Theories of Critical Thinking

Over the years, education has made some drastic changes throughout the years and will and continue to make changes. One such change includes the use of technology. The traditional methods of teaching are currently fading out of the classrooms and moving towards the Digital Age. In education, teachers have always been faced with the task of using instructional strategies that engage students. Not only are we are faced with the challenge of using new and engaging instructional strategies; but we are being directed towards using instructional strategies that incorporate technology. As educators, we have a duty to recognize how technology can engage students and make learning meaningful for them.

                In 1956, Bloom’s taxonomy was developed as a classification of intellectual objectives and skills essential to learning. For over 50 years, these objectives have been used to structure lessons, guide learning, and assess students' performance (Huitt, 2011).  Anderson and Krathwohl updated Bloom’s taxonomy to indicate outcome focused objectives. (Huitt, 2011). Bloom’s Taxonomy is a great tool for education because it provides a framework for educators. Bloom’s taxonomy can be used to help design lessons that integrate technology tools that allows students to demonstrate all the levels (Kuhn, 2008).

                In education, we are constantly exposed to new and improved digital tools. Using digital tools is important, however, trying to have the latest technologies are not important (Hobbs, 2011). The primary focus should be on how the digital tool will contribute to your instructional strategy and to become familiar with how to use that tool. As educators, we can become overwhelmed with all the digital tools that we are sometimes are required to use.

                These articles have provided great insight on ways to help integrate technology. As a potential administrator, my goal for technology will be to have 100% of teachers using technology in their classroom instruction. However, I know that teacher beliefs and ability to use technology are not the same. As I reflect on The Adoption Process article, I know that I will have teachers that are innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards (Rogers, 1963). As a teacher, I know that students learn best by modelling. As a school administrator, I feel the same concept is true when getting teachers on board to using technology. A school administrator should use technology and be knowledgeable and effective users. Administrators set the climate for the entire school, I can not expect my teachers to provide meaningful technology integration if I don’t use it. Administrators that have an active role in technology integration will find it easier to get teachers on board to using technology.

Theories of Critical Thinking

I have been teaching music for 18 years. It is certain that I have been at every stage of the adoption process throughout my career as an educator. that technology would never be used in the music classroom that much. How could technology ever teach a child to read music, comprehend it, and be a creative musician? I now use apps and music software daily to plan my lessons as well as teach my band students how to use the technology themselves.
The digital world has changed quickly. It is hard to keep up with the technology as it changes almost daily. Teaching and learning is no longer just about books, paper, and pencils. As educators and innovators, we must embrace the new technology, find what gets results, use it, and continue to seek new strategies to improve. The digital age can be overwhelming. I have at times been the opinion leader helping out and modeling how to use technology to older teachers and students. As I have become the “older” teacher, I seek out advice from younger teachers and even students when trying to comprehend the latest tech gadget.

The Kuhn article sums up how we can use Bloom’s taxonomy in today’s digital age. Our school is a 1 to 1 school and I see firsthand the innovative ways teachers are teaching students. I have two elementary school aged boys that amaze me with the things they can do on a computer or even on a game system. They are creating innovative projects and learning at a level that I could have never imagined at their age. Cutting edge technology is definitely providing the tools teachers need to reach all kinds of learners.
As educators, we all agree that we want our students to learn and make progress. As we continue to progress in the digital world that we live in, it is our responsibility to embrace technology and use it to get results. That does not mean we have to use everything that is available and it doesn’t mean that we have to stay close to what we are comfortable with either. As a music teacher, I teach students to be comfortable making music but to not be afraid to go out of their comfort zone to experience new music. I hope to set that example as an educator as well and use technology as a way to be a better teacher and learner.

Theories of Critical Thinking

The first article I read was the Fundamental Change in Education. Being a third grade, regular education teacher at a title one school, I have seen many students that are not engaged, bored, or just do not seem to care about school. They have a hard time seeing the importance in their education at that age. In this article they talk about students learning on a deeper level by pushing purposeful planning of lessons to the real world and by having students be creative in their learning. This real world connection just started to be a huge focal point for me in the past two years. I didn't think writing word problems in math using real world concepts would change the way students viewed math, but I was wrong. The idea of students understanding how a new concept can help or impact their future learning, or jobs, made the students seem more curious. While I was reading this article the first thing that came to mind was the STEM activities that I have done with my class.

