Definition: teaching strategy that helps students incorporate critical thinking skills through generalizing, interpreting, and exploring concepts in depth.
Benefits:
complex content
sophisticated student responses
rich classroom discussions
easy to assess
Limitations:
difficult for non-gifted students
students may lack experiences to create meaningful lists
may be difficult to use with all subjects
Socratic Method
Definition: the focus of providing students with continuous questions instead of answers creating an argumentative dialogue between individuals
Benefits:
engaging for teachers and students
focuses on individual beliefs
memorable classroom experiences
applicable among many subjects
Limitations:
some students may be afraid to talk
teacher could be biased with viewpoint
teacher and students may not be used to periods of silence
Questioning (levels of inquiry)
Definition: form of active learning by posing questions, problems, or scenarios
Benefits:
adaptable to different subjects and settings
deep understanding of content
can be used to reinforce core content
Limitations:
lack of prior knowledge to form thoughts and opinions
disruptive to test based standards (unless aligned appropriately)
difficult to train all teachers to do this
Problem-Based Learning
Definition: student centered approach where students solve open ended problems working in small groups
Benefits:
students work in teams
learn to manage projects and time
foster leadership roles
deep understanding of concepts
Limitations:
student and teacher unpreparedness
time consuming assessment
possible poor test performance
Bruner's structure of the intellect
Definition: focus on intellectual development rather than memorization of facts
Benefits:
discovery learning
develops problem solving skills for life-long learners
focus on inquiry
child's viewpoint
Limitations:
struggle to bring to schools
not curriculum focused
focused on accountability rather than thinking skills