Theories of Critical Thinking Blog Post 

By: Samantha Johns 

As a future administrator implementing technology and promoting digital literacy in the classroom is going to be one of the major roles that I play. Hobbs (2011) stated “To be effective participants in contemporary society, people need to be engaged in the public life of the community, the nation, and the world” (p. 14). It is now more important to help teach students the best way to research and gather information and allow them to use their critical thinking skills to evaluate and synthesize information. As an administrator it will be my job to make sure that my school has the proper equipment and technology plan that will help students be successful in the ever changing digital age.  

Blooms Taxonomy is an excellent way to ensure rigor in the classroom and to make sure that students are receiving higher order thinking. There has been a shift in the taxonomy where you see more synthesis and critical thinking skills. As an administrator I want to make sure that the classrooms my students are in are not simply asking for recall but are diving deeper into the standards and allowing students to practice their critical thinking skills and applying that to higher order thinking assignments. Blooms taxonomy relates well to the concept of deep learning. Deep learning is a new pedagogical approach in which teachers and students are asked to be partners together in the learning process. I think this way of teaching really pushes teachers and students outside of their comfort zones but is more beneficial at preparing students for the real word. Deep learning is more likely to promote motivated learners and in turn create young adults who are ready for the ever changing workforce. Teacher’s roles change to more facilitator where they help students learn how to critically think and allow them to think about how they can take the standards and content and use their knowledge to solve problems in the real world. Fullan and Langworthy (2014) stated “Teaching shifts from focusing on covering all required content to focusing on the learning process, developing students’ ability to lead their own learning and to do things with their learning”(p. 19). It will my role as an administrator to make sure that any technology my teachers are using implements rigorous activities and higher order thinking.

Technology and the digital tools that come along with it are making it easier to implement Blooms Taxonomy and deep learning into the classroom. As an administrator it is pivotal that I find tools that are backed by research and will be beneficial to my teachers and students. If it is not then I will not have people wanting to implement the technology. Kuhn (2008) stated “Many programs in the past were of the drill-and practice variety, but now programs are drawing upon the large body of emerging neuroscience research about how the brain learns” (p. 21). The new digital innovations are making it increasingly easier to have students draw conclusions and create their own original work. In my classroom if I did not have access to chrome books I would have to rely on a textbook from 2014. This severely limits the activities and depth of knowledge that I would be able to obtain. Therefore new innovations have to be weighed in on and determine what technology will be best for each subject and make sure that it prepares students effectively.

The different types of adopters are going to impact how quickly change can happen within my school. For instance, if there are a plethora of teachers that are innovators and early adopters I will see more technology change in the classrooms. These teachers are going to buy in to the new tool of technology and see that it has relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, divisibility, and communicability. Rogers (1963) stated “Only a few individuals adopt a new idea at first, then many individuals follow the example that has been set” (p. 72). If my school does not have a few individuals to buy in then I will see slower change. However, the change can happen with just a few people because those people will adopt the classroom technology, then they will take what they learn and share it with the early majority. The early majority will then share it with the late majority, and through a trickle down process the policy will make its way to the laggards. Honestly the last few groups of adopters are going to be the ones that are most difficult to address as an administrator. As an administrator I will not be able to ignore those people who are not adopting a new tool or procedure because your district may be requiring that all teachers use this tool in their classroom. Learning how to deal with the skeptical teachers and those that are stuck in their ways is to me one of the most difficult tasks of administrators.

References

Fullan, M. & Langworthy, M. (2014). A rich seam: How new pedagogies find deep learning. London: Pearson. Retrieved from https://www.pearson.com/content/dam/one-dot-com/one-dot-com/global/Files/about-pearson/innovation/open-ideas/ARichSeamEnglish.pdf

Hobbs, R. (2011). Empowering learners with digital and media literacy. Knowledge Quest, 39(5), 12-17. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database. 

Huitt, W. (2011). Bloom et al.'s taxonomy of the cognitive domain. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved from http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/cognition/bloom.pdf  huitt.pdf 

Kuhn, M. S. (2008). Connecting depth and balance in class. Learning & Leading with Technology, 36(1), 18-21. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.  Kuhn_Depth_Balance.pdf 

Rogers, E. M. (1963). The adoption process II. Journal of Cooperative Extension, 1(2), 69-75. Retrieved from https://archives.joe.org/joe/1963summer/1963-2-a2.pdf