PowerPoint Presentation

Learning CoachesNovember 9, 2012

AgendaOur ExperiencesDigging Into Critical Thinking1

Our ExperiencesCriteria for a meaningful experience. The experience: Is beneficial to others (others might learn an effective strategy, or a what not to do)Helps explore your understanding of the role of a learning coach

Tell which of the commitment to inclusion statements are championed through this experience, and articulate the alignment between the experience and the commitment statement.

PSDs Commitments to InclusionThe idea of fixing students to improving environmentsDependence on staff (teachers and EAs) to a focus on independenceSpecial Ed to ALL students being special A deficit model of thinking to a strength based model of thinkingHaving high expectations for some to having high expectations for ALL

The Critical Thinking Consortium = TC2

TC2 CRITICAL THINKING Model What is it, and how do we support teachers to embed it into teaching and learning?Critical Challenge:Investigate an appropriate critical thinking tool that deepens your learning of the critical thinking model.5 minutes

Critical challenges are nothing magical- A few simple strategies increase the engagement factor and the learning.1. Set the task or question up front- to provide the purpose for learning the content. (think about how different it would be if I was to tell you the task at the end of the presentation.) Posing it up front makes the content more meaningful and relevant for you, because you know you have to do something with it. (works the same way with students)2. Design the question or task so it requires judgement based on criteria3. Co-create criteria that will be used in making a judgement. Our criteria-An appropriate critical challenge is one that: Fits within the context of your role as a learning coach.Meets you where you are at in your own understanding of the critical thinking model.

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Critical Challenge:Create a powerful title for this video.Garfield Gini-Newman: Embedding Critical Thinking into the New Social Studies Program of Studies (Part 3)

Criteria for a powerful title:InformativeCatchy / intriguingConcise

15 minutesBefore we begin, go around the table, introducing yourself to your table partners, name, school, teaching assignment. Establish your elbow partner- will be working with this partner for the next couple activities.

(My notes: Critical thinking is criterial thinking)A. BEFORE watching the video:Were going to watch a 4 minute video of Garfield Gini-Newman speaking at the 2006 Social Studies Summer Institute After watching the video, were going to critique this title to see how powerful it is, and then you will be creating your own powerful title for this video.We will use these criteria for a powerful title:Informative catchy/intriguing concise

B. Now watch the video, thinking about what a powerful title might be.

C. AFTER watching the video, Before you create your own title, lets critique this title together (going through each criterion.)With an elbow partner, create a powerful title for this video. I will be asking for volunteers to share.

After sharing:Having students critique a current title or create a new powerful title are ways to engage students in thinking about the big idea within the content of a video or piece of text.

5Scaffolding the LearningBegin by providing exemplars: examples of powerful and not so powerful titles (along with their content)Discuss what makes this one powerful and the other one not powerful.Co-create the criteriaFrom the discussion, elicit the criteria. Provide 3 or 4 choices of titles Students select the one they think is the most powerful. They justify their answer in light of the criteria, support with evidence.When students are ready, progress to creating their own title Some students may be ready before others.Embed self- assessment and peer coaching opportunitiesUse a Thinking Strategy (see Powerful Title handout).

5 minutesHow might you scaffold the learning for students, prior to having them create a powerful title (build up their skills so they will eventually be able to do this independently).Show them examples and non-examples of powerful titles, and discuss what is it that makes this one powerful?From there, elicit the criteria. Start by providing several choices of titles- do this a few times before expecting students to create their own. Some students will need this support longer than others. Embed self- assessment or peer-assessment opportunities. (See handout: Powerful Title Thinking Strategy Template- Ill show you where to find the digital version at the end of this session.)

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Critical Challenge:What are the 3 most important ideas in this video? Roland Case: A Model of Critical Thinking (Interview Response - Question 5)

Criteria for an important idea:Relevant to our discussionContains key ideas from the video

Use handout Most Important Ideas

15 minutesThe critical thinking model- watch up to 1:30 and then re-watch to 1:30 a second time and continue to 2:56.

Before watching:Our first critical challenge had us think about the big idea. This one is going to have us look for more details within the content, specifically for the key ideas that are being discussed.

Ask teachers: Who uses videos to help teach content to students? Say, Videos can be very effective in helping students learn content- a video usually provides visuals to support the languageclass can watch it more than once, individual students can watch it multiple times if they need toCan be used to helps build upon prior knowledge (Pre-reading support that is necessary prior to reading text) Can be watched in small chunks to facilitate the learning

It isnt the video itself that empowers the learning, its how you use the video, the process that you design to facilitate the learning, what you do before, during and after the viewing, that makes a real difference for students.

Im going to use this video to model a strategy you might use with your students to help them think more deeply about the content of the video, while at the same time, addressing some of the outcomes in the programs of study.- skills embedded teaching and learning.

Im going to explain the whole process before we begin, and then Ill walk you through the process step by step as we get into it.Were going to listen to the first minute and a half of the video twice, because there is so much information packed into it- the second time Ill extend our listening further into the video. the first time you listen the to first chunk, just listen, dont take notes; listen for the key ideas that Roland is trying to get across. 2nd time, listen again for key ideas, and this time take some jot notes around those key ideas, and continue to take notes into the rest of the video if you hear any additional key ideas. Then, using your notes and other ideas you might remember, you will determine the 3 most important ideas.The final task were going to do to solidify our learning is that you are going to decide what you think are the 3 most important ideas in the video.Were going to use this criteria for an important idea-Relevant to our discussionContains key ideas the speaker (NOTE: key ideas themselves arent judgments, they are the main ideas in the text; the judgement (critical thinking) comes in because you need to determine which of the key ideas are the most important to our context.)

