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Humor:
Teacher: You missed school
yesterday, didn’t you?
Pupil: Not very much!
Dear visitor,
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A summary for my
Researching Journal
Article about:
One of the most significant factors that impacts
students’ engagement and achievement in
learning in your classroom is their self-esteem.
In this context, self-esteem can be viewed to
be the difference between how they perceive
themselves as a learner (perceived self) and
what they consider to be the ideal learner (ideal
self). This ideal self may reflect the child that is
associated or seen to be the smartest in the
class. Your aim must be to raise students’ self-
esteem. To do this, you have to demonstrate
that effort, not ability, leads to success. Your
language and interactions in the classroom,
therefore, have to be aspirational—that if
children persist with something, they will
achieve.
Use of evaluative praise
Ensure that when you are praising students,
you are making explicit links to a child’s critical
thinking and/or development. This will enable
them to build their understanding of what
factors are supporting them in their learning.
For example, often when we give feedback to
students, we may simply say, “Well done” or
“Good answer.” However, are the students
actually aware of what they did well or what
was good about their answer?
Make sure you make explicit what the student
has done well and where that links to prior
learning. How do you value students’ critical
thinking—do you praise their thinking and
demonstrate how it helps them improve their
learning?
Learning conversations to
encourage deeper thinking
We often feel as teachers that we have to
provide feedback to every students’ response,
but this can limit children’s thinking.
Encourage students in your class to engage
in learning conversations with each other.
Give as many opportunities as possible to
students to build on the responses of others.
Facilitate chains of dialogue by inviting students
to give feedback to each other.
The teacher’s role is, therefore, to facilitate this
dialogue and select each individual student to
give feedback to others. It may also mean that
you do not always need to respond at all to a
student’s answer.
Teacher modelling own thinking
We cannot expect students to develop critical-
thinking skills if we aren’t modeling those
thinking skills for them.
Share your creativity, imagination, and thinking
skills with the students and you will nurture
creative, imaginative critical thinkers.Model the
language you want students to learn and think
about.
Share what you feel about the learning activities
your students are participating in as well as the
thinking you are engaging in.
Your own thinking and learning will add to the
discussions in the classroom and encourage
students to share their own thinking.
Meta-cognitive questioning
Consider the extent to which your questioning
encourages students to think about their
thinking, and therefore, learn about learning!
Through asking metacognitive questions, you
will enable your students to have a better
understanding of the learning process, as well
as their own self-reflections as learners.
Example questions may include:
Why did you choose to do it that way?
Begin by having students read a story, article,
or analyze a piece of media.
Then have them excavate and explore its
various layers of meaning.
First, ask students to think about the literal
meaning of what they just read.
For example, if students read an article about
the desegregation of public schools during the
1950s, they should be able to answer questions
such as:
Who was involved?
What happened?
Where did it happen?
Which details are important?
This is the first layer of critical thinking: reading
comprehension. Do students understand the
passage at its most basic level?
Ask the Tough Questions
The next layer delves deeper and starts to
uncover the author’s purpose and craft.
Teach students to ask the tough questions:
What information is included?
What or who is left out?
How does word choice influence the reader?
What perspective is represented?
What values or people are marginalized?
These questions force students to critically
analyze the choices behind the final product.
In today’s age of fast-paced, easily accessible
information, it is essential to teach students
how to critically examine the information they
consume. The goal is to equip students with the
mindset to ask these questions on their own.
Strike Gold
The deepest layer of critical thinking comes
from having students take a step back to think
about the big picture. This level of thinking is
no longer focused on the text itself but rather
its real-world implications.
Students explore questions such as:
Why does this matter?
What lesson have I learned?
How can this lesson be applied to other situations?
Students truly engage in critical thinking when
they are able to reflect on their thinking and
apply their knowledge to a new situation.
This step has the power to transform
knowledge into wisdom.
Adventures of Discovery
There are vast ways to spark critical thinking
in the classroom.
Here are a few other ideas:
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