1. 2. If you were able to hear the music (or voices), please click on the green Agree check (see image) Sound Check Time: 3:30– 3:50p.m. Tour of Adobe Connect: 3:50p.m. Webinar Start Time: 4:00 p.m. Webinar End Time: 5:00 p.m. 1. Please complete the Audio Setup Wizard you will find this by clicking on “Meeting” on upper left of your screen Welcome to Today’s Webinar The Art of Questioning in the Critically Thoughtful Classroom

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3. Today’s Session is a collaboration between Alberta Teachers Association and APRDC Developed by ARPDC as a result of a grant from Alberta Education to support implementation

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13. The Art of Questioning in the Critically Thoughtful Classroom The Alberta Teachers’ Association Presented by Nate Siler nate.siler@gmail.com

14. Brief background of myself Born and raised in Central Alberta Both parents were teachers 1998-2002: B. of Sci. in Geophysics 2004-06: B. of Ed. 2006-2008: M. of A. in Psychology 2006-09: Teach middle school science 2008: Decide to marry another teacher 2009-14: Teach high school science and act as an FNMI counsellor

16. Guiding Question for the Workshop How can teachers develop questions and questioning strategies that challenge students to think critically? A-2

17. How can teachers develop questions and questioning strategies that challenge students to think critically?

18. To answer this question the workshop will: briefly explore the concept of critical thinking, focus on questions and questioning strategies, and provide resources to continue to learn and apply critical questioning strategies. A-3

19. Quotation: A-6 “To get students to think for themselves as they read, teachers have to stop thinking for them.” Maren Aukerman

20. A-6 “To get students to think for themselves as they read, teachers have to stop thinking for them.” Maren Aukerman

21. Build a Community of Thinkers Why is it important to build trust and comfort prior to engaging in any learning activity that involves questioning? A-8

22. Why is it important to build trust and comfort prior to engaging in any learning activity that involves questioning? A-8

23. Build a Community of Thinkers, continued refers to the collective of thinkers brain research says that an environment of caring and trust is a learning prerequisite students need to feel valued and important A-9

24. Developmental Readiness in Adolescents: begin to think abstractly at age 11 or 12 can reflect and hypothesize analyze their own and others’ thoughts can be more introspective, self-aware can examine several perspectives analyze their own and others’ thoughts Nancy Carisson-Paige and Linda Lantieri A-10

25. Teachers need to: foster questions and questioning promote discussion and reflection model critical thinking that demonstrates fair-mindedness and open-mindedness A-12

26. foster questions and questioning How do you engage the silent/reserved students? A-12

27. promote discussion and reflection List some ways this can be done: A-12

28. model critical thinking that demonstrates fair-mindedness and open-mindedness Examples of modeling open-mindedness: A-12

29. Let’s Question some Critical Questions:

34. Philosoraptor Many meme creation sites have a philosoraptor background. There are just as many philosoraptor questions that are appropriate than those that aren’t. memegenerator.net Memes + kids = laughter

35. Bennett and Rolheiser state the purposes of thinking critically are to— increase the chances that we make wise decisions in our search for truth. assist us in finding weaknesses or flaws in our own and others’ thinking and actions. assist in planning and predicting appropriate courses of action. B-4

36. The Critical Thinking Consortium ( TC 2 ) Definition of Critical Thinking Critical thinking is the thinking through of a problematic situation about what to believe or how to act where the thinker makes a reasoned judgment that reflects competent use of the intellectual tools for quality thinking. © The Critical Thinking Consortium (TC 2 ) (used with permission) B-5

37. How do we ensure our students face enough problematic situations?

38. Certain words tend to point towards different levels of questioning. If I was to rank questions:  1. Why  2. How  3. Where, When, Who, What The third set of questions can be answered with Google, Wikipedia, or Wolfram.

39. The TC 2 believes that critical thinking is... a complex activity, not a set of generic skills concerned with judging or assessing what is reasonable or sensible in a situation focused on quality reasoning, not on performing a specific set of mental operations continued B-6

40. The TC 2 believes that critical thinking is... dependent on the possession of relevant knowledge applicable in endless contexts and is required whenever the situation is problematic effortful, but not necessarily negative. © The Critical Thinking Consortium (TC 2 ) (used with permission) B-6

41. A Picture is Worth 1000 Words? In the last video we heard mention of the famous idiom “A picture is worth 1000 words.” Allowing students to evaluate pictures from Worth1000 can keep students engaged http://www.worth1000.com/galleries/

46. This can be used with younger ages…

48. How can the TC 2 model help to frame our thinking and our practice? TC 2 Model of Critical Thinking Community of Thinkers Critical Challenges Teach and Assess the Intellectual Tools Background Knowledge Criteria for Judgment Critical Thinking Vocabulary Thinking Strategies Habits of Mind © The Critical Thinking Consortium (used with permission) B-12

49. All About Questions and Questioning What are the qualities of effective questions and how do they promote critical thinking? C-1