B. Watch the video- as per above. Use the handout Most Important IdeasC. Review criteria. Now, independently, what do you judge to be the 3 most important ideas?

D. Talk to elbow partner; tell each other your 3 most important points, discuss the commonalities and differences amongst your ideas.E. Debrief by talking about the experience, what skills did you practice (looking for key ideas, listening, communicating, justifying)7Scaffolding the Learning

How might you scaffold the learning for students, prior to having them determine the most important ideas?5 minutesHow would you scaffold the learning prior to asking students to determine the most important ideas?Talk with elbow partner. MY debrief- Youve shared some of your ideas with each other. Something I think would be important to do here is to debrief, with the students, the key ideas that they wrote down BEFORE they having them go into the task of determining which ideas were most important. By doing this, youre accomplishing 2 things:Youre formatively assessing how well they can identify key ideas, so you know what additional support they might need in doing this.Youre also ensuring that they have understood all the key ideas that you wanted them to take note of, before they go into the task of determining which of those key ideas are most important.

Why is determining the most important ideas and essential skill?- Students need to know how to determine what information is important when they do independent research.8

Background KnowledgeCriteria for JudgmentCritical Thinking VocabularyThinking Strategies Habits of Mind5 minutesNow that youre developing an understanding of critical thinking, we will briefly look at the TC2 model.Besides using criteria to make judgements, the critical thinking model also has other components that are essential for the development of critical thinking.As Garfield said, when you are beginning, focus on the tasks or questions (critical challenges) that require students to make a judgement based on criteria, co-create the criteria.One thing I need to add is the importance of thinking strategies this tool is critical in supporting students in thinking. We used a couple thinking strategies today.

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Mini-challenges

Short critical challenges that can be used over and over again, in many different contexts, to have students learn the content more deeply.

Slides 7 and 8: 10 minutesWeve just experienced 2 mini-challenges (create a powerful title, determine most important ideas) to support your learning of the content in this workshop, to get you to think more deeply about it.

The 2 mini-challenges were used within the context of the bigger critical challenge of the day10

Modelling the ToolsModelling the Tools are lessons where teachers explicitly teach one of the tools from the critical thinking model.They are intended to be used across a grade levels and subject areas.Use the Record Your Observations note taking tool.

Divide the large group into two smaller groups Div 1, 2 and Div 3, 4

Go through the Teacher Landing Page to Critical Thinking Learn More

Provide handout Record Your Observations (re critical thinking model)

Div 1, 2

Modelling the Tools Investigating PicturesClip 4 Clues and ConclusionsClip 11 Roland Case Comments

Div 3, 4Modelling the Tools Interpreting and Re-Interpreting ImagesWe will be viewing one part of a lesson that is teaching the tools.Clip 7 Analyzing a DrawingShow them the thinking strategy on the side of the clip.Show them with the word document Analyzing a DrawingClip 19 Examining Point of ViewHad scaffolded this session with an introduction to the concept of point of view.In the debriefing the teacher indicates that they had interpreted images on previous occasions.11

Critical ChallengeInvestigate an appropriate critical thinking tool that deepens your learning of the critical thinking model.

Criteria for an appropriate critical thinking tool: Fits within the context of your role as a learning coach.Meets you where you are at in your own understanding of the critical thinking model.

So, now that weve learned the background knowledge that you need to successfully do the task, we can get to our critical challenge for the day.Before you do, lets talk about the background knowledge- what background knowledge did you need to know to be successful in this challenge:What is critical thinkingWhat are critical challengesWhat is a mini-challengeBeing cognizant of scaffolding the learning to prepare children to think criticallyImportance of using Thinking StrategiesOne way of co-creating criteria

Take a few minutes to look through the examples, and select one that would have relevance to something you will be teaching within the next few days. Talk about your choice with an elbow partner, defend your choice in light of the criteria.

Handouts Problematizing in-class activities. This is a list of some sample mini- challenges that you can use, depending upon your context, some might fit better than others. Multi-purpose Micro-challenges for Communication in Math Communication is one of the key processes that helps students learn math concepts these are some mini-challenges to use to teach students how to communicate in mathAnalyzing a Math Problem and Solution- the Thinking Strategy for the 1st math micro-challenge in the list

12A Pittance of Time

Resources for you to purchase on TC2 WebsiteTools for ThoughtSource DocsCritical ChallengesSlides 9 and 10: 10 minutesLearning Services has purchased a bulk subscription to give all our teachers access to one set of resources. On Nov 1, we opened it up to 2 sets- first come, first served.

Go to WebsiteBrowse each set of resources14

Additional Support on insidePSD Teachers Landing Page Critical Thinking sectionOther Resources TC2 Site LearnAlberta Hard copy resources

Go to insidePSDRead through each of the categories, click into each one to see whats there. Point out the Thinking Strategies.15