what you can see, consider now what is happening with the objects, artefacts, components etc..
- Wonder - Why is this happening? What is the outcome? Who benefits? What is the output? What is made? What is the answer? What happens next?
The Explanation Game
When engaged with new subject matter, play the following game in pairs: Player 1 answers first ...
Name it
Can you name the object / activity / subject?
(1 point for correct answer)Explain it
I notice that ... (list as many things as you can)
(1 point for each correct observation)Give Reasons
Why is it that way? or Why did it happen that way?
(1 point for correct answer)Generate Alternatives
Can you think of any alternative uses / ways of doing this differently? What makes you say that?
(1 point for each correct answer)Swap roles for Round 2. The winner has the most points.
Flounderingly Good Films
The Greatest Showman (2017)
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron
The Prestige (2006)
Stars: Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson
Interstellar (2014)
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain
The Martian (2015)
Stars: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig
Good reads ... Heroes that Flounder
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K Dick
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba
- In which subjects could you actually push yourself to flounder intelligently?
- Do you know when to keep persevering and when to use your 4Bs (Brain, Book, Buddy & Boss)?
- Do you understand why it is important to struggle in order to learn?