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Teaching 21st Century Thinking™ Skills in the Classroom
Part of the Teacher Education Series seriesOverview:Teach a person facts and they will pass tests. Teach a person to think and they will pass the tests of life.
Thinkers Wanted
In 1900, 8 out of 10 jobs involved building things with your hands. In 2010, 8 out of 10 jobs will involve working with ideas. In large part, the bricks and mortar of the industrial age have been replaced. Concepts and connections now lay the foundation for the 21st Century. A recent survey of over 400 employers in the US shows thinking skills are among the most important skills found in new hires. Whether the goal is professional success, personal self-fulfillment, national competitiveness in science and technology, or solving complex global problems, new skills are needed to thrive. The 21st Century knowledge age requires people: to be adept thinkers and learners; to use and build knowledge; to differentiate and combine, compare and contrast, and construct and deconstruct ideas. In short, in the knowledge age people will need to be knowledge-able. Our heritage as builders serves us well for the task, if only we can make the transition from building better things to building better ideas.
What is the 21st Century Thinking™ Curriculum?
The demands of the 21st Century point to the need for a kind of “amphibious” thinker. Someone who is: as cognitive as they are emotionally capable, as analytical as they are creative, and as disciplined as they are interdisciplinary. 21st Century Thinking involves six types of thinking, each of which is different from but complimentary of the others:
- Critical Thinking: the ability to analyze, deconstruct, and evaluate
- Creative Thinking: the ability to construct new lines of thought
- Systems Thinking: the ability to understand complex patterns in context
- Scientific Thinking: the ability to observe, validate, and evidence
- Interdisciplinary Thinking: the ability to unify, transfer, synthesize, and integrate
- Prosocial Thinking: the ability to build rapport through compassion and concern
Conceptual Learning: The Core of 21st Century Thinking™ Skills
Underlying the ability to master the six types of thinking above requires a deep understanding of the inner workings of concepts (ideas) and how concepts lead to knowledge. In the same way that everything in the universe is made up of atoms and that our understanding of the atomic theory leads us to a better understanding of our universe, a deep understanding of how concepts work will open new awareness of the vast expanse of concepts we call knowledge. To become knowledge-able, one must develop an ability with concepts—the most basic unit of analysis.
DSRP is a powerful educational tool for understanding how concepts and knowledge work. DSRP is an acronym for the four universal patterns of thinking that underlie all thought:
- Draw Distinctions: Compare and contrast between similarities and opposites;
- Organize Systems: Sort, nest and categorize using part-whole thinking;
- Form Relationships: Make connections, interactions, associations, and cause & effect explicit;
- Take Perspectives: See different points-of-view and new possibilities.
You will also learn how to use ThinkBlocks, an advanced educational tool that teaches 21st Century Thinking™ Skills.
ThinkBlocks are used in elementary schools, high schools, and college and university classrooms, as well as in the professional fields such as conflict resolution, counseling, human development, and by organizational leaders and teams. ThinkBlocks reinvents the classic wooden block with a new twist – they are multifaceted, hollow blocks with dry-erasable and reflective surfaces that can be stacked, nested, clustered, and towered. ThinkBlocks are a fun, educational tool for young children ages 4+, but they can also scale up to adults and help to teach thinking skills that are just as relevant to the pre-schooler as they are to a PhD or a corporate executive. ThinkBlocks have no gender, age, cultural, language, skill-level, or subject barrier. They can be used by anyone, anywhere to tackle virtually any topic or discipline. The new tactile educational tool is backed by years of empirical research conducted at Cornell University by scientists who are also parents and teachers.
Faculty: Derek Cabrera, PhD and Laura Colosi, PhD
Credit: Participants will receive one graduate credit hour toward professional development
Professional Development: This course will contribute to your professional development in 8 of the "Ten Wisconsin Teaching Standards"
Cost: $280 (Each participant receives a full ThinkBlocks kit)
Learning Objectives
- You will explore how thinking skills include analytical, creative, emotional, and pro-social types of skills
- You will develop a deep understanding and go away with a simple conceptual framework of thinking skills
- You will be introduced to innovative, hands-on tools for teaching and learning thinking skills that can be used in the classroom
- You will be guided by high-energy faculty who are experts in the field of cognition and education.
- You will learn new things that are challenging, fun, useful, and transformative
Key Topics
- What do teachers need to know about recent research on thinking skills? (i.e. cognition, metacognition, transfer, executive skills, haptics, etc.)
- What is my approach to thinking skills? (Instruction and/or Construction)
- How do I differentiate and integrate various types of thinking skills? (i.e. analytical, creative, practical, etc.)
- Where should I put thinking skills in my curriculum? (Inside, Outside, Across the content)
- How can I understand what and how my students are thinking? (Implicit and explicit thinking skills, signs and symptoms)
- How can I do more with less [time, resources, effort]? (i.e. how thinking skills can free up time and energy)
- What frameworks and tools are available to teach thinking skills in the classroom?
Edgewood College on Deming Way
1255 Deming Way
Madison, WI 53717
Instructor: Derek Cabrera, PhD and Laura Colosi, PhD
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