50. What are the qualities of effective questions and how do they promote critical thinking? C-1

51. © The Critical Thinking Consortium (used with permission) Type 1Type 2Type 3 How many calories are there in a litre of ice cream? What is your favourite flavour of ice cream? Should ice cream be part of a family's diet? Describe three events Fraser encountered on his descent down the river? Would you have joined Fraser on his journey? Was Fraser a hero or a rogue? Who is the Mayor of Lethbridge? Would you like to be Mayor of Lethbridge? Would aspiring to be Mayor of Lethbridge be a wise career choice for you? What did the Inuit use to make tools? Which Arctic animal would you prefer as a pet? Which animal–the seal or the caribou–contributed more to traditional Inuit life? C-5

52. Three Types of Questions Factual Recall Has a single correct answer or limited range of responses Are often “right there” questions Useful to assess students’ comprehension of key facts and processes Personal Preference Asks students to express a personal point of view or a preference Often not grounded in criteria but evokes an emotional response Based on “gut” reactions There are no wrong answers Critical Inquiry Promotes decision making and problem solving through criterial thinking Are often open-ended questions although there is a limited number of reasonable answers Requires thinking of information excluded by an author Requires thoughtful consideration of evidence gathered against a set of criteria. Tends to build on human curiosity and require investigation Leads to the convergence of new learning with prior understandings, or the application of criteria. © The Critical Thinking Consortium (used with permission) C-6

53. Examples in Action Think over the last couple school days. Can you think of a topic you are teaching in which you questioned the students in all three levels: factual recall, personal preference, critical inquiry?

54. Topic examples:

55. Use Your Library! Many of our libraries subscribe to magazines and journals whose articles can be the catalyst for critical thinking: Some of the magazines I use for grades 6- 12:

56. Can each of you give an example of an excellent source for your subject and grade level to pique interest in reading excerpts or articles?

57. Critical Thinking Questions Should: Challenge learners to make an assessment among plausible options. Spark more questions, encourage inquiry. Limit the amount of required background knowledge. Encourage more than one correct response. C-7

58. Critical Inquiry Questions Should Not: Focus on locating just basic facts that answer who, what, where, and when questions. Ask about personal preferences or feelings. C-8

59. It’s a Teacher’s Life, Cartoons by David Sipress A PLUME Book, Published by the Penguin Group D-1

60. “Students hear us talk, talk, and talk about thesis statements, topic sentences, outlines, 500 words, and five paragraphs; but they hear little talk about collecting, percolating and generating information.” D Kirby and D Liner, 2004. D-2

61. Resources available for free from the TC 2 Visit www.tc2.ca for a free download of Issue One.www.tc2.ca Tools for Thought is an online program, delivered electronically. Its goal is to help elementary and secondary students master a repertoire of thinking concepts and strategies to improve their success in school and their ability to think critically about a variety of topics. Every issue contains ready-to-use teacher and student resources: * organized around a topical social issue * featuring a critical thinking concept * introducing four literacy strategies in the following areas: text/visual, oral, writing, and research * supporting self-regulated mastery by encouraging independent student use in the classroom and beyond. D-5

62. Thoughtful Books Series Visit www.tc2.ca for free downloads of all 9 teachers’ guides. Nine Thoughtful Books Teachers’ Guides are available. The Thoughtful Books series makes use of exemplary children’s literature to help young readers learn to read critically and to thoughtfully consider ethical matters. D-6

63. Many additional resources are available to support teachers in their work to implement Critical Thinking in the classroom. Visit www.tc2.ca D-7

64. Booking a follow-up workshop: To book a detailed, follow-up workshop on “Infusing Critical Thinking in the Curriculum K–12,” please contact— Wally Diefenthaler, Alberta Regional Director for the TC2 at dief@shaw.ca D-8

65. ATA Specialist Councils Remember that there are many ATA Specialist Councils. By logging into the ATA website, you can sign-up for your first membership to a specialist council for free. Additional councils are of a small nominal fee.

66. The ATA Library 1. Login to teachers.ab.ca 2. Find “Access Your Sites” 3. Find the subcategory “Your ATA Tools” 4. Select “ATA Library.”

67. Simple Strategies Allowing time to practice metacognition. Making thinking audible. Encouraging and guiding opportunities for social interaction. Recognizing that metacognition involves emotional considerations. continued C-16

68. Simple Strategies Teaching students to coach themselves. Building thinking time into the activity. Providing praise that is both encouraging and skeptical. Providing high expectations, more background and detailed instructions. continued C-16

69. Simple Strategies Using real life examples where possible. Not coaxing students to come up with your answer. Finding relevancy in the task so that students can connect with the assignment. Avoiding providing the answers yourself. C-17

70. Successful Strategies You Use?

71. Further questions? Please contact me. nate.siler@gmail.com @NateSiler https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9foi34 2LXQE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9foi34 2LXQE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrzMh U_4m-g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrzMh U_4m-g

72. Teacher Talks Webinar Series Universal Design for Learning: Supporting Diverse Learning Needs February, 24, 2015: Kelly Reirson To Register http://www.learning-network.org/programs/register/1213http://www.learning-network.org/programs/register/1213 About the Workshop: Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a research-based educational framework based on a set of principles and guidelines that can be used to guide teacher planning and the selection of learning resources and activities to support individual learning differences. This discussion will focus on: Providing an introduction and overview of UDL Exploring three principles of UDL – representation, action, and engagement, Identifying barriers to learning and potential solutions. Participants will also discuss and share tools and web resources that can assist teachers as they seek to apply the principles of UDL in the classroom to support the diverse learning needs of their students.