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Week 9

Instructional Notes

In Chapter 16, The Art of Redesigning Instruction, Paul emphasizes the importance of the reasoning process to learning.  In fact, he asserts that the most fundamental failure in education is the failure to teach students to reason well.  Instruction is not designed so that students go through a "figuring out" process to learn new material and this is exactly what is required.  Consider the following statement:

Very significant consequences follow from how students learn.  The depth with which they understand anything is in direct proportion to the degree to which they have engaged in intellectual labor to figure it out for themselves.  Whatever is to have meaning to them must be given meaning by them.  They must work new meanings into the network of meanings they already have.  They must relate new experiences to experiences they have already had.  They must relate new problems to problems they have already solved.  To create new meanings, to understand new experiences, to solve new problems, they must actively and intellectually participate in the "figuring out" process, going up and back between what they have already figured out and what they have not.

The above statement is an extremely important one and is key to understand in order to design effective instruction.  As we find most pre-packaged lessons, they do not foster students engaging in the "figuring out process".   For example, what do students learn from answering questions at the end of a chapter in a typical content area text?  They learn to leaf back through the chapter and find words that seem to fit the question and they write those words down. 

In fact, when we worked with junior high school students, if a question required them to interpret the text, or make inferences, they had no idea what to do.  They needed to see the exact words that fit the words in the question in the text.  Not having this, they went back to the text and lifted a direct quote,  whether it made any sense or not.  The point is, that for those students, the answer had to be found in the text as it was written, there was no ability to understand that some questions require interpretation or making inferences.   

In light of this experience I have had with middle school students, Dr. Paul's statement above seems extremely relevant and accurate.  However, since most textbook-designed lessons do not involve students learning "deeply," wherein they struggle to figure things out, it is only the teacher who can provide the depth by remodeling or redesigning the lessons.

But what does it take to "remodel" instruction, or as Dr. Paul puts it, "What Does This Basic Idea of Design Entail?"   Dr. Paul suggests that we need to keep five dimensions of critical thinking in mind as we redesign instruction, and these are:  the elements of reasoning, intellectual standards, intellectual abilities, modes of reasoning, and traits of mind.   We have already been introduced to the elements of reasoning, the intellectual standards, and the traits of mind in previous chapters.  Related to the "Elements," are the "Abilities," which Paul describes as the result of taking the elements into account in a variety of ways, which allows us to articulate important critical thinking moves that one can make in the process of figuring things out. 

If you look at the abilities on page 320 in your text, Critical Thinking:  Preparing Students for a Rapidly Changing World, you will see how the abilities are related to the elements and the standards. 

To have a closer, broader, and deeper look at these abilities, (otherwise known as "The 35 Dimensions of Critical Thought") look in your CRITICAL THINKING HANDBOOK.  Each of you has a "Critical Thinking Handbook" at the appropriate grade level for your own class.  Each of the Handbooks has a chapter which explains the 35 Strategies IN DEPTH.  Use this chapter as a resource as you develop your "redesigned lesson".  Take this week to look through the chapter and get familiar with the strategies.  You will notice that each strategy is explained in detail and is organized into three sections:  A "principle" section which provides the theory of critical thinking on which the principle is based, an "application" which provides examples of when and how the strategy can be used, and finally, a list of lesson plans in which the strategy is used.  These lesson plans are found in further chapters in your Handbook and will provide many examples of various remodeled or redesigned lessons. 

As you look over the many examples of "remodeled" lessons you will notice that they are presented in a fairly consistent format including the following sections: 

  1. Objectives of the Remodeled Plan: This is what you want your students to learn or be able to do as a result of the remodeled lesson.
  2. Standard Approach: This is a description of the lesson BEFORE you remodel it. The lesson that you remodel can be one that you have created and have taught, one you get out of a teacher's manual, one you find on the internet, get from a fellow teacher, etc.
  3. Critique of Original Lesson Plan: Be sure to include both the lesson's strengths and weaknesses in this section. Mention WHY you want to remodel this particular lesson.
  4. Strategies Used to Remodel Lesson: This is a list of the strategies you have used to remodel the lesson, including the number (S-1) and the description of the strategy (thinking independently). When you ask a question or have the students do an activity that is intended to have them use a particular strategy, insert the number of the strategy in the text of the lesson at that point. You will see examples of this in all of the remodeled lessons in your Handbook and in the text.
  5. The Remodeled Lesson Plan: A practice generally essential to an effective remodeled lesson is to be sure the students understand the "fundamental concepts" of the topic being studied. For example, if you are doing a lesson on "Natural Resources", a first step would be having students analyze the "key concept" by asking "What kinds of things are called natural resources? What aren't? Why? What qualifies something as a natural resource?(S-l5) What are natural resources used for? Why is this important to know about?(S-14) (Note how numbers of the relevant thinking strategies are inserted).

The above format is how I would like you to organize your own "remodeled lesson", using the bolded section headings as your section headings once you actually remodel your existing lesson, which you will do next week.  Use this week to get familiar with the process as described in the text and in your handbook.



Week 9 Assignment

  1. Read Chapter 16 very carefully. Paul says many very important things related to teaching and learning in this chapter and it is good to try to absorb it by thinking about it as you read it.
  2. Familiarize yourself with the 35 Strategies as described in your handbook and look over examples of "remodeled" lessons
  3. Decide on a lesson that you want to "remodel" and submit it to your Instructor with the following information:
    • The topic of the lesson
    • The grade level for which the lesson is intended
    • The reason you chose this particular lesson



A Glimpse Ahead

Your remodeled lesson will not be due until the end of Week 10.  I am giving you a little more time so you can get familiar with the process of remodeling lessons.  Once you have remodeled your lesson you will be uploading it to the Discussion Board so everyone can benefit from seeing what you have done and those who wish can comment on your lesson, making suggestions they may have.   We would then like you to TEACH this lesson to your class during Week 11 (you have had the benefit of your colleagues input in Week 10 so if you want to make any changes based on that input, feel free to do so). 

For Week 11:

Teach the remodeled lesson to your class.  Write a reflection on how it went once you have taught it.  (Find the requirements for the Reflection in the Instructional Notes for Week 11).  Then post your remodeled lesson again WITH YOUR REFLECTION ON HOW IT WENT.   

So when you are choosing a lesson to remodel, keep in mind that you will be teaching the remodeled version to your class.  If you do not have a class right now, see if you can teach the lesson in the class of a friend or a former Master Teacher, or whatever contact you may have.