Learning to Learn Through Thinking About Thinking:

21st Century Skill Development in FCS Classrooms

Presented by:Susan M. Turgeson, CFCS, MSsusan.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 AnalysisMarzano & 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 Content

As you… Input – at the data gathering level Recall Define Describe IdentifyProcess- at processing level Compare Contrast Analyze SequenceOutput – at output level Predict Evaluate Imagine

Internal – ask about: Reactions Feelings Thoughts Emotions

External – ask about: Project Other students Group Event Goals Lesson

What are some of…

How might you…

What led to…

What possible…

What might…

How might…

How should…

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-to-compose-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

• EmpathizingNote: 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