Critical Thinking Readings & GWAP

I thought I knew a lot about critical thinking skills but that was put to the test with the video we watched. I definitely didn’t know much about critical thinking “strategies”, if anything at all. I knew critical thinking was an advanced way of learning and thinking that evolves in the brain and younger children usually don’t have this skill, it’s developed over time. My definition of critical thinking would have been for me the ability to analyze information or “data” and then apply the relevant information, in a reasoned manner. Or simply put, using our brains to sift and organize information in order to best recall relevant information; higher-ordered thinking. As for strategies, I hadn’t really even given it much thought. I just assumed that the further I pushed along in age and education it was a natural evolution of our brains.

As an educator, I want to know more about what the critical thinking strategies are exactly? When I get a grip on that I would like to know how exactly one might impart those strategies to myself and to my students in order to be become better learners. One’s who are open to new ideas and not so blinded by biases that we shut out what the real facts or truths may be. Not to be so overcome by emotion as so many from both extremes in our society are today in order not to fall into the “false dichotomy” that leads to “false conclusion” or solutions as the video stated. I want to know how to flush out this kind of “black and white” thinking, which leads to sabotaging critical thinking skills that could really bring about big changes in our not so civil society as well as logic to rash judgments and conclusions in our political, educational and all institutions of our country. Just a side note here: I loved the quote that “arguing with reason is cutting off the branch in which we sit”, temporary new favorite!

I’m still not sure what a critical thinking skill set would look like as far as being able to teach it like material from a text? I do have a much better handle on exactly what critical thinking is and what helps and hinders it. So, with this knowledge base a few ideas about how to apply this in lesson plans without specifics would have to be the following. First, learn what biases students are bringing to the table, whether good or bad; it goes back to the idea of pre-existing knowledge and how that can wreak havoc on what and how students are learning and retaining from your lesson depending on their knowledge base. Next, I would try to design plans that make students think outside the box, with less restraint on the course of parts of the activities. This would give them chances to try and fail which I just thought of as I write may be a good way to practice critical thinking. I know failing at times works in the “real world” as long as you get back up and try again. Maybe having well thought-out group projects to encourage differing views having to work to come to a consensus would be good. Plus having the plans or just part of the learning process in general include lots of student feedback and healthy discussion and debate in order to reach the facts. I know we need to have discipline, clear expression of ideas and take person responsibility for our own thinking for good critical thinking skills so hopefully some of these thoughts head in that direction. Interested to see what others have come up with for their classrooms or lesson plans!

The GWAP games to me were like simple but more demanding forms of the game “charades”. I think they support sharing by the interactions that are necessary for both people to score and win quickly. You definitely need to think faster than charades so that may go to the action point. I did notice that the more I played them, I fairly rapidly got better and faster. You must collaborate in order to solve each section as fast as possible and gain as many points as possible by adjusting thought processes real quick and try to match each others styles for each game; if that makes any sense. Communication while not face-to-face and learning how the other is choosing to play the game or thinking was challenging. After a few segments you could almost see the non-verbal communication of the games. Not sure how to use the games in a10^th grade biology class because of the reality that every desk doesn’t have a computer, etc. Having said that I think they would be good even as extra credit to stretch young brains like we think of how crossword puzzles do this for us. One way I thought of was to bring it to class as a class activity where teams would be set up or the class divided in two. One side of the class shown a card with a name pertaining to the material on it and the other shown a different card. The names on the card may be the same or may be different but by writing one word per side at a time until each team locks in an answer on whether their cards are the team who choose right get points and the first team to decide right gets extra points. Maybe taking these computer models of the game to a non-digital level based on what the class is learning could be a way to go? Again, interested to hear what others come up with!

