3. 1. Student interaction with the content
Such as through reading assignments, lectures &
notes, active learning exercises during class,
assignments
2. Student interaction with each other
Through in class discussion, online discussion, group
assignments, study groups, collaborative learning
exercises and assignments, in-class activities
3. Student interaction with faculty
Through feedback on assignments, formative
assessment, class discussion, office hours, reflective
journals
4. • Expect engagement
• Be an engaging teacher.
– Helpful and approachable
– Show respect for students
– Foster a safe environment
– Be authentic
6. 4 Stages of Inquiry
1. Triggering event: issue, problem or
dilemma that needs resolution.
2. Exploration: the search for relevant
information that can provide insight into
the challenge at hand.
3. Integration: in which connections are made
and there is a search for a viable
explanation.
4. Resolution
(Swan & Garrison, 2009)
7. From the Critical Thinking Guide:
3 Types of Questions
1. One System:
• there is a correct answer
2. No System:
• A subjective opinion
3. Multi-system:
• Requires evidence and reasoning within
multiple systems
9. Types of Questions for Critical Thinking
• Clarity
– Could you elaborate further?
• Accuracy
– How could we verify or test this?
• Precision
– Could you be more specific?
• Relevance
– How does that relate to the problem?
• Depth
– What factors make this a difficult problem?
10. Types of Questions for Critical Thinking
• Breadth
– Do we need to look at this from another
perspective?
• Logic
– Does all this make sense together?
• Significance
– Is this the most important problem to
consider?
• Fairness
– Do I have any vested interest in this issue?
11. Help students to move content from
short-term memory to long-term
memory
1. Help them to make an emotional
connection.
– Beyond text, use images, film, personal
accounts so that it takes on the human
dimension.
(Barkley, 2010)
12. 2. Help students make sense of what they
are learning.
• Build on prior knowledge
• Apply what they are learning to real-world
scenarios
• Transfer new knowledge beyond the discipline
3. Help students make meaning.
• Talk about how and why the content is relevant to
them. Have them tell you!
• Have students make connections between what
they are learning to the past, the present and the
future.
(Barkley, 2010)
13. • Be Timely
– During in-class meetings
– On assignments
• Be Specific
– Instead of writing “good work”, tell them what about it
was “good”.
• Be Genuine
– Honest and authentic, and with a purpose of supporting
student’s learning
• Don’t patronize
– Don’t over react to a student comment with false praise
(Barkley, 2010)
14. • Safety
– Set a classroom climate where learners feel safe to
experiment, discuss, question, and take risks.
• Comfort
– Consider factors such as room arrangement and room
temperature
• Time of day
– Before or after lunch – may be hungry or sleepy. Allow
snacks and get them up moving!
– Evening – many will have had a long work day and may be
tired. Take adequate breaks and get them up moving!
• In case I forgot - Get up and move!
(Barkley, 2010)
15. Give students appropriate control of the learning environment
1. Tell students why they are doing something –
assignment, class activity, etc. Tie it back to course
objectives.
2. Acknowledge an understanding of student resistance,
and then repeat #1.
3. Allow choices of assignments and activities that meet
the same objective.
4. Begin a course with the students deciding class
guidelines and expectations for behavior and
participation
(Barkley, 2010)
16. Give students appropriate control of the learning environment
5. Give students a choice as to how to manage
assignments and due dates
6. Ask students to determine their own learning goals
and to monitor their progress
7. Provide opportunities for self-assessment
8. Emphasize accountability to their choices, not judging
if they are good or bad.
(Barkley, 2010; Brookfield & Preskill, 2005)
17. • Make course content relevant and
help them to value what they are
learning.
– Focus on outcomes that require
higher order thinking
– Ask students to make the connections
between what they are learning and
the relevance to their lives
(Barkley, 2010)
18. In course design,
1. Begin with your course outcomes
2. Determine how you will measure success
of the outcomes
3. choose your content and delivery
methods
The course outcomes should drive the rest.
(Wiggins & McTighe, 1998)
19. And then help them to expect themselves to succeed
– Communicate your standards
– Scaffold the learning
– Model metacognition – speak aloud your thought
process as you think through a task
– Be fair in assessment – be sure that your teaching
aligns with course outcomes and your assessment
measures success in achieving those course
outcomes.
• Be transparent, equitable, and consistent in your
grading
– Consider rubrics
– Samples that indicate success in an assignment
(Barkley, 2010)
20. Much of the content from this
presentation came directly from
this book.
Barkley, E. (2010). Student engagement techniques: A handbook for
college faculty. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
21. Barkley, E. (2010). Student engagement techniques: A handbook for college
faculty. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Brookfield, S. & Preskill, S. (2005). Discussion as a Way of Teaching: Tools and
Techniques for Democratic Classrooms. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Paul, R. & Elder. L. The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking Concepts and
Tools, Foundation for Critical Thinking, Dillon Beach, CA, 2009, 5th Ed.
Swan, K., Garrison, D. R. & Richardson, J. C. (2009). A constructivist approach
to online learning: the Community of Inquiry framework. In Payne, C. R. (Ed.)
Information Technology and Constructivism in Higher Education: Progressive
Learning Frameworks. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 43-57.
Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2001) Understanding by Design. Upper Saddle River,
NJ: Prentice Hall.
Editor's Notes
In all delivery methods – you have to have good, open-ended discussion prompts to engage students. If they can simply provide an answer, then the first one or two students who post will “get it right” and the rest will be left without anything else to add. You’ll see a lot of rephrasing of the same thing! From the Critical Thinking Guide: There are 3 kinds of questions.One System: One definitive answer. Requires evidence and reasoning within a system, there is a correct answer, it is the taxonomy level of Knowledge. No System: Basically an opinion question. Calls for stating a subjective preference – A subjective opinion, taxonomy level cannot be assessed. Multi-system: Calls for competing points of view. Requires evidence and reasoning within multiple systems, Better and worse answers, taxonomy level= Judgment. The goal for online discussion is #3. This is critical thinking and they will have to reason and back up their responses. If it is content that students can legitimately have disagreements about, all the better.
Prompts to use to further students thinking and discussion. If you model these, even provide them directly to students within your course, they will begin to use these strategies. (This is especially helpful if you have students serve as discussion facilitators.)ClarityCould you elaborate further?Could you give me an example?Could you illustrate what you mean?AccuracyHow could we check on that?How could we find out if that is true?How could we verify or test this?
DepthWhat factors make this a difficult problem?What are some of the complexities of this question?What are some of the difficulties we need to deal with?BreadthDo we need to look at this from another perspective?Do we need to consider another point of view?Do we need to look at this in other ways?LogicDoes all this make sense together?Does your first paragraph (comment) fit in with your last?Does what you say follow from the evidence?SignificanceIs this the most important problem to consider?Is this the central idea to focus on?Which of these facts are most important?FairnessDo I have any vested interest in this issue?Am I sympathetically representing the viewpoints of others?
