Many have advocated for the development of the knowledge and skills necessary to become life-long learners. Some have called those skills the 4 Cs: communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity. Others cite renewed emphasis on a new set of 3Rs: rather than reading, writing, and arithmetic, it might be re-examining, reasoning, and reflection or more emphasis on higher-order reasoning skills at an earlier age. One way to conceptualize critical thinking is in terms of the other three Cs - communication (getting information and insights from others), collaboration (working on complex and challenging learning tasks with others), and creativity (trying out alternative approaches and new ideas). Prior efforts have focused on young adults and science, technology, engineering and mathematics subject areas. Our approach focuses on young learners who do not encounter their worlds in terms of traditional disciplines. In addition, prior efforts have been limited to one unit of instruction or one course. Our notion is that inquiry and critical thinking skills need to be developed early so that those skills become habits of mind. Such an approach requires sustained interventions over a number of years. This presentation will present the background philosophy, theory, and research, along with examples of development efforts and plans to evaluate the impact on learning and instruction. Constraints and obstacles to progress will also be discussed since so many prior efforts have had so little sustained impact.
Many have advocated for the development of the knowledge and skills necessary to become life-long learners. Some have called those skills the 4 Cs: communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity. Others cite renewed emphasis on a new set of 3Rs: rather than reading, writing, and arithmetic, it might be re-examining, reasoning, and reflection or more emphasis on higher-order reasoning skills at an earlier age. One way to conceptualize critical thinking is in terms of the other three Cs - communication (getting information and insights from others), collaboration (working on complex and challenging learning tasks with others), and creativity (trying out alternative approaches and new ideas). Prior efforts have focused on young adults and science, technology, engineering and mathematics subject areas. Our approach focuses on young learners who do not encounter their worlds in terms of traditional disciplines. In addition, prior efforts have been limited to one unit of instruction or one course. Our notion is that inquiry and critical thinking skills need to be developed early so that those skills become habits of mind. Such an approach requires sustained interventions over a number of years. This presentation will present the background philosophy, theory, and research, along with examples of development efforts and plans to evaluate the impact on learning and instruction. Constraints and obstacles to progress will also be discussed since so many prior efforts have had so little sustained impact.
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