Learning to Learn Through Thinking
About Thinking:
st
21 Century Skill Development in FCS
Classrooms
Presented by:
Susan M. Turgeson, CFCS, MS
susan.turgeson@uwsp.edu
Objectives
• Examine cognitive skills, conative skills, and 8
types of thinking
• Evaluate techniques to promote engagement
and comprehension for learners
• Develop strategies to teach and assess 21st
century skills
• Academic and interpersonal skills are
necessary for success in the 21st century
• Research-based solutions using principles
from
– Teaching and Assessing 21st Century Skills by
Robert Marzano and Tammy Heflebower (2012)
– Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote
Engagement, Understanding, and Independence
For All Learners by Ron Ritchart, Mark Church,
and Karin Morrison (2011)
– Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind: 16
Essential Characteristics for Success edited by
Arthur L. Costa and Bena Kallick (2008)
http://www.p21.org/overview/skills-framework
Cognitive Skills
• Analyzing and utilizing information
– Determine reliability and usefulness
• Navigating digital resources
• Identifying common logical errors
Identified Student Searching and
Processing Strategies
• Preference for browsing
rather than keyword
searching
• Difficulty formulating
keywords
• Limit exploration, often
defaulting to well-known
websites
• Have little patience
• Stop short when reading
large amounts of text
• Focus on collecting factual
knowledge
• Tendency to search for one
correct answer
• Tendency to change search
question when a literal
answer is not easily found
• Pay little attention to
reading and processing
information
• Difficulty assessing the
relevance and/or reliability
of the information found on
the Internet
How to Counteract?
• Recognize faulty logic
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Contradiction
Accident
False cause
Begging the question
Evading the issue
Arguing from ignorance
Composition and
division
• Recognize types of
attack
– Poisoning the well
– Arguing against the
person
– Appealing to force
How to Counteract?
• Recognize types of
weak reference
– Using sources that
reflect bias
– Using sources that lack
credibility
– Appealing to authority
– Appealing to people
– Appealing to emotion
• Recognize types of
misinformation
– Confusing the facts
– Misapplying a concept or
generalization
Cognitive Skills
• Addressing complex problems and issues
– Problem solving skills
• Generating conclusions
• Presenting and supporting claims
Strategies to Teach Enhanced Focus
• List tasks, and give each a
priority level
• Assign a reasonable
amount of time on each
task and schedule time
for each
• Get enough sleep
• Break larger task into
smaller bits accomplished
at different times
• When interrupted, pause
for a moment to
remember and note
where to pick up again
• Reduce clutter
• Create a routine and stick
to it
• Slow down to reduce
errors that need to be
fixed later
Approaches to Problem Solving
• Determine whether you
really have a problem
• Take a moment to affirm
that
– There are many ways to solve
– Help is available if I look
– I am capable of solving
• Start talking to yourself
about this problem
• Start identifying the
obstacles in your way and
possible solutions for
overcoming each
• For each possible solution
identified, determine how
likely it is to be successful
• Try out the solution you
believe has best chance for
success and fits your
comfort level for risk
• If solution does not work,
go back to another option
and try it out
• If no solution can be found,
revalue what you are trying
to accomplish
Cognitive Skills
• Creating patterns and mental models
– Graphic organizers
– Visual models
– Visualization and mental rehearsal
Conative Skills
• Understanding and controlling oneself
– Role of interpretations – what makes you say
that?
– Self-efficacy
– Resiliency
Understanding & Controlling Oneself
•
•
•
•
•
What am I thinking?
What am I feeling?
What do I want now?
How am I getting my way?
What do I need to do differently now?
“Don‘t just do something…stand there!”
- Saul Alinsky, community organizer
Ask Yourself…
•
•
•
•
How can I learn from this?
How can I draw on past successes?
How might I look at the situation in another way?
How might I break this problem down into parts
and develop a strategy for each step?
• What questions do I need to ask?
• How does this problem affect others?
• What can I learn from others that would help me
become better?
Conative Skills
• Understanding and interacting with others
– Perspective taking
– Responsible communication
– Thoughtful conflict and controversy
Perspective Analysis
Marzano & Pickering, 2011
•
•
•
•
What do I believe about this?
Why do I believe it?
What is another way of looking at this?
Why might someone else hold a different
opinion?
• What have I learned?
8 Types of Thinking
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Observe closely and describe what’s there
Build explanations and interpretations
Reason with evidence
Make connections
Consider different viewpoints and perspectives
Capture the heart and form conclusions
Wondering and asking questions
Uncovering complexity and going below the
surface
Composing Powerful Questions
• Questions are invitational
– What ideas to do you have?
