ACTIVITIES

1
Questions and Thinking

• ACTIVITIES
• Activity 1 Challenging Thinking
• - Overview of thinking theory
• - Apply to project
• Activity 2 Types of Questions
• Activity 3 Focus Questions

2
Learning and Thinking

• Blooms Taxonomy of Thinking Levels (1952)
• Andersons Revised Taxonomy (1999)
• Cognitive Process Dimension
• Marzano's Dimensions of Learning (1992)

3
Blooms Taxonomy

• Knowledge
• Recall information
• Identify, describe, name, label, recognize,
  reproduce, follow
• Comprehension
• Understand the meaning, paraphrase a concept
• Summarize, convert, defend, paraphrase,
  interpret, give examples
• Application
• Use the information or concept in a new situation
• Build, make, construct, model, predict, prepare
• Analysis
• Break information or concepts into parts to
  understand it more fully
• Compare/contrast, break down, distinguish,
  select, separate
• Synthesis
• Put ideas together to form something new
• Categorize, generalize, reconstruct
• Evaluation
• Make judgments about value
• Appraise, critique, judge, justify, argue,
  support  

4
Andersons Cognitive Process Dimensions

• Understanding
• The ability to make your own meaning reading and
  explanations.
• interpreting, classifying, summarizing,
  comparing, and explaining.
• Applying
• Using a learned procedure either in a familiar or
  new situation.
• Analysis
• Breaking knowledge down into its parts and
  thinking about how the parts relate to its
  overall structure.
• differentiating, organizing, and attributing.
• Evaluation
• Make judgments based on criteria and standards
• Checking and critiquing
• Creating
• Putting things together to make something new.
• generate, plan, and produce.

5
Marzanos Dimensions of Learning

• Positive Attitudes and Perceptions About Learning
• Acquisition and Integration of Knowledge
• Facts and procedures
• Extension and Refinement of Knowledge
• Comparing, classifying, common reasoning
  processes, analysing
• Meaningful Use of Knowledge
• Decision Making, Investigation, Experimental
  Inquiry,Problem solving, Invention
• Productive Habits of Mind
• Critical thinking, Creative thinking,
  Self-regulation

6
Activity 1.1 Challenging Thinking

• Work in pairs.
• Open the activity document
• one theorist of your choice.
• Identify what type of thinking your project
  currently requires.
• Identify how you can improve the project
• specific tasks that will challenge specific types
  of higher order thinking
• Open and update your project plan (10 min).
• Save your project plan.

7
Activity 1.2 Thinking in the classroom

• Work in pairs.
• Open the Vignettes on Thinking in the Classroom
• Read the example of your choice (5 min.).
• Discuss the questions with your partner (15min.).
• Save the file in your Workshop folder.
• Conclude with a class discussion (10 min.).

8
Types of Question

• Closed questions
• Test factual knowledge
• Contain a limited range of possible correct
  responses
• Example What lives in the rainforest?
• Provide the knowledge bases for more challenging
  questions
• Open questions
• Require students to think more deeply
• Require research, investigation, reflection prior
  to answering fully
• Promote student discussion, debate, inquiry
• Call for learners to construct their knowledge
• Have many different answers
• Example Is the rainforest important to us?

9
Open and closed questions

• Closed Questions
• What is the structure of a sentence?
• What is the constitution?
• What is coal?
• What is a mammal?
• How does one calculate compound interest?
• Calculate the volume of this square room.

• Open Questions
• How would you interpret this sentence?
• Is our society fair to all?
• Which energy source is the best option for the
  future?
• How are we like animals?
• How should you invest your money in order to live
  comfortably?
• What constitutes a comfortable room?

10
Activity 2 Thinking in the classroom

• Work in pairs.
• Open the Types of Questions
• 2.1 Which are open / closed?
• 2.2 Write the open question
• 2 examples

11
Focus Questions
12
Activity 3

• Work in pairs
• 3.1 Write one focus question in each cell.
• Challenging higher order thinking

13
Refining focus questions

• Focused on the topic of the project
• Colonialism, explorers
• Open-ended
• How did the Portuguese explorers influence the
  economy of Africa?
• Challenge higher order thinking
• Did the Portuguese explorers improve the economy
  of Africa?
• Stimulating and interesting
• Real life
• Have Portuguese colonialists improved your life?
• Short and punchy
• Were the Portuguese good for you?

14
Activity 3 (continued)

• Work in pairs
• 3.2 Which are good focus questions? (10 min)
• Feedback to class
• 3.3 Develop your own focus question (30min)
• For your project
• Pair and share (5 min)
• Update Section B of your project plan. (10 min)