Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #30 – September 27, 2009
Bloom’s Taxonomy, created by Benjamin Bloom in the 1950’s, presents a way to categorize reasoning skills into six levels students can use for problem solving in the classroom. As the levels progress, each requires a higher level of abstract thinking from the students. In order to create thinkers, teachers shouldn’t be satisfied with students simply able to recall information; they must purposely incorporate the higher levels of questioning into their lesson plans. The six levels, from lowest to highest in Bloom’s Taxonomy are:
Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis and Evaluation..
Knowledge: Questions in this level are asked solely to test whether a student has gained specific information from the lesson. For example, do they know the dates for a particular war or do they know the presidents that served during specific eras in American History. These questions use words like: tell, list, label, name, etc.
Comprehension: This level of questioning has students go past simply recalling facts and instead has them understanding the information. Here, they are able to interpret the facts. Instead of simply being able to name the various types of clouds, students would be able to understand why each cloud has formed in that manner. Questions for this category use words like: describe, contrast, discuss, predict, etc.
Application: These questions require students to actually apply, or use the knowledge they have learned. They might be asked to solve a problem with the information they have gained in class. For example, a student might be asked to solve a legal question in American Government class using the Constitution and its Amendments. As a teacher, you are probably writing application questions when you use words like: complete, solve, examine, illustrate, show, etc.
Analysis: Here, Bloom’s Taxonomy requires students to go beyond knowledge and application and actually see patterns that they can use to analyze a problem. For example, an English teacher might ask what the motives were behind the protagonist’s actions in the novel being read. This requires students to analyze the character and come to a conclusion based on critical thinking and analysis. Such questions use words like: analyze, explain, investigate, infer, etc.
Synthesis: In this category, students must use the given facts to create new theories or make predictions. They may be required to pull in knowledge from multiple subjects and synthesize all the information before coming to a conclusion. For example, if a student is asked to invent a new product or game they are being asked to synthesize. Synthesis questions use words like: invent, imagine, create, compose, etc.
Evaluation: The highest level in Bloom’s Taxonomy is evaluation. At this level students are expected to assess information and come to a conclusion such as its value or the bias behind it. For example, if a student is completing a DBQ (Document Based Question) for an AP US History course, they are expected to evaluate the bias behind any primary or secondary sources in order to see how that affects the points the speaker is making. These questions use words like: select, judge, debate, recommend, etc.
How To Implement Bloom’s Taxonomy
There are many reasons some teachers never move students up the levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Inexperienced teachers might have low expectations regarding their students’ abilities. Sadly, this can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Another reason is the process can become difficult and time consuming for the teacher. Do you know of anything that results in a high quality product that doesn’t take a lot of hard work? The well-planned course curriculum is no different. And yes, it’s much easier to grade true/false and multiple choice tests based on the lower levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy than it is to grade students on work at the upper levels. However, as you move up the levels, you will discover how much more meaningful, and fair it is to the student to evaluate their work using rubrics. Truth be told, it’s more enjoyable for the teacher as well.
Would you like your students to use higher order thinking skills? If so, following Bloom’s Taxonomy can help you pinpoint what you will teach and how you will go about teaching it. Ultimately, it is our mission as teachers to give our students the tools they need to become critical thinkers. Growing their knowledge base and helping children learn to apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate will enable them to succeed in school and beyond. It is truly a gift that will last a lifetime.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
The Art of Questioning
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #29 – September 19, 2009
Angela Maiers states in Classroom Habitudes Lesson: Curiosity-The Right Question, “The ability to ask the right kind of question, at the right time is the hallmark of a truly efficient and successful learner. Like drivers in a car, the right question can plow the road ahead or leave us stuck in a ditch along the side of the highway…I want students to see that each type of question is a tool in their thinking toolbox. A variety of “tools” may be needed to complete a project, and those tools must be chosen carefully.”
Why is questioning so important? Whenever one asks a question we are searching for something and the question is asked to help us find it. Questions open a student’s mind. Perhaps they can be likened to fishing lines, thrown out from the mind. Some questions will bring in small fish, while other, more potent questions will bring in big fish, or thoughts and ideas that can change or add new meaning to a child’s understanding. Enabling a student to ask good questions is one of the most powerful gifts we as teachers can give.
We must remind students there are different types of questions used for different purposes. The two most common types of questioning are broad questioning and focused questioning.
