Hi, Jackie and all

Jackie, awhile back you had asked about the implications of the critical discussion on PD.  We saw some excellent suggestions on helping teachers be more self-reflective and think critically themselves about what to teach and why and exploring their own  assumptions about the role of adult education in people's lives.

A bit belatedly, I wanted to add a small piece for those who are looking for practical ideas on how to build critical thinking skills (defined here as detecting the BS that various sources try to foist on us every day- in ads, political announcements, interviews, tabloids  etc.)- I know the definition is much larger but that's the one I am going with in my example here.

The Education website that won the Webby Award this year is one that helps students tell fact from fiction. It's Fact Check Ed and it has Lesson Plans that can be adapted for adult students.

http://factchecked.org/Welcome.aspx

And here is one of the Lesson Plans

http://factchecked.org/LessonPlanDetails.aspx?myId=13

In my own PD work, I plan to build on the ideas that Phil Anderson first introduced, asking teachers "how do we know what students know?" and "how do we help students value their own skills and strengths while helping them go where they want and need to go to thrive in a world where their skills are not recognized as much as they should be.  And, of course, the related question of "how do we build a relationship and atmosphere of trust where students will tell us how they see the world and feel free to share their fears and concerns (including concerns about what and how we teach)

Others?

Heide

Heide Spruck Wrigley
Mesilla New Mexico
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