NATIONAL CONSORTIUM FOR HEALTH SCIENCE EDUCATIONCURRICULUM CONFERENCE

Literacy Standards and

Critical Thinking

Kristen C. Davidson“Celebrating the Past --- Mapping the Future”

Denver, Colorado

October 15 - 17, 2014

"Critical thinking is thinking

that assesses itself."

Center for Critical Thinking, 1996

The quality of our thinking

is largely reflectedin the quality

of our questions.

• Inquiry Based Learning

LITERACY STANDARDS IN ALL CONTENT

Common Core The Common Core State Standards are education standards that were developed by two national organizations in 2010 and adopted by 45 states. Many of today’s educators are looking to the standards as a guide toward improving student learning and achievement.

COMMON CORE

The stated goal of the English and Language Arts and literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects standards is to ensure that students are college and career ready in literacy no later than the end of high school.

CROSS-CURRICULAR GOAL

Literacy = Reading + Writing + Listening + Speaking

Help foster critical thought by:

Giving assignments that explicitly focus on student thinking in directions that require reasoning through a problem or issue.

“Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.”

Francis Bacon, 1597

HOSA AND THE COMMON CORE

Classroom

● Teacher Directed

● Outcomes are required

● Teacher tells students what they need to know

● Part of the school schedule

* HOSA is curricular

HOSA

● Student Directed

● Students determine the outcome

● Student determines what he/she needs to know

● At school, after school, on weekends and holidays*See HOSA Competitive Events Resources

READING IN THE CURRICULUM

The Common Core standards in reading are designed to empower students to read, and to read well, the very foundation of success for college, career, and life.

READING IDEA

Case Study /Discussion Method:

• The teacher presents a case to the class without a conclusion.

• Using prepared questions, the teacher leads students through a discussion, allowing students to construct a conclusion for the case.

*Students write case study, scenario etc.

READING IDEA

Reader's Questions:

• Students write questions on assigned reading.

• Teacher selects a few questions as the main focus for class discussion.

• Questions may be used for assessment.

HOSA AND THE COMMON CORE

Events that support Reading:• Medical Reading• Knowledge Tests• HOSA Bowl• Biomedical Debate• Forensic Medicine• Healthcare Issues Exam

WRITING IN THE CURRICULUM

ARGUMENT IN WRITING

• Argument is a statement or proposition with supporting evidence.

• Critical thinking involves identifying, evaluating, and constructing arguments that challenge the thinking process.

ARGUMENT, PERSUASION, OR PROPAGANDA? Argument Persuasion Propaganda

Goal Discover the “truth” Promote an opinion on a particular position

Offer “political advertising” for a particular position that may distort the truth or include false information

General Technique

Offers good reasoning and evidence to persuade an audience to accept a “truth”

Uses personal, emotional, or moral appeal to convince an audience to adopt a particular point of view

Relies on emotions and values to persuade an audience to accept a particular position

Methods Considers other perspectives on the issue

Offers facts that support the reasons (in other words, provides evidence)

Predicts and evaluates the consequences of accepting the argument

May consider other perspectives on the issue

Blends facts and emotion to make its case, relying often on opinion

May predict the results of accepting the position, especially if the information will help convince the reader to adopt the opinion

Focuses on its own message, without considering other positions

Relies on biases and assumptions and may distort or alter evidence to make the case

Ignores the consequence of accepting a particular position

PARTS/TERMS OF ARGUMENTATION

• Claim - general statement in the argument that you are asking people to accept

• Evidence/Data- support for the claim

• Reasoning/Warrant - explains why the evidence/data supports the claim

• Counter Claim - objectively reporting on opposing perspectives

CLAIM

A claim is the main point, the thesis, the hypothesis, the controlling idea of an argument.

Students can find the claim by asking the question,

“What am I trying to prove?

What is my main point?”

EVIDENCE

Evidence is defined as the reasons given in support of

the claim. The support of a claim can come in the

form of:• Facts and statistics• Expert opinions• Examples• Explanations• Logical reasoning

You can find support by asking, “What information do I need to include to support my claim?”

WARRANT

The warrant explains why the evidence proves the

claim.

Writers should use a warrant to answer these questions:• How does the evidence support the claim?

• What else must be true for this claim to hold up?

COUNTER CLAIM

•The counter claim looks at any

opposing perspectives.

• What claims exist that suggest something different?

• Are there other solutions or opinions to the stated claim?

(Five solutions to every problem)

WHY DOES THIS MATTER?

• Students need to be able to state a claim clearly.

• Students need to be able to provide evidence to support that claim.

• When students can both make claims and then provide the evidence that backs up those claims, they are demonstrating critical thinking and learning.

