Write a blog entry commenting on your attempts to improve thinking in your classroom. Share these experiences with your colleagues.
STEMagination |
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After viewing the presentation at this link http://teachertools.londongt.org/index.php?page=thinkingSkills
Write a blog entry commenting on your attempts to improve thinking in your classroom. Share these experiences with your colleagues.
17 Comments
Avis Benjamin
5/23/2013 11:24:51 am
When I ask my students to think, most of times they seem focus on what they think I want them to be think about before speaking. They seem afraid to think different from what I expect. I Have to move my students from I have been training them to do in preparation for exams. That is thinking base on what CSEC would want for an answer ( thing within a small box).
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Rehana
5/24/2013 09:37:36 am
For mys students to 'think' in class, i usually have to relate what I am teaching to something with which they are familiar and believe me, that is uauslly very challenging. So I try to find some middel ground where we can all meet and relate. The traditional methods of teaching MUST change. Lecturing to students who can just click you off their mind just as easily as if you were on a screen is something that all teachers should care about if they really wish to engage all in the learning process.
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vimala
6/3/2013 08:21:02 am
Rehanna
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Gerard Birmingham
5/26/2013 05:33:28 am
At about 0:16 of the video, the little picture with the scowl shows exactly how my students look when I ask them to think! I have come to realise the importance in changing the entire educational paradigm towards one where critical and creative thinking is encouraged and rewarded. This would require a coordinated effort among all stakeholders in the educational system: governments, teachers, administrators, parents , employers, and the students themselves.
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Stacy Duncan
5/27/2013 07:50:35 am
Often when I pose a question to my class I get mixed reactions from the students. There are those who blurt out responses without a moment’s hesitation, others look dazed as if to say –“Why Miss asking questions boy??”, and then there are the students who seemingly take their time and consider the question before responding to it. While in UTT my appreciation for questioning and developing thinking in students was heightened. In my classroom therefore, over the past terms I tend to take the time to let students develop their thinking before answering. I let them know the importance of thinking before they do something and how not thinking things through can affect them in their school work and in their everyday lives.
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Mariam Sprott
5/28/2013 08:15:05 am
My attempts to improve thinking in my classroom has been a challenge thus far, as my Std 5 students have gone through the past seven years being taught to merely recall . My strategies thus far have involved a lot of role play and dramatizations of scenarios, putting them into teams to resolve various situations that impact on individual as well as the environment, discussions, debates and other practical hands-on activities.I honestly think ..That as teachers/educators we do not realize that we have NOT and still are not teaching our students how to think. Our culture dictates that we present our students with facts, algorithms, formulas and the exact questions and allow them to cram and regurgitate the responses, so that they can pass exams and become certified. When faced with challenges everyday they cannot make rational ,informed decisions because what they learn in school is in total isolation from what they face in the real world. As educators we need to become thinkers and reflective practitioners , who are ever evolving in the way we think. Allowing students the opportunities to make valuable connections to what takes place in the classroom and the world in which they live. This can only happen if we teach them to think. (Don't just hand them the fish ...We must model how fishing should be done, equip them with the skills for fishing and allow them to develop their on competences.) The survival of our society and world depends on it.
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Eric Felix
5/30/2013 07:21:11 am
Let us face facts . Most students ( from primary school to secondary school ) have not traditionally been taught how to think . More importantly , the teachers may not have known how to teach students to think .
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andrealawrence9
5/30/2013 11:15:10 am
When I’m doing any assessment in class I usually write “Think Hard” among other things on the board and then I see 50% of the papers reflecting the opposite. When I did the stem workshop it reflected that I wrote something I did not teach them to do; think.
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Florence Taylor
6/2/2013 07:28:26 am
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Mala Mohammed
6/11/2013 09:47:27 am
When I ask my students to think, some would immediately put up their hands to answer. I then tell them to listen to the question again and think about what they want to say. I then try to give each student an opportunity to respond, because if I don't many of them will not make an effort. I also try taking familiar situations, rhymes etc and invite them to relate it to their time. For example , in 'Jack and Jill', what you do if your brother fell down? What would they do about the water? This seems to work for my class.