This article also talks about the world today being more digitally driven. This is very true and one of the main reasons I chose this major. I want to be able to utilize and be successful at using technology in my classroom. I think technology is an amazing tool for our students that could really benefit them as learners. Teachers no longer have to stand and lecture a class all day, while having them do book work that is directly linked to the standard. Now with technology, we can have our students making powerpoints, prezi's, research, google docs for partnership, the possibilities are endless. The students can now make real world connections while learning new things that might not be part of the standard ( like how to collaborate, put their ideas into words). Using techonology in these ways will help reach a higher level of thinking.

Being a math and science teacher, Bloom's Taxonomy is a vital part of planning my lessons. Most of our lessons are concepts built off he basic understanding. We move from writing an equation and labeling each part to eventually being able to see someone else's work and identify errors made within their work. In our school district, Educational objectives and learning targets are the big push this year. The verbs that are used in this article are exactly what we have been focused on using for our learning targets. I thought it was interesting to see how changing just the verbs in your objectives, or targets, can decipher what level your students are at according to the taxonomy.


Although those are the two articles that stuck out most to me, Connecting Depth and Balance In Class was also a fascinating read. All teaching work with students that have different learning styles. We all work with students that learn at a faster pace or a slower pace than others also. Technology is definitely a helpful tool when trying to meet each student where they are according to their level of learning. They also talk about how some people are very excited to jump right in and start using technology in every way possible, but others are very hesitant. This reins true in every school. I know many teachers and other professionals that just aren't sure they want to rely so heavily on technology. My co-workers and I use google drive to keep all of our resources together to help us collaborate and share useful resources, our school uses a program called I-Ready to gather data on our math scores, and we use a program called reading eggs to gather data for our students in reading. These programs also have lessons that go along with the standards of the grade they are currently enrolled, but use resources from previous grades so each student can have differentiated instruction. I love that this article highlights the idea that technology is a helpful tool for day to day use in a regular education classroom that is practical.

Theories of Critical Thinking Blog Post

After reading these articles, I completely agree that as teachers we need to make learning, “irresistibly engaging” for students (Fullan, M. & Langworthy, M. (2014). A rich seam: How new pedagogies find deep learning. London: Pearson.). It is our job to create real life problem solving for students so that their learning is connected to the world around them. In my teaching philosophy, I talk about how the goal for my students is to become lifelong learners.  In my opinion becoming lifelong learners is way more important than just memorizing spelling words. Technology is opening doors in the classroom for higher engagement. Technology allows students to create, explore, and research all at their fingertips. This is why the role of teachers and students is changing in the classroom. In order to engage students, we have to know what students are interested in, and build on their knowledge from there. I understand you can’t let a student who only wants to learn about sharks, research them all year, but you can create a math PowerPoint or google classroom activity with a shark on it, and all the sudden the student’s engagement has went up tremendously. Technology opens these doors and expands resources for students and teachers. 

Anyone who has ever been in an education class knows about Blooms Taxonomy, but technology allows us to take mastery into any even deeper meaning. Technology allows us to not only see that they have mastered a skill on a handwritten test, but it also lets us see how they apply that skill in the real world. Digital tools have taken Blooms Taxonomy to a different level. 

In the article, “The Adoption process”, it talks about change. Some people are for it, and others take longer to accept it. In my classroom, I have started ‘Genius Hour”. Some people have made comments about it “taking away from curriculum time”, or “why teach it if we don’t test on it”, but my students absolutely love having control over their own learning. In reality this isn’t taking away from curriculum at all, it is actually just allowing them to have a deeper understanding into the standards we are supposed to teach. I am not standing in front of the class and having them memorize the parts of a plant, they are growing a plant, and researching it all on their own.  Slowly other teachers have jumped on board with it this year, and I have even held a technology PD in my room discussing the topic. 

Education is always changing. I think as educators it is important that we are flexible and that we adapt and change with it. We have to remember that we are teaching the future. We are preparing students for some jobs that don’t even exist yet. It is our job to teach children to be lifelong learners, and for us to be lifelong learners ourselves. I love the way that technology has opened doors in my classroom. Some lesson have bombed, and some lessons have soared, but the importance is that we try to teach to the adapting and changing world that our students are growing up in. 

Theories of Critical Thinking

These articles gave great insight to where the norm is going in regard to technology in the classroom. I have been in education for 15+ years and I can see more and more that technology is being brought to the forefront of education and how teachers run their classroom. When I began teaching many years ago I had a chalkboard, students used paper and pencil to take notes and take tests, standardized tests were given paper-pencil style, and the use of computers where used only in the lab. Now we have a computer initiative for each student and standardized tests are given with the computers. We, as teachers, are asked to incorporate technology into our classroom as much as possible because this is the way our world is headed and we must include technology into our classrooms to keep up with this ever-changing technological world.

