Higher Level Thinking and ICT

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Higher Level Thinking and ICT

• Workshop on the 13th September

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Rationale for Developing Thinking Skills

• Students cannot learn in school everything
  they will need to know in adult life. What they
  must acquire is the prerequisites for successful
  learning in future life. Students must become
  able to organise and regulate their own learning,
  to learn independently and in groups, and to
  overcome difficulties in the learning process.
  This requires them to be aware of their own
  thinking processes and learning strategies and
  methods. (OECD, 1999)

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Does this sound familiar??

• At first glance the essay looked impressive.
  But the beautifully presented information was
  deceptive. There was no analysis or coherence. My
  student Emma had just cut and pasted pages from
  different websites."But I got that bit from
  Encarta," she remonstrated when I pointed out
  that chunks of data laid out as spreadsheets are
  not meaningful just because sourced from the web.
  She was reluctant to accept that a scrappily
  hand-written essay by a peer was better, as it
  was cogent and enlightening

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Or this?

• It seems that our technologically advanced
  classrooms aren't much different from how
  classrooms were before the advent of computers.
  We have integrated technology into our
  classrooms-by simply tacking it on. We now have
  students take online quizzes, assign them slide
  presentations rather than paper-based reports. We
  use PowerPoint slides to present our lectures,
  instead of chalk and blackboards. When assigned a
  research project, students quickly find Web pages
  on the Internet, cut and paste information onto
  their slides, and then spend the remainder of
  class time playing with colors and animations.
  They are no more engaged with the curricular
  topic than they were before the computers
  arrived, perhaps even less so

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A meaningful, unified approach to providing
students with the skills they will need for their
futures must be more than a checklist of isolated
technology skills, such as knowing the parts of a
computer, writing drafts and final products with
a word processor, or searching for information
using a CD-ROM database.
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So what do we need to do?

• We need to start asking ourselves more
  challenging questions when it comes to the
  implementation of instructional technology-not
  just So how do I use this?
• Used thoughtfully, instructional technology is a
  powerful active-learning tool that enables us to
  efficiently discover, analyse, and share
  information.
• We can have our students demonstrate their
  knowledge in a variety of forms, like databases,
  spreadsheets, original graphics, web pages,
  publications, podcasts, and blogs. Even more
  importantly, we can do all this while encouraging
  our students to think for themselves and develop
  skills that are lasting and practical.

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The Advantages of ICT

• Speed and Automatic functions enabling large
  amounts of information to be handled and routine
  tasks to be automated
• Provisionality the ability to change texts and
  other outputs with minimum cost or effort
• Interactivity the capacity for feedback and
  response
• Range the capacity to overcome barriers of time
  and distance
• Multi-modality the capacity to integrate a range
  of modes of communication including film,
  graphics, sounds and texts.
• If an ICT activity isnt making use of one of the
  above then WHY USE ICT for that activity!!

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Introduction to Mind Tools

• MindTools describe using computer technology in
  constructivist ways to engage learners in
  thinking critically about whatever content they
  are studying.
• Rather than learning from technology, a mindtool
  allows the learner to learn by using technology
  to think more deeply and meaningfully about how
  to represent what they know.
• Instead of students being controlled by
  computers, students enhance the capabilities of
  the computer, and the computer enhances their
  thinking and learning. The result of this
  partnership is that the whole of the learning
  becomes greater than the sum of its parts

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Classes of Mindtools
Jonassen (1998) classifies mindtools as follows

• semantic organisation tools (mindmapping,hypermedi
  a,wiki)
• dynamic modelling tools (spreadsheets and
  microworlds)
• information interpretation tools (search)
• conversation tools (chat,email)
• visualisation tools (graphics software and 3D
  modelling)

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Semantic Mindtools

• Semantic organisation tools enable learners to
  analyse and organise what they know or what they
  are learning.
• One of the best known semantic organisation tools
  is semantic networking/ concept mapping/
  mindmapping.
• Another common one is developing and using
  databases.

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1a) Mindmapping

• One of the reasons concept mapping is so powerful
  for the facilitation of meaningful learning is
  that it serves as a kind of template or scaffold
  to help to organize knowledge and to structure it
• The domain of knowledge needs to be very familiar
  to the person constructing the map.
• Every concept map responds to a focus question,
  and a good focus question can lead to a much
  richer concept map.
• Good maps usually result from three to many
  revisions. This is one reason why using computer
  software is helpful.
• Concept maps are effective in identifying both
  valid and invalid ideas held by students

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1b) Databases

• Constructing content databases requires learners
  to develop a data structure, locate relevant
  information, insert it in appropriate fields and
  records, and search and sort the database to
  answer content queries. A large number of
  critical thinking skills are required to use and
  construct knowledge-oriented databases.

