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Lesson 7

IT for Higher Thinking Skills and Creativity

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Among the assignments may be a research on a given topic. This teaching approach has been proven successful for achieving learning outcomes following the lower end of Bloom’s Taxonomy: knowledge, comprehension, and application are concerned.

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But a new challenge has arisen fro today’s

learners and this is not simply to achieve

learning objectives but to encourage the development of

students who can do more than receive,

recall, recite, and apply the knowledge they

have acquired.

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Today, students are expected to be not only

cognitive, but also flexible, analytical and creative. In this lesson,

there are methods proposed for the use of

computer-based techlonologies as an integral support to

higher thinking skills and creativity.

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Higher Level Learning Outcomes

To define higher level thinking skills and creativity, we may adopt a framework that is a helpful synthesis of many models and definitions on the subject matter.

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The framework is not exhaustive but a helpful guide for the teacher’s effort to understand the learner’s higher learning process.

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ComplexThinking Skills

Sub-skills

1. Focusing Defining the problem, goal/objective-setting, brainstorming.

2. Information Gathering

Selection, recording of data of information.

3. Remembering Associating, relating new data with old.

4. Analyzing Identifying idea constructs, patterns

5. Generating Deducing, inducting, elaborating

6. Organizing Classifying, relating

7. Imagining Visualizing, predicting

8. Designing Planning, formulating

9. Integration Summarizing, abstracting

10. Evaluating Setting criteria, testing idea, verifying outcomes, revising

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Given these complex thinking skills, the modern day teacher can now be guided on his goal to help student achieve higher level thinking skills and creativity beyond the ordinary bench-mark of the student’s passing, even excelling achievement tests.

The Upgraded Project Method

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Given the fact that the ordinary classroom is awfully lacking in instructional toolkits to bring students to the higher domains of learning and achieving, the project method is suggested.

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To explain, the project method for higher learning outcomes consists in having the students work on project on projects with depth, complexity, duration and relevance to the real world.

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Improving on the Dewey project method, this new method involves students in the active creation of information, such that there is sustained reflective thinking on topics that have a real-world quality to them.

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In this revised project method, there is a tighter link between the use of projects for simply coming up with products to having the students undergo the process of complex/higher thinking under the framework of the constructivist paradigm.

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Under this framework, the students, not the teacher, make decisions about what to put into the project, how to organize information, how to package the outcomes for presentation, and the like.

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Meanwhile, the teacher, without staying away from the project endeavor, guides and facilitates the learning process.

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The ProcessThe process of project implementation takes the students to the steps, efforts, and experiences in project completion. Meanwhile, thus principle to be borne in mind is that:

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THE PROCESS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE

PRODUCTThe process refers to the thinking/effective/psycho-motor process that occurs on the part of the learner. This comprises the journey that actualizes learning.

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The product is the result of this all-important process consisting in possibly a summary, a poster, an essay, a term paper dramatic presentation, or an

IT-based product.

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This is the destination which should be rewarding, but as the teacher seek to develop in students higher level thinking skills and creativity, he/she should give more focus and attention to the journey.

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In the succeeding lessons, we shall examine examples of IT-based projects. These are:

Resource-based projectsSimple creationsGuided hyper-media projectsWeb-based projects

But for now, let’s recap: LET’S TAKE THE JOURNEY TO HIGHER/COMPLEX THINKING SKILLSS AND CREATIVITY for teaching-and-learning in an information age.

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Discussion.1. Does the new framework on higher thinking skills and creativity mean that teachers should no longer make efforts to help students pass/excel in achievement tests? Explain.

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Lesson 8

Higher Thinking Skills Through IT-

based Projects

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A college freshman once thought of taking a rest in a library after classes by casually taking reference books off the shelf and browsing over their contents. Being a liberal arts student, he lifted a book of St. Thomas Aquinas, the famous proponent of Scholastic Philosophy.

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The written words of the Doctor of Philosophy didn’t come easy in the understanding of the student, but the nonetheless mulled over each word and phrase, reflecting over the ideas leisurely.

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After a few minutes, the student felt awakened to the fact that he was engaged in a very pleasant activity, such that he exclaimed to himself, ”Wow, I’m thinking!”

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The story didn’t end there because since that day, reflective study became the student’s pleasurable and most profitable activity.

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Unwittingly, he made an opening for exercising higher thinking skills. As a reward, the student carried himself through college with the highest honors and achievements.

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In this lesson, we shall discuss four types of IT-based projects which can effectively be used in order to engage students in activities of a higher plane of thinking.

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To be noted is the fact that these projects differ on the specific process and skills employed, also in the ultimate activity of platform used to communicate completed products to others.

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It is to be understood that these projects do not address all of the thinking skills shown previously in the Thinking Skills Framework.

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But these projects represent constructivist projects,contaning the key elements of a constructivist approach to instruction, namely:

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The teacher creating the learning environment.

The teacher giving students the tools and facilities and

The teacher facilitating learning.

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On the other hand, it is the students themselves who demonstrate higher thinking skills and creativity through such activities searching for information, organizing and synthesizing ideas, creating presentations and the like.

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IT –based projects conductive to develop higher thinking skills and creativity among learners.

I. Resource Based Projects

In these projects, the teacher steps out of the traditional role of being a content expert and information provider, and instead let the students find their own facts and information.

