BBC Documentary on Consciousness
Ten Takeaway Tips for Teaching Critical Thinking
Suggestions from educators at KIPP King Collegiate High School on how to help develop and assess critical-thinking skills in your students. Ideally, teaching kids how to think critically becomes an integral part of your approach, no matter what subject you teach. But if you're just getting started, here are some concrete ways you can begin leveraging your students' critical-thinking skills in the classroom and beyond. 1. Questions, questions, questions. Questioning is at the heart of critical thinking, so you want to create an environment where intellectual curiosity is fostered and questions are encouraged. In the beginning stages, you may be doing most of the asking to show your students the types of questions that will lead to higher-level thinking and understanding. 2. Pose a provocative question to build an argument around and help your students break it down. 3. 4. 5. Lively discussions usually involve some degree of differing perspectives. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Using Bibliotherapy with Gifted Children - Unwrapping the Gifted
Hopefully we’ve all had that experience of reading a book that powerfully “spoke” to us, a book whose characters we could relate to, and whose struggles and triumphs we identified with. Taking this experience a step farther is the strategy of bibliotherapy, the process of helping the reader learn about and cope with any social or emotional struggles or developmental needs by identifying with a character in a book who shares a similar struggle or need. The reading is typically followed up by discussion with a trusted adult. Bibliotherapy of course can be done with all students, particularly students who might be experiencing a divorce in the family, a learning disability, adoption, etc. Today I want to talk a bit about using developmental bibliotherapy specifically with gifted students. A fair amount has been written already (see links at the bottom of this post) about what bibliotherapy is and why it's important to do with gifted students. * Who in the book do you identify with and why?
Six Thinking Hats®
Six Hats® ... A Critical and Creative Thinking Process that improves listening, speaking, reading and writing and is fun for ALL! Penn Hills PAGE Presentation " A special thank you to Franny for introducing me to the thinking hats and opening me up to becoming a better teacher by teaching my students to think about thinking." Improve academic performance in reading and writing with SIX THINKING HATS®. think using six strategies problem solve make clear decisions design quality questions self assess collaborate more effectively The Research -- "Develop Critical and Creative Thinking Skills: Put on Six Thinking Hats®," PA Educational Leadership During the workshop the teachers will collaborate to learn the Six Hats® process and apply it to their content areas and standards. Six Thinking Hats® Cards: Key Words, Applications, Standards, and Examples How to Differentiate Instruction Using Six Hats® and 6 Product Choices- PowerPoint Getting Started: How to Teach Six Hats® to Your Students
Beyond Talent and Smarts: Why Even Geniuses Struggle
Big Ideas Culture Teaching Strategies Flickr:Bunchesandbits “The struggle with writing is over.” That message, written on a Post-It note and affixed to his computer, brings the novelist Philip Roth great relief and contentment these days, according to a profile published earlier this week in the New York Times. Fans of Roth’s books—which include Goodbye Columbus, Portnoy’s Complaint, The Human Stain, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning American Pastoral—may be surprised to learn that he regarded writing as a struggle at all. His words flowed so easily on the page, and his books arrived with such frequency in the stores: at times, close to one every year. Americans have a complicated relationship with this kind of relentless striving. psychologists Mahzarin Banaji and Chia-Jung Tsay applied a scientific lens to the phenomenon, gathering a group of professional musicians as subjects. Take it from Philip Roth, who’s spent a lifetime laboring to write perfect sentences. Related
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with reality, existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language.[1][2] Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational argument.[3] In more casual speech, by extension, "philosophy" can refer to "the most basic beliefs, concepts, and attitudes of an individual or group".[4] The word "philosophy" comes from the Ancient Greek φιλοσοφία (philosophia), which literally means "love of wisdom".[5][6][7] The introduction of the terms "philosopher" and "philosophy" has been ascribed to the Greek thinker Pythagoras.[8] Areas of inquiry Philosophy is divided into many sub-fields. These include epistemology, logic, metaphysics, ethics, and aesthetics.[9][10] Some of the major areas of study are considered individually below. Epistemology Rationalism is the emphasis on reasoning as a source of knowledge. Logic
Digital Differentiation
Technology is a tool that can be used to help teachers facilitate learning experiences that address the diverse learning needs of all students and help them develop 21st Century Skills. At it's most basic level, digital tools can be used to help students find, understand and use information. When combined with student-driven learning experiences fueled by Essential Questions offering flexible learning paths, it can be the ticket to success. Here is a closer look at three components of effectively using technology as a tool for digital differentiation. Note: The interactive graphics you see below have been updated. The goal is to design student-driven learning experiences that are fueled by standards-based Essential Questions and facilitated by digital tools to provide students with flexible learning paths. Essential Questions: Student-driven learning experiences should be driven by standards-based Essential Questions. Teacher Facilitated Learning Experiences:
Myths About Giftedness
~ by Mary Rocamora, M.A. ~ There are many myths about the gifted that are held in the mainstream culture. They permeate conventional parenting and our educational system, including private education. The gifted can make it by themselves — they don’t need any extra attention, either as children or as adults. Actually, gifted children and adults need more mirroring and mentoring than most people because there is more inside that is yearning to be lived. Even if you have extraordinary talents, keep your light under a bushel. One should never feel too good about one’s abilities or show them off except when invited or alone. You can be gifted on your own time. After you have done everything you “should” do, you will finally be free to do something meaningful or creative. In the awareness work we offer, the gifted are moved irrevocably away from the obligatory demands of family, friends, being a “good person,” and even our ideas about survival. You can’t earn a living being who you are.
Tomlinson - Differentiation Central