The student contructing the database must ask
him/herself questions

• What do I want to use it for?
• For what type of questions should the contents
  provide answers?
• How must I phrase the questions to access the
  knowledge?
• How can I use the fields and which fields should
  I use?

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Ideas of how to use the database with the class
when data entered 1. Use the sort tool to
organise records by their population. Is there a
trend between population and medal tally? Try
doing this for other database fields looking for
patterns. 2. Use the Match tool to look for
countries that speak English. What do you notice?
Why do you think this is?
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1c) Wikis

• A Wiki can be thought of as a combination of a
  Web site and a Word document. At its simplest, it
  can be read just like any other web site, with no
  access privileges necessary, but its real power
  lies in the fact that groups can collaboratively
  work on the content of the site using nothing but
  a standard web browser.
• They are totally democratic - the users rule -
  which helps establish community of learning
• Wikis save copies of successively edited
  versions thus, work that has been deleted or
  defaced can be recovered.
• Constructivist teaching requires the teacher to
  relinquish some degree of control over the
  learning. The instructors role shifts to that of
  establishing contexts or setting up problems to
  engage students. In a wiki, the instructor may
  set the stage or initiate interactions, but the
  medium works most effectively when students can
  assert meaningful autonomy over the process.

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• Wikipedia is just ONE form of Wiki on the net.
  There are many other types of wikis.
• They could be used with our special abilities
  students. They could be working with similar
  students from schools across our cluster
  constructing knowledge together on a wiki.

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2 Dynamic Modelling Tools

• While semantic organisation tools help learners
  to represent the semantic relationships among
  ideas, dynamic modeling tools help learners to
  describe the dynamic relationships among ideas.
• Dynamic modeling tools include spreadsheets,
  expert systems, systems modeling tools, and
  microworlds, among others.

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2a) Spreadsheets

• Spreadsheets are flexible Mindtools for
  representing, reflecting on, and calculating
  quantitative information.
• They are especially useful for answering what
  if questions, for instance, what if interest
  rates increased by one percent?
• Building spreadsheets requires abstract reasoning
  by the user, they are rule-using tools that
  require that users become rule-makers.
• Spreadsheets also support problem solving
  activities. Learners need to consider
  implications of conditions or options, which
  requires entails higher order reasoning.

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2b) Microworlds

• Microworlds are exploratory learning environments
  or discovery spaces in which learners can
  navigate, manipulate or create objects, and test
  their effects on one another.
• Microworlds contain constrained simulations of
  real-world phenomena that allow learners to
  control those phenomena.
• Video-based adventure games are microworlds that
  require players to master each environment before
  moving onto more complex environments.
• The emphasis in many microworlds is the
  generation and testing of hypotheses. Eg what
  happens to my SimCity town if I introduce another
  hospital.

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3 Information Interpretation Tools

• Information interpretation tools help make
  information more accessible for learners and
  assist them in processing that information.
• This category includes search engines,
  hypermedia, and weblogs (blogs).
• Search engines offer the learner a chance to
  gather information in a systematic and logical
  manner. The process of determining the correct
  search parameters through a series of refinements
  is well suited to the assimilation of thinking
  skills.

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• Hypermedia consists of information links that
  serve to make information stored in any form
  (video, text, image) accessible. A user can add
  or change information to create links. In its
  entirety, it becomes a dynamic knowledge base.
• The idea is that making this sort of
  (instructional) material teaches more than using.
  
• WARNING In daily practice the website (the
  product) is mostly seen as the goal instead of as
  a means of learning (the process),or that
  mastering the tools (software used to make
  websites) is seen as the ultimate learning goal.

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4 Conversation Tools

• Conversation tools are appropriate for learning
  through discussion. They make use of
  communication techniques that are useful for
  negotiation, careful consideration of
  contributions, and synthesis.
• Examples of this type of application are instant
  messaging, email, forums or discussion boards,
  and blogs
• Properly used, these resources can be used to
  teach effective argument and reasoning.

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5 Visualisation Tools

• We take in more information through our visual
  modality than any other sensory system, yet we
  cannot output ideas visually, except in mental
  images and dreams, which cannot be shared
  visually except using paint/draw programs.
• A new and growing class of visualisation tools
  are helping us to visualise by providing us tools
  that help us to represent and convey rough
  approximations of those mental images.
• Examples in education include maths
  manipulatives, visuals of chemistry compounds
  that can be looked at from any angle and 3D
  modelling software.