By definition, a broad question has no fixed limits and no fixed answer. It is open-ended and can lead to a number of answers, future changes and even more questions. It also leads to some deep thinking. On the other hand, focused questions require specific answers. These are the questions students will ask to get definitions, facts and data about a topic they are studying.
Focused questions require:
1.-Recalling facts: What is the function of this structure?
2.-Defining terms: What is an [acid, mollusk, quasar, lever, vertex]?
3.-Categorizing: What characteristics do all these elements share?
4.-Confirming: Do I remember seeing this before?
So how can we help students ask the best, most effective questions; the ones that will pull in the really big fish? Here are some ideas and suggestions received from teachers:
Angela Maiers states in Classroom Habitudes Lesson: Curiosity-The Right Question, “The ability to ask the right kind of question, at the right time is the hallmark of a truly efficient and successful learner. Like drivers in a car, the right question can plow the road ahead or leave us stuck in a ditch along the side of the highway…I want students to see that each type of question is a tool in their thinking toolbox. A variety of “tools” may be needed to complete a project, and those tools must be chosen carefully.”
Why is questioning so important? Whenever one asks a question we are searching for something and the question is asked to help us find it. Questions open a student’s mind. Perhaps they can be likened to fishing lines, thrown out from the mind. Some questions will bring in small fish, while other, more potent questions will bring in big fish, or thoughts and ideas that can change or add new meaning to a child’s understanding. Enabling a student to ask good questions is one of the most powerful gifts we as teachers can give.
We must remind students there are different types of questions used for different purposes. The two most common types of questioning are broad questioning and focused questioning.
By definition, a broad question has no fixed limits and no fixed answer. It is open-ended and can lead to a number of answers, future changes and even more questions. It also leads to some deep thinking. On the other hand, focused questions require specific answers. These are the questions students will ask to get definitions, facts and data about a topic they are studying.
Broad versus Focused Questions
(The examples for both types of questioning are taken from the context of a science class).
Broad questions require:
1.-Open-ended answers: How are these two concepts connected?
2.-Evaluation: How would I interpret these results?
3.-Prediction: What will happen if I increase the amount of this substance? What do I think the outcome of the next part of the lab will be?
4.-Forming opinions: Do I think we tested this theory the best way? What is another way I could have done it?
Focused questions require:
1.-Recalling facts: What is the function of this structure?
2.-Defining terms: What is an [acid, mollusk, quasar, lever, vertex]?
3.-Categorizing: What characteristics do all these elements share?
4.-Confirming: Do I remember seeing this before?
So how can we help students ask the best, most effective questions; the ones that will pull in the really big fish? Here are some ideas and suggestions received from teachers:
We teach them how to use broad & focused questions:
Broad
Encourage students to ask questions that cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or "no."
Challenge students to ask open-ended questions.
Model by asking questions that require some imagination and often have no set answers.
Focused
·
Use a list of "wh" words (who, what, when, where, why, how, which) to help students form questions.
Remind the class that when we ask questions, we hope to get more information about the subject.
Model by asking specific questions such as:
“What year did Alaska become a state?” “What is the longest river in the world?”
In instruction, we should aim to help students discover how to ask powerful and significant questions. We should help them discover that the questions they ask, or fail to ask, are more important than the answers they give.
Next weekend, we will look at how Bloom’s Taxonomy fits into our journey to find good questioning techniques.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Discovery and its Role in Learning
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #28 – September 12, 2009
TEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North America ...
MARIA: Here it is.
TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America?
CLASS: Maria.
Yes children, your answer is definitely correct. Or was it the wrong question?
This got me wondering, “Just how important it is to help children ask the right questions?”
Did you know there actually is a pedagogical form of teaching based on discovery? And discovery is all about questioning. It’s called Discovery Learning. Discovery Learning is a method of inquiry-based instruction; discovery learning believes that it is best for learners to discover facts and relationships for themselves.
Students interact with the world by exploring and manipulating objects, wrestling with questions and controversies, or performing experiments. As a result, students may be able to remember concepts and knowledge discovered on their own (in contrast to a transmissionist model). Models that are based upon the discovery learning model include: guided discovery, problem-based learning, simulation-based learning, case-based learning, incidental learning, among others.
The results of discovery learning are consistent with what we already know about best teaching practices. Proponents of this theory believe that discovery learning has many advantages, including:
· encourages active engagement
· promotes motivation
· promotes autonomy, responsibility, independence
· the development of creativity and problem solving skills.
