-- Teaching Thinking A Guide for the Perplexed Yoram Harpaz Mandel Leadership Institute, Jerusalem [email protected] ?Why teach thinking The explosion of knowledge Knowledge is expanding Knowledge is accessible Knowledge is relative How teach thinking when... . There are an awful lot of theories around Robert Sternberg With so much controversy in the air, its understandable that only a few teachers and schools make the attempt. -- David Perkins Mind Workers Unite!
-- Arthur Costa Approaches to Teaching Thinking The Main Question: what is the foundational element of good thinking and how is it taught? Skills Approach Dispositions Approach Understanding Approach Some definitions Skills: means of thinking implemented rapidly and precisely (e.g. heuristics, tools, organizers). Neutral skills: means of thinking that render common cognitive processes more efficient (e.g. classifying, grading, comparing, deciding, etc.). Normative skills: means of thinking that create uncommon cognitive processes (e.g. breaking patterns, devising problems, exposing premises, discovering biases, etc.). Some definitions Disposition: intellectual trait that is conciously
chosen and justified. Thinking dispositions: traits with direct impact on thinking. Disposition to think: to engage and be engaged in thinking. Some definitions Understanding: locating knowledge in relevant and rich contexts and/or performance intellectual moves with knowledge. Substantive understanding: understanding the substance of thinking. Reflective understanding: understanding thinking or the conditions that make it good thinking. Patterns of teaching thinking Teaching: education through knowledge Skills Impartation Disposition Cultivation Understanding Construction The Approaches as Worldviews
Skills: Good Thinker is efficient thinker Dispositions: Good Thinker is wise thinker Understanding: Good Thinker is learned thinker The approaches as lenses Thinking Shortfalls Skills: faults (lack of thinking skills or their faulty application) Dispositions: weaknesses (character flaws or weak ego) Understanding: misunderstandings Metacognition Intelligence Transfer The Metaphorical Aspects The essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another. (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980) Skills: thinking as a toolbox Dispositions: thinking as deep currents
Understanding: thinking as a net The practical aspect: the approaches in school Skills standard deviation: taming Dispositions standard deviation: preaching Understandings standard deviation: lecturing Approaches The Skills The Characteristic Approach Dispositions s Approach The Understanding Approach Foundational element
Skills Dispositions Understanding Patterns of teaching Impartati on Cultivation Construction Ideologies: "the good thinker" Efficient thinker
Wise thinker Learned thinker Metaphors for Toolbox thinking Deep currents Net Standard deviation Taming Preaching Lecturing Examples Edward
De Bono, CoRT Arthur Costa, Habits of Mind David Perkins & Howard Gardner, Teaching for Understanding Two Essential Questions What to believe. 1 ?why three What to do. 2 ? which approach is best 1. Three elements of good thinking correspond to three components of thinking: Thinking skills
Processes of thinking Thinking disposition Qualities of thinking Understanding Contents of thinking 2. Teach skills and dispositions within the understanding approach and the pattern of construction. Approaches Characteristics Theories, programs, ideas examples The Skills Approach The Dispositions Approach
The Understanding Approach De Bono CoRT Ennis - Taxonomy of critical chinking Beyer - Direct teaching of thinking Perkins - Thinking frames Perkins & Swartz - Graphic organizers Swartz & Parks Infusion Sternberg Intelligence implied Treffinger, Isaksen & Dorval - Creative problem polving Johnson & Blair Informal logic Chaffee - thinking critically
Whimbey & Lochhead Problem solving Feuerstein. Instrumental Perkins Dispositions theory of thinking Tishman Thinking dispositions Costa - Habits of mind Baron Theory of rationality Langer Mindfulness Barrel Thoughtfulness Facione - Critical thinking dispositions Passmore Critical thinking as a character trait Siegel The spirit of the critical thinker Sternberg Successful
intelligence Golman - Perkins - Understanding performances Gardner - Understanding in the disciplines Wiske Teaching for understanding Wiggins & McTighe Understanding by design Paul - Critical thinking in the strong sense McPeck - The reflective critical thinker Brown Community of learners Smith - Understanding as good thinking Brooks & Brooks Constructivist instruction Lipman - Philosophy for children Harpaz & Lefstein - Community of thinking Approaches Characteristics
The Skills Approach The Dispositions Approach The Understanding Approach The foundational element of good thinking Skills: Thinking tools used efficiently - quickly and precisely - in given circumstances. Dispositions: Motivation for good thinking which is formed by reasonable choices. Understanding: The ability to locate a
concept in a context of other concepts, to implement concepts in new contexts and perform thinking processes with knowledge. Types of foundational elements Neutral skills; Normative skills Thinking dispositions; Disposition to think Substantive understanding; Reflective understanding Patterns of teaching The pattern of impartation
The pattern of cultivation The pattern of construction Ideologies: "the good thinker" Efficient thinker Wise thinker Learned thinker Typical Thinking shortfalls Faults Weaknesses Misunderstandings Meta-cognition
Metacognition is skill Metacognition is disposition Metacognition is understanding Intelligence Intelligence is constituted of skills Intelligence is constituted of dispositions Intelligence is constituted of understandings Attempt at reductionism Disposition and understanding are
included in skill Skill and understanding are included in disposition Skill and disposition are included in understanding Metaphors for thinking Toolbox Deep currents Net Standard deviation Taming Preaching
Lecturing Slogan Give the child a fishing rod! Give the child bait! Give the child knowledge of the fishing field!
