Thinking Makes it So: Create Students who Learn

Abstract Book of the 10th World Conference on Future of Education

Year: 2026

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Thinking Makes it So: Create Students who Learn

Carol Thompson, Dr. Marceline Hayes

ABSTRACT:

Human beings are not limited in their search for meaning. Our ability to imagine different worlds and connect to larger themes allows us to create different religious perspectives and spiritual practices. Religions are formalized expressions of a spiritual need for transcendence. Spirituality is a broad concept with room for many perspectives. Generally, spirituality suggests a sense of connection with something transcendent or something larger than us, and it typically involves a search for meaning. As a universal human experience, some people may describe this as sacred or transcendent, or perhaps a deep sense of connectedness with all things. At the same time, Specific spiritual experiences vary in every culture in every part of the world. Yet, while the world is becoming more and more connected, spiritual dissonance and even antipathy for different forms of spirituality exist. This online course attempts to explore different ways we can express this spiritual universe in the hope of discovering underlying themes of commonality, all in the hope of bringing people together in this important form of human experience. The online format was chosen to reach more students who are undergoing a spiritual quest. Assignments were designed, including discussions, quizzes, and experiences, to ultimately address this commonality. The paper explores this course, highlighting Shakespeare’s phrase “Thinking Makes It So,” suggesting that our minds create both diversity and unity. Perhaps the Future of Education should explore some of these critically important, deeper human issues that have been with us since human time began.

Keywords: Online, Spirituality, Diversity, Difference