· a tailored learning experience
Each one of the above positive learning attributes naturally draws a child toward the desire to discover more through the process of questioning. The theory of discovery learning is based on people understanding and remembering concepts better when they have asked the right questions and discovered the solutions on their own. Discovery learning includes activities such as experimentation, data interpretation, interviews, and dissection. Here are some specific examples of various learning scenarios using discovery learning:
1.-Experimentation: Students may learn through experimentation how the position of the fulcrum affects the force necessary to raise a given object using a lever.
2.-Data interpretation: Examining family trees showing which members have a disease will allow students to determine whether the allele causing the disease is recessive, dominant, or sex-linked.
3.-Interviews: Students can learn about integration by interviewing people in their community who remember when the schools were segregated.
4.-Dissection: Dissecting small branches will show students that only the green cambium layer of a tree is living and active in water and nutrient transport.
These examples use trial and error, compare and contrast, data collection/ interpretation and a myriad of the best in questioning practices bar none. Through such learning practices, children “discover” how to construct the best questioning techniques in order to yield the best information.
Finally, here is a true and very dramatic example of discovery learning:
A man in India put a computer with Internet access in a wall next to an alley so that poor children could use it. They developed quite a fluency in its use. The man nudged them once, showing them that the computer could play music, too.
But for classroom purposes, I was also interested in another little experiment he did with classroom students. The part quoted from the article is in italics below:
Well, I tried another experiment. I went to a middle-class school and chose some ninth graders, two girls and two boys. I called their physics teacher in and asked him, "What are you going to teach these children next year at this time?" He mentioned viscosity. I asked him to write down five possible exam questions on the subject. I then took the four children and said, "Look here guys. I have a little problem for you." They read the questions and said they didn't understand them, it was Greek to them. So I said, "Here's a terminal. I'll give you two hours to find the answers."
Then I did my usual thing: I closed the door and went off somewhere else.
They answered all five questions in two hours. The physics teacher checked the answers, and they were correct. That, of itself, doesn't mean much. But I said to him, "Talk to the children and find out if they really learned something about this subject." So he spent half an hour talking to them. He came out and said, "They don't know everything about this subject or everything I would teach them. But they do know one hell of a lot about it. And they know a couple of things about it I didn't know."
This shows you what the Internet and children asking the right questions are capable of. The slum children don't have physics teachers. But if I could make them curious enough, then all the content they need is out there. The greatest expert on earth on viscosity probably has his papers up there on the Web somewhere. Creating content is not what's important. What is important is infrastructure and access ... The teacher's job is very simple. It's to help the children ask the right questions.
Are you ready for a journey of discovery? How can we spark that curiosity in children? What lessons can be provided to afford children the opportunity to question, discover and learn? Please send me your ideas on how to help children ask the right questions. We’ll discover the answers together in next week’s blog posting.
TEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North America ...
MARIA: Here it is.
TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America?
CLASS: Maria.
Yes children, your answer is definitely correct. Or was it the wrong question?
This got me wondering, “Just how important it is to help children ask the right questions?”
Did you know there actually is a pedagogical form of teaching based on discovery? And discovery is all about questioning. It’s called Discovery Learning. Discovery Learning is a method of inquiry-based instruction; discovery learning believes that it is best for learners to discover facts and relationships for themselves.
Students interact with the world by exploring and manipulating objects, wrestling with questions and controversies, or performing experiments. As a result, students may be able to remember concepts and knowledge discovered on their own (in contrast to a transmissionist model). Models that are based upon the discovery learning model include: guided discovery, problem-based learning, simulation-based learning, case-based learning, incidental learning, among others.
The results of discovery learning are consistent with what we already know about best teaching practices. Proponents of this theory believe that discovery learning has many advantages, including:
· encourages active engagement
· promotes motivation
· promotes autonomy, responsibility, independence
· the development of creativity and problem solving skills.
· a tailored learning experience
Each one of the above positive learning attributes naturally draws a child toward the desire to discover more through the process of questioning. The theory of discovery learning is based on people understanding and remembering concepts better when they have asked the right questions and discovered the solutions on their own. Discovery learning includes activities such as experimentation, data interpretation, interviews, and dissection. Here are some specific examples of various learning scenarios using discovery learning:
1.-Experimentation: Students may learn through experimentation how the position of the fulcrum affects the force necessary to raise a given object using a lever.
