The Enhancing Education Through Technology Grant

1. The Enhancing Education Through Technology Grant • ½ Day Training #1: Critical Thinking & Reasoning This program is supported by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Education under Title II, Part D of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (NCLB) - Enhancing Education Through Technology to the Colorado Department of Education.

2. Guiding Principle/Mantra • It’s NEVER about the TOOL - it’s about YOUR curriculum! • Pick the tool to match the curriculum NOT the curriculum to match the tool.

3. Norms How will we work together… • Honor everyone’s time • Listen to learn and apply to your context • Balance participation and share airspace • Practice tools, strategies and protocols • Paraphrase, probe, pause • Suspend judgment • Respect confidentiality • Commit to practice and follow-through • Self advocate • Avoid technological distractions

4. Project Goals

5. Learning Target • Teachers will understand the importance of Critical Thinking & Reasoning as a 21st Century skill, where it exists in the framework and standards, and tools which can help us and our students. Criteria for Success • Teachers will be able to: • identify where and how Critical Thinking & Reasoning fits into their specific content area standards and curriculum. • effectively use blogs as a tool for Critical Thinking & Reasoning. • create a new blog or modify an existing blog and post an entry.

6. What do you hope to learn today?What are you going to do to make sure you get there? Entrance Ticket: on the note card provided, write your name and answer to these questions.

7. Agenda – the activities that will guide us to the learning target • Welcome • 21st Century Framework and Standards • Critical Thinking and Reasoning • Differentiated Blogging Tools Activity • Flex Activity: MicroBlogging • Book Study (reflection and closure)

8. Hook/Anchor activity • Read and reply to this blog post: • http://mrrussell.com/blog/?p=64 • (link is posted on ecott.wikispaces.com on the Critical Thinking page)

9. “If you place in a bottle half a dozen bees and the same number of flies, and lay the bottle horizontally, with its base (the closed end) to the window, you will find that the bees will persist, till they die of exhaustion or hunger, in their endeavor to discover an opening through the glass; while the flies, in less than two minutes, will all have sallied forth through the neck on the opposite side. … It is the bees’ love of flight, it is their very intelligence, that is their undoing in this experiment. They evidently imagine that the issue from every prison must be where the light shines clearest; and they act in accordance, and persist in too-logical action.” (Peters and Waterman, 1988)

10. 21st Century Framework - Essential Questions • How is the teacher in the classroom using/modeling technology to motivate and engage her students? • What opportunities do those students have to practice 21st century skills as part of the curriculum of that classroom?

11. 21st Century Framework - Overview • Why these skills are so important. • What is the framework for 21st century skills? • What can districts do to target these skills?

12. Why are these skills important? 5 new contexts in our New Global Economy

13. The requirements of the workforce are changing. What knowledge and skills are most important for job success when hiring a high school graduate? SOURCE: “ARE THEY READY TO WORK?” STUDY FROM THE PARTNERSHIP FOR 21ST CENTURY LEARNING

14. The requirements of the workforce are changing. Of the high school students that you recently hired, what were their deficiencies in the most important knowledge and skill areas? SOURCE: “ARE THEY READY TO WORK?” STUDY FROM THE PARTNERSHIP FOR 21ST CENTURY LEARNING

15. The requirements of the workforce are changing. What skills and content areas will be growing in importance in the next five years? SOURCE: “ARE THEY READY TO WORK?” STUDY FROM THE PARTNERSHIP FOR 21ST CENTURY LEARNING

16. 21st Century Framework - Overview • Why these skills are so important. • What is the framework for 21st century skills? • What can districts do to target these skills?

17. Information, Media & Technology Skills • Information Literacy • Media Literacy • ICT (Information, Communications & Technology) Literacy 21st Century Themes - Global Awareness - Financial, Economic, Business & Entrepreneurship Literacy - Civic Literacy - Health Literacy • Life & Career Skills • Flexibility & Adaptability • Initiative & Self-Direction • Social & Cross-Cultural Skills • Productivity & Accountability • Leadership & Responsibility • Learning & Innovation Skills • Critical Thinking & Problem Solving • Creativity & Innovation • Communication & Collaboration http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/

18. 21st Century Framework - Overview • Why these skills are so important? • What is the framework for 21st century skills? • What can districts do to target these skills?

19. What can districts do to target these skills? • Focus on 21st century outcomes. What skills should our kids have when they leave our schools? • Be “purposeful and intentional” about teaching and assessing these 21st century skills. • Align educational support systems to produce 21st century outcomes. • Focus on Professional Development

20. What can districts do to target these skills? continued ... • Be sure you have a broad range of assessments (formative and summative) that measure true 21st century skills. • Align education, workforce development, and economic development. • Focus on the importance of partnerships (after school, youth development, business community, parents, etc.).

21. 21st Century Framework - Conclusion • Are our students information and technology literate? • Are our students flexible and adaptable? • Are our students innovative? • Are our students effective communicators?

22. 21st Century Framework - Conclusion • Are our students critical thinkers and problem solvers? • Are our students globally aware? • Are our students self-directed? • Are our students good collaborators?

23. ECS 21st Century Skills

24. “Critical thinking is the ability to engage in reflective and independent thinking, and being able to think clearly and rationally. Critical thinking does not mean being argumentative or being critical of others. Although critical thinking skills can be used in exposing fallacies and bad reasoning, they can also be used to support other viewpoints, and to cooperate with others in solving problems and acquiring knowledge.” -Dr. Joe Lau

25. Colorado Academic Standards • 21st Century Skills and Abilities • 21st Century Skills and Readiness Competencies • Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness

26. Take a closer look at where Critical Thinking & Reasoning fits in your content area • CDE - Colorado Academic Standards

27. After a short break, we will Deepen your understanding

28. Tools for Critical Thinking and Reasoning • Blogs • Microblogging

30. Why use a blog as a professional? • Karl Fisch: http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/ • Mashable: http://mashable.com/ • Huffington Post: http:/www.huffingtonpost.com/ • The Beastie Boys: http://beastieboys.com/ • Seth Goden: http://www.sethgodin.com • Mario Lavandeira: http://perezhilton.com/ • LaureenBlickenstaff: http://www.mrsblick2009.blogspot.com/

32. Why use a blog in the classroom? • Becky Pitman: http://gcms8tech.edublogs.org/ • Abbey Sonnenberg: http://mssonnenberg.blogspot.com/ • Annette Fritsche: http://gcmsband.edublogs.org/

34. One more because it is SO DAMN CUTE! • Kimberly Biniecki: http://baizley.blogspot.com/

35. Let’s blog

36. Exit Ticket