Looking back on education classes in college and the professional development I received early in my career, I can remember the importance of Bloom's Taxonomy. This hierarchy of learning begins with the basic skills of knowledge and ends with the evaluation of learning. Students must master each step before moving on to the new one. Some students would move quickly up the "ladder" and for some they would never make it to the top. This was difficult for teachers to create lessons for all students since students learn at a different pace. With the use of technology, students are now allowed to learn at their own pace and research the material. Students have more resources than ever to learn the concept and complete a project. Teachers must take the leap and incorporate technology and get out their head that it can't be done, I don't have enough time, I don't know how to help the students use technology, or I don't want to use technology. Technology is the way of this generation and we must all do our part to ensure student success and student learning.

Teachers must also realize that the time is now to take a step back and let their classroom be more student led than teacher led. I have noticed that I do less lecturing in front of the classroom and I do more of monitoring student activities. I still do my part as a teacher to cover the material and teach the standards but with the use of technology, I can assign a project or have the students do a hands-on activity and just let them go. Students are more apt to remember the material when they are having fun, enjoying class, and being actively engaged in learning. My classroom has become a more active classroom with more activities, projects, and research. Students are coloring, cutting, gluing, finding answers to problems, looking up formulas, and student-centered activities than ever before. I can also see that those who seemed to be "left behind" are now the ones making better grades and enjoying being at school and learning.

After reading the articles, reflecting on my classroom, and speaking with other colleagues there may still be some issues. Coming from a rural school, I know that not every household has the internet and access to a computer. We must be mindful that not all students are proficient with technology and we must do our job as educators to teach ALL students. Every district, every school, and every classroom is unique and it is our job to find out what works for our classroom and our students.

Theories of Critical Thinking

After reading these articles and being a classroom teacher, I can see where we are headed in regard to technology in the classroom. I have seen over the last couple of years just how important and useful it has become to utilize a few of the different digital learning tools that are available, such as, the Google Apps (Classroom, Sheets, Docs and Slides), Kahoot, Quizlet and Quizziz to name a few. I have found these to be very beneficial to my students as well as to me as the teacher.

Since our very first teacher education class we have all had embedded in our thinking, as educators, how important Bloom’s Taxonomy is in trying to reach our students. I think it is important to be able to take Bloom’s Taxonomy, find a way to help our students learn based on the appropriate objectives, while meshing those objectives with technology. The one thing that has been so difficult for many teachers is getting out of the mindset of “I have always done it this way.” If we allow ourselves to get beyond out dated mindsets, we can begin to see just how helpful technology and digital learning are.

Gone are the days of simply standing in front of a classroom and giving lecture notes. We can now ask our students to take their devices, look up the information and have more information than could be given to them in a matter of seconds. We can then ask our students to take what they have found and apply it in many different ways. This gives us the opportunity to reach all different types of learners, PowerPoint, Google Slides, posters and reports can be used to give feedback on the assignment. It is also important to understand that with the majority of our students having some type of technology with them at all times, they are not bound to simply learning at school, students can also do so much with the technology when they are away from school, if we are able to find a way to make it interesting for them.

It will always be important for us, as educators, to understand not all of our students will have the same access to technology, nor will they all learn the same way. It is imperative that we work with each student to help them be the best that they can be, while also helping them understand just how important it is to be able to use technology in the world we live in today.

Theories of Critical Thinking

The first article that I read was The Adoption Process. It discussed the fact that we do not all accept change at the same time. Some people are quick to jump on the bandwagon, while others take their time, accepting at a slower rate. Eventually, everyone has accepted the change, leaving no one behind. Each level of acceptance has its own unique label, starting with the Innovators continuing to the laggards, the last to accept the change. This progression sums up the manner in which some educators accept change in their school. As I look at the school that I work in, I see administration providing faculty with what they feel is the latest and greatest, best new practice. Teachers each have their own unique way of incorporating the new theories in to their lessons. Some are quick to figure out a way to work with this new idea almost enthusiastically, while others slowly add to their repertoire, and the laggards who drag their heels until they are given no choice but to follow along. There are so many factors that affect someone’s acceptance: age, background, and technology skills are just a few. I believe the differences in faculty are what makes each school a special place for learning, so we need to make sure that we accept, to an extent, their speed of acceptance and implementation.