– What conclusions might you draw?
• Positive presuppositions assume capability and
empowerment
– As you anticipate your project, what will be some
indicators that you are progressing and succeeding?
• Questions engage specific cognitive operations
• Questions address content that is either external
or internal
Composing Powerful Questions:
Three Linguistic Components
Invitational Stem
Cognitive Operation
As you…
Input – at the data
Internal – ask about:
gathering level
Reactions
Recall
Feelings
Define
Thoughts
Describe
Emotions
Identify
Process- at processing level External – ask about:
Compare
Project
Contrast
Other students
Analyze
Group
Sequence
Event
Output – at output level
Goals
Predict
Lesson
Evaluate
Imagine
What are some of…
How might you…
What led to…
What possible…
What might…
How might…
How should…
Content
Examples
• As you reflect on what you’ve learned in this
unit, what additional questions are you
curious about?
• As you compare this project with others that
you have done…
• What led you to these inferences about your
performance’s success?
• In what ways might your emotions have
influenced your decisions about…?
More Examples
• What might be some other ways you could solve
this problem?
• What intrigues you about this experiment?
• When you are communicating with others, what
indicators are you aware of in yourself and others
that signal you are being understood?
• As a result of your learning about the topics
we’ve explored in this unit, what will you
continue to ponder and want to learn more
about?
http://bangthetable.com/freebies/how-tocompose-engaging-questions/
Teacher Response Behaviors Give your students SPACE
• Silence (wait time)
• Providing data through facilitation
• Accepting without judgment
– Acknowledging
– Paraphrasing
• Clarifying when you don’t understand
– Seek elaboration of response
• Empathizing
Note: praise can decrease motivation & creativity as
it builds conformity instead of creativity
Lasting Impact and Powerful Influence
• Shift of focus from teaching to learning
• Students not only learn, but learn how to
learn
• Rather than passive taking in of information,
learning occurs as a result of thinking and
active sense making
• Create opportunities for thinking
• Make students’ thinking visible
Strategies
• Develop new understanding introducing and
exploring ideas
• Synthesizing and organizing ideas
• Digger deeper into ideas
– Solve problems
– Make decisions
Thinking Connections: Learning to Think &
Thinking to Learn by David Perkins,
Heidi Goodrich, Shari Tishman, and
Jill Mirman Owen (1994)
See-Think-Justify-Wonder
See – What do you
see in this picture?
Think – What do
you think this
means?
Justify – What
makes you say
that?
Wonder – What do
you wonder about
what you see?
Compass Points
• E = Excitements
– What excites you about this?
– What is positive about it?
• W = Worries
– What do you find worrisome about this?
– What is the downside?
• N = Needs
– What else to you need to know or find out about this idea of
proposition?
• S = Stance, Steps, Suggestions
– What is your current stance or opinion?
– What should be your next step in your evaluation?
– What suggestions do you have at this point?
CSI: Color, Symbol, Image
• Choose a color that you think best represents
the essence of that idea
• Create a symbol that you think best represents
the essence of that idea
• Sketch an image that you think best captures
the essence of that idea
The 4 Cs
• After reading a text, watching a video, or listening
to a presentation:
– Connections
• What connections do you draw between the text and your
own life or other learning?
– Challenge
• What ideas, positions, or assumptions do you want to
challenge or argue with in the text?
– Concepts
• What key concepts or ideas do you think are important and
worth holding on to from the text?
– Changes
• What changes in attitudes, thinking, or action are suggested
by the text, either for you or others?
WMYST?
• In follow up to a statement, assertion, or opinion
expressed by someone, ask:
– What makes you say that?
– Share interpretations backed with evidence so others
have an opportunity to consider multiple viewpoints
and perspectives
– Empowers the learners to examine the reasons and
evidence behind possible explanations
– Helps convey a sense that the correctness of an
answer is in the evidence that supports it
Circle of Viewpoints (COV)
• Identify the different perspectives
that could be present in or affected
by what you have just read, seen, or heard.
Record these in a circle with the issue or event at
the center.
• Choose one of the perspectives to explore
further, using the following prompts:
– I am thinking of (name of event/issue) from the point
of view of…
– I think…(describe the topic from the viewpoint
selected) Because …
– A question/concern I have from this viewpoint is…
Assessing 21st Century Skills
• Learning goals shared with students so they
can demonstrate proficiency
• Evaluating progress
• It is vital that students learn that the
framework for 21st century learning recognizes
that there is no quick right answer.
• Learning and innovation skills are developed
through the 4 Cs
– Critical thinking
– Communication
– Collaboration
– Creativity