Time for The Big Think David V. Loertscher & Carol Koechlin

Traditional Assignments Choose a topic or a topic is assigned Do research Create a product Share Get a grade The end! The end! Koechlin & Loertscher 20092

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Watching the Game Koechlin & Loertscher Who? Why How? So What?

Content and Process: What We Know; How We Learn It Koechlin & Loertscher Content Knowledge 21 st Century Skills Real Learning

Process Drives Content Koechlin & Loertscher Content Knowledge 21 st century Skills

Content Knowledge What I Know and Can Do What I Deeply Understand Science Social Studies Literature Mathematics The Arts Koechlin & Loertscher 20097

21 st Century Skills & Learning to Learn Improving Skills Habits of Mind Responsibility Knowledge Building Skills Learning Literacy Skills Technology Skills Collaborative Skills Intellectual Curiosity Self reliance and Leadership Critical and Creative Thinking Interdependent Thinking Work Ethic Academic Honesty Helping others Work Safely and Ethically Value and Respect Koechlin & Loertscher 20098

Triple Your Investment Students – Consider content – Reflect on process Teaching Partners – Reflect on learning – Improve teaching School Improvement Koechlin & Loertscher 20099

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The BIG THINK Elevates projects The product isn’t the end, it is the beginning! Transform learning into something new Collective knowledge building Koechlin & Loertscher Bottom line –Build on student understanding to keep the thinking flowing!

BIG THINK Strategies So What? What Next? The Big Think Conduct active discussion Present a problem or challenge with a new question Invite students to create new questions Write about larger ideas, concepts and process of learning Engage with H.O.T.S. Collaboratively build charts, diagrams, maps etc. Interact with an expert Re-create to deepen understanding Play with ideas Take action Take part in the real world Koechlin & Loertscher

Koechlin & Loertscher

Koechlin & Loertscher

Koechlin & Loertscher

BIG THINK about unit content So What? – What are the important ideas we explored? – What does this tell us about the topic? – What does this mean? – What new understandings emerge? What Next? What new questions do I/we have? What else do we want to explore? How can we use what we know to do better next time? What action can I/we take? How can I/we make use of this new knowledge in the real world? Koechlin & Loertscher

Content Example Who deserves the ‘Book of the Year’ award? So What? What makes a book great? What Next? How can we promote our favorite reads? Koechlin & Loertscher

positive mindsets How do we encourage positive mindsets about learning to learn? Koechlin & Loertscher

Reinforcing Effort Reinforcing Effort Marzano, Pickering and Pollock2001 Studies have demonstrated that some students are not aware of the fact that the effort they put into a task has a direct effect on their success relative to the task. ‘the effort belief’ Koechlin & Loertscher

Mindset: the new psychology of success Mindset: the new psychology of success by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D. Fixed Mindset Leads to a desire to look smart and therefore a tendency to – Avoid challenges – Get defensive and give up early – See effort as fruitless or worse – Ignore useful negative feedback – Feel threatened by the success of others As a result they may plateau early and achieve less than their full potential. Koechlin & Loertscher

Mindset: the new psychology of success Mindset: the new psychology of success by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D. Growth Mindset Leads to a desire to learn and therefore a tendency to – Embrace challenges – Persist in the face of setbacks – Use effort as a path to mastery – Learn from criticism – Find lessons and inspiration in the success of others As a result they reach ever higher levels of achievement. Koechlin & Loertscher

What does the brain have to do with education? The brain is malleable. And the research is showing that if students think they can learn, then they do. If they think their intelligence is fixed at a low level – whether because of social or economic status, skin colour, gender, family history, which country they live in – then they stick to that level. Brains: the secret to better schools Brains: the secret to better schools The Toronto Star – a series of articles researched and written by Alanna Mitchell a Toronto-based writer and journalist who specializes in global science issues. Koechlin & Loertscher

Brain Based Learning The more we understand the brain, the better we’ll be able to design instruction to match how it learns best. Wolfe 2001 Carol Koechlin

BIG THINK about unit process What strategies did we use to learn? How did these strategies work for us? Which worked well or didn’t work well and for whom? So What? Could we have learned more in the time we had? Are we all getting better as learners? What Next? How can we use our findings to improve as learners? Koechlin & Loertscher

Process Example Do collaborative Web 2.0 writing environments enhance quantity and quality of production? So What? How does our writing measure up to traditional writing standards? How does writing change in Web 2.0 environments? What Next? How do learners feel that writing should be assessed in Web 2.0 spaces? Koechlin & Loertscher

Teacher BIG THINK Reflect on Learning – What did they learn? How did they learn it? – Why is this important? Teaching to Learn – Content and Process – Ongoing Assessment and intervention – Teaching and Learning Strategies – Learning Environment Koechlin & Loertscher

Sandbox Thinking Collect and Connect QuestionReflect View from different perspectives Play with 180° thinking Experiment and test ideas Think outside the box Build a kaleidoscope of ideas Mix it upCreateInvent Koechlin & Loertscher

AASL BIG THINK Write down 3 BIG IDEAS you gained from this session today. So What? Show me! How do the connections we have made together here at AASL impact the future of TEACHING & LEARNING? Show me! What Next? What action will you take to use our new collective knowledge to transform school libraries and programs? Lead the way! Lead the way! Koechlin & Loertscher