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Creativity and Critical Thinking PPT Part 2

The document outlines a course on critical thinking for gifted students, emphasizing the importance of integrating thinking skills into teaching. It covers various instructional methodologies, including direct and embedded instruction, and highlights the need for differentiation to keep gifted students engaged. The course aims to develop critical thinking competencies that prepare students for the challenges of the 21st century.

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9 views

Creativity and Critical Thinking PPT Part 2

The document outlines a course on critical thinking for gifted students, emphasizing the importance of integrating thinking skills into teaching. It covers various instructional methodologies, including direct and embedded instruction, and highlights the need for differentiation to keep gifted students engaged. The course aims to develop critical thinking competencies that prepare students for the challenges of the 21st century.

Uploaded by

anwaarft123
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Gifted and Talented Library

Course 4, Part 2:
Critical Thinking
Meredith Hafer
The University of Connecticut
The National Research Center
on the Gifted and Talented

www.gifted.uconn.edu

About Me

S Head of The Beacon School


in Stamford, Connecticut
S Teacher & administrator
S Specialist in gifted education
S Advocate for kids & teachers
Course Objectives

S Understand the dimensions of critical thinking

S Integrate thinking skills in your teaching


through direct and embedded instruction
S Learn how to keep gifted students challenged
Course Outline

S What is Critical Thinking


S Understanding Thinking Skills
S Objectives & Standards
S Direct Instruction
S Embedded Instruction
S Differentiating for Gifted Students
What is Critical Thinking?

S Reflective reasoning about ideas and actions

S Cognitive competencies: challenging


assumptions, uncovering themes, questioning
evidence, deriving conclusions
S Metacognitive competencies: effectively
evaluating our own thinking and others’ thinking
What is Not Critical Thinking?

S Memorization

S Scripted learning & performance

S Reiterating someone else’s opinions

S Taking received info for granted; failing to question


But Isn’t Content Important?

S Some things just need to be memorized

S However, this is only the beginning of knowledge

S e.g. Memorizing chemical elements won’t enable


students to understand the nature of matter.
S Content should be a vehicle to true understanding
And now for something
completely different!
Bread

What do you
know?
Bread

Why does it
matter?
How do we guide our students
from surface-level information
“What do I know?”
To genuine understanding?

“Why does it matter?”


From Socrates…

S Socratic Seminar

S “I cannot teach anybody


anything. I can only
make them think.”
…To Bloom…

S Higher Order Thinking

S “Good Teaching” =
“challenging the
students’ fixed beliefs
and getting them to
discuss issues.”
…To Google

S Universally accessible
content
S “We want Google to
be the third half of
your brain.” – Sergey
Brin, Cofounder
What matters most in the
21st century?

What do Why does


VS
you know? it matter?
With information only a
click away, 21st century
teaching must
prioritize thinking skills.

We can’t anticipate the


problems our students
will face in the future,
but we can teach them
to think critically.
S You are already doing this in your classroom

S It’s just a matter of


refocusing, refining,
augmenting, and
codifying your
approach to teaching
critical thinking
Course Outline

S What is Critical Thinking


S Understanding Thinking Skills
S Objectives & Standards
S Direct Instruction
S Embedded Instruction
S Differentiating for Gifted Students
Critical Thinking Skills

S Key categories and vocabulary designed to


guide instruction in critical thinking
S Can be modified, differentiated and used on
different levels to keep even the most
advanced students engaged
S Differing conceptions, terms, categories
A Taxonomy of Critical
Thinking Skills

S Observation S Inference
S Inquiry S Evaluation
S Hypothesis S Interpretation
S Analysis S Metacognition
S Synthesis S Habits of Mind
Observation

Gathering Information
Systematically
Inquiry

Asking Good
Questions
Hypothesis

Making Good
Guesses
Inference

Deriving Logical
Conclusions
Analysis

Breaking Information
or Ideas into Parts
Synthesis

Combining Information
or Ideas into Systems
Evaluation

Determining Value &


Validity
Interpretation

Finding & Explaining


Meaning
Metacognition

Knowing About
Knowing
Habits of Mind

Dispositions &
Strategies
Course Outline

S What is Critical Thinking


S Understanding Thinking Skills
S Objectives & Standards
S Direct Instruction
S Embedded Instruction
S Differentiating for Gifted Students
Standards & Objectives for
Critical Thinking

S Making critical thinking concrete & measurable


S Standards enable us to create a framework for
a school, program, department, or course
S Objectives enable us to codify and assess skill
development within our classrooms
Scope & Sequence

