Enhancing Learning & Participation: Critical Thinking Strategies & Practice

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Demonstrate some critical thinking activities that work.

Provide tips to help make learning more meaningful, engaging, and relevant, with the ultimate goal of providing learners with opportunities to create something new and exciting.

Learn how to provide more visibility to library resources

Learn to collaborate within new social media spaces.

Brainstorm ideas for future Critical Thinking activities.

Agenda

Information fluency is the intersection of information literacy, computer literacy and critical thinking.

An information literate individual …

Determines the extent of information needed.

Accesses the needed information effectively and efficiently.

Evaluates information and its sources critically.

Incorporates selected information into one’s knowledge base.

Uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.

Understands the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally.

Source: ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education

A computer literate individual …

Develops some technological skills while practicing the fine art of being “information literate”, but “computer literacy” is primarily rote learning of software and hardware. This is NOT a static skill, however.

“Fluency with technology" focuses on understanding the underlying concepts of technology and applying problem-solving and critical thinking to using technology.

Source: ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education

Critical Thinking defined by St. Petersburg College

The active and systemic process of communication, problem solving, evaluation, analysis, synthesis, and reflection, both individually and in community, to foster understanding, support sound decision-making, and guide action.

Source: http://www.spcollege.edu/criticalthinking/faq/teaching.htm

So, I think information fluency is …

… having the ability to think critically while being able to apply this thinking across a variety of “literacies” (e.g., information, technological, cultural, scientific etc.) in order to “foster understanding, support sound decision-making, and guide action” in the classroom and beyond!

communicating, problem solving, evaluating, analyzing,

synthesizing, and reflecting on the entire

process.

Transliteracy

Source: http://goo.gl/WUwbn

The ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio and film, to digital social networks.

Some strategies/practices that can help encourage information fluency/critical thinking.

Allow the user to do the work and follow up with them.

“The trick is not in knowing the

single solution. It’s having lots of different options and solutions to

turn to.”

Source: Wired Magazine April ,2012, page 22

diy.org

diy.org

http://www.civilization5.com/

http://game.nypl.org

Game Development Workshops

Visit http://goo.gl/dQrnd for a list of game engines!

Pre/post testing using TRAILS

Activity: Submit TRAILS assessment

http://goo.gl/8MplG

Using Diigo to highlight and annotate articles

Article Analysis (i.e., “intervention”) Assignment Instructions

Read "Government Should Regulate the Internet" article.

Answer the 10 questions. You may want to consider these questions first and take notes while reading the article.

I will schedule a chat/video session to share ideas and to discuss the issues.

It may help to organize your thoughts using the "Elements of Thought and Standards Model”.

FYI: I will refer to this critical thinking rubric and to this general reading rubric primarily when grading this assignment. Note: The VALUE (Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education) rubrics are from the Association of American Colleges and Universities.

Questions to consider …

1. What is the main argument of this article?2. Can you distinguish between verifiable facts and the author’s

values? 3. How do you interpret the author’s conclusion[s] and is there an

alternative conclusion[s]?4. Is there a problem with the author’s main thesis? Please explain.5. Can you recognize any logical inconsistencies?6. While reading the article did you assume anything that you

shouldn’t? 7. Did you have difficulties reading this article if you disagreed with the

author’s premise?8. Are the author’s assumptions valid? 9. Can you detect any biases (stated and/or unstated)?10. What did you learn from this process? 

"Elements of Thought and Standards Model”

Here are some student quotes regarding what they learned from the process.

"I learned that finding resources for research projects is a task which requires attention to detail, rational thinking, and good judgement skills. The internet is full of information; some valid information, some not so valid. I found that sometimes opinions are stated as facts, and sometimes that facts can be misrepresented as opinions if citations are not present. I also learned that while research a topic, if I find a source of information, it never hurts to also research a little bit about the source in order to conclude if it's a valid source of information or not.”

"I think it was very interesting to tear down his article and evaluate it for biases, premises, validity, thesis, inconsistency, facts vs. opinion, etc. I usually do this subconsiously when I read or watch the news, but not to the extent that I did here when I really wrote it all out. It is so helpful to do this so that you can identify the view of the author, and then find a differing opinion, and compare the two, because the truth usually falls somewhere in the middle.”

"To dissect an article a little more thoroughly and to examine credibility and an author's intentions when writing the article a little more closely.”

"I have read the entire article four times now, and I don’t necessarily find a problem with the author’s thesis, however, find that there could be easily be more than just one.”

“I learned to be more critically aware of information that I read and to carefully evaluate sources.”

