June 19, 2013
Becoming Better  |
| teacher and student of thinking |
Teaching Deep Thinking: A skill needed by just about everybody
by Vicki Hinesley
What is the most crucial skill we can teach? It has to be the ability to think well. Most of us have never been taught how to think deeply. We believe it is something we acquire as we grow, much like learning to talk. Now as an educator, I find that it is rare to find students that can think beyond the obvious, surface elements of complex issues that educators are increasingly requiring them to consider. Not long ago, I was debriefing with a class of fourth graders who had been studying the relationships between strong shapes and building structures made of drinking straws. We looked at websites that explained how changing shapes in a structure could strengthen it. We even created 3-D shapes to watch the effect of adding pressure to the shape. I figured my students would be able to apply these activities as they created their own structures that could span a 20 cm distance between two tables. Most students had difficulty explaining the activity clearly enough when another teacher entered the room and asked, "What are you doing with all these straws?" I tried asking leading questions that might jump-start their thinking, but most still struggled. I decided to address the need for explicit instruction in how to think deeply and communicate it to others.
This is the introductory post to my Thinkrz blog. My goal is to share the process I have used in teaching strategic thinking skills to students and adults. I will be adding more information about the process in the next several days. I would appreciate any feedback readers may have concerning their strategies, successes, and thoughts about improving thinking.
Vicki Hinesley is a teacher for Grapevine-Colleyville ISD in Grapevine, Texas. She is studying a program called Mind, Brain and Eduction from the University of Texas at Arlington. Her interests include finding out how people learn and how to use that information to improve education.
