How Critical is Critical Thinking?

If you are not sure that you need to find more ways to teach critical thinking in your classes, you should read this article from University World News.

I have also been reading about information literacy for a workshop I’ll be attending after Spring Break. My goal for that workshop is to find better ways to help my students in ancient world topics (like the Athens game in the FYS) find material, research, and sort through the tons of information out there.

This article and the reading I’ve been doing indicate that students are tuning out some of the information because there is so much of it. Instead of sifting through it – assessing and evaluating sound argument from ungrounded reasoning – they ignore all the but the easiest sounds bytes.

The conclusion of this article states: “In summary, despite the tremendous educational potential of the information age, students seem to be less prepared to critically evaluate information or determine and defend what they believe. Colleges and universities need to find ways to leverage this resource to create the kind of learning demanded by our changing times.”

If you agree that this is so, then we have to find ways to help our students navigate this vast sea of information!

Does your Teaching Need a Jolt?

Harvard recently held a conference hoping to “jolt” college-level teaching in light of new research on how people learn.

The Chronicle has a piece on it (with comments from readers). Read it here.

Have you “jolted” your teaching? If so, how? Share some suggestions here!

Thanks to Debbi Johnson-Ross for this suggestion for the Blog.

GM

New Book in the CFE

Thanks to our friends in the Instructional Technology we have a new book in the CFE. Anita Thiernian should be thanked for her role in obtaining the book, How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching. I also ran across an interesting website on teaching sponsored by Carnegie Mellon University (and this book is mentioned).

It has been catalogued and can be checked out of the CFE.

Each chapter discusses a “problem” case study, discusses research issues related to the problem, and offers solutions to each. A variety of disciplines are discussed. One section was about art history, and recorded an issue with a class I am teaching this semester. It was the start of a chapter on “mapping” and creating the organizational structure of our discipline. To so many of us who have been trained in our disciplines, the scaffolding and organizing principles are second nature to us. They are like breath! But to students new to the discipline, the “rules” and structures may appear like King Minos’ maze. The authors discuss the idea of mapping and creating templates with students to help them navigate your course. I have decided to try something similar in my western art history survey course this semester…and of course will chronicle the outcome (good or bad) here!

There are helpful appendices in the book as well. Would love to hear your thoughts about the book if you have time to check it out and read portions of it.

What is Critical Thinking?

Peter Bradley offered up a tweet (click here for one of his tweet links) about critical thinking and a website link to CriticalThinking.net. I’m adding that link here.

We know from our first round of assessment on critical thinking that we need to do better. We did not want to make any grand, sweeping changes to the curriculum being that we just *had* done that, and it was the first round of assessment.

We had a few discussions about critical thinking – what is it? How can we foster it in classes and with our students? How do you teach critical thinking?

I hope you’ll look at these links and offer some comments about what YOU have done in your classes to increase critical thinking in our students. We say we do it; we’d like to have some examples of how it’s working – proof if you will – to back up that statement.

What do you think?

Lecturing in the New Year?

Happy New Year to all!

I ran across an NPR article/story about lecturing and physics. Do the students need us as “sages on the stage” anymore? How do you feel about lecturing? I will admit to having a love-hate relationship with it. I also am ambivalent about lecturing – and yet in some classes I can’t figure out what else to do.

Listen or read the story here from NPR and let’s discuss.

Happy Jan Term to all!

NEH Summer Opportunities

Some great opportunities have been planned by the NEH for summer seminars.

Check out this link about them.

Project applications for most of these are due March 1 and may be particularly suited to research interests. I hope you’ll check them out.

GM

Thanks (post before Thanksgiving)

Thanks to all of you who came out this semester to some of the workshops on Millennials and how we teach them.

If you’re further interested in the topic, you might want to check out this website that includes an article entitled “The Five R’s of Engaging Millennial Students.”

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

GM

Infants (yes – that is right infants) and toddlers and iPads (oh my)

Ok. I will be honest – this story really freaked me out.

Last night on World News with Diane Sawyer there was a report about infants and toddlers using iPads. You can watch the piece and read it here.

Essentially, the students that will be arriving in 10-15 years will have grown up with an iPad or tablet. The story showed a young child who could not even navigate a regular magazine **with pages**; she was trying to move the pages with her hands along the “tablet.”

While we can’t really understand what the students will be like in the next 10 years — we are still coming to terms with what they are like NOW — they will be even more digitally connected than they are now. I wonder if they will ever have read a “real” book. This piece shows toddlers learning to read on their tablets, and not with a “Pat the Bunny” book.

I have an iPad and am still getting used to the whole idea. The last post here was about students who in five years will be arriving who CREATE apps while I am just learning how to use them.

This next generation will be even MORE connected to technology and digital access to information.

That said, I would like to give a plug for two important discussions coming up in November:

Tuesday, November 1 (11:30-12:45): Discussion of the Information Literacy Plan distributed via email by Hoover Library Director Jessame Ferguson. (Details have already been emailed)

and

Tuesday, November 15 (11:30-12:45): the third part of our 3-part series on “Who Are Our Students and How Can We Meaningfully Engage Them?” We will be talking about technology and teaching at this discussion. More details to follow.

What do you think about Infants and Toddlers with iPads?

I’m learning how to use apps…they are creating them.

Yesterday on the CFE Blog I posted an article from Inside Higher Ed that was also circulated to the McDaniel College Faculty email list. The article was talking about how Smith College is examining its traditional model of instruction and mission in light of changing demographics and student expectations.

Then I heard this story on NPR’s All Things Considered as part of their series “All Tech Considered.” You can listen to the story here (3.49 minutes). Or, you can read a transcript of the story here. It highlights, among other trends, a 13 year-old who has been hired by a school to create apps for iPads, iPhones, and other hardware.

I just recently received an iPad through the IT department and found an “app” that will allow me to show my classes works of art of art from various and world-wide museums. I hope to use that soon. So, I am learning how to use apps for the first time.

But this story struck me in light of the Inside Higher Ed story. These students – 13 years old now – will be entering college in FIVE YEARS. I am just learning about apps now. They are CREATING them.

I think the world HAS shifted. I firmly believe that the liberal arts and sciences are the way by which we need to teach reading, thinking, speaking — all the things that we need in our future society and that students will need for their future lives and careers. But I also think that we have to start thinking about new ways to deliver that curriculum to students.

They are going to be expecting it. They are not going to wait around forever for me to learn an app. It might be the one that they created.

If Smith is starting to worry…

Today on the faculty list email list I circulated a link to this story that appeared today (October 10) on InsideHigherEd.com about Smith College re-examining their face to face, traditional residential liberal arts delivery of their curriculum. They wonder how sustainable this traditional model is in light of changing demographics among students, the public perception of higher education (which is not so good), and the expectation for ease of portability and access in many forms (not just living somewhere in a residence hall for four years).

I think we at McDaniel need to start facing some of these shifting and changing realities and make some decisions before we are forced to face some drastic changes. I believe the President when he says that if things don’t change here, we will cease to exist in 10 years time.

I hope we can start to have some conversations that are real, deep, honest and informed so that we can move McDaniel forward. I hope that the faculty will demand it.

Comments? Thoughts?