I have found that after explaining the task and moving to hands on that they actually heard what was said but did not quite get it... Then they start "fishing" for answers.. I will not give them the answer but make them think about the question asked, and give little hints to how to come up with the correct answer.. it seems to force them to think... and then think harder before they ask another question... usually they have the right answer..
I am a big advocate for peer tutoring. If I have a student in class who has demonstrated a strong understanding of the curriculum, I will ask him/her to work with a struggling student and sometimes just the difference in vocabulary and lack of pressure present between some students and their instructor can yield surprising results. The student who does the tutoring often benefits as much if not more than the struggling student from having to describe or explain the key concepts involved in successfully completing the task.
Gerald,
I like that you make them fish! This teaches students how to use resources.
Shelly Crider
David,
We do learn a lot from our peers....at school and at work!
Shelly Crider
I like this technique and use it frequently. I've tried to get creative by playing "Devil's Advocate", having my students refelect and communicate what could have been done instead to make the critical thinking or case study scenarios/situations better. "Is there a step that was overlooked? How would you feel if YOU made this mistake & how could it be corrected? How would you feel if YOU were the patient who was treated with disrespect?" are examples to initiate discussion. I do like to begin with the positives though. "What did she do RIGHT? How did his listening skills help to diffuse the patient's frustration?" etc. etc. I've gotten alot of positive feedback on this technique which gives me my own sense of accomplishment as well.
LeeAnn,
I do like Devil's Advocate as well. Make them think out of the box!
Shelly Crider
I agree with the idea of relating critical thinking to something that the student can relate to. If they can't make a connection, they don't grasp an idea.
Lanette,
This is a nice way to really assess the students as well.
Shelly Crider
Nadine, you have taken the words right from my mouth and heart.
Just last night I was discussing common sense with my husband and how it is lacking in this era. We then brought up how we ask our children to think about what they are doing and why. What made me happy was to hear from one of our children's teachers state, "I am so impressed with your daughters skill of thinking about certain things. I see her processing questions I ask and sometimes she comes back with a very good question to make sure she has it right." She is critical thinking so well.
After reading some post, thinking about the statement my daughters teacher made, and reading the lectures I started to then process how maybe I need to change things up. Maybe I expect my students to already have critical thinking skills and they don't. Maybe I need to start posing to them more questions to get them to critically think and not expect it to be something they should already have.
In my classroom it is amazing how if I have one or a couple of students that "really get it" they can make the whole class a positive experience because it just "blooms" from them. They tend to be the best tutors for the course.
Dustin,
This is true....one student can make a discussion!!
Shelly Crider
I agree that many of the students I teach in college still have alot of maturing to do. The parents should have been more involved with teaching them to make the correct decisions and not try to justify why they took the wrong path. I think the teachers in their lives from 1st grade to the 12th should have done more to encourage and direct students to making correct and better decisions. Instead of just passing the trouble students through school because they were too hard to deal with. In my classroom everyone is treated with the same respect and given the same information and encouragement to try and not give up or take the easy way out. I teach that everyone is to be treated better than they would treat themselves and that is how you earn respect.
One of the bullet points under "Critical Thinking" is "Allowing adequate time."
Our IADT School of Design at Sanford-Brown College went to 5-week courses earlier this year, meeting twice a week with no break between courses (Formerly 10-week, meeting once a week.)
There is no time for reflection— and it is destroying student AND teacher moral. Don't the corporate planners at CEC take Max Knowledge courses?!
Tony,
Glad you speak of respect. I would like to see more of this attribute.
Shelly Crider
Ann,
My son is one of your students. He loves the classes, but did say he is still thinking of the first one when the next one starts.
Shelly Crider
Critical thinking is something that does not come natural to most students and must be taught.So much has been done for them while growing up from parents, teachers,etc. that they have not learned how to solve even the simplest of problems on their own.This is one of the greatest challenges I face as an instructor.
David,
It is a challenge worth taking on as an instructor. Good job!
Shelly Crider
This once was something taught at home by learning life skills to be productive as a family. Todays family are most likely to be broken marriage with very little structure in their own lives. People have lost their class and respect for themselves. So many of todays generation have been enabled to the point they have become disabled. Simple tasks having been written off to the point "o I just can't trust them to this". It's what you teach your children but what you teach them they can do for themselves!
Mark,
You would think that a broken marriage would lead to more critical thinking skills!
Shelly Crider
I believe one of the most important gifts we can give a young student is critical thinking skills. All of our instructors completed ED-116 this year and we had a couple follow up training sessions to discuss best practices. We've found asking open ended questions is a good start to getting the problem solving gears turning. One of our final courses is designed for the instructor to cut the cord from instructor/mentor/coach to "you are on your own, when you have the correct answer to the problem, write it in a summary and be able to verbally communicate the resolution to me." Some students at first have a hard time with this, but as they build confidence and competence, they finally see and understand the need for this critical skill.
