Kerry Baldwin

17. Kerry Baldwin - Asking Better Questions

 

In this episode, Kerry Baldwin is back to talk about her new courses designed to help people of all ages become critical, reflective, thinkers and why this lost skill is becoming more and more crucial. Craig and Kerry begin their conversation by taking a look at how both the public’s and the government's responses to COVID-19 have shifted since April.

They next dive into Kerry’s course where we are invited to reconsider how we think about thinking, learning, and what actually is wisdom? This episode is not about answers, rather it is a beacon to the importance of crafting the question to precede any answer.


Timestamps and resources to start learning more:

1:17 Who is Kerry Baldwin 

5:51 Shifts in public attitudes toward COVID-19

11:16 Are coronavirus measures removing our humanity?

13:35 Kerry’s Socratic Seminars

21:36 Materials Kerry uses in her course and why

26:53 Social media contrasted with the Socratic method

28:41 Importance of participation in the Socratic method...aka why you can’t skip the Zoom call

  • Benefits of a coach in facilitating an open learning environment

  • Starting with asking questions and feeling safe asking them

  • Answering questions you weren't’ prepared for

33:58 How does this method teach critical thinking?

  • Different skill levels in thinking - 6 Stages

  • Socrates definition of wisdom - the more knowledge you have about the world the more you realize how much you don’t know 

  • Those with less knowledge believe they know more than actually do - Dunning-Kruger Effect 

  • Socratic method as a way to learn about the world and self

  • How can these skills help us with social media?

40:09 Understanding how true statistics can be framed to manipulate us

43:04 Kerry’s Socratic seminars vs. lecture-style classes  

  • What does learning look like to you?

  • Permission to fail and be wrong

  • Teacher pouring knowledge into student vs. engaged learning

  •  Forced vs. voluntary engagement/participation

50:00 Why we need more people involved in asking good questions and productive methods of conversation

  • It’s ok not to agree, in fact, we don’t want everyone to agree with us

  • It’s not about “putting someone in their place”

  • Social media and the desire to be right, even without understanding why you may be right (or wrong)

53:16 Learning more from being right than being wrong

  • The “gut punch” of being wrong

  • Getting comfortable with not knowing

  • Bruised egos

55:37 What skills do students develop?

  • Compare and contrast, clarifying issues conclusions and beliefs, understanding the difference between over-simplification and generalization

  • “Feelings care about facts”

  • Intellectual humility, courage, and integrity

  • Independent thinking, self-awareness, fair-mindedness

  • Perseverance, confidence, and reason

  • And more!

57: 41 Feedback: What people have said of Kerry’s Socratic Seminars 

  • Don’t underestimate kids!

  • Giving kids a safe environment to make mistakes and what they will reveal they know

1:01:00 What we can learn from younger generations

  • Why “old people” may be stuck in their ways - what’s going on in a child’s brain?

  • Neuroplasticity

1:04:25 Kerry’s plugs

 

2. Kerry Baldwin - Moral Panic, Media, & Responding to Coronavirus

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In this episode, Craig speaks with independent researcher, writer, and fellow podcaster Kerry Baldwin to discuss her article The Virulence of Moral Panic, published by the Libertarian Christain Institute. The conversation centers on how the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic can be understood as Moral Panic, a term borrowed from criminal psychology, that sheds light on the factors that push societies to act in certain ways. To learn more about Kerry and how you can support her work please visit her website

Below you will find links to further explore topics found in the show.** 

00:29 - Kerry’s Article

00:58 - Dare to think Podcast 

2:20 - Dr. Bon’s article from Psychology Today

11:20 - What are coronaviruses?

15:30 - COVID-19 is not a conspiracy

19:00 - 3D Printing Ventilators

19:25 - FDA and Coronavirus Test from Private Labs, and for further reading

19:45 - CDC flips public mask recommendation

20:00 - Sweden’s response source 1 & 2, Germany’s response, South Korea’s response, Taiwan's response, and Singapore’s response.

21:21 - Moral Panic during coronavirus; A social psychological approach to understanding moral panic resource 1 & resource 2 

24:23 - New Mexico Governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) addressing her citizens

24:55 - Tacking of social distancing

30:00 - Police called by neighbors

 

33:20 - Mental Health during coronavirus; Statistics on suicide rates & in TN

34:30 - The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, wiki

**Please note, these are only starting points, we did our best to find unbiased sources, but you are encouraged to explore more sources on your own. As we learned from Kerry, framing is often a tool used to persuade us, so being aware of where our information is coming from and what biases a source may have is a strong defense. We love hearing from you, so don’t hesitate to share what you find!