Engendering Critical Thinking with Reflective and Self-Evaluative Web Board Experiences

1. 1999 Engendering Critical Thinking with Reflective and Self-Evaluative Web Board Experiences • Brad Sullivan (English) • Nora Egan Demers (Biology) • College of Arts & Sciences, Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers, FL

2. 1999 What is Web Board Software?

3. 1999 Why do we use Web Board? • Provides a “path” to FGCU’s Student Learning Outcomes • Provides an “Added Dimension” of student participation • Stimulates critical thinking, reflection, and self-evaluation

4. 1999 A “Path” to the FGCU Student Learning Outcomes • Technological literacy • Effective communication • Problem solving abilities (critical thinking) • Diverse perspectives • Information literacy

5. 1999 An “Added Dimension” in Face-to-Face Classes • Enhances “distributed” learning • Allows asynchronous discussions • Provides time for reflection • Addresses different learning and communication styles

6. 1999 Critical Thinking and Reflection: Web Board Responses to Reading • The Concept: Dialectic Reading Journals • The Assignment: Reactions and Reflective Entries

7. 1999 Critical Thinking and Reflection: Web Board Responses to Reading • The Benefits: • Proactively replaces reading quizzes • Draws out students who are not “quick on the draw” • Generates and extends in-class discussions of texts • Extends learning encounters outside the classroom

8. 1999 Critical Thinking and Reflection: Web Board Responses to Reading • The Benefits: • Enables advanced students to model, and struggling students to encounter models of thoughtful reaction and analysis • Provides a shared "idea pool" for students working on critical essays • Introduces students to computer technology in a collaborative and non-threatening endeavor.

9. 1999 Self-Evaluation: Web Board Experiences for Incoming Students • The Concept • The Assignment • The Benefits

10. 1999 Web Board “Warnings” • It must be an expected/required component of the course to work • Explicit expectations and requirements are crucial • Students need training to use the software effectively

11. 1999 Benefits of Web Board Experiences • Stress on learning, not “correctness” • Non-confrontational structure for reflection, analysis, and self-assessment • Class history or “history of ideas” • Community of shared inquiry

12. 1999 Questions?