2.-Data interpretation: Examining family trees showing which members have a disease will allow students to determine whether the allele causing the disease is recessive, dominant, or sex-linked.
3.-Interviews: Students can learn about integration by interviewing people in their community who remember when the schools were segregated.
4.-Dissection: Dissecting small branches will show students that only the green cambium layer of a tree is living and active in water and nutrient transport.
These examples use trial and error, compare and contrast, data collection/ interpretation and a myriad of the best in questioning practices bar none. Through such learning practices, children “discover” how to construct the best questioning techniques in order to yield the best information.
Finally, here is a true and very dramatic example of discovery learning:
A man in India put a computer with Internet access in a wall next to an alley so that poor children could use it. They developed quite a fluency in its use. The man nudged them once, showing them that the computer could play music, too.
But for classroom purposes, I was also interested in another little experiment he did with classroom students. The part quoted from the article is in italics below:
Well, I tried another experiment. I went to a middle-class school and chose some ninth graders, two girls and two boys. I called their physics teacher in and asked him, "What are you going to teach these children next year at this time?" He mentioned viscosity. I asked him to write down five possible exam questions on the subject. I then took the four children and said, "Look here guys. I have a little problem for you." They read the questions and said they didn't understand them, it was Greek to them. So I said, "Here's a terminal. I'll give you two hours to find the answers."
Then I did my usual thing: I closed the door and went off somewhere else.
They answered all five questions in two hours. The physics teacher checked the answers, and they were correct. That, of itself, doesn't mean much. But I said to him, "Talk to the children and find out if they really learned something about this subject." So he spent half an hour talking to them. He came out and said, "They don't know everything about this subject or everything I would teach them. But they do know one hell of a lot about it. And they know a couple of things about it I didn't know."
This shows you what the Internet and children asking the right questions are capable of. The slum children don't have physics teachers. But if I could make them curious enough, then all the content they need is out there. The greatest expert on earth on viscosity probably has his papers up there on the Web somewhere. Creating content is not what's important. What is important is infrastructure and access ... The teacher's job is very simple. It's to help the children ask the right questions.
Are you ready for a journey of discovery? How can we spark that curiosity in children? What lessons can be provided to afford children the opportunity to question, discover and learn? Please send me your ideas on how to help children ask the right questions. We’ll discover the answers together in next week’s blog posting.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Education Quotes to Ponder
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #27 – September 5, 2009
There are numerous quotes about education, teaching and schools. Sometimes I read one and just shake my head, wondering, “What were they thinking?” However, to be fair, some quotes are well worth serious reflection. I have selected three that struck me as quite profound. I truly hope many of you will respond with your thoughts on one or more of these famous quotes about education.
"Genius without education is like silver in the mine."
Benjamin Franklin
Every year a teacher is presented with a brand new “silver or gold mine.” You see, a treasure lies within each and every student. Sometimes that treasure has barely been tapped, while other times it has successfully remained completely hidden. We as teachers are the catalysts necessary to activate the drill that will uncover the obscured silver and gold, enabling the student to dig it out and make it shine.
Teachers, please don’t ever make the assumption you just got a bunch of dull students. What you actually have are the future Mozarts, Carnegies and Einsteins. You have been charged with the stewardship of many diamonds in the rough. So delve deeply, care enough to find that hidden treasure. Get out your dynamite guiding skills and polish those young eager minds into a blinding glow.
“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” Aristotle
This is the epitome of what every teacher dreams of-- a student able to discern for himself the truth or the logic of an idea presented. Inspecting information with a critical eye is taught every day by the example of great teachers everywhere. With this tool alone, the student can be assured of making intelligent life decisions and making positive contributions as a productive citizen and leader.
Smart teachers know the importance of allowing students to disagree and to prove for themselves what makes sense and what is true. It is possible this may even mean a student discovering something they were taught at home, isn’t really the truth; such as bigotry, for example. Teachers, stand back; for once you have empowered students to see the light of reason, logic and truth, these guideposts will prevail.
“The task of the educator lies in seeing that the child does not confound good with immobility and evil with activity.” Maria Montessori
Not so long ago, in a galaxy right in your neighborhood, most school principals used the rule of thumb that the best classrooms were those where quietness reined and the patter of children’s feet were never heard. Classes of immobile, zombie-like children, repeating in rote fashion what they heard (nothing more, nothing less), were held up as exemplary to the rest of the teachers. Fortunately, Maria Montessori and other visionaries knew inactivity and immobility were not the hallmarks of a great learning environment for children.
