Teaching That Spurs Thinking From an article by: Carol Ann Tomlinson ONE TO GROW ON Teaching That Spurs Thinking From an article by: Carol Ann Tomlinson

“From Passive to Probing in Math” Diane, an elementary teacher who loved mathematics Learned that students waited to be shown what they needed to learn to do well on the next test When questioned, students indicated competence in understanding Student performance on the test was disappointing What went wrong?

“From Passive to Probing in Math” Diane asked: “How was it that you thought you understood?” “Where were the gaps?” Diane challenged the students to write down questions they could have asked to get an accurate sense of whether they truly grasped the ideas the unit was exploring. She continued this approach throughout the remainder of the year. The students gradually became “experts” at asking revealing questions of themselves, one another, and their teacher. By year’s end, they were thinking deeply and understanding deeply!

Becoming Thinkers in Science, History, and Art Geri, a middle school history teacher, asked the students to take on the roles of various actors from the time periods they were studying. Students remained in character and talked to each other about common concepts. Students asked to see the concept through “lens” of the other character’s social position or personal persuasion. Initially, the idea was “alien” to students trained to retrieve facts.

Becoming Thinkers in Science, History, and Art In time, students wrote paragraphs reflecting a growing conceptual awareness. By year’s end, students could engage in roundtable conversations inquiring and responding in role.

Becoming Thinkers in Science, History, and Art George, a biology teacher, had his students participate in a semester-long archaeological dig. Students initially puzzled by the thought of digging holes in the school yard. Using clues from a previous year’s class, students struggled to make sense of how this was connected to biology. Soon, they understood the dig to be an analogy for the “process of scientific inquiry”. Students saw themselves as inquirers understanding the process and its power to inform.

Becoming Thinkers in Science, History, and Art Lisa, an art teacher, consistently asked her students… why a particular artist worked in a certain style why that style might change over time why the artist may have chosen to depict a single object over the course of many years, or How a painting might reflect the architecture, music, or dance being done by other artists from the same period The discussion that followed showed how students shifted in their thoughts about their own artwork and its role in making meaning in their world.

“Sharing Bloom’s Taxonomy” Use Bloom’s Taxonomy, new at the time, to really prove they new the deeper meaning and not just how to ask a question. Students became more comfortable in writing more effective and original responses. Understanding a thing in depth = generating an insight about it. Using insight, defending it, explaining it, and how you arrived at it. Students began to think differently!

“Hopeful signs” The “Good Old Days” weren’t perfect, every time has its merits and challenges. Discussions on helping students become better questioners and thinkers rather than maximizing the proficiency in getting the right answers on tests. More educators questioning how their practices could better enliven learning and the young people who engage in it. Read more books that sketch out mind-focusing images of teaching Free to question what learning really means and to question for real learning.

In Conclusion That Aha! Moment. How Can this Be Implemented? Returning to basic techniques of teaching is what is needed to stimulate the young minds of today’s students. How Can this Be Implemented? Reinforce the importance of Bloom’s in questioning Reinforce Critical Thinking and Analysis over memorizing Can This Technique Be Used Across Curriculum Lines? YES! All subjects can benefit from some form of deep questioning techniques and procedures. Use higher order thinking skills.