Building Resilient people Through Critical and creative Thinking Ann Scott Hanks hanks@fultonschools.org CreekView ES Parents April 27, 2016 Building Resilient people Through Critical and creative Thinking

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At the end of this book, Readers should be able to: Recognize how a student’s approach to learning is influenced by verbal communication with adults. Recognize that thoughtful and intentional adult interaction stimulates children to explore, initiate and problem solve. Be aware of communication methods that inspire children to be self-directed, self- disciplined, and responsive to learning. Identify activities that help children handle situations that may interfere with their learning.

What is learning? “a cognitive development process in which individuals actively construct systems of meaning and understanding of reality through their interactions and experiences with their environments” (LT Schoen, 2008)

What is creativity? Creativity is: What you do when confronted with a problem for which you have no learned or practiced solution. It’s an ability, an attitude, and a process. Can I teach you to “be creative”? Probably not. But I CAN teach you the steps and types of creative thinking. Creativity is NOT limited to the fine arts. Creativity is what is used to design a science experiment, to prove a math theorem, to write a lesson/presentation, build a company, etc.

What is resilience? “the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness” So, why do resilience and critical/creative thinking go hand in hand? Teaching students how to problem-solve is the best way to show them how to challenge themselves and to feel personally rewarded by success.

An educated Person Past: know lots of facts Present: problem-solve for the future Why? access to information via the internet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v =cL9Wu2kWwSY

21st-Century Skills

Framework: “inquiry learning” starts by posing questions, problems or scenarios, rather than presenting established facts or portraying a smooth path to knowledge is a process with a facilitator encourages the student to try to learn even more

mindset matters Fixed mindset vs growth mindset Fixed = Intelligence is static Growth = Intelligence can be developed Growth mindset leads to increased achievement, motivation, self-concept Praise process not intelligence Praise what students can control https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWv1VdDeoRY

NELC Principals THINK TANK 2014: The process of learning is as important as the content. Students learn from successes and lack of successes during the course of the learning. Students ask the questions. Students evaluate their own work. Learning is more important than grade. Quality of thinking (not quantity of thinking). Teacher is part of the “classroom team”—not the “evaluator”. Responsibility for learning is on the student (not the teacher).

Should the adult be the…? guide on the side (coach) or sage on the stage (owner of information)

Is the activity…? hands-on or minds-on (consume knowledge) (create meaning)

Strategy: Asking insightful Questions Why…? What does this make me think of? What would happen if…? I wonder…? I’m asking myself…? If…? What could happen…? If it were possible…? What would it take to…? Why is it that…? Is it possible to…? How could it…?

Reminders Good questions are not leading questions (in form or in voice) Children should be doing more thinking/answering than the adult It’s ok to help children answer the question after giving wait time “You are on the right track”

Strategy: summarizing Reflections What are the most important facts you learned? What learning skills did we use? Relationships How are two things similar? Different? Connected? Related? Variations What are research questions about this topic? What don’t we know yet?

Strategy: Encourage self-evaluation What do you really understand about…? What questions do you have about…? What was most/least effective in…? How could you improve…? What would you do differently next time? What are you most proud of? What areas do you need to improve? How has what you’ve learned changed your thinking? What follow-up work is needed?

STRATEGY: Encourage independence

Where do I start? What will make the biggest impact quickly? Adult talk less/Adult do less Children talk more/Children do more Wait time Why?...Because… “Miss Hanks’ favorite word is BECAUSE.” Each response should include EVIDENCE (what the response is BASED ON; it’s the second part of a student’s response that is important.) (My second favorite word is “WHY”.)

HTT: chapters 1+2 Topics: feelings that interfere with learning inviting students to cooperate

HTT: Chapters 3+4 Topics: pitfalls of punishment engaging student’s creativity and commitment through problem-solving

HTT: Chapters 5+6 Topics: praise and criticism students’ roles Adults tend to label children based on their actions and personality. Children need to be seen as learners and “encouraged to experience the joy of intellectual discovery and satisfaction of making progress”. Instead of labeling, we, as adults, should be freeing children from playing a certain role.

Another excellent resource for how to talk

Resources: Mindset; Love and Logic https://www.mindsetkit.org/ http://mindsetonline.com/whatisit/ab out/index.html http://www.fabermazlish.com/ https://www.loveandlogic.com

Resources from miss hanks http://oceetag.weebly.com/ Instruction (3 tabs: for background info) Enrichment (5 tabs: for activities) http://oceesteamlab.weebly.com/resour ces.html http://oceepta.org/how-to-teach-your- child-creative-thinking-at-home/

4/7/2019 In regard to helping build resilient people through critical and creative problem-solving, identify… Something I learned that Squares with my beliefs SHAPELY DEBRIEF Something I learned that Squares with my beliefs Something I learned that Squares with my beliefs Something I learned that Squares with my beliefs A question going AROUND in my mind. Three important POINTS to remember Three important POINTS to remember Three important POINTS to remember