Imagine the impact on the arts if we required every aspiring
instrumentalist to complete 12 years of theory and careful study
of the masters before being allowed to pick up an instrument and
play. Yet somehow we’ve come to think that a critical mass of
facts and concepts must be absorbed before the human brain is
able to do science. It has become the norm that science and the
related disciplines of technology, engineering, and math (STEM)
require students to complete years of lecture-based coursework
with only a weekly stint in the lab before allowing them to
actually practice science the way scientists do. Yet we continue
to lament that only small numbers of students survive and thrive
in the STEM pipeline. In fact, the majority of students who
enter college with an interest in science do not complete a
science degree. Our ability to respond to some of the most
critical challenges of the near future—global health, climate
change, energy—depends on our ability to fully tap the
intellect, passion, and creativi