1. Critical Thinkingand theCurriculumKatherine LamboyMED 5303Professor William Driskill

2. Rationale In an effort to attain the depth andcomplexity necessary to engage higherachieving students in the classroom, as well asencourage growth in lower or averageperforming students, Lighthouse CharterSchool has embarked on a mission toassimilate critical thinking activities andstrategies into the curriculum on a daily basis.The hope is that operating in this mannerbecomes the norm for these students, insteadof the exception. 3. What is Critical Thinking? Critical thinking is more than just thinking. Itis the act of consciously making connectionsbetween thoughts, to determine if somethingis logical or reasonable. Higher levelquestioning requires more synthesis andanalysis from the students. Employing thisroutine, rather than just asking students torecall facts, can help students become morecognizant of their personal opinions. Teachingstudents to make inferences and predictionsthroughout reading can also help studentsstrengthen such skills. 4. Integrating Critical Thinkinginto the Curriculum A number of strategies can be used to integratecritical thinking into existing curriculum, even if alesson is already prewritten or required by adistrict. In addition, many of the strategies utilizedin Gifted and Talented Education work for thewhole class. These are just a few: Blooms Taxonomy Questioning Strategies Cooperative Learning Project-Based Learning Authentic Assessment 5. Blooms Taxonomy Blooms Taxonomy is a hierarchy of learning.When generating objectives, focus on theverbs in the student expectation. Those verbsthat correlate with a higher level of Blooms,naturally invoke a higher level of thinking toexecute. 6. Blooms Taxonomy (contd) (Maas, 2012) 7. Questioning Strategies Usingsentence stems when asking questions and requiring the students to answer using sentence stems induces scholarly language. It also requires that the students really ponder what it is they want to say (Crawford, 2005). 8. Questioning Strategies(contd) (King, 1995) 9. Cooperative Learning Cooperativelearning is an instructional strategy that utilizes the social aspect of school. Students work together and learn from one-another. It involves students in intense reasoning, elaboration, hypothesis forming, and problem-solving activities (Adams, 1996). 10. Cooperative Learning (contd)Discussion Reciprocal Graphic Writing Problem- Teaching OrganizersSolvingThink-pair-share: AsNote-taking pairs: Poor note- Group grid: StudentsDyadic essays: Students Send-a-problem: Studentsprobably the best known taking leads to poorprepare for the in-classparticipate in a series ofperformance. Designing an practice organizing and portion of this exercise bycooperative learningclassifying information inproblem solving rounds,exercise which requires studentsdeveloping an essayexercise, the think-pair- contributing theirshare structure providesto summarize their understandinga table. A more question and modelindependently generatedof a concept based on notes answer based on assignedstudents with the taken (with directed questionscomplex version of this reading. In class, students solution to those that haveopportunity to reflect on such as what is the definition of a structure requiresexchange essay questionsbeen developed by otherthe question posed andconcept, how is it used, what are students to first identifyand write a spontaneous groups. After a number ofthe three most importantanswer essay. Studentsthen practice sharing andcharacteristics of a topic) and the classificationthen pair up, compare androunds, students are askedreceiving potential receiving reflective feedback scheme that will be contrast the model answer to review the solutionssolutions.from their partner provides used. and the spontaneously developed by their peers,students the opportunity to findgenerated answer. evaluate the answers andcritical gaps in their writtenSubsequently, questions develop a final solution.records.and answers can beshared with the larger class.Three-step interview: Jigsaw: For more complexSequence chains: The goal Peer editing: As opposed to Three-stay, one-stray: In thisStudents are first paired problems, this structure provides of this exercise is to providethe editing process thatstructure, students periodicallystudents the opportunity to often appears only at the take a break from their workand take turns interviewing a visual representation of adevelop expertise in one of manyfinal stage of a paper, peer(often at key decision makingeach other using a series components of a problem by firstseries of events, actions,editing pairs up students atpoints) and send one groupof questions provided byparticipating in a group solely roles, or decisions. Students the idea generation stage member to another group tothe instructor. Pairs thenfocused on a single component.can be provided with theand peers provide describe their progress. The rolematch up and students In the second stage of theitems to be organized orfeedback throughout the of the group is to gainintroduce their