I have my students design and write a menu. They have to price it, design a popularity survey, and build a costing matrix for it based on the popularity and margins.
Hi Juliana,
It is good to let students put themselves in others shoes when it comes to workplace scenarios. Students need as much practice as possible when dealing with on-the-job situations.
Patricia Scales
Hi Diane,
Awesome! This exercise prepares the students for personal use as well. Students will certainly think through this activity thoroughly because most of our students enjoy computers and understand their importance. They also may even be in the market for a computer.
Patricia Scales
I am an Instructor for a Dental Assisting program. I love to give my students a professional example, which is relevant to the topic of lecture,(minus any identifying patient information) of an interesting case. I then start a discussion based on the question; what would you have done? It opens the floor for debate and critical thinking. I find my students reengage with the topic at hand, and I can then continue with another portion of lecture.
Yes the communication skills is a true way to think out of the box; this is a tech world and communication skills have depleted; therefore in my Fundamentals of Communications Class we do Impromptu Speeches one minute long on any topic the student picks out of the hat.
I am an Advisor to THE BUSINESS SOCIETY in the school I teach for; and the students happen to be non traditional students in this Society; it is student driven; they have thought of many ways to fund raise out of the box; have auctions of students art work, donate their skills and abilities for a small fee.
I teach Introduction To Computers and a critical thinking activity is an end of semester project where the students have a budget to spend money on a personal computer, and add ons and they create a PowerPoint, Word, and Excel portion.
Hi Tom,
This is a super exercise. This is exactly how students should think once they enter the work force.
Patricia Scales
Hi Erin,
Awesome exercise! Students love it when learning really and truly applies to the real world.
Patricia Scales
In working with culinary and baking students, interaction with other cooks is essential. To promote critical thinking, I have them work with students they don't normally work with. Baking with culinary and vice versa. They create menus that they may not ever produce but that they will try to promote with their fellow students. They start thinking not only of their own food likes and dislikes but how they would sell to customers. This is essential.
I teach in a Physical Therapist Assistant Program. A common activity I do is a "Think, Pair, Share" I pose some question that deals with applying or critically thinking about a topic that I just talked about OR a topic I am about to talk about. They have to really think first by themselves, then with a partner and then as a class to come up with a good answer or answers. This allows they to apply and critical think about what they just learned or are about to learn. They seem to have a lot more interest in material when I pose these "real world questions".
Hi Thomas,
Good way to get students to think. This is a practice they can certainly use in the workplace.
Patricia Scales
Currently we have the students download information from a unit and then take the information and use it to troubleshoot what is causing the problem with that unit. This is an activity that requiers the student to be deeply involved with the lesson,and think through it every step of the way.
Hi Christopher,
Wow, this is really high-level thinking. What an excellent way to promote critical thinking.
Patricia Scales
Hi Daniel,
Creative name, and a great way to generate critical thinking.
Patricia Scales
Hi Daniel,
I like it how you make your students think critically by actually giving them a scenario that they will certainly face in the workplace.
Patricia Scales
Hi Donald, I also use in class activities such as this in my culinary arts course. I will provide several questions to the students and break them into groups and have them go resource information via smart devices, books I have in class or the computer lab. Afterward I have then present their findings to the class for an open discussion, I call this 10 & 2 because they get 10 minutes to research and 2 minutes to present their findings.
One of the courses that I teach revolves around the concepts of cooking and we focus on seven cooking methods. To get students thinking critically I will give them a designated cut of meat and ask them what cooking method they would apply and why they chose that particular method. This allows the student to explore how a particular cooking method can enhance or bring out certain characteristic in meat protein theoretically before they apply it.
I work at a Joint Military Academy and we use guided discussions in all of our lessons. I have quite a few examples, but probably my favortie example is when we ask the students what is Unified Command. We then sit back and listen to all of their examples on what they think Unified Command means. The discussions that take place are facinating, and as they start to all agree what it is, we ask them to identify how they would employ the multiple elements within a Unified Command for a specifc operation. To clarify, Unified Command is a combination of American Forces, Government Agencies from the US and the Host Nation. Foreign Nation Militaries, and any number of other government agencies. The solutions to the problem that they come up with is very interesting and it really gets them thinking about different ways to approach a problem that they have always solved in the past a certain way.
Chris Gay
Hi Neelam,
I love how you get your students involved and allow them to think critically and analytically.
Patricia Scales
