As educators and parents, we know our children will need critical thinking skills in order to be successful in college and career. It's not enough anymore for our children to be able to acquire and retain information -- they need to be able to think critically about that information, challenge it, apply it, and test it.
It's a good example of how to get students to apply higher thinking skills, as they analyze a text by developing critical questions and engaging in discussion with their peers.
Many of you already use Webb's Depth of Knowledge (DOK) to determine the level of cognitive rigor in your classroom instruction, curriculum & assessments. Activities just like the ones depicted in the video are already at work in PPS classrooms.
The new Smarter Balanced Assessment coming in Spring 2015 will reinforce those higher order thinking skills by focusing mostly on DOK 2 and 3 -- an improvement on OAKS, which primarily assesses students on DOK 1.
By cultivating higher order thinking skills through engaging lessons and authentic classroom-based assessments, we can better prepare our students for success in college and their careers.
Consider sharing this video with your PLC and discussing:
- How do we support our own students in developing critical thinking skills by engaging in academic discourse?
- What supports might we recommend making for emergent bilingual students so they can participate in a discussion like this?
- What are some other classroom-based activities and assessments we can create to support our students' higher-order thinking skills?
- How might we integrate technology within an activity like this?
By the way, thanks once again to all teachers who participated in our CCSS Workshops! It was inspiring to bring teachers and administrators together in this way for professional development, and now we are already looking forward to the August CCSS Best Practices Institute!
Angela Hubbs is an Assistant Director of Instruction, Curriculum, and Assessment in the PPS Office of Teaching and Learning
