Critical Thinking is Critical!

In this week's blog, I will begin by discussing chapters 1 and 2 of the book Authentic Instruction and Assessment by Fred M. Newmann, M. Bruce King, and Dana L. Carmichael. In the opening chapter, the authors provide a definition for the term "Authentic Intelectual Work," (AIW), one of the key concepts the authors introduce. AIW is a framework developed to redefine the approach of conventional instruction and assessment. Specifically, the goal is to provide instruction for students to apply what they have learned in a meaningful way that can benefit them beyond the classroom rather than learning in a surface-level manner to meet the traditional requirements that "...call for specific memorized information, retrieval of given information, or application of routine computational procedures" (Newmann et al., 2007). 

The main components of AIW involve using past skills and knowledge and critical thinking to analyze and solve complex problems. Additionally, another component involves sharing this knowledge with your peers and the broader society and ensuring that your findings are objective and logically sound. An example of using AIW is in Chapter 1 when the practical example is used of the single mother using cost-benefit analysis to determine choosing a child-care provider and the impact this will have financially. This example is a great reflection of the benefits of AIW, as it provides individuals with the ability to think of things in a broad sense which can help alleviate additional complex solutions. Another example of AIW can be seen in the content area of English Language. One thing I would always teach my tutees whenever they had to analyze a work of literature is the importance of looking beyond the quote. Identifying the quote is only one step, and the next step is interpretation. I would ask them, what is the purpose of this specific quote, or why did the author choose to write this? What is the message the author is trying to send? I always enjoy in-depth analysis, especially in Language Arts, as it teaches students to think creatively, especially since literature, for the most part, is subjective. 

After reading about AIW, it was a great transition into the National Education Technology Plan update. This read, primarily focused on the integration of technology and its benefits of helping to provide accessible means for students to learn even if there are potential barriers. In terms of AIW, this plan is extremely helpful in enhancing the critical thinking ability of students. The entire premise of the NETP is developed through unorthodox and shrewd uses of technology to fill any learning vacancies, and while reading this, I thought of an idea where I could use technology in my future career in tutoring. I am a strong supporter of professional development, however, one problem I have heard many people share is the limited funding most school departments receive for it. In this sense, I will utilize potential free professional development opportunities for my staff and students to utilize online, and to meet as a team and reflect on what we learned individually and learn from each other. 

Lastly, in this week's blog is the connections that I made between my reading of AIW and Lizz Kolb, who I spoke about last week. In this week’s reading of Kolb, I focused on the deep dive of the three E’s (Engagement, Enhancement, or Extension). The specific E I would like to focus on today is Engagement, and the specific quote I would like to discuss is when Kolb writes, “ if students are working alone in adaptive software, they could pause every ten minutes and do a Think, Pair, and Share activity with a peer. The students could share what they are learning and ask questions they have about the content presented in the software” (Kolb, 2020). In this quote, I immediately thought of AIW and the framework of “Value Beyond School” since in this concept, Newmann et al. (2007) suggest that once students develop that critical thinking from authentic lessons, they can share this knowledge with others and continue a chain of knowledge and acumen development in society. The example Kolb used is reminiscent of this since through the use of engagement, the students are learning from each other and actively taking part in the lesson, instead of reproducing information from the technology. Overall, I enjoyed all three reads and will definitely incorporate them in my future work. 

References 

Kolb, L. (2020). Learning first, technology second in practice. Portland, OR: ISTE. Chapters 2-4.

Newmann, F. M., King, M. B., & Carmichael, D. L. (2007).  Authentic instruction and assessment: Common standards for rigor and relevance in teaching academic subjects.  State of Iowa Department of Education. Introduction, Chapters. 1 & 2

Office of Educational Technology. (2017). Reimagining the role of technology in education:  2017 National Education Technology Plan Update.  Retrieved from http://tech.ed.gov.  Introduction and Section 1