Theories of Critical Thinking

 Theories of Critical Thinking

How we as educators effectively inspire higher order thinking in our students has been a conversation present in education for decades. Bloom's Taxonomy is the gold standard that was emphasized in school and in our school system. As adults we recognize that lessons only focusing on surface level thinking to memorize and recite knowledge are fleeting in our development and effectiveness as lifelong learners and contributors to society. We want to teach in ways that inspire our students to be critical thinkers and problem solvers that apply their skills to all aspects of their lives. In order to do this, we need to consider if we are challenging our students to not just know the content but to be in the habit of assessing their comprehension, applying the concepts, analyzing the information, evaluating ideas and synthesizing their own ideas (Huitt, 2011). These five articles all talk about the effect of technology or our adoption of new technologies on the process of how we teach and students learn. 

Technology in a vacuum is not enough to inspire deeper thinking. I cannot just think of myself as a facilitator who provides access to new and emerging technology for my students (Fulian, 2014). Just as I cannot just deliver the content provided by the standards and consider my job complete. I always try to assess and screen the relevance of the technology before teaching students how it works and connecting its intrinsic value to their lives. To be effective, though, I need to continually reassess and check back for relevance and understanding. Students do relate to technology and use it in their everyday lives but it is present in everything so the novelty alone is not enough to hold their attention. Students need lessons that connect to their real world concerns and interests. Today's information rich fast paced society provides so many sources of input that if the content we are teaching isn’t relevant it will not hold their attention. This is a challenge in my 4th-grade reading class. In order to design lessons that make these connections I have to know my students. Students always learn best when they feel loved and related to. This is a universal truth but it takes time. As an educator I struggle  to not get so caught up in the demands of the hectic pace of daily classroom work that I forget the importance of the bonds with my students. It feels as if each year the standards increase and the time to teach and connect with students becomes something to be guarded. This is also a challenge when it is necessary to incorporate intervention time into the classroom day. I try to make every moment an opportunity to connect to my students. 

We need to allow our students to be active in their education. This is something I am always working on personally as a teacher. Initially, it feels like giving up control. It also takes time and planning to teach students to actively seek information and ask questions to themselves, their teachers, and their peers. Students' influence on each other is powerful just as our influence on our fellow educators helps to strengthen our community and ability and willingness to tackle new challenges. We set the pace for accepting new innovative ways to teach by being innovators and early adopters (Rogers, 1963). Students can also hold this role when we give them the power in their education.  When we include our students in the learning process and pay attention to their insight, we grow as educators (Fulian, 2014). Allowing students the opportunity to reflect with one another and share their knowledge is essential in my 4th-grade classroom. I love the confidence a student shows when they can help their friend with a task or concept. 

Technology offers so many opportunities to easily differentiate lessons and allow for students to express their multiple intelligences (Kuhn, 2008). Technology is increasingly allowing students to make deeper connections to lessons in the classroom and to express themselves in creative new ways. In these situations we become activators to student learning (Fulian, 2014). I want to teach my students to be lifelong learners and to be a lifelong learner myself. My goal is to embrace technology and include my students in the learning process. I want to encourage a love of learning and a deeper understanding of the process of obtaining knowledge and applying that knowledge to solving problems in creative new ways. As an educator, technology in my classroom is a daily reality. It allows differentiation, creative expression, and the opportunity to dig deeper into lessons and student interests; however one of the biggest challenges I have is finding the balance between how students are evaluated on state tests and how to best engage students in deeper, more meaningful learning. The two goals are not always aligned. I find that balance to be a struggle that I reflect upon and reevaluate daily and from year to year in my classroom. 

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

Kuhn, M. S. (2008). Connecting depth and balance in class. Learning & Leading

with Technology, 36(1), 18-21. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier

database

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