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). (PSC 2.4/ISTE 2d)
Artifact: Internet Lesson Plan
Reflection:
The Internet Lesson Plan was designed for ITEC 7430 Internet Tools in the Classroom and implemented in my AP English Literature and Composition class. Students used several tools to support their efforts through the entire writing process. Students used Padlet to brainstorm both individually and collaboratively, shared thesis statements through blogging, and drafted, edited and revised their essays using Google Docs. The final written composition compared August Wilson’s play Fences to Earnest Gaines’ novel A Lesson Before Dying, both of which explore the role of African American men during the pre-civil rights era.
The Internet lesson is aligned to content and technology standards, contains objectives, essential questions, tools for assessment and a daily instructional plan, and offers suggestions for differentiation. The lesson was successfully facilitated using specific digital tools, including Padlet, blogging, and Google Docs, though other tools could easily be supplemented. The lesson plan is a strong model of using technology to enhance a common classroom assignment and demonstrates my ability to facilitate multiple digital tools during such a lesson.
Similarly, the digital tools helped students to engage in higher order thinking skills, processes, and mental habits of mind. Students engaged in analysis, synthesis, and evaluation, all skills on the higher end of Bloom’s taxonomy. Students were not given specific topics, but asked to develop their own topics through analysis of quotations, characters, and specific scenes; they also had to weave together quotations and examples from each text in order to support a multi-point thesis statement that synthesized both texts. Finally, students critically evaluated the work of their peers at least twice, through blogging and then Google Docs. Students had to grapple with the texts both individually and collaboratively, and display confidence in their thesis statements and supporting evidence before presenting them to peers. Recognizing supporting arguments and counterarguments are important mindsets of critical thinkers.
After reflecting on this artifact, I would make some changes concerning the use of digital tools. Specifically, I found that the Padlet students used for brainstorming individually and collaboratively quickly became too full to use for drafting and locating supporting evidence. Therefore, I would suggest that students create two Padlets—one collaborative and the other individual. Students could share ideas on the collaborative Padlet and then copy or add the information necessary for their own specific thesis statements to the individual Padlet. Clearing away some irrelevant or unneeded information may have helped students focus more on developing a tight argument without extraneous information.
The Internet Lesson plan influenced student learning by using digital tools to scaffold the writing process, from brainstorming to final draft. The lesson was implemented with AP students who tend to be stronger writers than those in regular or remedial courses; still, some of these students struggle when the topic is complex, such as considering two full-length texts. The scores on the final composition were higher than those of previous compositions, suggesting that the Internet tools were influential in improving student learning outcomes.
The Internet Lesson Plan was designed for ITEC 7430 Internet Tools in the Classroom and implemented in my AP English Literature and Composition class. Students used several tools to support their efforts through the entire writing process. Students used Padlet to brainstorm both individually and collaboratively, shared thesis statements through blogging, and drafted, edited and revised their essays using Google Docs. The final written composition compared August Wilson’s play Fences to Earnest Gaines’ novel A Lesson Before Dying, both of which explore the role of African American men during the pre-civil rights era.
The Internet lesson is aligned to content and technology standards, contains objectives, essential questions, tools for assessment and a daily instructional plan, and offers suggestions for differentiation. The lesson was successfully facilitated using specific digital tools, including Padlet, blogging, and Google Docs, though other tools could easily be supplemented. The lesson plan is a strong model of using technology to enhance a common classroom assignment and demonstrates my ability to facilitate multiple digital tools during such a lesson.
Similarly, the digital tools helped students to engage in higher order thinking skills, processes, and mental habits of mind. Students engaged in analysis, synthesis, and evaluation, all skills on the higher end of Bloom’s taxonomy. Students were not given specific topics, but asked to develop their own topics through analysis of quotations, characters, and specific scenes; they also had to weave together quotations and examples from each text in order to support a multi-point thesis statement that synthesized both texts. Finally, students critically evaluated the work of their peers at least twice, through blogging and then Google Docs. Students had to grapple with the texts both individually and collaboratively, and display confidence in their thesis statements and supporting evidence before presenting them to peers. Recognizing supporting arguments and counterarguments are important mindsets of critical thinkers.
After reflecting on this artifact, I would make some changes concerning the use of digital tools. Specifically, I found that the Padlet students used for brainstorming individually and collaboratively quickly became too full to use for drafting and locating supporting evidence. Therefore, I would suggest that students create two Padlets—one collaborative and the other individual. Students could share ideas on the collaborative Padlet and then copy or add the information necessary for their own specific thesis statements to the individual Padlet. Clearing away some irrelevant or unneeded information may have helped students focus more on developing a tight argument without extraneous information.
The Internet Lesson plan influenced student learning by using digital tools to scaffold the writing process, from brainstorming to final draft. The lesson was implemented with AP students who tend to be stronger writers than those in regular or remedial courses; still, some of these students struggle when the topic is complex, such as considering two full-length texts. The scores on the final composition were higher than those of previous compositions, suggesting that the Internet tools were influential in improving student learning outcomes.