General Philosophical Orientation
First a word about the basis for the pedagogy I will be presenting. All human knowing is tentative. And as the saying goes, “Things are rarely what they seem.” How do we proceed? Science is the reigning and best means humans have devised for carefully testing ideas. Yet scientists understand—better than the general public—that science doesn’t establish the truth, rather it proposes the best explanation to date from the evidence. That said, truth does exist outside of science, and can be accessed, though not proven, through other means—especially through carefully considering the best of historic pedagogy, and through clinical experience involving careful observation, intuitive response, and heuristic solutions.