Chapter One: The Thinking Classroom part one

Hopefully those of you reading this chapter see the connection to the MYP. The conceptual lens that Erickson discusses is essentially the areas of interaction from the MYP. Our guiding questions, as connected to the areas of interaction, should help students make the connections between facts and concepts.

One quote/idea I found to be powerful was about developing intellectual character…
“Many educators feel that the pressure to meet academic standards necessitates coverage and speed, and that there is not enough time to develop ‘intellectual character.’ But let’s not lose sight of the purpose of education. It has to be more than obtaining a fund of information or learning sets of descrete skills…Information without intellect is meaningless” [15].

I do think we fall into that trap so often. So what if we cover an entire book? Is it more important that the students understand what we can teach them? I think about my own learning in math. I was always a good math student, but I think it is because I understood what was being taught. The nature of the equation… that both sides are equal and no matter what you do, as long as you do it to both sides, the equation will still mean the same thing… is perhaps the most important concept in mathematics. If students truly understand that, then building upon that knowledge will be easier.

I also liked the Ron Richart’s frame for intellectual dispositions – creative thinking, critical thinking, and reflective thinking. To me, that’s the learner profile in a nutshell. In fact, I was so excited about this that I just ordered that book from Amazon [dontcha just love shoppin’ on line!]

I’m going to stop this post here and will post a part two in a couple of days. If you are reading, or if you’re just checking out the blog, I look forward to your posts. I think it will be easier for us to dialogue if we post rather than comment on the other posts. If you're not sure how, this is what Barbara reminded me [I forgot while on vacation]...

After you sign on and go to the blog page, on the top right by your email address, there should be a link that says 'New Post'