CRAAP Test

Currency

Relevancy

Accuracy

Authority

Purpose

F.I.N.D.S Model

Focus

Investigate

NoteDevelop

Score

Help?

• Schedule a one-on-one CLUE (College Library User Education) session

• Visit a writing studio in the library!

• Ask-a-Librarian virtual reference service.

• Social Media.

Widely Share Your Library Resources!

Online or offline!

Help enhance online content with

authoritative library resources.

This will bring more visibility to your library

and people will trust the information

presented.

Edit Wikipedia articles and include library resources.

Find out what is trending on Twitter and support/enhance it with authoritative resources.

The U.S. Congressional Twitter Directory, http://goo.gl/s1sVZ

New Congressional Committee Must Put National Interest First. http://bit.ly/qUrYJr)

Using Twitter for class conversationsExtra credit: Ask students to use Twitter.http://twitter.com/cmairn/my-students

DM @cmairn

Collaboration

Slideshare Zipcast

Source: http://goo.gl/7sMdV

Many people don’t need librarians to help them search. They need help making sense

of what they find.

After 3 minutes of no activity

this window

displays on our

website.

Skype Screen sharing

Join.me

Free Learning Management Systems (LMS)

http://coursekit.com/

http://www.joinopenclass.com

http://moodle.org/

Embedded Librarianship within an LMS

Course e-reserves within an LMS

Faculty can easily link to resources!

Popular Research Tools

Library toolbar/Chrome extension

Facebook Search App.

EDU

Education For All

3-D Critical Thinking Project

• Find an article that has at least 1 fact and 1 opinion.

• Conduct some research that supports your argument.

• Any questions unanswered? If you could ask the author any question regarding the article what would it be?

• If the article is online, consider posting a comment.

Assignment Idea

• Ask students to create a course e-textbook.

• Inspire critical reading and scholarship (citation, peer-review etc.).

• Add multimedia to enhance content.

• Convert it to an e-book using Calibre, Apple’s iBooks Author etc.

Assignment Idea

Assignment Idea

Create your own infographics!

Also create animations – easily.

Some other activity ideas

Ask students to write a book review or catalog a subject via GoodReads, LibraryThing, WorldCat etc.

Ask students to become Wikipedians and either write an entry on something that interests them and/or add to or correct an existing Wikipedia article. Documenting your sources will build credibility!

Create a slideshow "movie" and document it using MLA or APA. Use free, online software like Google's Picassa 3, iMovie, Window's MovieMaker, Voicethread, or MemoriesonWeb to create a slideshow "movie" that conveys a powerful message, constructs an argument, or teaches an educational lesson.

More information can be found at: http://www.spcollege.edu/SPG/WSPCL/librarians/mairn/lis2004/alternative_activity_ideas.html

Fine tune the course-long pre-writing project to completely incorporate computer literacy. (Course of Record)

Utilize Google Plus Hangouts, Skype, Join.me, and other web conferencing technologies.

Provide more library visibility in Course Management Systems.

Explore Open Content.

Ask students to create/publish their own course e-textbook using Apple's iBooks Author. http://www.apple.com/ibooks-author/

Course-long Pre-Writing ProjectTapping into one’s interests

Reading for discovery/reflectionAsking questions/What do you already know?

Research proposal: title, thesis, abstract, outlineDiscuss topic with fellow students (peer review)

Gathering information (books, articles, web sites etc.)Evaluating information (relevance, reliability, logic/claims)

Take notes to avoid plagiarism and build credibility/citing sources Understand difference between cause and coincidence

Assess scientific/political biases.

Refining thesis/Group ideasHow to organize (use an outline)

Check outline for unity and coherenceDiscuss topic with fellow students (peer review)

Support ideas with evidenceQuoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing.

Revision/presenting ideasPeer review

Explain and reflect upon one’s research processCreate an e-Textbook!

VALUE Rubrics - http://www.aacu.org/value/abouttherubrics.cfm

Select Web Tools to Help Enhance Learning• Mag.ma: Create video bundles.• Google Docs, Typewith.me: collaborate on projects.• Web Applications Index: 1,000’s of ideas!• Enable Wikipedia layers (Google Maps, Layar)• uStream.TV Everywhere: http://www.ustream.tv/everywhere• Jing, Screencast-o-matic: screenshots, videos made easy.• Slideshare ZipCast,SlideRocket: present via the Web.• Cover.it.live: live backchannel during lectures.• WolframAlpha: Computational Knowledge Engine

Source: http://goo.gl/GkUt6

Please consider sharing your ideas or your successes.

https://voicethread.com/share/1447074/

Let’s Hangout!

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