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Critical thinking is self-guided, self-disciplined thinking which attempts to reason at the highest level of quality in a fair-minded way.  People who think critically consistently attempt to live rationally, reasonably, empathically.   They are keenly aware of the inherently flawed nature of human thinking when left unchecked.  They strive to diminish the power of their egocentric and sociocentric tendencies.  They use the intellectual tools that critical thinking offers – concepts and principles that enable them to analyze, assess, and improve thinking.  They work diligently to develop the intellectual virtues of intellectual integrity, intellectual humility, intellectual civility, intellectual empathy, intellectual sense of justice and confidence in reason.  They realize that no matter how skilled they are as thinkers, they can always improve their reasoning abilities and they will at times fall prey to mistakes in reasoning, human irrationality, prejudices, biases, distortions, uncritically accepted social rules and taboos, self-interest, and vested interest.  They strive to improve the world in whatever ways they can and contribute to a more rational, civilized society.   At the same time, they recognize the complexities often inherent in doing so.  They avoid thinking simplistically about complicated issues and strive to appropriately consider the rights and needs of relevant others.  They recognize the complexities in developing as thinkers, and commit themselves to life-long practice toward self-improvement.  They embody the Socratic principle:  The unexamined life is not worth living, because they realize that many unexamined lives together result in an uncritical, unjust, dangerous world. ~ Linda Elder, September, 2007

In integrating these major theories of knowledge, we moved through three steps. First, we attempted to describe, for each of Gardner's intelligences, a set of four learning processes or abilities, one for each of the four learning styles. For linguistic intelligence, for example, the Mastery style represents the ability to use language to describe events and sequence activities; the Interpersonal style, the ability to use language to build trust and rapport; the Understanding style, the ability to develop logical arguments and use rhetoric; and the Self-expressive style, the ability to use metaphoric and expressive language.

In MI theory, I begin with a human organism that responds (or fails to respond) to different kinds of contents in the world. . . . Those who speak of learning styles are searching for approaches that ought to characterize all contents (p. 45).

Learning styles are not fixed throughout life, but develop as a person learns and grows.

The following are some strengths of learning-style models

They tend to focus on how different individuals process information across many content areas.

They recognize the role of cognitive and affective processes in learning and, therefore, can significantly deepen our insights into issues related to motivation.

They tend to emphasize thought as a vital component of learning, thereby avoiding reliance on basic and lower-level learning activities.

Learning-styles models have a couple of limitations. First, they may fail to recognize how styles vary in different content areas and disciplines.

Second, these models are sometimes less sensitive than they should be to the effects of context on learning.

Emerging from a tradition that viewed style as relatively permanent, many learning-style advocates advised altering learning environments to match or challenge a learner's style. Either way, learning-style models have largely left unanswered the question of how context and purpose affect learning.

But learning styles emphasize the different ways people think and feel as they solve problems, create products, and interact.

The theory of multiple intelligences is an effort to understand how cultures and disciplines shape human potential

Though both theories claim that dominant ideologies of intelligence inhibit our understanding of human differences, learning styles are concerned with differences in the process of learning, whereas multiple intelligences center on the content and products of learning. Until now, neither theory has had much to do with the other

Also, many would argue that students (and people in general) have a naturally inquisitive nature. To bring out this potential in one's students, try building "discovery" activities into the course. Ask students to find a new site or pose a question of their own on a weekly basis. Any activity that involves the students will aid in their motivation.

If a student is beginning to lag behind the rest of the course, or the student is not making the required posts, direct items specifically to that student. When prompting higher order thinking, provide a list of students that you would like to respond to the question. Always be sure that such lists include active students as well to take the pressure off the lagging student as having to be the first one to post a response.

While I think the technology has to be embedded in instruction whenever possible, it can’t be left to teachers alone to solve this problem.

I had to question what the objectives were first, and then create an assessment that tied into the objectives. 

what I need to do is think of these posts as mini research papers.

I don’t feel like I can get to it all.

I’m doing my best.

I decided to give it a try.

1) Will it help you present content in a more effective or engaging manner, 2) will it facilitate collaboration or interaction between students in an more effective manner, and 3) will it help provide feedback or help assess students more effectively.  I feel the blog will get students interacting in a more casual setting regarding the stories, and the Wiki will definitely facilitate collaboration.

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the course unfolded slowly

the course unfolded slowly

the course unfolded slowly

the course unfolded slowly

June 21st,

What I would like is to have the option of posting and assessing it as NG (no grade)

Finally, I carefully considers there are no place where Alex might say “can you tell me more”

Since our blogs are shared work-spaces, we are suppose to engage in collaborative reflective discourses,  creating a shared understanding, leading to collaborative knowledge

I will investigate and use group Wikis

when a student finally understands that their discussions need to encompass teaching, cognitive engagement, and social presence, then the discussion forum truly becomes a awesome learning tool!!!!!!  

I will do this because I care about their learning.

I knew I needed this course to become the better online teacher, what I didn’t know was the transformative change  that I would experience this summer.

social learning is based on the premise that our understanding of content is socially constructed through conversations about that content and through grounded interactions, especially with others, around problems or actions.

, “We participate, therefore we are.”

We are entering a world in which we all will have to acquire new knowledge and skills on an almost continuous basis.

culture of sharing,

Students in these groups can ask questions to clarify areas of uncertainty or confusion, can improve their grasp of the material by hearing the answers to questions from fellow students, and perhaps most powerfully, can take on the role of teacher to help other group members benefit from their understanding (one of the best ways to learn something is, after all, to teach it to others).

seeking the knowledge when it is needed in order to carry out a particular situated task

thereby enabling a new kind of critical reading—almost a new form of literacy—that invites the reader to join in the consideration of what information is reliable and/or important