Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is when one can make a reasoned judgement that is logical and well thought out. To prepare my class to become better critical thinkers it starts with me the educator. Being the facilitator of learning versus just being a lecturer. Not very many student learn by just sitting and listening to to their teacher talk about a certain subject. So I am going to make sure my students are being active learners. I am going to ask open-ended questions and allow my students to brainstorm different ideas for each question. After brainstorming, the students will receive different assignments that will allow that certain individual to become a better critical thinker. Then, the students will go into groups with others of different skill levels and share ideas and promote a variety of skills to one another. This is allowing students to engage and improve his or her own ability to create arguments.

Communication

Communication is the imparting or exchanging of information, news, or ideas. Communication is an important skill for everybody to engage in as it is something people do everyday with one another. When it comes to children learning it is very crucial to not only communicate with the students but also their parents. I want to make sure everybody knows what is going on within the classroom so they have the best learning outcomes. If the parents know what their children are working on at school they can enhance those skills at home with them too. Allowing the students to get into groups every once in awhile. At times allowing the students to pick their own groups in hopes they talk more because they are more comfortable around their peers that they pick to be with themselves versus always picking groups for them they may be a little more hesitant to respond. Making sure that the students know that they are always in a no judgement space in hopes that allows them to respond more.

Collaboration

Collaboration is when two or more people come together to attempt to learn something together. It is an ever-changing and on-going process. I will develop an on-going three week group project. The students will be in the same group for three weeks so they become comfortable with another. In hopes that gain that comfort they engage with each other more. They will each participate in their own area of the project but being in a groups it will enable them to understand from different perspectives, and to give and receive feedback from fellow group members.

Creativity is the ability to produce original and unusual ideas, make something new, or imaginative. As a teacher, I will make sure to create a compassionate, accepting environment so they realize that it is normal to make mistakes. I will give each student an animal that they are going to present to the class. They are allowed to give this presentation however they think their classmates will best absorb the information. Some may choose to make a slideshow presentation, a poster, a written paper or etc. However they choose. I am going to give students direct feedback on their presentations. As many students may not realize they are being creative, directly talking with them will help evolve their imaginations.

Creativity