Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.”

(Albert Einstein 1879-1955)

The TEDTalk by Hans Rosling, entitled The Best Stats You Have Ever Seen provided some good points on how we promote and encourage critical thinking. When considering design thinking it is critical that we consider new and evolving approaches and are open to novel ideas, innovations and continuously changing ideas. Design thinking is not static, it is constantly evolving and changes with the use of varied technology.

When considering how we use technology to support design thinking and critical thinking in the classroom it is important that we consider the following:

  • It allows students to take learning into their own hands and promotes student ownership
  • Students are able to analyze information and create a product
  • Investigate and gather their own information
  • Students are able to use the information they have learned to think critically about it
  • Process information and evaluate the critical pieces, determine what is important
  • Students can then use the information they have learned and use technology to consider how they will present or explain their understanding

Using technology to support critical thinking in a multitude of ways. I particularly liked the way Hans Rosling discussed using technology for educational research such as getting students to research a community and then compare them to places we live. Students are able to connect with distant communities and countries and think about commonalities and differences. Critical thinking skills are applied in having students engage with materials and discover and direct their own learning. They are then able to sift through information, determining what is important, valid and pertinent information to share with an audience. Design/ Critical thinking allows students to both have exposure to new learning, while reinforcing their understanding (sifting through the important information and retelling or teaching others what they have learned).

I thought I would try making a short video using ShowMe Whiteboard Interactive. You can follow the link for the short video here. While I have played around with a few applications, this was the first time I have created a video of this kind. I can see how this could be really appealing for students and a great way to get them to sift through information taught and determine what the key ideas or talking points entail.

You can check out my attempt here.

http://www.showme.com/sh?h=twXC1qq

I really enjoyed the Joe Ruhl TEDxLafayette video, which focusses on the shift that needs to take place to achieve a classroom that is supportive of collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity. It requires the teaching model and methodology to shift from a teacher centered classroom to a student-centered classroom.

He premises the success of a classroom that supports critical thinking by:

  • Providing students with choice
  • Opportunities to collaborate and communicate their learning
  • Allows students to retell the stories of their learning journey
  • Provides students with opportunities to teach, mentor and inspire other students

While this shift away from teacher centered to student centered teaching can be daunting, it supports and cultivates greater independence and ownership in student learning, inspires a new way to bring learning outcomes of the new curriculum and with the use of technology critical thinking and design thinking can be brought full circle.