Me as a Critical & Creative Thinker
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I fee that there are 4 concepts that summarise me as a critical and creative thinker. These 4 concepts are:
I feel each of these concepts challenge me as an individual and educator in order to bring the best of myself out. It's not to say that each of these concepts define who I am, but they are contributors to what drives my thinking.
Metacognition and Empowerment
I have included two short videos called 'How Mindfulness Empowers Us' by Sharon Sal and 'Power Poser' by Amy Cuddy.
I feel that critical and creativity of thought takes a certain level of personal trust and the ability to seeing the bigger picture. Mindfulness has been seen as a practice/strategy that allows to bring calm to the mind to step aside to seeing the bigger picture to process that we are seeing, learning or experiencing in through metacognition. This in return brings on realizations and awareness.
However, empowerment could be achieved through other means, as explained by Amy Cuddy. I believe that critical and creative thinking calls upon believing in yourself and putting yourself out there, which requires you to be a flexible thinker.
Openness and Reflection
Many times I feel that I need quiet time to give myself the head space to reflect and open my mind to different points of view. In our fast paced society with the ability to get information and connect with others instantaneously, I feel that I can analyse further through reflection.
Perception vs. Interpretation
I really like Vincent Van Gogh's, 'Starry Night' painting. Like with many forms of art what we perceive and how we interpret things are two very different things. This could be applied in many different scenarios and not just in the arts. This could be applied to how we see a problem and how we interpret it to come up with a solution or and understanding.
Curiosity and Diversity
Lastly I included two more videos one on the ‘Levels of Multicultural Educations’ and 'The beauty of Mathematics'. I feel that I try my best to wonder about or question, but to understand where concepts come from. I have learned a lot from my students to develop perspective and understanding where ideas come from. Over time I have an appreciation for the diversity of thought which underlies creativity. As seen in both videos, many of the things we experience everyday come from somewhere else which allow us to understand our world differently.
Finally the rose - I feel that with time, meeting others, developing an understanding, and learning through our experiences brings on a different level of appreciation towards each other. This further develops our ability to think creatively and critically.
- Metacognition and Empowerment
- Openness and Reflection
- Perception vs. Interpretation and
- Curiosity and Diversity
I feel each of these concepts challenge me as an individual and educator in order to bring the best of myself out. It's not to say that each of these concepts define who I am, but they are contributors to what drives my thinking.
Metacognition and Empowerment
I have included two short videos called 'How Mindfulness Empowers Us' by Sharon Sal and 'Power Poser' by Amy Cuddy.
I feel that critical and creativity of thought takes a certain level of personal trust and the ability to seeing the bigger picture. Mindfulness has been seen as a practice/strategy that allows to bring calm to the mind to step aside to seeing the bigger picture to process that we are seeing, learning or experiencing in through metacognition. This in return brings on realizations and awareness.
However, empowerment could be achieved through other means, as explained by Amy Cuddy. I believe that critical and creative thinking calls upon believing in yourself and putting yourself out there, which requires you to be a flexible thinker.
Openness and Reflection
Many times I feel that I need quiet time to give myself the head space to reflect and open my mind to different points of view. In our fast paced society with the ability to get information and connect with others instantaneously, I feel that I can analyse further through reflection.
Perception vs. Interpretation
I really like Vincent Van Gogh's, 'Starry Night' painting. Like with many forms of art what we perceive and how we interpret things are two very different things. This could be applied in many different scenarios and not just in the arts. This could be applied to how we see a problem and how we interpret it to come up with a solution or and understanding.
Curiosity and Diversity
Lastly I included two more videos one on the ‘Levels of Multicultural Educations’ and 'The beauty of Mathematics'. I feel that I try my best to wonder about or question, but to understand where concepts come from. I have learned a lot from my students to develop perspective and understanding where ideas come from. Over time I have an appreciation for the diversity of thought which underlies creativity. As seen in both videos, many of the things we experience everyday come from somewhere else which allow us to understand our world differently.
Finally the rose - I feel that with time, meeting others, developing an understanding, and learning through our experiences brings on a different level of appreciation towards each other. This further develops our ability to think creatively and critically.
My Strengths as an Educator
I’m realizing that there is an art behind critical thinking. Some of the factors that promote critical thinking I can acknowledge I do well, some average and others not so well. The two that standout the most as strengths are: ‘Engaging a community of thinking’ and ‘Engaging habits of mind’.
I feel as teachers it is vital to model in ourselves what we expect from our students. In order to engage a community of thinkers, as a teacher you need to be part of the community and include everyone. I have achieved this in my classroom by:
Similarly with creating a community of learners I also feel that modelling and leading by example are strategies to encourage habits of mind. In the IB curriculum for both the Middle Years Program (MYP - Grade 6 to 10) and in the IB Diploma years (Grade 11 and 12), we follow the ‘IB Learner Profile’. With these I have integrated them through my instruction, discussions, and in group work. I would model these in my instruction by:
I would further promote these in group work by:
I feel through modeling and embodying the the expectations from your students - you really build the confidence within themselves as well as in the teacher.
I feel as teachers it is vital to model in ourselves what we expect from our students. In order to engage a community of thinkers, as a teacher you need to be part of the community and include everyone. I have achieved this in my classroom by:
- Getting to know my students
- Sharing my personal experiences in relation to topics and then opening the floor for others to share as well
- Recognizing everyone’s role in the classroom and opening opportunities to engage with each other by:
- Mixed groupings with opportunities for students to pick their own groups at times. I feel that in order to create community there needs to be level of comfort with each other. I always begin the year with essential agreements within my classes, which help stir students towards being respectful, kind and engaged at the same time.
- Posing questions as prompts and doing a think-pair-share (Students thinking individually, pair with another student, and then share with the group)
- We engage together to create criteria for assessments, agreements for deadlines, or what expectations are for a task - this is feel is the most powerful tool to get students engaged
- I am not afraid to admit I had made mistake in front of my students or admit if I don’t know something. I feel that this shows that after all I am human and we are open to not knowing all the time. In fact what do you do if you don’t know. These are teachable moments for me to demonstrate how to find out different perspectives and how to go about finding credible information.
Similarly with creating a community of learners I also feel that modelling and leading by example are strategies to encourage habits of mind. In the IB curriculum for both the Middle Years Program (MYP - Grade 6 to 10) and in the IB Diploma years (Grade 11 and 12), we follow the ‘IB Learner Profile’. With these I have integrated them through my instruction, discussions, and in group work. I would model these in my instruction by:
- Using the terms in my instruction and model what ‘open-mindedness’ looks like
- Provide examples of what ‘caring’ looks like or together as a class some up with a shared understanding of the term and then applying it
- When we ‘inquire’ what are we trying to achieve
- By being a ‘communicator’ what do we achieve or not achieve as a result of not being a communicator
I would further promote these in group work by:
- Dividing the class into small groups and providing a discussion prompt with three or four learner profile attributes to be conscious of during the activity
- Then we reflect back at the activity and the outcomes.
- I would further integrate these attributes in peer-reviews/feedback sessions on assessments
I feel through modeling and embodying the the expectations from your students - you really build the confidence within themselves as well as in the teacher.