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Teaching
FOR Thinking--Teachers
create learning environments that encourage active learning and
promote higher-order thinking
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a.
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Focus
on the higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy when asking questions
(i.e., analysis, synthesis, evaluation).
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b.
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Use
a variety of question types (e.g., analytical, evaluative,
interpretive).
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c.
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Incorporate
writing into all classrooms.
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d.
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Use
brainstorming to generate ideas.
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e.
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Incorporate
a variety of cooperative learning structures.
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f.
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Enliven
lectures using a Three-Minute Pause.
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g.
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Incorporate
inductive and inquiry-based approaches to learning.
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h.
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Additional
strategies for extending student thinking include:
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Cue
student responses.
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Remember
Wait Time I and II.
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Use
think-pair-share strategies.
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Ask
follow-up questions and related probes.
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Withhold
judgment during key sections of discussions.
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Ask
for summaries to promote active listening.
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Use
class surveys to determine opinions and check for
understanding.
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Allow
for student calling.
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Ask
students to defend their positions.
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Ask
students to unpack their thinking, (i.e.,
pre-determine the possible thinking skills, processes, and
strategies they might use during a lesson or unit).
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Call
on students randomly.
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Encourage
student questioning.
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Teaching
OF Thinking--Teachers
directly teach thinking skills and processes
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a.
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Introduce
a skill or process by modeling it.
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b.
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Provide
individually or in cooperation with teachers in other
disciplines opportunities for students to apply this
skill or process in new or novel situations.
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c.
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Incorporate
the following strategies into the direct teaching of
thinking skills and processes:
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Define
the skill and/or process for students.
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Have
students explore the use of the skill/process .
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Identify
the steps or components involved in applying the skill or
process.
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Provide
flow charts and other graphic organizers to articulate the
key steps and components.
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Provide
students with opportunities to practice the skill or
process.
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Link
the skill or content to the content of the discipline(s)
being studied.
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Plan
for transfer: provide opportunities to use the skill in new
contexts while providing scaffolding/bridging strategies and
support.
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Allow
students to reflect upon their understanding and use of the
skill or process.
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Teaching
ABOUT Thinking--Teachers
promote metacognitive reflection and self-evaluation
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a.
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Model
the thinking skill or process for students.
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b.
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Use
a variety of writing tools to reinforce students'
understanding of and reflection upon key skills and
processes:
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Think
Logs
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Reflective
Journals
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Learning
Logs
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c.
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Use
de Bono's O-P-V technique (requiring students to defend the
opposite point of view about an issue than the one they
personally espouse).
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d.
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Use
the I-Search paper to introduce or reinforce students'
research skills: i.e., have students investigate a research
question in which they are interested; they then write a
narrative about how they constructed their answer to this
research question.
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e.
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Coach
students in the use of self-cueing strategies.
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f.
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Use
think-aloud's to reinforce students' understanding of key
elements and steps in a thinking operation or process.
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g.
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Allow
for process reflection to occur, with students verbally
expressing their perceptions, responses to, and evaluation of
a particular activity or process.
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h.
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Encourage
paired problem solving.
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