S We develop scope and sequence to teach


content and academic skills
S Why no scope & sequence for critical thinking?
S School-based approaches
S Departmental approaches
S Class-based approaches
Alignment with Common Core
Standards
S Common Core is more integrative of critical
thinking than previous state standards
S Explicit critical thinking standards can be added
by individual teachers, schools & districts
S Critical thinking standards do not replace
content standards, but they are a useful tool
Course Outline

S What is Critical Thinking


S Understanding Thinking Skills
S Objectives & Standards
S Direct Instruction
S Embedded Instruction
S Differentiating for Gifted Students
Direct Instruction in Critical
Thinking
S Explicitly teaching students to identify, discuss,
practice, and apply critical thinking skills
S Related class materials can be incorporated
S Problems with the osmosis approach
S Why not be more open with students about
WHAT and HOW we are trying to teach them?
“Pay no
attention to
the man
behind the
curtain!”
Examples

S Lower Grades: Students will determine the


validity of various online sources.
S Middle Grades: Students will identify patterns
in complex global conflicts and their own lives.
S Upper Grades: Students will experience,
define, and discuss the concept of ambiguity.
Activity: DI Lesson Plan
Course Outline

S What is Critical Thinking


S Understanding Thinking Skills
S Objectives & Standards
S Direct Instruction
S Embedded Instruction
S Differentiating for Gifted Students
Embedded Instruction

S Using Course Content to Drive Critical Thinking


S Refocusing Lesson Plans to Cultivate Thinking
S Incorporating Instructional and Curricular
Methodologies that Enhance Critical Development
Curricular Methodologies

S Concept-Based Curricular Approaches


S Parallel Curriculum Model
S Multiple Menu Model
S Primary Sources & Disciplinary Immersion
S Problem-Based Learning
S Concept Mapping
Instructional Methodologies

S Socratic Seminar
S Harkness Seminar
S Sandra Kaplan’s Depth & Complexity Icons
S Complex Instruction (CI)
S Effective, Higher-Order Questioning
Examples

S Lower Grades: Students will compare & contrast


colonial economies using a Venn Diagram.
S Middle Grades: Students will identify bias &
exaggeration in accounts of the Indian Wars.
S Upper Grades: Students will analyze
relationships between calculus and their lives.
Don’t Forget

S Even in embedded instruction, it’s essential to


discuss (directly, using technical language) the
thinking skills being addressed with your class

S Remember: osmosis is NOT the best approach


Activity: EI Lesson Plan
The Importance of Questions

S Teacher-Generated (e.g. Socratic)


S Student Generated (e.g. Harkness)
S Time & Silence
S Give ample time for students to struggle
S Become more comfortable with silence
S Make it safe for experimentation & courage
Example, Take 1: English 8
S Teacher: So class, now that we have read “The Raven”,
who can tell me what the raven means to Poe?
S Student 1: It’s scary, dark… he’s tired. It’s annoying.
S Teacher: But what does the raven represent?
S Student 2: It’s a dream? Birds can’t talk, right?
S Teacher: But why a RAVEN? What does it mean?
S Silence.
S Teacher: Death. The raven means death. Write it down.
Example, Take 2: English 8
S Teacher: So class, what’s up with this raven?
S Silence. Silence... More silence.
S Student 1: Birds can’t talk, right? So… if the raven’s just
acting like a parrot, does it even have any meaning?
S Teacher: Maybe not. What about this Lenore girl?
S Student 2: Maybe her death was meaningless.
S Student 3: Maybe everything is meaningless.
S Student 4: And yet we torture ourselves… I’m sad now.
Course Outline

S What is Critical Thinking


S Understanding Thinking Skills
S Objectives & Standards
S Direct Instruction
S Embedded Instruction
S Differentiating for Gifted Students
Differentiating for Gifted
Students
S Increase challenge level (high order thinking)
without accelerating content
S Jigsaw assignments to meet the needs of each
learner while maintaining class continuity
S Keep gifted students engaged
S Validate and enrich the life of the mind
Activity: Differentiation

S Choose your favorite lesson.


S Come up with a list of 6 questions in ascending
order of difficulty that engage students’ critical
thinking skills on different levels.
S How could you turn these into jigsaw activities,
assignments, or student-directed projects?
Final Thoughts

S Go deep. Be bold. Be confident.


S Balance specialized learning with generalization.
S Talk regularly with your students about training
their brains and mastering critical thinking skills.
S Create a safe space for students to take risks.
Celebrate intellectual courage.
And remember…

Why does it matter?

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