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Lloydris Baptiste
6/12/2013 10:50:56 am
I can relate to that Ms. Mala, that is exactly what happens in my class as well. I to would request that they put down there hands, and firstly, listen carefully to the question. We would then take a little time to discuss what the question is asking. Once am sure that everyone understands, they are allowed time to think, and then responses are accepted.
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Maria Gallan
6/13/2013 05:18:18 am
Trying to get my sudent to think independently has been a challenge. Even as infants they are used to being given the answers and being thought what to think and how to think. I started an exercise by asking my students to think. I ask that they not tell their friend what they were thinking about. This exercise was to be used as the bases for the topics for the day. I find that doing this not only help them to think outside the box but also helps the teacher to understand what the students are thinking about. It helps me as a teacher know what are this issues the students themselves are dealing with. But I like to hear what the students come up with. I think as teachers we limit our students thinking. this exercise allows them to think out of the box.
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Angelina Medera-Lazarus
6/17/2013 06:17:06 am
I agree with many of the comments above. Trying to get my students to think for themselves is a challenge. Very few of my students can do that. it has been interesting though to pay attention to students who do not normally speak up in class. there is one student who is absent a lot yet when he is at school he is able to out shine the others when it comes to thinking. A few quiet ones surprised us. They were asked to think about why a structure or building may not be able to withstand the forces of a hurricane or earthquake? they were able to say that maybe the builders used cheap material, the builders did not build the building strong, the building was too heavy to stand up, the wind was too strong for the building, the earthquake break the building.
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Carleen Scipio-Simmons
6/21/2013 09:42:30 pm
Based on the video which listed six ingredients in making a thinking classroom, I choose to reinforce the aspect of making thinking an active process. This was initiated by examining the aspect of infusion across the curriculum and designing infusion lessons. At the E.C.C.E Level infusion is one of the major assets of our curriculum and by extension the learning process. Furthermore, it is considered as one of the principles of learning in E.C.C.E Classrooms. The National E.C.C.E Curriculum Guide States that "an integrated curriculum will facilitate children's exploration, discovery, problem-solving, critical thinking and experimentation in a meaningful context and allows for a project based, emergent or negotiated curriculum to inform the learning and teaching process". This aspect was reinforced through activities carried out this week, to ensure that infusion was really taking place. Additionally, questioning, thinking aloud as well as reflecting and evaluating was again reinforced. Reflection most directly was carried out quite creatively as children were encouraged to write stories, songs or even poems about what was learnt or what knowldege they aquired after an activity. These were noted and displayed in the classroom or group giving children a sense of pride and owership of learning. One such story is below:
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Jennifer Khan
6/23/2013 05:48:06 am
I did continue to use open ended questions to the children during story time. The story chosen was 'The Little Red Hen' by Lucinda McQueen. I was mindful of designing questions using as a guide Blooms Taxonomy in which questions were from the higher order levels such as application and analysis. The activity allowed children to practice their critical thinking and creative thinking skills. It further endorsed the value and acceptance of children's responses.
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carlene Hall_sylvan
7/10/2013 02:25:07 pm
To improve thinking in my classroom, I had to change my instructional approach. Instead of giving answers I asked a lot of ‘why’ and ‘what if’ questions to encourage them to discover. Pupils also experimented using examples and none examples. My class is sometimes disruptive because I allow them to engage in discussions which sometimes turn into debates. Before any of the above could have happeded,I had to devise ways to encourage pupils to talk, focus on key words and stick to the topic at hand. They are still work in progress but I have seen improvement.
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kimc5
7/15/2013 11:51:45 am
I have always endeavored to get my students to think. This is the climate of my classroom. My lesson is never lecture style since I appreciated at the very start that this approach will serve to do only very little for very few. My students are therefore not surprised when i put them on the spot. in fact I use this as a management technique.I also encourage them to challenge the views of one another. This requires that they listen and be attentive to others while they speak...(another management tool). the quality of questioning used is partly the direct repsonse type but i also use many open-ended questions as well as view point questions. I insist that they think. On looking at the video I was pleased to see that thinking is an actual science with a framework and components. I am yet to wrap my mind around all the aspects since they were only touched on briefly. My objective nevertheless would be to get my students to think critically AND creatively if they are to survive and prosper in life.
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