Montessori developed a hands-on approach to learning. It encourages children to develop their observation skills by doing many types of activities. These activities include use of the five senses, kinetic movement, spatial refinement, small and gross motor skill coordination, and concrete knowledge that leads to later abstraction. Needless to say, it involves movement and (do I dare say the word?) noise. She also created the program enabling children to learn through discovery, and learn to correct their own mistakes instead of relying on a teacher to give them the correct answer. What a concept, right?
Current research tells us learning involves: wondering, dreaming, playing, interacting, communicating, exploring, discovering, questioning, investigating, creating, and risk-taking. I don’t know about you, but perhaps only in another galaxy could these factors be implemented in a quiet, sterile, motionless room. Great teachers know this, and already include the above elements routinely in their teaching repertoire. Make every effort to include them in yours. You’ll be glad you did! Children can and should experience joy when they learn and are able to move, to touch and to vocally express their exhilaration with the new knowledge and skills they have acquired.
Are these quotes really valid? What do you think? I look forward to your thoughts on these quotes and ideas.
Watch for next Saturday’s posting.
There are numerous quotes about education, teaching and schools. Sometimes I read one and just shake my head, wondering, “What were they thinking?” However, to be fair, some quotes are well worth serious reflection. I have selected three that struck me as quite profound. I truly hope many of you will respond with your thoughts on one or more of these famous quotes about education.
"Genius without education is like silver in the mine."
Benjamin Franklin
Every year a teacher is presented with a brand new “silver or gold mine.” You see, a treasure lies within each and every student. Sometimes that treasure has barely been tapped, while other times it has successfully remained completely hidden. We as teachers are the catalysts necessary to activate the drill that will uncover the obscured silver and gold, enabling the student to dig it out and make it shine.
Teachers, please don’t ever make the assumption you just got a bunch of dull students. What you actually have are the future Mozarts, Carnegies and Einsteins. You have been charged with the stewardship of many diamonds in the rough. So delve deeply, care enough to find that hidden treasure. Get out your dynamite guiding skills and polish those young eager minds into a blinding glow.
“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” Aristotle
This is the epitome of what every teacher dreams of-- a student able to discern for himself the truth or the logic of an idea presented. Inspecting information with a critical eye is taught every day by the example of great teachers everywhere. With this tool alone, the student can be assured of making intelligent life decisions and making positive contributions as a productive citizen and leader.
Smart teachers know the importance of allowing students to disagree and to prove for themselves what makes sense and what is true. It is possible this may even mean a student discovering something they were taught at home, isn’t really the truth; such as bigotry, for example. Teachers, stand back; for once you have empowered students to see the light of reason, logic and truth, these guideposts will prevail.
“The task of the educator lies in seeing that the child does not confound good with immobility and evil with activity.” Maria Montessori
Not so long ago, in a galaxy right in your neighborhood, most school principals used the rule of thumb that the best classrooms were those where quietness reined and the patter of children’s feet were never heard. Classes of immobile, zombie-like children, repeating in rote fashion what they heard (nothing more, nothing less), were held up as exemplary to the rest of the teachers. Fortunately, Maria Montessori and other visionaries knew inactivity and immobility were not the hallmarks of a great learning environment for children.
Montessori developed a hands-on approach to learning. It encourages children to develop their observation skills by doing many types of activities. These activities include use of the five senses, kinetic movement, spatial refinement, small and gross motor skill coordination, and concrete knowledge that leads to later abstraction. Needless to say, it involves movement and (do I dare say the word?) noise. She also created the program enabling children to learn through discovery, and learn to correct their own mistakes instead of relying on a teacher to give them the correct answer. What a concept, right?
Current research tells us learning involves: wondering, dreaming, playing, interacting, communicating, exploring, discovering, questioning, investigating, creating, and risk-taking. I don’t know about you, but perhaps only in another galaxy could these factors be implemented in a quiet, sterile, motionless room. Great teachers know this, and already include the above elements routinely in their teaching repertoire. Make every effort to include them in yours. You’ll be glad you did! Children can and should experience joy when they learn and are able to move, to touch and to vocally express their exhilaration with the new knowledge and skills they have acquired.
Are these quotes really valid? What do you think? I look forward to your thoughts on these quotes and ideas.
Watch for next Saturday’s posting.
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