Six Strategies for Differentiated Instruction in Project-Based Learning Project-based learning (PBL) naturally lends itself to differentiated instruction. By design, it is student-centered, student-driven, and gives space for teachers to meet the needs of students in a variety of ways. PBL can allow for effective differentiation in assessment as well as daily management and instruction. PBL experts will tell you this, but I often hear teachers ask for real examples, specifics to help them contextualize what it "looks like" in the classroom. We all need to try out specific ideas and strategies to get our brains working in a different context. 1. We all know that heterogeneous grouping works, but sometimes homogenous grouping can be an effective way to differentiate in a project. 2. Reflection is an essential component of PBL. 3. This is probably one of my favorites. 4. Another essential component of PBL is student voice and choice, both in terms of what students produce and how they use their time. 5. 6.
Critical thinking web Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally about what to do or what to believe. It includes the ability to engage in reflective and independent thinking. Someone with critical thinking skills is able to do the following : understand the logical connections between ideasidentify, construct and evaluate argumentsdetect inconsistencies and common mistakes in reasoningsolve problems systematicallyidentify the relevance and importance of ideasreflect on the justification of one's own beliefs and values Critical thinking is not a matter of accumulating information. Critical thinking should not be confused with being argumentative or being critical of other people. Some people believe that critical thinking hinders creativity because it requires following the rules of logic and rationality, but creativity might require breaking rules. Critical thinking is a domain-general thinking skill. Critical thinking is very important in the new knowledge economy.
Step by step guide to brainstorming By Jeffrey Baumgartner Preface: Brainstorming Is Not an Effective Creativity Tool Before you read the article below, there is one thing you should know. Brainstorming is not a very good way to generate creative ideas. The article below was first written in 1997. Meanwhile, I leave the original text of the Step by Step Guide to Brainstorming below for archival purposes. The Step by Step Guide to Brainstorming Brainstorming can be an effective way to generate lots of ideas on a specific issue and then determine which idea – or ideas – is the best solution. A brainstorming session requires a facilitator, a brainstorming space and something on which to write ideas, such as a white-board a flip chart or software tool. Brainstorming works best with a varied group of people. There are numerous approaches to brainstorming, but the traditional approach is generally the most effective because it is the most energetic and openly collaborative, allowing participants to build on each others' ideas.
Defining Critical Thinking It entails the examination of those structures or elements of thought implicit in all reasoning: purpose, problem, or question-at-issue; assumptions; concepts; empirical grounding; reasoning leading to conclusions; implications and consequences; objections from alternative viewpoints; and frame of reference. Critical thinking — in being responsive to variable subject matter, issues, and purposes — is incorporated in a family of interwoven modes of thinking, among them: scientific thinking, mathematical thinking, historical thinking, anthropological thinking, economic thinking, moral thinking, and philosophical thinking. Critical thinking can be seen as having two components: 1) a set of information and belief generating and processing skills, and 2) the habit, based on intellectual commitment, of using those skills to guide behavior. Critical thinking varies according to the motivation underlying it. Another Brief Conceptualization of Critical Thinking ~ Linda Elder, September, 2007
Scamper - Creativity tools from MindTools Improving Products and Services This tool can help you develop new products and services. © iStockphoto/aladin66 It can often be difficult to come up with new ideas when you're trying to develop or improve a product or service. This is where creative brainstorming techniques like SCAMPER can help. This tool helps you generate ideas for new products and services by encouraging you to think about how you could improve existing ones. We'll look at SCAMPER in this article. About the Tool SCAMPER is a mnemonic that stands for: Substitute.Combine.Adapt.Modify.Put to another use.Eliminate.Reverse. You use the tool by asking questions about existing products, using each of the seven prompts above. Alex Osborn, credited by many as the originator of brainstorming, originally came up with many of the questions used in the technique. Note: Remember that the word "products" doesn't only refer to physical goods. How to Use the Tool SCAMPER is really easy to use. First, take an existing product or service. Adapt
Critical Thinking Course Description: Critical Thinking is an introductory course in the principles of good reasoning. It covers pretty much the same subject as what is usually taught in practical logic, informal reasoning or the study of argumentation. This means that the main focus of the course lies in arguments, their nature, their use and their import. However, there are two major differences. The above features make Critical Thinking at once less formal and more dynamic than Logic. The present course is designed to serve as a methodical preparation for more effective reasoning and improved cognitive skills. The course includes the following areas of study: Introductory: Concepts, Propositions. Course Texts: The course is based on these textbooks and their incorporated or accompanying materials. Format: This course combines lectures, interpretive exercises in the assigned texts and practical logical exercises, classroom discussions, pop quizzes, tests, mind-teasers and exams. Objectives: Requirements:
