Multicultural Education (TED 1400)

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Teaching Thinking

  • I want to clarify a few items from the readings and add some additional information for you to think about during this unit regarding the teaching of thinking.
  • First, why is the teaching of thinking part of MC Ed?
  • Think about it and where it might belong in both the definition and components of MC Ed we studied early in the semester.

Teaching Thinking

  • If you said that the teaching of thinking belongs in MC Ed because it ensures equity for all students, it provides opportunities for academic success, and it is a strategy to level the playing field for all students, you are correct.
  • It belongs under the Access and Support area of the definition of MC Education.
  • It also needs to be included in the Inclusion piece of the definition as teacher training because the teaching of thinking needs to be taught to teachers so it is done effectively.

Teaching Thinking

  • The teaching of thinking includes three areas:
  • Critical Thinking
  • Creative Thinking
  • Self-Regulated Behaviors
  • This is from Dimensions of Learning.
  • When you think about these areas, you should think of them as goals and to use in your planning.

Teaching Thinking

  • Do we expect that children will be great critical thinkers, creative thinkers, or be able to self-regulate their behaviors well after a few lessons?
  • No, but this is a long term goal.
  • If we start when they are young, then each year, they become better, so that when they are teenagers, they can be independent thinkers.
  • When you are planning your lessons, no matter what the content, you should ALWAYS be focused on one of these three components of Critical Thinking.

Teaching Thinking

  • In addition, there are two components to teaching thinking:
  • The actual teaching of the thinking skill, and
  • Using the skill in content areas.
  • When you are introducing the thinking skill, it is important you teach it without new content. You want the focus of the lesson to be on the thinking skill.
  • If students have to think about the thinking skill and some new information in a content area, they won’t understand the thinking skill.

Teaching Thinking

  • Why is this important?
  • Think about your bedroom closet.
  • What do you see?
  • I know most of you are groaning! 
  • Bedroom closets have shelves and hangers, hooks and rods.
  • They are filled, and sometimes are organized, or some parts are organized, but other parts are not.

Teaching Thinking

  • But think about how you do organize your bedroom closet.
  • Some of us have it organized by item: short sleeved shirts in one place, long sleeved shirts in another. Shorts here, sweaters there. Shoes in one place, etc.
  • Some people organize by outfit, or by colors, or not at all!

Teaching Thinking

  • Now think about your bedroom closet being like your brain.
  • Your brain is also organized into sections, and think of every new piece of information coming into your brain as a piece of clothing.
  • Where you put it (where you hang it) depends on how YOU organize. Everyone will place the new knowledge in a different place depending on past experiences, past knowledge, etc.

Teaching Thinking

  • If, however, you hang that piece of information in the wrong place, it gets lost, and cannot be retrieved. Then you cannot use it again.
  • Or worse yet, it falls on the floor like that black mini skirt you use to wear. If you are lucky, you may find it (the information) later, but although you may find that skirt when you clean out your closet 2 years from now, you may never find that information- it gets deleted from your brain, or lost.

Teaching Thinking

  • This means that when we are teaching thinking, we should teach it in isolation.
  • This gives us a better chance to assist students in focusing on the skill (versus new content information) and this helps students better figure out where to place the new information in their closet (brain).

Teaching Thinking

  • It is only by teaching thinking this way, that children will be able to retrieve the skills to use again and in different ways.
  • If students cannot transfer their thinking skills to another context, then we have not taught them how to think!

Teaching Thinking

  • In Dimensions of Learning, you learned about the 5 dimensions.
  • Think about Dimension 1 as the basement or foundation of teaching thinking. If students are not comfortable in your class or don’t feel they belong, they won’t take academic risks. To be a good thinker, you must take risks.

Teaching Thinking

  • Think of Dimensions 2 and 3 as the “bedroom closet” part of teaching thinking.
  • This is where all the work is done. You teach it in isolation and then extend and refine the skill by using it in a content area (or multiple content areas).

Teaching Thinking

  • Dimension 4 is using it in the real world. This would be a social justice area, or it can be a way of helping students transfer the information to “cement” it into their knowledge.
  • Students must use it in meaningful ways for them if the information (thinking skill) is to be integrated into what they already know.
  • It is here that the retrieval process must take place.

Teaching Thinking

  • This process can be a unit, a lesson, or simply something at the end of a lesson.
  • For example, if you are teaching the color red to your 3 year olds, using it in a meaningful way would be to have each child go home and find something red in their house. Or in pairs, each pair could find something red in the classroom.
  • Real world learning helps cement the knowledge, but it doesn’t have to be complex or difficult, or take a long time.

