Art & Science of Teaching
Thought Experiments in the Classroom
Teachers
can use this
Thought experiments are a natural part of human cognition. We engage in a thought experiment when we watch the
but don’t have a direct causal relationship. The
relationship between the number of lemmings
and the number of caribou in the arctic habitat
Super Bowl and try to imagine what the win
is correlational. One event doesn’t cause the
four-phase
ning players will do during the locker room
other, but they vary in a coordinated manner.
celebration or when we try to imagine how we’ll
approach to
go about telling our spouse that we spent more
Guiding Students Through the Process
money than the budget allows on a new com
To use a thought experiment in the classroom,
guide students
puter. A thought experiment occurs anytime we
the teacher needs to make sure that students
create a mental projection of some event that
have adequate background knowledge. This
through a
we can’t actually observe at that point in time.
might involve some direct instruction. In the
These projections aren’t
case of the causal relation
challenging but
the conscious manipulation
of images.
Thought experiments
have a rich history in the
development of knowl
edge. 1 For example, Einstein
used a thought experiment
when he imagined himself
running to catch up with a
beam of light. He imagined
that running at the front of
the beam might be like run
on the following facts:
n The moon’s gravity
facing the moon.
n The moon’s gravity also
pulls on the earth’s core,
which creates a counter
static; rather, they involve
fruitful process.
vide some direct instruction
pulls the water in the earth’s
ocean, causing a bulge (high
tide) on the side of the earth
force pushing away from the
ning from the end of a pier
earth on the opposite side.
toward the shore alongside an incoming wave.
Although it may seem counterintuitive, this
He figured that if he ran at the same speed as
counterforce creates another bulge (high tide)
the wave, the wave wouldn’t appear to be mov
on the opposite side of the earth.
ing. This thought experiment led to the devel
n The moon rotates very slowly around the
opment of his theory of relativity. 2
earth about once every 27 days, but the earth’s
Robert J. Marzano
is cofounder and
daily rotation on its axis makes it appear as
CEO of Marzano
Why Thought Experiments?
though the moon moves around the earth once
Research Laboratory
The most straightforward use of thought experi
a day.
in Denver, Colorado.
ments in the classroom is to examine causal and
He is the author of
correlational relationships in academic con
Phase 1: Imagine
The Art and Science
tent. In causal relationships, one event causes
When sufficient background knowledge is in
of Teaching (ASCD,
another. For example, the moon’s relationship
place, the teacher begins by guiding students
2007) and coauthor,
to the tides on earth is causal. To be considered
through the creation of mental images—the
with Tony Frontier and
David Livingston, of
a causal relationship, the cause must precede
“imagine” phase of the experiment. The teacher
Effective Supervision:
the effect, and there must be no other plausible
might say, “Form a picture of the earth rotating,
Supporting the Art and
explanations for the effect.
with the moon next to it. Focus on the ocean on
Science of Teaching
Correlational relationships involve two (or
the side of the earth that’s closest to the moon.
(ASCD, 2011).
more) events that vary in predictable patterns
Feel the pull of the moon on the waters of the
