Group items tagged

In 2014….offers some thought-provoking points about schools, learning and technology. They would be great conversation starters in teacher meetings.

Andrew Churches post re:  a project out of Harvard University. The essence of this project is a series of routines or perhaps "mantras" for thinking. They are simple and to the point. While more suited to Middle school students they are good, apt and appropriate. Some of the truth and understanding routines will definitely have a place in senior classes.

"Great literature is essential to learning in any classroom, but in a 21st Century learning environment, texts become a centerpiece for classroom discussion, critical thinking and deeper understanding. And as you adapt to the new school year (and the new Common Core standards), the literature in your classroom can become an essential component to your students' success"

"A workshop for classroom teachers and teacher librarians which: defines information literacy, introduces tools for developing problems, tasks and questions that involve higher order thinking; and identifies opportunities for embedding technology in the information literacy process." (ran in 1999)

Links to the apps used in the activities published an eBook titled Hot Apps 4 HOTS: A Guide to Using Free Apps to Support Higher Order Thinking Skills by Lisa Johnson and Yolanda Barker. The book includes nine step-by-step activities that focus on each level of Bloom's taxonomy and includes loads of links to further resources.

Critical thinking is a difficult concept to define in clear, objective terms. This can make it a challenging objective for teachers to implement and assess. The aim of this resource is to provide teachers with some tools to help clarify and communicate what critical thinking is and how it might be implemented as a teaching method.  This resource includes materials that can help teachers to engage their classes in critical thinking. The materials have been written with year 9 and year 10 students in mind, yet can easily be differentiated for students in years 8 and 11. The critical thinking introduction addresses what critical thinking is, where is applies in the curriculum and how to teach it. The teachers guide provides an overview of this resource in relation to the accompanying PowerPoint presentation.

"Building 20 and brainstorming came into being at almost exactly the same time. In the sixty years since then, if the studies are right, brainstorming has achieved nothing-or, at least, less than would have been achieved by six decades' worth of brainstormers working quietly on their own. Building 20, though, ranks as one of the most creative environments of all time, a space with an almost uncanny ability to extract the best from people. Among M.I.T. people, it was referred to as "the magical incubator." "

Thinking for understanding

Another Camilla Elliot find. AnswerGarden is a minimalistic feedback tool. Use it in the classroom as an educational tool or at work as a creative brainstorming tool. Or you can embed it on your website or blog to use it as a poll or guestbook.

"Even if the technological progress gap between 2000 and 2010 was enormous, there is almost zero evidence that it has made an impact on education. Yeah, I know. "Blogging changed your life. Your PLN saved you from social isolation…" Social media just doesn't feel that new to me and I challenge you to argue that it has had more than an infinitesimal impact on classroom practice."

Nice blog article that reflects on the past decade, without getting lost in the next.

So what is Computational Thinking? Well it is a collection of diverse skills to do with problem solving that result from studying the nature of computation. It includes some obviously important skills that most subjects help develop, like creativity, ability to explain and team work. It also consists of some very specific problem solving skills such as the ability to think logically, algorithmically and recursively. Computer Science is unique in the way it brings all these diverse skills together.