Group items tagged

"Critical thinking is when the brain is active, making connections to the material and applying original thought to the concept. It's the difference between struggling to remember ("ugh!") and struggling to solve ("yeah!")." Whilst all kids think, not all activities trigger critical thinking. There are some ideas here that use targeted approaches and strategies to cause those young brains to work.

"Fortunately, when students are educated about information-gathering techniques and critical thinking, they have the tools necessary to see through spin and make decisions based on fact, rather than myth or propaganda. Regardless of your subject, critical thinking is one of the most important skills you can teach."

An interesting article that looks at teaching critical thinking but in a way that shifts the ownership for the questioning to the students. The ap[proach empowers them to think at higher levels but at the same time there is support provided with the question stems

The home page for MediaSmarts. This is a Canadian not-for-profit charitable organization for digital and media literacy. Their vision is that children and youth have the critical thinking skills to engage with media as active and informed digital citizens. "What We Do: MediaSmarts has been developing digital and media literacy programs and resources for Canadian homes, schools and communities since 1996. Through our work we support adults with information and tools so they can help children and teens develop the critical thinking skills they need for interacting with the media they love."

A thought provoking video about critical and creative thinking from John Seely Brown

Video from AITSL site. (Ravenswood Schools for Girls, Sydney) Teachers discussing and showing how they go about encouraging student to develop a specific research skills ie framing the "Right" sort of question. Having the skill to develop good inquiry questions is important to self-learning and critical thinking. The audio is not great but a useful example nonetheless.

Video from AITSL site.

"The biggest responsibility of any teacher is to equip students with the tools that they can use in everyday life. The content is important, but with information so easily accessible, it is ultimately more helpful to them if they have critical thinking, analytic ability, and research skills. You can best serve your students by engaging them in active debate, fun and absorbing problem-solving activities, and relevant research assignments. High-school students are among the hardest to engage, so you have to approach them in a way they understand. Traditional is out, online is in. Giving them the opportunity to use the tools they are most comfortable with can help them in ways that no amount of lecturing can accomplish. You can make your students better researchers, and thinkers, with the 10 online tools listed in this post"

A useful article about the profession. Teacher librarians have been teaching students how to evaluate websites and warning students about the dangers of going out on the world wide web without applying a critical lens to what they find since the inception of the internet. We constantly remind our students to evaluate websites and ask questions. Concluding paragraph: "Not only is our profession as school librarians crucial in shining the light of literacy on our students, but we must never forget the importance of our fight against information illiteracy. The very survival of our republic depends on an educated, engaged, and information-savvy populace".

"It is essential that all of our students have a wide range of skills that develop the ability to function within a rapidly changing society - skills different from the 20th century. The essential 21st Century Fluencies are not about hardware. They are about critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, innovation, and so much more. These aren't just for the students, though. The 21st Century Fluencies are process skills that we all need, and there is as much benefit in cultivating them within yourself as within your classroom."

This visual encyclopedia is created by the publisher DK. It is new, so somewhat limited but they have plans to grow. I see it as useful for younger students, ESL students and special education students. The site is easy to use and has clear categories. It also offers other sections: What's New?. Videos. Quizzes. Fun Facts. Galleries. Another section called My Space will also be added. Teachers may create an account and access a lesson planner. The DK Online World Desk Reference may also be of interest. You need to create an account to use it which takes seconds to do. This site "explores topics in physical and human geography for every country in the world, and practices critical-thinking skills

This post presents Dr Many Lupton's analysis of the Australian Curriculum v6.0. Inquiry skills and information literacy are embedded in the Australian Curriculum in the subject areas Science, History, Geography, Economics and Business (draft), Civics and Citizenship (draft, and in the general capabilities Critical and Creative Thinking (CCT) and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) .

"A good chart featuring some important tips to help your students be smart learners. You can use this chart in your class with your students as a motivator to boost their learning moral or as a checklist for assessing their learning habits. While some of these tips are straightforward such as tip 6, 9, 11, other tips are a bit generic (tip 23, 25,26). Overall, these suggested tips cover several skills students need to work on to be better learners. These skills include sensory-motor skills, communicational skills, emotional skills, inter and intrapersonal skills, and critical thinking skills. They also touch on key areas integral to effective learning including: introspection, creativity, confidence, imagination, networking, passion, sharp observation, experimentation among many others."

The SAMR model was developed by as a framework to integrate technology into the curriculum. I believe it can also serve as a model to establish and assess if and how technology is being used to reinforce an old, often archaic Education 1.0 or being used to promote and facilitate what many are calling 21st century skills, i.e., creativity, innovation, problem-solving, critical thinking; those skills characteristic of Education 3.0. Many look at SAMR as the stages of technology integration. I propose that it should be a model for educators to focus on Modification and Redefinition areas of technology integration.

"The free Frankenstein200, "an interactive story experience" designed to spark curiosity and encourage critical thinking in STEM topics, including artificial intelligence, robotics, and bioengineering."

"A good fact-checking site uses neutral wording, provides unbiased sources to support its claims and reliable links, says Frank Baker, author of Media Literacy in the K-12 Classroom and creator of the Media Literacy Clearinghouse. He adds, "Readers should apply the same critical thinking/questioning to fact-check sites." This post offers an annotated list of 10 fact and bias-checking sites that can be shared with students. Here's a rundown of 10 of the top fact- and bias-checking sites to share with your students."

Article discusses "how we can motivate students for the noble pursuit of truth and help them see why it still matters.

Some useful advice/tips about how to assist students understand how to identify "fake" news.