supporting a thinking classroom roland case, ph.d. roland case, ph.d. executive director the...
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Supporting a thinking classroom
Roland Case, Ph.D.Executive Director
The Critical Thinking Consortium
CAP National Conference
May 11-13, 2015
Turn-of-the-20th century vision of a 21st century thinking classroom
Creating thinking classrooms
Quality thinking is rigorous thinking that is both productive and responsive, done alone and in concert with others.
…is a classroom where students learn to think and think to learn: thinking is the way to engage with and deepen students’ understanding of the subject matter of the curriculum.
Distinguishing principles from practices
Principle PracticeBe polite and courteous Say hello, acknowledge
people’s presence, shake hands, hold door
Better safe than sorry Count to 10, look and then act, think before speaking
Principles: the desired features or enabling conditions that inform or motivate actions
Practices: the policies, strategies or procedures that are implemented to achieve a desired outcome
Why focus on pedagogical principles?
• Hollow practices• Accretion over supplanting• Diversity of responses• Teacher autonomy• Easier to sell• Less intrusive (can be phased in)
Affirm, refine and aspire
Engage students• Students are
engaged in their learning when they personally commit to freely dedicating effort towards the pursuit of educational goals and the performance of ongoing tasks.
Not engaged
Compliant Interested Valued Challenging
Transforming
Students regularly do not complete assigned tasks
Students perform educational tasks largely because of external rewards or expectations
Students perform educational tasks to the extent that the tasks are enjoyable or pleasing
Students perform educational tasks not solely for their interest but because they appreciate their importance, usefulness or personal relevance
Students become caught up in their educational tasks because they present appropriate and meaningful challenges
The effects and enthusiasm of students being excited or caught by their work extend to other aspects of their lives
• Doing something for bonus marks.
• Selecting the novel for your book report.
• Finding the best argument to convince your parents to increase your allowance.
• Sending a twitter message instead of writing in a learning log.
What are the levels of student engagement?
Form of engagement
Practices
Transformed (empowered)
provide an opportunity to feel as though one is making a difference
cause an aha moment to add insight beyond the immediate context
connect with students’ passions to lead them in new directions
Challenged (caught up)
require to think (intellectual challenge) propose a physical or performance challenge
Cares (motivated)
connect learning to student’s own lives link to broader issues/topics/narratives that
students care about help to appreciate—not simply learn about—the
objective or purpose Interested (entertained)
make visually attractive or startling humorous or entertaining embed in a story or narrative illustrate with a familiar example
Willing to do (on task)
offer rewards or inducements (marks) direct control through classroom management
Sustain inquirySustained inquiry is a mindset that involves students formally and informally in critical, creative and collaborative investigations at every stage of their learning.
Re-search is not the same a ”critical’ inquiry
Self-regulated learners
Self-regulated learning is the ability to carry-out assigned tasks in personally responsible, self-reflective ways and to exercise reasoned judgment in the pursuit of agreed-upon goals.
Self regulation is the prerequisite to self-directed learning
Digitally-enhanced learning
Digitally-enhanced learning is the use of digital technologies within virtual and face-to-face classrooms to enrich learning environments and experiences beyond what was possible through non-digital means.
Digitally infused vs digitally enhanced
Assessment-rich learning
Assessment-rich learning positions student and teacher assessment as an integral, continuous and genuinely helpful aspect of all student learning.
Assessment that truly assists learning because it is timely, informative and constructive.