originalexercise, groups are reformed asked to first generate these process. For example, the information and alternativewith a representative from each relationship begins as each perspectives by listening andpartner. At the end of thebased on a predeterminedexpert group who together now student in the pair sharing. The number of timesexercise, all four students have sufficient expertise to tackle end goal. This structure candescribes their topic ideas the group sends ahave had their position orthe whole problem.be made more complex by and outlines the structure of representative to anotherviewpoints on an issuehaving students also identify their work while theirgroup depends on the level ofheard, digested, andand describe the linkspartner asks questions, and complexity of the problem. Thisdescribed by their peers. between each of the develops an outline based method can also be used toon what is described. report out final solutions.sequenced components. (Barkley, Cross & Major, 2005) 11. Project Based Learning Projectbased learning allows students to explore real-world situations and develop a deeper understanding of the subjects they are studying (Ellis, 2009). Introduction to Project-Based Learning-- Video 12. Authentic Assessments Using authentic assessments gives a more robust picture ofwhat a student does and does not know. Asking a child toname the three states of matter on a paper-pencil examwill let you know that the child has memorized that fact.However, asking a student to draw an example of eachstate of matter informs you of the level of understanding ofthe concept of the states of matter. While this is an elementary example, it speaks to managingcomplexity and difficulty separately. According to S.M.Brookhart,Realizing that level of difficulty (easy versushard) and level of thinking (recall versus higher-orderthinking) are two different qualities allows you to use higherorder thinking questions with all learners (Brookhart, 2012). 13. Authentic Assessments(contd) Authentic Assessment examples: Conduction research and writing a report Character analysis Student debates (individual or group) Drawing and writing about a story or chapter Experiments - trial and error learning Journal entries (reflective writing) Discussion partners or groups Student self-assessment Peer assessment and evaluation Presentations Projects Portfolios Tiered learning classrooms ("Types of authentic," 2008) 14. Example of a Critical ThinkingActivity Group Cooperation Activity An activity that doesnt require much space or special equipment isMarshmallow Architects. Give each group a bag of regular or minimarshmallows and 75 toothpicks. Set a time limit, 7 to 10 minutes, inwhich the groups must build the largest tower they can, using onlymarshmallows and toothpicks. At the end of the competition, thewinners tower must be freestanding for at least 15 seconds. Have theteams discuss their experiences and observations afterward (Meyer). In the following scenario (slide 15) the activity is enhanced one stepfurther and the parameters of communication are set. Students can nottalk while doing this activity. The only means of communication aregestures and written communication. This activity combines criticalthinking, cooperative learning, and Blooms Taxonomy since they aretasked with creating a viable structure. The following link provides more Teambuilding Activities and Games:Find more Teambuilding Activities & Games 15. The Activity in Action(Hover to play) 16. Conclusion Criticalthinking can be infused into anycurriculum, for any level learner. It is theepitome of differentiated instructionwithout watering down the content. It isimportant that teachers recognize thevalue of thinking skills and realize thateven elementary age students arecapable of far more than is usuallyexpected of them. 17. References Adams, D. M., & Hamm, M. (1996). Cooperative Learning : Critical Thinkingand Collaboration Across the Curriculum. Charles C Thomas. Barkley. , Cross, , & Major (2005). Cooperative learning techniques. Retrievedfrom http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/cooperative/techniques.html Brookhart, S. M. (2010). How to Assess Higher-order Thinking Skills in YourClassroom. ASCD. Crawford, A. (2005). Teaching and Learning Strategies for the ThinkingClassroom. International Debate Education Association. Ellis, K. (Producer). (2009). 130share on email36 an introduction to project-based learning. [Web Video]. Retrieved fromhttp://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning-introduction-video King, A. (1995). Critical thinking question stems. Retrieved fromhttp://bama.ua.edu/~sprentic/695 King questions.htm Maas, D. (2012, April 26). linking ipads & blooms taxonomy. Retrieved fromhttp://maasd.edublogs.org/2012/04/26/linking-ipads-blooms-taxonomy/ Meyer, C. (n.d.). Teambuilding activities & games. Retrieved fromhttp://www.ehow.com/way_5485067_teambuilding-activities-games.html Types of authentic assessment. (2008, May 14). Retrieved fromhttp://tccl.rit.albany.edu/knilt/index.php/Unit_2:_Types_of_Authentic_Assessment