Teaching Thinking

  • When you are directly teaching a critical thinking skill, there are some basic thinking skills you need to start with.
  • These are adapted from a system called Think Trix, by Dr. Frank Lyman.
  • There are 5 symbols and words that mean each type of thinking.

Teaching Thinking

  • The thinking skills are:
  • Recall
  • Compare/Contrast
  • Evaluation
  • Cause and Effect
  • Idea to Example/Example to Idea

Teaching Thinking

  • Each one of these thinking skills has what Lyman calls “cue words.”
  • These cue words are attached.
  • While it is not important to master these basic thinking skills prior to introducing more complex thinking skills, all these skills need to be introduced and begun to be learned prior to any significant work in the complex thinking skill areas.

Teaching Thinking

  • Complex thinking skills include:
  • Problem solving
  • Analyzing
  • Synthesizing

Teaching Thinking

  • In order to do any type of complex thinking skills or activities, students need to be proficient in the basic thinking skills first.
  • For example, to problem solve, Recall is needed to know the information in the problem. Compare and Contrast are used to look at possible solutions and outcomes, Evaluation is needed for you to pick the solution best for you, and to weigh the evidence, Cause and Effect are needed to look at possible consequences and results of solutions, and finally, Idea to Example/Example to Idea is needed to find the main idea of the problem and to group solutions or ideas or information together.

Teaching Thinking

  • Other strategies are also needed to be used, on an ongoing basis, if students are to learn to be good thinkers.
  • One important strategy is that teachers need to ask questions constantly, and the questions need to stimulate thinking.
  • It is important that you always ask your children to justify their answers, not just when the answer is wrong or different from what you expect to hear.

Teaching Thinking

  • The process of thinking about your own thinking is called Metacognition, and this is an important skill for children to learn. All good thinkers are metacognitive.
  • Asking children “Why?” and having them process their reasoning skills is the first step in getting them to think about their own thinking.

Teaching Thinking

  • Other ways to have children practice metacognitive skills include:
  • Having children discuss how they arrived at answers with each other.
  • Helping children see multiple answers and/or multiple ways to get to an answer.
  • Have children write how they arrived at an answer.

Teaching Thinking

  • The more students hear that process is important, and the more you review and discuss how answers were arrived at, the easier it becomes for students to think this way.
  • In addition, by pointing out how others arrived at their answers, gives children another way of thinking. Therefore, if their way doesn’t work some time, then they have other ways to approach problems.
  • But again, you must explicitly teach metacognition and point out the different ways of arriving at answers. Children will not automatically understand this, and without this explicitly taught, they will not be able to use the skill in another situation.

Teaching Thinking

  • When asking questions of children, it is best to ask open ended questions and to provide Wait Time for reflection prior to asking for an answer.
  • Use the attached sheets to use when asking questions.
  • If you are working on a particular thinking skill, be sure to use many of the cue words and question starters for that skill.
  • In other lessons, use a variety of thinking skills and questions to illicit information and provoke children’s thinking.

Teaching Thinking

  • To summarize:
  • There are 3 kinds of thinking skills: critical, creative, and self-regulating behaviors.
  • These should be taught or used in EVERY lesson you ever teach to any group of children, regardless of age.
  • Remember there is the teaching of the critical thinking skill and the using it within content areas-children need to learn both.

Teaching Thinking

  • All critical thinking skills can be found within DoL (Dimensions of Learning).
  • Dimension 1 is the classroom climate area (which we will discuss in the next unit).
  • Dimensions 2 and 3 are the teaching of critical thinking skills.
  • Dimension 4 is the using of critical thinking skills.
  • Dimension 5 is the goals and behaviors of critical, creative, and self-regulating behaviors. Dimension 5 should be used as your goals when you plan lessons.

Teaching Thinking

  • When teaching critical thinking to students (DoL 2 and 3), using Think Trix is the best way to do this-free of content so students can focus on the learning of the thinking skill.
  • Think Trix teaches the basic critical thinking skills needed to use complex critical thinking skills.
  • Think Trix thinking skills include: recall, compare and contrast, cause and effect, idea to example and example to idea, and evaluation.
  • Complex thinking skills include: problem solving, analysis, and synthesis.
  • To encourage thinking in children, teachers should use effective questioning strategies and wait time, and teach children metacognitive thinking skills.

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Teaching Thinking

  • Now we will discuss these thinking skills strategies in more depth and some additional effective teaching strategies that assist us in teaching thinking skills to children.