As I mentioned in a previous post, 21st century fluency hinges on well-developed critical thinking skills. Teachers must teach thinking rather than content. Content is learned in the process of practising critical thinking.
My grade 6 Language and Social Studies students have been exploring the concept of validity, more particularly, how to assess the validity of the information they view.
We have been watching a compelling Discovery Channel documentary, Ice Age Columbus, which explains that the first people to come to North America did not come via the Bering Strait (as we had learned in school), but by boat across the Atlantic during the last Ice Age. The Beringia crossing came much later. The information is current. Bruce Bradley's and Dennis Stanford's paper on this new theory was published in 2004. Our Social Studies textbook on the other hand was published on 1999. It hints at a possible Atlantic crossing, but the primary focus is on Beringia.
Rather than abandon the textbook, we are instead assessing it's validity. We are reading the text to determine which information is no longer valid, which information continues to have some validity and which information has not yet been proven.
The students are not answering low-level questions which would include:
1. What is the Beringia Theory?
2. Where is the Bering Strait?
3. When was the last Ice Age?
4. What are some new possibilities about how people arrived in North America?
This information they absorb indirectly in the process of the critical thinking activity. All of my students can answer those questions in a flash. Instead, students have to evaluate the information they are reading, compare it to what they have learned and then draw conclusions which they have to be able to support. The activity requires careful thinking. Students work in partners and engage in meaningful discussion.
This activity has led to a new question for my class:
GOT A NEW IDEA?
When Galileo introduced a new idea … THEY KILLED HIM!
And finally we will look at Bradley and Stanford's response to Strauss 2006
My students will see a real world application of academic debate.
Thank your Dr. Bradley for the papers!
My grade 6 Language and Social Studies students have been exploring the concept of validity, more particularly, how to assess the validity of the information they view.
We have been watching a compelling Discovery Channel documentary, Ice Age Columbus, which explains that the first people to come to North America did not come via the Bering Strait (as we had learned in school), but by boat across the Atlantic during the last Ice Age. The Beringia crossing came much later. The information is current. Bruce Bradley's and Dennis Stanford's paper on this new theory was published in 2004. Our Social Studies textbook on the other hand was published on 1999. It hints at a possible Atlantic crossing, but the primary focus is on Beringia.
Rather than abandon the textbook, we are instead assessing it's validity. We are reading the text to determine which information is no longer valid, which information continues to have some validity and which information has not yet been proven.
The students are not answering low-level questions which would include:
1. What is the Beringia Theory?
2. Where is the Bering Strait?
3. When was the last Ice Age?
4. What are some new possibilities about how people arrived in North America?
This information they absorb indirectly in the process of the critical thinking activity. All of my students can answer those questions in a flash. Instead, students have to evaluate the information they are reading, compare it to what they have learned and then draw conclusions which they have to be able to support. The activity requires careful thinking. Students work in partners and engage in meaningful discussion.
This activity has led to a new question for my class:
GOT A NEW IDEA?
How do new ideas become accepted?
We will be examining Bradley and Stanford's 2004 paper.
We will examine the rebuttal from Strauss et. all 2005And finally we will look at Bradley and Stanford's response to Strauss 2006
My students will see a real world application of academic debate.
Thank your Dr. Bradley for the papers!
This is a fantastic way to teach. I do something similar with my students. Keep up the great work.
ReplyDeleteHi Tiger Teacher,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. It certainly makes the process more engaging for everyone (including us!) when learning is approached in this way. :)