2.4 Higher Order Thinking Skills
Candidates model and facilitate the effective use of digital tools and resources to support and enhance higher order thinking skills (e.g., analyze, evaluate, and create); processes (e.g., problem-solving, decision-making); and mental habits of mind (e.g., critical thinking, creative thinking, metacognition, self-regulation, and reflection).
Candidates model and facilitate the effective use of digital tools and resources to support and enhance higher order thinking skills (e.g., analyze, evaluate, and create); processes (e.g., problem-solving, decision-making); and mental habits of mind (e.g., critical thinking, creative thinking, metacognition, self-regulation, and reflection).
Artifact - Lesson Plan Project
The artifact I chose for Standard 2.4 is the lesson plan project I completed during the spring of 2014, in ITEC 7430, Internet Tools for the Classroom. The artifact required me to create a lesson plan which incorporated 3 or more digital tools that enhanced higher order thinking skills, processes, and habits of mind. I collaborated with a 12th grade English teacher to integrate four Web 2.0 tools into a unit about the life of William Shakespeare. Students working in groups were required to contribute to a timeline, create a Prezi incorporating a visual metaphor, design a brochure on their chapters to share with their classmates, create a 5-question quiz on their presentation, and conclude with an individual reflection on their own work and that of their group members.
This lesson illustrated how I am able to model and facilitate the use of online tools to engage students in higher order thinking skills. Bloom's Taxonomy of Higher Order Thinking Skills were all addressed in this lesson. Each group of students read one chapter of Bill Bryson's biography of William Shakespeare called Shakespeare: the World as Stage, and was assigned the task of teaching that chapter to the rest of the class. Students were required to remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create while completing 4 assignments using Timetoast, Prezi, Microsoft Word, Screencast-o-matic, and Wikispaces. Students worked in groups which required them to engage in problem-solving and decision-making together. They had to create a visual metaphor using Prezi which required critical and creative thinking. In the end, they reflected on their learning by creating a screencast self-evaluation/reflection on the project using Screencast-o-matic. Self-regulation was a big part of the project. The majority of students worked hard, mastered the material and technology, and gave great oral presentations. The teacher noted a huge improvement in the quality of the students' Prezi presentations as a result of the tutorials I conducted beforehand that illustrated how to create a visual metaphor.
Through this artifact, I learned how to lead as a technology coach, building partnerships and co-planning technology-rich lessons that engage students and challenge them with higher order thinking tasks. If I could improve on the project, I would eliminate the Timetoast element as it was visually confusing and would allow more time for the self-reflections as we had to rush the students to finish these in the end.
The work on this artifact impacted school improvement by incorporating technology into teaching and learning, an area that was identified as needing improvement during our last review. It impacted faculty development through collaboration and the adoption of innovative strategies for incorporating technology into instruction. It impacted student learning by challenging students to develop their higher order thinking skills through evaluation, analysis, and creativity; to engage in problem-solving and decision-making; and to strengthen mental habits of mind through critical thinking, self-regulation, and reflection.
The artifact I chose for Standard 2.4 is the lesson plan project I completed during the spring of 2014, in ITEC 7430, Internet Tools for the Classroom. The artifact required me to create a lesson plan which incorporated 3 or more digital tools that enhanced higher order thinking skills, processes, and habits of mind. I collaborated with a 12th grade English teacher to integrate four Web 2.0 tools into a unit about the life of William Shakespeare. Students working in groups were required to contribute to a timeline, create a Prezi incorporating a visual metaphor, design a brochure on their chapters to share with their classmates, create a 5-question quiz on their presentation, and conclude with an individual reflection on their own work and that of their group members.
This lesson illustrated how I am able to model and facilitate the use of online tools to engage students in higher order thinking skills. Bloom's Taxonomy of Higher Order Thinking Skills were all addressed in this lesson. Each group of students read one chapter of Bill Bryson's biography of William Shakespeare called Shakespeare: the World as Stage, and was assigned the task of teaching that chapter to the rest of the class. Students were required to remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create while completing 4 assignments using Timetoast, Prezi, Microsoft Word, Screencast-o-matic, and Wikispaces. Students worked in groups which required them to engage in problem-solving and decision-making together. They had to create a visual metaphor using Prezi which required critical and creative thinking. In the end, they reflected on their learning by creating a screencast self-evaluation/reflection on the project using Screencast-o-matic. Self-regulation was a big part of the project. The majority of students worked hard, mastered the material and technology, and gave great oral presentations. The teacher noted a huge improvement in the quality of the students' Prezi presentations as a result of the tutorials I conducted beforehand that illustrated how to create a visual metaphor.
Through this artifact, I learned how to lead as a technology coach, building partnerships and co-planning technology-rich lessons that engage students and challenge them with higher order thinking tasks. If I could improve on the project, I would eliminate the Timetoast element as it was visually confusing and would allow more time for the self-reflections as we had to rush the students to finish these in the end.
The work on this artifact impacted school improvement by incorporating technology into teaching and learning, an area that was identified as needing improvement during our last review. It impacted faculty development through collaboration and the adoption of innovative strategies for incorporating technology into instruction. It impacted student learning by challenging students to develop their higher order thinking skills through evaluation, analysis, and creativity; to engage in problem-solving and decision-making; and to strengthen mental habits of mind through critical thinking, self-regulation, and reflection.