One of the problems with the development of project and problem-based learning is that students are given too much structure in how to complete these types of activities. It is amusing to me how we talk about how much we care about student success and preparing them for the future, but we also provide them [...]

Dr. Kevin D. Washburn (@kdwashburn) recently posted an article on the Edurati Review that discusses thinking about thinking. Definitely read that article if you haven’t gotten the opportunity to do so. Dr. Washburn hits on a topic that I think is extremely important for us to consider. Here is an excerpt from his article: “Few [...]

In any assignment, the first Boolean search that a kid engages in should be a cognitive one. Regardless of the increase in connectivity and the ability to “Google” answers from an increasing number of electronic devices, it doesn’t eliminate the need for developing a strong frame-of-reference and ability to sort information mentally according to easily [...]

An article by Jay Mathews in today’s Washington Post discusses a recent study by Robert Rothman in the Harvard Education Letter. According to Rothman (via Mathews), the study suggests that student gains do not necessarily correlate with the type of activities in different classrooms. In other words, regardless of the type of instruction that students experience (higher level [...]

I routinely collect my students’ pre-writing work so that I can see how they lay out their inputs and outputs when writing synthesis essays. We usually do these activities in class and the final product is only about 3 paragraphs because I stress to them the importance of developing deep, critical thinking rather than stringing [...]

Yesterday I published a blog post that discussed the importance of teaching kids “sifting” when using the internet for research. It makes me feel great to know that the New York Times and Google were thinking along the same vein. Obviously, I am not so idiotic that I would assume the NYT and Google read [...]

As more knowledge and information is distributed to the masses, it will be more and more critical for students to develop the ability to sift quickly and accurately. This is a critical skill that will contribute to success regardless of what field they are in or occupation they choose to pursue. We have reached a [...]