Introduction to how people learn

The importance of pre-existing knowledge, in my opinion, is that everyone from infants to adults has a prior knowledge base that must be understood in order for proper teaching to take place. In the book, they use the example of they book “Fish is Fish” which I found to be a great analogy for what actually takes places. We all bring our experiences of the world around us or pre-conceived notions (knowledge) with us where ever we go. This may pose great obstacles to the understanding and transfer of knowledge of the curricula being presented to students if we don’t understand this basic principle. We as teachers must pay close attention to naïve knowledge, false beliefs and the incomplete knowledge or misperceptions students will bring with them to the classroom. If we don’t address this issue, we can not adjust accordingly to each students needs and provide a good starting point for new instruction in this particular area of learning. In turn, we may not be able to impart new knowledge or understanding in place of the old beliefs.

Active learning is important for students to gain an ability to not only understand or memorize material but be able to participate more and more in their own learning. This is important with the skill of meta-cognition to be discussed later. However, the students in active learning environments help develop student knowledge further by making it not merely a product or process based task but end up striving towards a more knowledge based learning experience. This leads to students who have a deeper knowledge of the material and can then transfer this knowledge to other applications in the subject or other areas of their lives in the future. I feel this type of learning builds a sense of self-efficacy that is important down their path of education that gives them confidence in taking on material without fear because they know they can find the answers or understanding they will need.

Summary of the 3 major key findings:

1. Students come to the classroom with preconceptions about how the world works. If their initial understanding is not engaged, they may fail to grasp the new concepts and information that are taught, or they may learn them for purposes of a test but revert to their preconceptions outside the classroom.

This basically is referring to the whole notion of pre-existing knowledge as described above. Being said, I can add that some of the preconceptions can be quite strong depending on many factors such as age, culture and prior exposure to similar material to name a few. If the teacher doesn’t properly draw these out and address them through prior or ongoing assessment the consequences can be damaging to the student. Teachers need to start thinking about the fact they are handing either well prepared or ill-informed students to another teacher and level in a short period of time. Rooting out preconceptions, misinformation or having students’ not grasping material because of not identifying this information about their students could have a detrimental snowball effect in the future of that student.

2. To develop competence in an area of inquiry, students must: (a) have a deep foundation of factual knowledge, (b) understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework, and (c) organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application.

This is one of my favorite key findings. In my mind it sums up what is necessary for a teacher to impart into the student before he or she moves on to their next year or next class. Having a deep factual knowledge goes beyond the superficial world of rote memorization and regurgitation into an area where actual knowledge transfer can take place. We must know the necessary facts in the subject matter to provide us with working knowledge and conceptual basis to move deeper in expertise of the material instead of mere novices. Finally, this all leads to critical thinking skills, as I like to call them, in any particular subject or area of expertise. To be able not only memorize material and actual being able to apply it are two completely different things. This means knowing what you know, knowing what you don’t know but need to know, how to find the answers or sift through the abundance of data out there and come to the proper conclusion or answer you are looking for. AKA “transfer”. Yes, that was a bit of laymen’s terms but it’s my summary:)

3. A “metacognitive” approach to instruction can help students learn to take control of their own learning by defining learning goals and monitoring their progress in achieving them.

This approach to teaching is to inform or educate the student on how to internalize information and be able to look at yourself (an internal dialog if you will) and know certain things about where you are with a particular subject, class or lesson. Things such as am I doing enough in my class, transfer of knowledge from other areas, problem solving, keeping up on how well I am doing, time management and many more internalized thought processes. This is a hard thing to teach and has to be done, in my opinion, of the life time of learning. It should be thought of in while designing lessons and integrated into curricula to facilitate development of cognitive skills in learners. This is one of many areas I feel is really lacking in education today.

Metacognition refers to people’s abilities to predict their performances on various tasks (e.g., how well they will be able to remember various stimuli) and to monitor their current levels of mastery and understanding (e.g., Brown, 1975; Flavell, 1973). Metacognition to me is to someone who has reached a point of critical thinking and self-efficacy in which they can use there mind to assess where they are at. How much more they need to learn to become proficient in the subject matter and keep track of their skill level or achievement in that area of knowledge. This is when you have reached a certain level of individual expertise and self reflecting ability and don’t need a teacher to assess where you are, what you need to be doing and how much you really know. The implications for one to be able to do this, especially to be successful in higher education or a field of study coupled with the amount of information available to mankind is almost absolute.