WRITING

Use Writing as a way of:• offering and supporting opinions• demonstrating understanding• conveying real and imagined experiences

Use Writing Assignments to: • developing critical thinking skills• develop reasoning to argue both

sides of an issue.• get to know your students.

WRITING ASSIGNMENT IDEAWritten dialogues:

1- Give students written dialogues to analyze.

2- Students identify the different viewpoints.

3- Students look for biases, evidence, alternative interpretations, misstatement of facts, and errors in reasoning.

4- Each group decides which view is the most reasonable.

5- After coming to a conclusion, each group acts out their dialogue and explains their analysis.

WRITING ASSIGNMENT IDEA

Reciprocal Peer Questioning:

Following lecture, the teacher displays a list of question stems. (such as, "What are the strengths and weaknesses of...)

Students write questions about the lecture material. In small groups, the students ask each other the questions.

Then, the whole class discusses some of the questions from each small group.

CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUES (CATS):

Use ongoing classroom assessment to monitor and facilitate students' critical thinking.

Students write a "Minute Paper" responding to

questions such as:• What was the most important thing you learned in

today's class?

• What question do you have related to this lesson?

The teacher selects some of the papers and prepares responses for the next class period.

* This assessment is similar to the Exit Ticket.

HOSA AND THE COMMON CORE

Events that support Writing:• Extemporaneous Writing• Researched Persuasive Speaking• Community Awareness• National Recognition Program• HOSA Week

LISTENING IN THE CURRICULUM

New technologies have broadened and expanded the role that speaking and listening play in acquiring and sharing knowledge and have tightened their link to other forms of communication.

(on-line education, ipad etc.)

LISTENING ACTIVITY IDEAS

• Case Studies read out loud

• Medical Terminology pronunciation practice with partners

• Singing activities

• Medical dictation practice

• Patient history data collection

• Explanation of procedures

• Introductions and Closures

HOSA AND THE COMMON CORE

Events that support Listening:• Biomedical Debate

• Health Professions Events

Dental Science

Home Health Aide

Medical Assisting

Nursing Assisting

Physical Therapy

Sports Medicine

• Public Service Announcement

SPEAKING IN THE CURRICULUM

Students take part in a variety of rich, structured

conversations —as part of a whole class, in small groups,

and with a partner.

Students collaborate to answer questions,

build understanding, and solve problems.

SPEAKING ACTIVITY IDEA

Spontaneous Group Dialogue:

Students role play a discussion scenario. (patient, information giver, opinion seeker, relative, healthcare worker)

Observer groups are formed with the functions of determining what roles are being played by whom.

Purposes:

identify biases and errors in thinking

evaluate reasoning skills

examine ethical implications of the content

COOPERATIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES

• Group learning situations are a great way to foster critical thinking through speaking.

In cooperative learning environments,

students perform active critical thinking

with support and feedback from other

students and the teacher.

(Laboratory and Clinical Practice)

HOSA AND THE COMMON CORE

Events that support Speaking:• Health Professions Events

• Emergency Preparedness Events

• Prepared Speaking

• Job Seeking Skills

• Biomedical Debate

• Creative Problem Solving

• Health Education

• Career Health Display

CRITICAL THINKING PROCEDURE

Critical thinking makes use of many procedures.

• These procedures include:asking questionsmaking judgments

identifying assumptions

USE ARGUMENTATION TO DEVELOP

CRITICAL THINKING

• How can health science teachers develop critical thinking skills in students?

• How can health science teachers utilize formative and summative assessments to measure student progress?

• How can departments collaborate together to cultivate the teaching, learning, and assessing of this skill?

CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS

• Knowledge• Comprehension• Application• Analysis• Synthesis• Evaluation Bloom’s Taxonomy

CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS PYRAMID

HANDOUT

Click icon to add picture

BRAINSTORM

Identify the lesson topics you teach

that lend themselves to teaching

critical thinking skills.

Knowledge Comprehension Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation

•Think ● Pair ● Share

DISCUSSION GROUPS

Form Five groups:

• Questions assigned• Discuss the question with your group• Designate a reporter for the group• Share your ideas, comments, ideas and observations

TEACHING AND ASSESSING CRITICAL THINKING IN HEALTH

SCIENCE1- What do we want students to know and be able to do with critical thinking?

2- How will we know if the student learned the critical thinking skills taught?

3- What are the best ways to teach what students need to know and beable to do with critical thinking?

TEACHING AND ASSESSING CRITICAL THINKING IN HEALTH

SCIENCE

4- How can health science instructors collaborate to improve learning critical thinking skills?

5- How can we collaborate across the curriculum in our schools?

Questions

Kristen C. DavidsonCareer and Technical Education Coordinator

Northridge High School

Layton, Utah

kdavidson@dsdmail.net