As future
teachers, we should find ways to promote creative thinking and problem solving
skills because they are rarely taught, but these skills will have a big impact
on students. Svinicki and McKeachie
explain that it’s not enough for students to gain knowledge without relating
that
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| Source: FreeDigitalPhotos.net |
knowledge to the real world—otherwise students won’t know how to use “it”
when they leave the academic environment. They have difficulty remembering what
they “know” because the situation differs (Svinicki & McKeachie, 2011).
Young children will take chances because “they are not
frightened of being wrong” (Robinson, 2006). As they get older, they take fewer
chances, and that’s where we can make a difference. We can encourage them to
think for themselves and to creatively work through situations. Robinson puts
it like this: “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come
up with
anything original.” (Click
here to watch Ken Robinson’s Ted Talks video.)
 |
| Source: Ted.com |
To encourage students to think for themselves (and to
promote their critical thinking/problem solving skills), we can create an
environment that demonstrates those kinds of discussions. Dannels (2015) suggests
we do the following to get students to participate in discussions:
- use warm-calling techniques to encourage reluctant students to talk
- present a problem and have students find multiple ways to solve it
- use brainstorming techniques to generate ideas
- welcome students to express their opinions
Even though the academic environment seems to educate
students to become good workers instead of critical thinkers (Ken Robinson, Ted
Talks), as teachers, we have multiple opportunities to improve their thought
processes and creativity. In fact, we can make a big difference in our students
by helping them gain critical thinking/problem solving skills and by giving
them the platform to use these skills.
Discussion Question: What are some additional ways teachers can get
their students to participate in discussions that promote critical
thinking/problem solving?
TS
#disclosureanddialogue
References:
Dannels, D.P. (2015). 8
Essential Questions Teachers Ask. New York: Oxford University Press.
Robinson, K. (2006).
Do schools kill creativity? Ted Talks. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity#t-722279
Sixninepixels (2011). Image ID 10047318.
FreeDigitalPhotos.net. Retrieved from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/Learning_g376-Computer_Classroom_p47318.html
Svinicki, M.D.,
& McKeachie, W.J. (2011).
McKeiachie’s Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and
University Teachers (14th Edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Ted Talks.
(2006). Image of Ken Robinson and Ted Talks video. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity#t-722279
Tracy,
ReplyDeleteWhat are some examples of "warm-calling" techniques?
Hi Lauren. When I was teaching, I often used "warm-calling" techniques to get better discussions. They were learning writing skills, so sometimes I'd give them a topic to write about for ~5 minutes. Then, I'd have them break into groups and discuss the topic. Other times, I would ask them to form groups, discuss a topic (as a group), and then we'd have a class discussion. Either way, the class was more likely to get a good discussion going after they'd had time to write on their own or talk within smaller groups. Do you use "warm-calling" techniques in your class?
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ReplyDeleteTracy,
ReplyDeleteYou brought up some really great points about how important critical thinking is and how important it is that we help our students learn how to think for themselves. When you quoted Robinson who said, “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come
up with anything original,” I thought of how we also have to create a safe environment where the students feel that it is OK to make a mistake. We want our students to push themselves as critical thinkers, but at the same time, feel that they have appropriate support to do soon.
I also loved the video and I enjoyed reading your blog. :)
Thanks, Suzanna! I agree: we want to encourage students to take some risks and think on their own. . .Here's something interesting about that Ted Talks video: I participated in my first Tweet chat the other day, the subject was pedagogy, and I mentioned this video. One of the teachers said that Ken Robinson motivated her to be a better teacher. Kind of cool, huh? Have you ever heard of him before?
ReplyDeleteThis post connects well with my comment in class this past Tuesday (9/29) about bringing my experience from performance classes into my non-performance classes. A favorite performance motto of mine is if you're going to fail, fail fantastically! I tell my performance students this at the beginning of each class so that my outlook on their work is always clear. In performance classes, the work my students do is all about experimentation, about trying out new things to see if they're effective. Playing and testing multiple options is how we ultimately learn about the text we're performing and about the act of performance in itself. I try to carry this approach over to my non-performance classrooms. My students in my non-performance classrooms also must feel comfortable trying out new ideas and new ways of offering up ideas in order to learn critical thinking skills. But oftentimes, students are too afraid to speak up for fear of being wrong. To counteract this, I try to express with my behavior and disclosure that I, like my students, am always trying out new techniques in the classroom to see what works, and sometimes the things I try flop. By making it clear that I'm not always "right" either, I hope that my students will overcome their fears of speaking up about their thoughts. I genuinely think my students benefit from knowing that their fantastic failures are welcomed in my class! Great post Tracy!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Anna! I bet your students enjoy that class. Sounds like you are doing a good job helping them build their confidence and showing them that it's OK to take risks. :)
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