A. Elliott's Theories of Critical Thinking Reflection

After reading through the five articles on theories of critical thinking, I am satisfied knowing that the field of education is a continuous process of improvement, always striving to make learning authentic for students. Being an educator in the 21st century, one of the lines that resonated with me most was from R. Hobbs article where she writes, "Unfortunately, many school leaders mistakenly believe that simply providing children and young people with assess to digital technology will automatically enhance learning."  (Hobbs, 2011) These technological tools can truly transform the classroom when teachers use them to assess learning at the most complex levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. As a teacher, it is always my goal to allow technology to take learning to the next level, whether it be to have students connect with other students or create a piece of work with the knowledge they have gained through a unit of study. Of course, there are times when I may use technology for students to complete a Google form as a formative or summative assessment, but I realize that this is not where technology tools truly change learning for students.

Differentiated instruction is the key to reaching all learners. Technology serves as a catalyst in allowing that differentiation to happen seamlessly. For example, I use Google Classroom as my digital platform for assignments. One of the amazing features within Google Classroom is that assignments can be given to one student, a group of students, or the whole class. This allows me to quickly build interactive practice based on what students need. There are also some incredible features within Google Forms that allow students to move onto different material based on what their answers are to the Google Form questions. Also, all of the extensions available through Google provide different tools that ease learning for students with learning difficulties. These are simple tools, but when used to their full potential, allow me to almost effortlessly differentiate instruction. In the article Connecting Depth and Balance in Class, Kuhn mentions, "Fortunately, the differentiating power of educational technology makes meeting the needs of different intelligences or learning styles more and more possible." (Kuhn, 2008)

The information in these articles strongly effects all educators at any level of education, because the technology we are witnessing right now is only the surface. We have to equip our students with the skills to use this technology to continuously learn, discover, and create so they will be prepared for the jobs that are not even created yet. In order to keep learners engaged, educators must be engaged with their own technology in and out of the classroom. I love the description of the learning partnership in the article A Rich Seam. (Fullan and Langworthy, 2014) It depicts the teacher learning alongside the student, with the teacher as a partner of learning, rather than the individual with all the knowledge. When teachers begin to learn alongside their students, a beautiful dynamic develops in the classroom. Technology allows this to happen on a daily basis with students sharing their findings and creations with their teachers and visa versa. I look forward to watching the field of technology and the field of education continue to merge in order to better our world. 

Resources:

Fullan, M. & Langworthy, M. (2014). A rich seam: How new pedagogies find deep learning. London: Pearson.

Hobbs, R. (2011). Empowering learners with digital and media literacy. Knowledge Quest, 39(5), 12-17.

Huitt, W. (2011). Bloom et al.'s taxonomy of the cognitive domain. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University.

Kuhn, M. S. (2008). Connecting depth and balance in class. Learning & Leading with Technology, 36(1), 18-21.

Rogers, E. M. (1963). The adoption process II. Journal of Cooperative Extension, 1(2), 69-75.