THINKING TOOLS: Differentiating the Content

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THINKING TOOLS Differentiating the Content
Nanci Cole, Michelle Wikle, and Sacha Bennett
- TOSAs Sandi Ishii, Supervisor of Gifted
Education

• Based on training by S. Kaplan, USC, 2008

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What is Academic Rigor?

• Rigor is the goal of helping students develop
  the capacity to understand content that is
  complex, ambiguous, provocative, and personally
  or emotionally challenging.
• Taking rigorous courses open the doors!

Source Teaching What Matters Most Standards
and Strategies for Raising Student Achievement by
Strong, Silver, and Perini, ASCD, 2001
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Objectives

• Provide an introduction to the academic language
  thinking tools of Depth Complexity and Content
  Imperatives.
• Provide time to understand and practice
  application of Tools to your content in order to
  increase the level of inquiry in the classroom.

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Agenda

• Welcome/Overview
• Introduction- Theory
• Introduction to Depth Complexity and Content
  Imperatives
• Differentiated Rotations
• Quick share/Reflection/Closing

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Depth and Complexity Thinking Tools

• Recognizes individual diversity among learners
• Teaches toward highest level of knowing
• Builds expertise

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Depth and Complexity Thinking Tools

• Strengthens critical thinking skills
• Makes something abstract more concrete
• Allows students to jump into the content and
  make sense of it
• Builds in inquiry and academic language

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How do you know if someone is an expert?
Novice
Expert
Conversations
More sophisticated understanding
How much do cell phones cost?
What are some new trends in cell phones?
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Single Thinking Tools

• One at a time
• Depth
• To dig deeper
• Complexity
• Greater breadth of understanding

The thinking tool is like a magnifying glass. It
gives greater dimension to what is studied.
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Single Thinking Tool

• To understand RULES, you can study the patterns,
  details, and ethics

Patterns Details
Rules
Ethics
Part to whole thinking
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THINKING PAIRS

• Two thinking tools together joined with the word
  AND
• What are the details AND trends of the
  Revolutionary War?
• 2 Thinking Tools equation of knowing
• Changes the intellectual demand
• The intellectual work is rigorous

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How do we know if students know it?

• A good answer must include
• Define what they are talking about
• Give another example
• Cite or reference what stimulated their ideas
  (evidence)

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Allow individuals to move on

• Students get tired of learning the same way using
  the same thinking.
• It is like staying on the same land without
  moving or cultivating it.
• Develop intellectualism
• Not just to get the right answers
• Nurture beyond where they currently are

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Research says (GRR)

• Teacher directed
• To
• Student Centered
• To
• Independent Thinkers

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At some point during the lesson

• Teacher dominate
• Ladies and gentlemen, today we are going to look
  for
• Student dominate
• Ladies and gentlemen, what and how are you going
  to look for?

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Creating Independent Thinkers

• You can do this by using these strategies
• Create inquiry to get the information
• Create a task defining what to do
• Do Independent Research

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Allow students to be independent thinkers of the
task by increasing responsibility

• Here are the details in the Revolutionary War
• I want you to find the details in the
  Revolutionary War.
• Investigate and research the significant details
  in the Revolutionary War.

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Moral Imperative

• Educators need to go beyond their own level of
  thinking.
• Educators need to transcend their own thinking
  because they need to open the doors into a
  students mind. It maybe the key to their
  success.

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Students need to know

• The flexibility of the language of depth and
  complexity
• Patterns
• This is a prerequisite to go further into the
  scope and sequence of the thinking tools.

Cyclical Predictive Sequence Repetitive
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Do you know the icons?

• Draw the appropriate icon next to the definition
  on the chart.
• Compare your answers with your neighbor.
• Start brainstorming ways you can bring depth and
  complexity into your classroom instruction and
  discussion.

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Details

• Elements
• Factors
• Facts
• Features
• Specifics
• Traits

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Unanswered Questions

• Dilemma
• Doubtful
• Unclear
• Unknown
• Unproved
• Unsolved

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Language of the Discipline

• Jargon
• Terms
• Terminology
• Lingo
• Phrasing
• Lexicon

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Patterns

• Cyclical
• Predictive
• Systematic
• Repetitive
• Sequential
• Structural

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Big Idea

• Global Idea
• Principle
• Tenet
• Theme
• Theory
• Thesis

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Multiple Perspectives

• Careers
• Experts
• Fields
• Points of View
• Roles
• Disciplines

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Ethics

• Conflicts
• Dilemmas
• Positions
• Principles
• Standards
• Values

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Trends

• Direction
• Force
• Influence
• Mode
• Style
• Tendency

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Rules

• Code
• Method
• Order
• Protocol
• Structure
• Theorem

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Across the Disciplines

• Associate
• Connect
• Correlate
• Integrate
• Intersect
• Link

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Change Over Time

• Compare past
• present
• Note change across time
• Study past, present, future

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Contribution
The affect or impact one person or event has on
others.
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Origin
The beginning, root, foundation, source, or basis
for something.
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Parallel
How something is similar, matching, comparable,
or analogous.
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Paradox
Things that are opposite, contradictory, ironic
or illogical.
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Convergence
How ideas or events meet, intersect, concur,
merge, join or unite.
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How can I integrate the thinking tools into
Cornell notes?

• Teacher generates questions and student matches
  appropriate thinking tool and answer.
• Teacher chooses thinking tool and student
  generates question and answer.
• Student generates question, identifies thinking
  tool, and answers question.

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Other ideas for Cornells Thinking Tools

• Use TE to help write high level questions.
• Create iconic statements (combination of thinking
  tools).
• Differentiate Cornells to fit the needs of your
  students.
• Write summary/reflection prompts using thinking
  tools.
• Combine Costas (and/or the Keys) with thinking
  tools.
• Connect Thinking Tools to Thinking Maps ?.
• Layer Thinking Tools with Classics, Think Like a
  Disciplinarian, Current Events, Technology, and
  Metacognition.

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Reflection

• Why would this be important to you?
• Why would this be important to a school?
• Why would this be important to the world?