Assessments are vital in the classroom for many reasons and I’ve talked of one earlier. Pre-assessments to get out of students any preconception or pre-existing knowledge from the start in order to know what foundation needs to be laid is a key to a successful semester or year. Ongoing informal assessments, such as, project assessments, quiz assessments and observational assessments are vital for differentiating lesson plans and staying flexible for each individual student as well as the class as a whole. Last, but not least, formal assessment (taking tests) is a necessary evil or tool, in most classes. We are far from reaching some of the new waves in education and students must be exposed to these forms of assessment they will be seeing in other classes and on standardized tests.

Course Expectations

My expectations for this class are, number one, gain some knowledge about the world of technology in which I have slipped a little behind on. Now that I have been to class twice, I've been having a pretty good time, so I'm hoping not to get overwhelmed with the assignments to the point of them driving the fun right out of the course and me to the infirmary. I guess I am feeling in over my head with all my classes this semester and not confident with finding the time to do the "busy work" for all of them. I'm really not accustom to doing lots of assignments and projects and things along those lines. Most of all, I am looking forward to experiencing a class that is not the same old lecture and regurgitation in order to get a better idea of how i could do things different in a classroom as a teacher myself.

I know every student learns in various ways, whether it is auditory, visual, repetition, spatial, etc. The key is gaining as many tools in our arsenal to assess and then adjust our teaching styles and assignments to each student and the class as a whole. This way every student may actually learn at least the basic knowledge required for our classrooms. I'm hoping this class by the example of Chris and through the curriculum will add to that tool box.

My expectations for my classmates are simply to be kind and courtesy and help each other out whenever we can. I expect to do well and get an "A" in the class so I expect everyone else to do so as well. I know grades are not the main point of school; it's to actually be able to remember and apply what we've learned. However, living in the sobering collegiate world of today, G.P.A.'s can be very important for post graduate work and many other reasons. Such as any future plans I have, so we are all getting "A's". Sad but true, especially when the grades don't even tell you which students actually learned and which simply memorized the material! But if an "old" man like me can earn an "A", then I expect you guys too as well! Just being sarcastic, but just live up to my expectations or else! Seriously, I know we all won't see eye to eye or be best buddies, but if we all are nice, courteous and help each other there is no reason we all can't do extremely well. Don't forget, open notes, computer, collaboration. Oh, one last thing that is a pet peeve of mine. Helping each other and working together goes both ways!

Expectations for Chris have changed a little now that we are kind of getting to know him. First, and foremost, he must keep being witty because we meet fairly early and have a long class. Next, I hope he babies us along as much as he can stomach during this course, ironic since I am a 36 year father of 2. Being a novice with Education classes, not knowing some of the technology along with all the things to keep up with, I would really appreciate being walked through this class step by little step. I think our instructor has a great handle on the way students learn, technology and how we can be good teachers. So for me, the biggest thing is to have Chris drive some of that knowledge and philosophy into our heads. It’s is a scary thing if you really think about the fact that as a teacher you do have “real” human beings lives at stake! So when I walk into a classroom to teach I want to be as prepared as I can be.

The whole "lives at stake" dawned on me when I volunteered at Buchholz High School in a 10^th grade Biology class and actually got to know the kids along with some of the good, the bad and the ugly of teaching. Oh, almost forgot, Chris must make some coffee as he promised! Just kidding, but to be fair, maybe those of us who want some in the morning can take turns making it. This way it stays in the realm of a teaching philosophy where we as students participate in our education. But in all seriousness, I expect and have already seen that Chris will be more than fair and accommodating to us all. Teaching in a new style that we all may not be used to but may need to emulate in the near future. I just want our instructor to actually do his best for him and for us.

No real questions about teaching and learning so far. I’m hoping we will all have a lot of questions on the material during this course to get the most out of it and Chris. However, as they do come up I will be more than happy to share them with the class.

I hope I am doing this right? I'm kind of treating like a blog-ish slash formal and informal-ish assignment. It's a total hybrid? I don't know but best of luck to you all this semester!