Root-Bernstein & Root-Bernstein explore the notion of imagination in chapter two of Sparks of Genius. Several apparent dichotomies are presented, including knowing vs. understanding, what vs. how, illusion vs. reality, hand knowledge vs. symbolic knowledge, mind and body, intellect and intuition, synthetic and eclectic learning, truth and fiction… In this context, they write:

We must interpret what we sense in terms of imagination to create understanding (p. 24).

By checking and crosschecking fiction with fact, experience with knowledge, by creating each in the image of the other, the writer [or in our case, the learner] ever more closely approximates recognized truths (p. 23).

In the spirit of these assertions, this Quickfire asked us to look at these ideas through an educational lens:

Determine a concept that you teach that you think students often “know” but to do not “understand.”

First, determine how “knowing” this concept would be demonstrated by a student.

Then, for five students, determine how they might imagine this concept (or illusion in Sparks terms) to be useful in reality. Some of these imaginations should be true, and some false.

Write a short script based on the information above and then create a short video with your iPod touch or similar video device.