Purdue University EDPS 543 - Teaching Thinking Skills Fall 2006 Rebecca L. Mann, Ph.D. Beering Hall Room 5114 [email protected] 765-463-7301 (office) COURSE DESCRIPTION This course is designed to introduce students to theories and models for promoting thinking skills in gifted education. It includes an examination of theories and research on cognition, metacognition, and thinking processes and the development of guidelines for instructional practice and instructional materials development. Emphasis will be placed on applying the concepts and models of thinking skills (creativity, creative problem solving, critical thinking, problem solving and higher level thinking skills) for use with gifted students. TEXTBOOKS Costa, A.L.(2001). Developing minds: A resource book for teaching thinking – 3rd Edition. Alexandria,VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Available in Purdue West Lafayette bookstores or www.ascd.org or www.amazon.com or other online bookstores. Adams, J.L. (2001). Conceptual blockbusting: A guide to better ideas – 4th Edition. New York: Basic Books. NOT available in Purdue West Lafayette bookstores. Available at www.amazon.com or other online bookstores. Additional articles will be available on WebCT Vista: ecourses.purdue.edu GRADING SCALE 93 – 100 = A 82 – 92 = B 72 – 83 = C Below 72 = See Me! ASSIGNMENTS 1. Virtually Speaking… (20 points): The Discussion area of WebCT-Vista is designed to provide an area where we can dialogue about the content of the course. students will be required to write a total of EIGHT reflective responses to the readings or to another student’s posting. Postings are not to be a simple regurgitation of material. This is a graduate level course, and, you should be at the point in your education where you are developing your own ideas and thought processes rather than merely accumulating knowledge. The objective of the postings is for you to develop conclusions, provide examples related to the topic, challenge or support ideas, and connect concepts from week to week. It also provides a forum for asking those burning questions which come to mind as you are reading the course materials. Postings are NOT to be research paperswith citations. They are to be brief (150 works minimum and 700 words maximum) thoughts that give the class something to ponder or something to discuss and debate. Talking about how each topic relates to gifted individuals with whom you live or work is a terrific way to communicate your message. When you write a posting that you want graded, please title your posting something like this: Eleanor – Posting 1 2. Standards Analysis (20 points): Select a grade level and a discipline (if you teach elementary school, I recommend science or social studies). Analyze the Indiana state standards for your grade level and discipline. Look for standards that require thinking skills, but do not explicitly state that a thinking skill is being taught directly. Where are multi-faceted thinking skills required in the standards? Find 5 examples and list them in table format with a rationale for your decision for each standard. Grade Level _________________________ Content Area _______________________ Standard # Standard Rationale Ex. 4.1.3 Explain or Demonstrate or… 3 to 5 sentences 3. Thinking Skills Model Presentation (20 points): Work individually or with a group to thoroughly investigate a published thinking skills model, either emphasizing critical thinking or creative thinking skills. Suggestions for models to study will be given in class as will a matrix that will help guide your investigation. After completing the matrix, you will teach the rest of the class about your model. Creative teaching methods are encouraged! 4. Resource Evaluation (20 points): Select three books from the Shared Information Services Library that are intended to be used with gifted children to develop critical and/or creative thinking skills. Evaluate their usefulness and appropriateness for your students. An assignment matrix will be provided in class. 5. Problem Based Learning Scenario (20 points): Develop a Problem Based Learning Scenario which requires students to use and develop critical thinking and problem solving skills while investigating a real world problem. A template will be provided in class. SPECIAL NEEDS Students with disabilities must be registered with Adaptive Programs in the Office of the Dean of Students before classroom accommodations can be provided. If you have a disability that requires academic adjustments, please make an appointment with your instructor to discuss your needs as soon as possible A Few Words on QUALITY! Quality of Writing is important to consider throughout the course. Your written work will be graded using the following criteria: a. Use of headings, organization, and structure b. Clarity of writing style; flow c. Professional tone, style, word choice d. Conciseness; absence of redundancy e. Grammar, spelling, neatness, punctuationThere will be no opportunities to remediate your assignments. Please check with your instructor well before the due date if you are concerned about the quality or content of your