As educators, we have learned about Bloom’s Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain. This taxonomy places skills teachers expect their students to learn in to a hierarchy or progression starting with knowledge and ending with evaluation. Learning at one level must be complete prior to moving on to the next. Some kids will be successful at each level, while others may never get beyond the stage of knowledge. As a teacher, preparing lesson plans for any topic, providing for each student and their abilities, has historically been a difficult task. In today’s society, with the progression of technology, meeting the needs of students at varying levels of understanding is less of a challenge. Teachers used to have access to textbooks and whatever their library could provide. Today, through technology, they have access to so much more. There is a vast array of tools at a teacher’s finger tips that allows them to meet the needs of each student.

Education is no longer a teacher standing in front of a class of students, lecturing about the lesson of the day. Technology allows teachers the ability to help students learn at a deeper level of understanding. Mark S. Kuhn writes about three new ideas that have helped propel this idea. New pedagogies take place when teachers create ways for students to apply what they have learned and how they learned it to real life. Learning continues after students have left school. New change in leadership explains that teachers and students are both responsible for teaching and learning. Imagine the way a child feels when they realize that they have just taught their teacher something. New system of economics says that learning is less expensive than in the past as a result of the new pedagogies. The school district that I work has already incorporated some of these ideas. It is unfortunate, but no matter how hard we try, some students will still struggle to learn the simplest of concepts, but we will never stop trying, and neither will they.

All the ideas that have been presented in these articles sound great on paper, but I feel it is important to remember that we are all different and unique, and we do not all learn in the same way. Flexibility in implementing new ideas in so important for teachers, but even more important for our students. Even with the best formed plan, it is still possible to lose a student along the way. We as teachers, need to make sure that we don’t overlook a student that is struggling to keep up.

Theories in Critical Thinking

Theories of the Digital Learner

In this highly digital world, information is readily and literally at our fingertips. Highly engaging conversations, the most prepared writings, and the best researched ideas have their beginnings at the writer’s beck and call over internet capabilities and can be quickly accessed at the speed of 4G! My thought on this subject is that the question really is not whether the students can keep up with the pace of instruction in the 21st Century, but more can the methods to deliver this instruction keep up with the pace that students are able to ingest.

While reading through the thoughts of “Deep Learning” authored by Fullan and Langworthy, I can’t help but agree that today’s learners have enough knowledge and are able to pursue learning goals on their own. I would like to think that I have technological abilities and am in tune enough to this digital world and can maneuver my way to instructing students through a digital lesson plan. The thought always go back to the fact that students are ever more technology savvy and up to date on all the new technologies. Students seem to be able to steer through to learning for themselves. My challenge in my mind is can I create real world digital experiences for my students that will take them into real life working experiences.

The fact is that because information is so readily available to everyone, students can self-learn. The challenge for universities and instructional technologists is can we keep pace in our digital technology to support students enrolling into classes. The synthesis for me is learn and understand how important the digital environment is to my future students, learn how to master creating instruction that will be engaging and challenging to them, and provide input into the university as to the importance of building a digital infrastructure that will meet the needs of the 21st Century learner.

Theories of Critical Thinking

Among the many articles, it is evident that students need to be able to apply and create, problem solve, and be literate in technology to be a successful critical thinker. It is difficult for a teacher to ensure that all students are able to do this. A teacher would have to use Bloom's to create elaborate lessons, have students create and evaluate project after project to meet standards, and ensure students are taking ownership of their learning while the teacher is merely the facilitator.

Unfortunately, all of that creates stress and hardship for the teacher to be able to plan and fit in. Thankfully, technology enhances learning and aids teachers in being able to not only give all of the above mentioned opportunities to students but also to engage and challenge students in differentiated ways. With new innovations and new simple-to-use technology, such as Google apps, Seesaw, and Canvas, students of all ages can work at their own pace using the most up-to-date technology.

While explicit teaching in the classroom cannot be replaced, teachers need to recognize the value and novelty of digital literacy in the classroom. For the generation that is in elementary school today, technology has always been a part of their life. Younger teachers seem to be the first demonstrate innovative teaching strategies; most older teachers tend to follow their lead. While new technology for older teachers can be scary (because, let's face it, you grew up in a time where if you clicked the wrong button you lost everything you'd been working on), we as teachers don't want our students to be lacking in digital literacy skills because we were afraid to learn new things and branch out of our comfort zone.

Even the youngest of students can be digitally aware and literate. As a kindergarten teacher, my students use Google apps, Seesaw, code.org and Scratch for block coding, among many, many others. I am able to recognize the value in technology for students because I can visualize where our world is headed: a world that is almost solely digitally based. The quicker that I am able to teach students how to be safe online, how to find quality information effectively, and how to distinguish what software is best for certain types of projects, the more successful these digital citizens will be in their future.