Thinking Cooperatively
by Myki Williamson, Professional Learning Specialist

Standard #4: Teaching for Critical Thinking
Quality Indicator:3: Cooperative Learning
 

Cooperative Learning is an excellent way to reinforce the 3 C’s (Collaborate, Communicate, and Critically Think) while also teaching required content. No matter the grade level you teach, selecting an appropriate structure can engage your students in all three capabilities.  As Spencer Kagan (2009) notes, “We want both critical and creative thinking to become habits of mind in our students. We use critical thinking as we reflect on ideas….and creative thinking as we generate ideas” (p. 6.18).

The advantage of using Cooperative Learning to instill these habits of mind is the filter of P.I.E.S. in each structure.  As we support all students in becoming critical and creative thinkers, Positive Interdependence, Individual Accountability, Equal Participation, and Simultaneous Interaction ensure active participation from all our students. When teachers create a classroom culture based on cooperation and collaboration, students feel safe to share their creativity and thinking with each other, and the results last a lifetime.  After all, “Lessons are one-time events, but any skill not repeatedly practiced does not become a habit of mind.  Changing how we teach actually results in better acquisition of…any thinking skill than does changing what we teach” (Kagan, 2009, p. 6.18). 

So, as you consider ways to engage your students in all of the capabilities simultaneously, what structures might you choose this week to help develop these habits of mind? Here are a few ideas from your Cooperative Learning text to get you started:

Critical Thinking

• Analyzing:  Match Mine (6.28), Same-Different (10.23-10.25)
• Deducing: Timed-Pair-Share (6.38), Inside-Outside Circle(6.27), Numbered Heads Together (6.30)
• Problem Solving:  RallyCoach (6.32), Jigsaw Problem solving (17.5)

Creative Thinking

• Brainstorming: Jot Thoughts (6.28)
• Questioning: Fan-N-Pick (6.25), Team Interview (10.8)
• Symbolizing: Formations (9.5, 9.16, , Think-Draw-RoundRobin (variation of 6.33)
• Synthesizing: RoundRobin(6.33), Team Projects (Chapter 13), Team Statements (10.36) 

Kagan, S., & Kagan, M. (2009). Kagan cooperative learning. San Clemente, CA: Kagan Publishing.

Questions to Engage
by Curtis Cunningham, Professional Learning Specialist

Standard #4: Critical Thinking

Quality Indicator #1: Instructional strategies leading to student engagement in problem solving and critical thinking.

Questions are such a powerful tool. One question can rattle around in your head for days and help you see the world in a completely different light. Another question can make you ashamed and leave you feeling unworthy. Still another question can irritate you, sending you into an orbit of frustration.

Questions are a funny thing, and they can have a profound impact on our work as educators. However, questioning is not a natural approach to teaching. Our inclination is to tell our students the information they should learn rather than asking questions that will encourage them to discover the information for themselves. While the former approach might be more efficient, the latter approach will have more lasting effects (Hattie, 2012) provided that the questions are targeting higher levels of thinking.

As teachers, our challenge is to use questioning to ignite student curiosity and to compel them to engage in meaningful inquiry. “Successful inquiry leads us to ‘see’ and ‘grasp’ and ‘make sense’ of things that were initially puzzling, murky or fragmented; thus questioning is meant to culminate in new and more revealing meaning” (McTighe and Wiggins, 2013). Effective questioning that encourages inquiry will oftentimes lead to more questions. When we use questioning as McTighe and Wiggins suggest, we see a continuous cycle of inquiry, questions, discovery, questions, and further inquiry. Students will naturally be engaged in this cycle of learning.

It might be worth exploring your students’ perception of your questions compared with your own. A strategically placed video camera or voice recorder might allow for some analysis and reflection on the number and nature of the questions you ask (Prensky, 2010). As you consider embarking on this analysis, you might consider the four types of questions described by McTighe and Wiggins (2013):

Questions that hook are designed to pique the interest of students and are typically delivered in kid-friendly language.

Questions that lead typically have one right answer and support students in recalling information.

Questions that guide are typically open-ended and might be asked throughout a unit of study to encourage further exploration of the topic.

Finally, essential questions spark discussion and debate, and often generate more questions. 

Asking questions is simple enough; however, asking questions that will propel our students toward their learning goal is quite challenging. For more information on the topic of questioning you might be interested in the Questioning module located in Glass Classroom.

I leave you with this question: How will your students benefit from your use of questions? 

 

Hattie, J. (2012). Visible learning for teachers: Maximizing impact on learning. New York, NY: Routledge.

McTighe, J., & Wiggins, G. (2013). Essential questions: Opening doors to student understanding. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Prensky, M. (2010). Teaching digital natives: Partnering for real learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.