The Critical Skills Classroom

I get fired up when I read articles like this...they validated my belief that our focus as educators should be to teach our students how to learn rather than to fill them with information. jf

"The researchers' conclusion was that, in the context of strange toys of unknown function, prior explanation does, indeed, inhibit exploration and discovery." I'm looking forward to talking about this on Saturday. Is it appropriate sometimes to limit exploration & discovery? Or is exploration & discovery the default method of a critical skills classroom?

Interested in your discussion results, Tom. My gut feeling is that pure discovery learning is inefficient, can promote frustration which can lead to loss of interest, and possible misconceptions. Isn't coaching and guided discovery a way of teaching the process of problem solving?

Excellent exploration of Blooms- good demo of Prezi

Really well done!!

This is great. Already shared it:)

Sam Chaltain nails it again

I like the way this shakes up my thinking- but I want something like it for Critical Skills.

A great summary of the neuroscience behind the CSP

"The best advice that I have ever been given to help me create good quality summative comments when assessing pupils' work came from Darren Mead. He explained that if the comments made are kind, specific and helpful, the pupil will be able to progress to the next level."

"The outcome of this demonstration was for pupils to know that peer assessment should provide not only summative comments but also an insight into achieving better work."

A Step-by-Step Guide to the Best Projects Discover a project-based learning model that motivates students to pursue knowledge and drives academic achievement.

Reads like a page out of our Level One Kit.

Report provides data that shows "Students doing hands-on projects in class more frequently score higher."

Also glosses over the most significant differences in achievement are socioeconomic based.

Judy Willis is awesome...Just saying.

This is how smart educators use Pinterest

Good. Simple. Powerful.

Brings up interesting question of "When do we start?"  Also, about possibilities for teaching parents to be teachers.

A good overview of adult learning theory

Bad title. Good piece

"True innovative people have a certain drive and energy about them that you like to be around. They are always full of ideas and looking for ways to improve things. Keep in mind that they aren't born as black belts in these mental traits…they've developed them over time."

Also could be titled "10 Outcomes of the Critical Skills Classroom"

Almost a re-wording of a modern Bloom's taxonomy.

An article from 1981 talking about the early days of the CSP.

Technology

"Powerful learning begins to manifest when students take responsibility and ownership for their learning - when they become co-creators of their learning experience, rather than their education being something that is done to them. True student empowerment and engagement begins when we cross the threshold of co-creation."

Embedding technology into our classrooms should begin with the question "How do we enable students to use technology as part of the learning process...rather than use it as part of our teaching process?"

Trisha Riche' is a kindergarten inclusion teacher at R. L. Brown Elementary in Jacksonville, FL. The grade-level chair at her school, Trisha was selected as one of the top ten most innovative educators in the country for The Great American Teach Off. Here's an experiment you can conduct in many schools, maybe even the school where you teach.