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• This maths manipulative allows you to rotate the
  shape through all angles and will count each
  edge, corner and shape as you click on them while
  turning them a different colour so you know which
  are counted
• Go to Virtual Maths Manipulatives Library

• Graphic manipulation software packages such as
  GIMP (completely free), allow you to combine
  images to achieve desired effects and convey
  emotions.

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ICT and Other Thinking Programmes

• The activities that ICT is integrated into should
  be seen as simply another opportunity in which
  these thinking skills can be developed.
• Talk to the children or have a display near the
  computer about which Habit of Mind or Multiple
  intelligence they are developing through working
  on an activity. Build this into your WALT, WILF
  and TIB

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ICT and WALT, WILF and TIB

• Just as in any other activity done in the
  classroom, children will gain more from the
  activity if they understand what they are
  learning, why they are learning it and what they
  need to achieve. As ICT is generally taught
  THROUGH the curriculum, ICT outcomes can be
  integrated with curriulum outcomes.

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What Am I Learning Today?

• to use a mindmap to organise my ideas about the
  importance of plants
• to add linking phrases between my concepts by
  using the program Cmap
• to persevere with my work

WALT
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What I am Looking For

• appropriate and creative linking of ideas that
  demonstrate your understanding.
• an attractively organised mindmap that is easy
  to follow
• ask if you need help
• working on the mindmap until it is completed,
  reworking it as necessary

WILF
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This Is Because

• learning to use mindmaps effectively helps you
  to make sense of information and demonstrates
  your understanding
• using a computer mindmap program makes it easier
  to reorganise your mindmap than doing it on paper
• to make links between concepts, you really have
  to think!!

TIB
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ICT and Multiple Intelligences

• ICT can help to deliver MI resources. ICT is
  adept at manipulating sound, images, numbers,
  words, and movies and can even model
  three-dimensional worlds.
• All of these media types can be combined to hit
  more than one intelligence within a single
  resource or provide more than one learning
  resource.
• Learners should be able to show their learning in
  MI ways. Again, ICT can be of great use. Learners
  can record their ideas, explain with a diagram or
  record a video of themselves doing something to
  show they understand it.
• A learning portfolio could be ICT based,
  holding written work, spoken work, video, images
  etc of the learner demonstrating their
  understanding.

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ICT and Thinking Hats

• Again, the use of the hats can be built into ICT
  integrated activities. For example
• Blue hat for storyboarding a film and thinking
  clearly about what will be needed to complete the
  project.
• White hat to think what information you need from
  internet research etc

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ICT and Thinking Tools

• Creative thinking tools such as SCAMPER could be
  used for evaluating and modifying websites, photo
  stories and videos, slideshow presentations or
  computer graphics.

Website Improvement with Scamper
Use the SCAMPER technique to come up with ideas
on how to modify and improve this website
homepages.ihug.co.nz/vespers/education.Home.html
S substitute or switch C combine with
something else A adapt or alter part of it M
modify a part of it by magnifying or
minifying P put to some other use E
eliminate a part of it R rearrange a part of it
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ICT and Thinking Tools

• Tony Ryans Thinkers Keys are another tool that
  can be built into ICT.

'The Picture Key'
Using the tools in the drawing tool bar, turn
these lines into an object related to the topic
Health Eating
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ICT and Habits of Mind
The 16 Habits of Mind (Art Costa)

• Examples of developing the habits with ICT could
  include
• thinking interdependently while working on a
  group webquest or epal exchange or creating a
  wiki
• persevering when working to complete a mindmap
  that demonstrates their learning over a term
• metacognition when filling in a blog reflecting
  on the ICT activity they have just completed.
• The list could go on and on!

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References

• Jonassen, D., Reeves, T, Hong, N., Harvey, D,
  Peters, K. (1997). Concept mapping as cognitive
  learning and assessment tools. Journal of
  Interactive Learning Research, 8 (3/4), 289-308.
• Jonassen, D.H., Carr, C. Yueh, H.P. (1998)
  Computers as Mindtools for Engaging Learners in
  Critical Thinking, Tech Trends, 43(2), pp. 24-32.
  Also available online at http//www.coe.missouri.
  edu/jonassen/Mindtools.pdf
• Slangen, L.A.M.P. and Sloep, P.B. (2005) Mind
  tools contributing to an ICT-rich learning
  environment for technology education in primary
  schools, Int. J. Cont.Engineering Education and
  Lifelong Learning, Vol. 15, Nos. 3-6, pp.225-239