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The general flow of events in resource-based projects are:

1. The teacher determines the topic for the examination of the class(e.g. Definition of “man”)

2. The teacher presents the problem to the class.

3. The teacher find information on the problem/questions.

4. Students organize their information in response to the problem/questions.

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Relating to finding information, the central principle is to make the students go beyond the textbook and curriculum materials.

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Students are also encouraged to go the library, particularly to the modern extension library, the internet.

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Furthermore, the inquiry-based or discovery approach is given importance in resource-based projects.

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This requires that the students, individually or cooperatively with members of his group, relate gathered information to the real world.

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Finally, the process is given more importance than the project product. It doesn’t matter for example, if each group comes up with the different answer to the problem.

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What matters are the varied sources of information, the line of thinking and the ability to argue in defense of their answers.

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The difference between the traditional and resourced-

based learning approach to instruction.Traditional learning

ModelResource-based Learning

Model

Teacher is expert and information provider

Teacher is a guide and facilitator

Textbook is key source of information

Sources are varied( print, video, internet, etc.)

Focus on facts information is packaged in neat parcels

Focus on learning inquiry/quest/discovery

The product is the be- all and end-all of learning

Emphasis on process

Assessment is quantitative Assessment is quantitative and qualitative

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II. SIMPLE CREATIONS.Students can also be assigned to create their software materials to supplement the need for relevant and effective materials. Of course, there are available software materials such as Creative Writer(by Microsoft) on writing, Kidwork Deluxe(by Davidson) on drawing and painting, and Media Weave(by Humanities software)on multimedia.

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In developing software, creativity as an outcome should not be equated with ingenuity or high intelligence. Creating is more consonant with planning, making, assembling, designing, or building.Cretivity is said to combine three kind of skills/abilities:

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Analyzing-distinguishing similarities and differences/seeing the project as a problem to be solved.

Synthesizing-making spontaneous connections among ideas, thus generating interesting or new ideas

Promoting-selling of new ideas to allow the public to test the ideas themselves.

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To develop creativity, the following 5 key tasks may be recommended:

1.Define the task. Clarify the goal of the completed project of the student.

2.Brainstorm. The students themselves will be allowed to generate their own ideas on the project.

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3. Judge the ideas. The students themselves make an appraisal for or against any idea. Only when students are completely off track should the teacher intervene.

4. Act. The students do their work with the teacher a facilitator.

5.Adopt flexibility. The students should be allowed to shift gears and not follow an action path rigidly.

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Discussion.Should the aspects of expense and the time be considered in creativity projects? Explain.

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Lesson 9

Computers as Information and Communication

Technology

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In the Ed, Tech. 1, the role of the computer in education was well discussed. It was pointed out that the advent of the computer is recognized as the third revolution in education. The first was the invention of the printing press,

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The second, the introduction of libraries; thirds, the invention of the computer, especially so with the advent of the microcomputer in 1975.Thus emerged computer technology in education.

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Through computer technology, educators saw the amplification of learning along computer literacy. Much like reading, the modern student can now interact worth computer messages,

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even respond to questions or to computer commands. Again like writing, the learner can form messages using computer language or program.

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Soon computer-assisted instruction( CAI) was introduced using the principle of individualized learning through a positive climate that includes realism and appeal with drill exercises that uses color, music and animation.

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The novelty of CAI has not waned to this day especially in the basic education level as this is offered by computer-equipped private schools. But the evolving pace of innovation in today’s information age is so dynamic that within

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the first decade of the 21st century, computer technology in education has matured to transform into an educative information and communication technology(ICT) in education.

56FIGURE 6-USES OF THE COMPUTER AS ICT IN EDUCATION

Communication Media

( Internet)E-mail(text and

video)Chat roomsBlog sitesNews

Services(print, video clip)

Audiovisual Media

(Multimedia)Text,

sound,graphics,chart,

Photos PowerPoint pres., CD,VCD,DVD player Educational Software

(Internet) Softwares, coursewares, School registration/records Accounting.

THE PCMusic/movie/televisi

on room

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THE PERSONAL COMPUTER(PC) AS ICT

Until the nineties, it was still possible to

distinguish between instructional media and

the educational communication media.

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Instructional media consist of audio-visual aids that served to enhance and enrich the teaching-learning process. Examples are the blackboard, photo, film, and video.

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On the other hand, educational communication media comprise the media of communication to audiences including learners using the print, film, radio, television or satellite means of communication. For example, distance learning were implemented using correspondence, radio, television or the computer satellite system.

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Close to the turn of the 21st century, however, such a distinction merged owing to the advent of the microprocessor, also known as the personal computer(PC). This is due to the fact that the PC user at home, office and school has before him a tool for both audio-visual creations and media communication.

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Programs normally installed in an ordinary PC:

Microsoft Office-composing text, graphics, reports, etc.

PowerPoint-preparing lecture presentation

Excel-for spreadsheet

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Internet Explorer-access to internet

Yahoo or Google-Websites, e-mail, etc.

Adobe Reader-graphs/photo composition and editing

MSN-mail/chat messaging Windows Media Player Cyberlink Power-DVD player Windows Movie Maker-editing

film/video Game House-video games

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Activity:Research on the above and other computer programs and amplify on their descriptions.