[ProfessionalDevelopment 2314] Re: Critical Thinking and LearnerLeadershipCatherine B. King cb.king at verizon.netWed Jul 16 08:36:46 EDT 2008
Hello Sally: One way to distinguish merely memorizing for a test, and the more remote development that will help open horizons and create the basis for more and better understanding (and critical thinking)--is to focus a session on the activity of understanding itself. One way to "focus on understanding itself" is to have them do some self-reflective exercises, for instance, where they locate and write about (or talk about) having had an INSIGHT (an Aha! moment) in a real-life situation (we've all had them), or where they discovered they had been on the wrong track, and righted their view, or just didn't see the whole story or problem, and then REALIZED it, and that realization sent them off in a different direction. What was the experience like? What were the circumstances? What made them have the insight? What changed because of it? How does it feel to have such an insight? Part of the "self-esteem" problem (across the board in education) is that such moments of clarity and sometimes-critical judgment AS EXPERIENCED are taken for granted, not reflected on, and not valued by the learner themselves. This judgment is fostered by our sometimes-obsessive assessments environment and by us, the educators, who continue to give the implicit message through our focus on testing, that such learning is really not that important--wink/wink, nod/nod. And yet, these moments are the substantial internal movements, without which, all education is "rote" and meaningless. In my view, it's not that testing and assessments are bad; it's rather that an over-focus on assessments has erased its own substantial center. If we cannot directly test for it, then it must not be important? Catherine King Adjunct Instructor Department of Education National University San Diego, CA ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gabb, Sally S." <Sally.Gabb at bristolcc.edu> To: "The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List" <professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov> Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2008 5:04 AM Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 2313] Re: Critical Thinking and LearnerLeadership Great answer as always Wendy! Since being able to think 'critically' is indeed 'on the test', you have hit the nail on the head (great metaphor or cliché??) Thank - and an important part of 'transition to college' learning as well. Sally Gabb, Developmental Reading, Bristol Community College, Fall River MA -----Original Message----- From: professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Wendy Quinones Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 5:36 PM To: professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 2312] Critical Thinking and Learner Leadership David and all, Anyone who's ever taught a GED class will tell you that English language learners aren't the only ones with opinions about how their classes should be taught -- "Is this going to be on the test?" is the mantra of the GED student. Their assumption is that the GED consists of discrete items that can be taught, and on that basis they want to learn "stuff" rather than the habits of thought that will benefit them both on the test and in future life. How do we challenge that assumption when it is precisely that challenge that a great many GED students want to avoid? In my experience, telling students that the GED is not about content is a lost cause; at least at first, they simply don't believe it. I'm afraid I have taken to abusing my position as an authority figure, and I simply answer "Yes" to that question whenever it's asked, no matter what crazy (to them) thing I'm asking them to do. My reasoning is simple: most haven't had the experience of being in a situation where they are valued as thinkers, so they don't know what that kind of classroom environment looks like. Without that experience, how can they make informed judgments about how they best learn? If telling them that everything in the class will be on the test will open them to new methods that do value their thinking, I will certainly do it. Eventually we do get to practice on GED test items, but by then they have learned that getting the "right" answer (and what is more discouraging to critical thinking than that!?!?!) is more a matter of critical thinking and clear reasoning than of memorizing "stuff." Wendy Quinones ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Adult Literacy Professional Development mailing list professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment Professional Development section of the Adult Literacy Education Wiki http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Adult_Literacy_Professional_Development ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Adult Literacy Professional Development mailing list professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment Professional Development section of the Adult Literacy Education Wiki http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Adult_Literacy_Professional_Development
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