DO IT - A Simple Creativity Process - Creativity Techniques from MindTools A Simple Process for Creativity Follow this 4-step process. © iStockphoto/3dbrained DO IT is a process for creativity. Techniques outlined earlier in this chapter focus on specific aspects of creative thinking. These help you to get the best out of the creativity techniques. DO IT is an acronym that stands for: D – Define problem.O – Open mind and apply creative techniques.I – Identify best solution.T – Transform. These stages are explained in more detail below: 1. This section concentrates on analyzing the problem to ensure that the correct question is being asked. Check that you are tackling the problem, not the symptoms of the problem. 2. Once you know the problem that you want to solve, you are ready to start generating possible solutions. At this stage of DO IT we are not interested in evaluating ideas. You can use the whole battery of creativity techniques covered earlier in this section to search for possible solutions. 3. 4. Many very creative people fail at this stage. Key Points
SWOT analysis A SWOT analysis, with its four elements in a 2×2 matrix. A SWOT analysis (alternatively SWOT matrix) is a structured planning method used to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats involved in a project or in a business venture. A SWOT analysis can be carried out for a product, place, industry or person. It involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieve that objective. Some authors credit SWOT to Albert Humphrey, who led a convention at the Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International) in the 1960s and 1970s using data from Fortune 500 companies.[1][2] However, Humphrey himself does not claim the creation of SWOT, and the origins remain obscure. Identification of SWOTs is important because they can inform later steps in planning to achieve the objective. Matching and converting[edit] One way of utilizing SWOT is matching and converting.
Creative Problem Solving Basics: the technique Preface I wrote this article on creative problem solving (CPS) in 2010. However, not long after writing it, a growing unhappiness with the method as a creativity technique caused me to analyse the CPS methodology in detail, identify its flaws and devise a better approach. In 2011, I did that with anticonventional thinking (ACT). Nevertheless, a large number of creativity consultants and others swear by CPS. Creative Problem Solving (CPS) Basics Creative ideas do not suddenly appear in people's minds for no apparent reason. Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison and other creative geniuses have always worked in the same way. This approach has been formalised as Creative Problem Solving (CPS). Although creative problem solving has been around as long as humans have been thinking creatively and solving problems, it was first formalised as a process by Alex Osborn, who invented traditional brainstorming, and Sidney Parnes. However, there are numerous different approaches to CPS.
Your Future Depends on Your Creative Mind Your future, and your children's future, depends on your being able to add value where computer software cannot. This means that you and your children need to be creative thinkers and, even more importantly, recognise the potential value of creative ideas. The biggest threat to your job and your working future is not outsourcing to China or India. A Brief History of Technological Advancement For the past 200 years, technology has been replacing jobs. Of course, technology also improved the efficiency of factories. As long as productivity generally grows along with technological development, this works just fine. To put it in a nutshell, technology has been replacing jobs relentlessly for two centuries. The the jobs replaced by technology have not been intellectually demanding, so that labourers, who typically do not have higher educations, can quickly learn new tasks. For instance, legal discovery software can scan far more case law and legislation than can experienced paralegals.
EyeWire Creativity Cards Ten Steps to Better Student Engagement Tristan de Frondeville As a teacher, my goal was to go home at the end of each day with more energy than I had at the beginning of the day. Seriously. Now, as I travel the country coaching teachers on how to successfully use project learning, my goal remains the same. And I try to teach educators the strategies they need to achieve this goal in their own classrooms. A teacher in one of my workshops said, "When my students and I are in the flow, then I don't feel like I have to work as hard." Project-based classrooms with an active-learning environment make such in-the-flow moments more common. The good news is that the strategies for creating and managing high-quality project-learning environments are productive in any classroom, whether project learning is a central part of the curriculum or not. Create an Emotionally Safe Classroom Students who have been shamed or belittled by the teacher or another student will not effectively engage in challenging tasks. Cultivate Your Engagement Meter