I have done the same also. I help them understand the basic principles and then hopefully cement their understanding with real life scenarios.
Bernabe,
What and excellent engaging learning activity. Peer to peer competition of this nature can provide a very high quality learning experience, especially as the student productions are shared with all members of the class. Excellent work. Thanks for sharing.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Bernabe,
Very good thinking exercise to expand the students' acceptance of 'more than one way' and open their thinking from 'the' right answer. Thank you for sharing your insights.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
what worked for me is by having them research on the web various surgical procedures involved in a particular body part/system. It becomes more interactive and students get so into it, and try to outdo one another by finding the best videos and sharing them to class. Some have shared their own personal stories as well, which, sometimes, makes for a very interesting class discussion.
Aside form real life situations, I have this thing I call "The Plan B Method" :O) It's pretty simple actually. I give a scenario to the class, and asks them to give me a solution to the problem. And then, I'd ask them if their initial solution does not work, give me another possible way of solving the scenario, and that would be Plan B! That's how I show to the class that Critical Thinking is having to figure out a way to find solutions or answers to things in more ways than one.
Susan,
You are so very right. Many of our students often have difficulty with the 'timely manner' portion of that because they have not had enough of the type of practice you described. Thank you for sharing.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Stephanie ,
The alternative perspective approach often provides a great learning opportunity for the students. Very good.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I also find that when teaching it helps to present a real life problem that can arise unexpectedly and see how my students will solve it. Almost 99% of what they will do in the real world depends on the ability to use critical thinking skills and anticipate the next step, while being prepared for the unexpected in a timely manner.
I take the "what ifs" down the good and bad roads. I let my students see both the "successes" and "failures" and then analyze which they want to see/ achieve for themselves. Sometimes, if we only show one end we don't understand how big the spectrum is.
Cindy,
There are a great many video clips on YouTube (e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryLN61yFW10, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H04d3rJCLCE) that are engaging and very informative. You may want to assign the videos before the discussion and create questions based on the videos. Then bonus questions for those who did the reading.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I teach anatomy and it is hard to have life's examples to help understand it. Also, they have so many classes that they don't read the chapter before class so it is hard to ask questions that are engaging when they haven't read the material. any suggestions?
Andrea,
This type of questioning you are indicating is an excellent approach. Requiring the student to investigate the causes and predict the outcomes are an effective manner of requiring them to implement the scientific method in their thought process. Nice job.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
To build on the postings asking students "why" and "what if" questions: I will also ask my students "what do think will happen then" or based on what their reasoning in a case study or clinical scenario "why do you think this is occuring" and "what would you do then?" I find this type of questioning to be very effective in assisting the student to identify areas where they may need to fill in their basic knowledge in order to build the critical thinking skills.
Pandora,
Yes, there are many facets for the learner to consider. Understanding alternative perspectives (other students') can be fabulous learning tool. Excellent strategy.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I teach Leadership. I also teach Critical Thinking in Nursing. The most important thing in teaching the student is to think and analyze the information before going forward to solving the problem. It is really imperative to impress the students to think and use other students ideas before making a decision. I try to instill upon them that the process of thinking is to solve the problem that will cause no harm.
Angela,
These questions are guideing your students to analyze and synthesize their knowledge and skills. Moving them into the evaluation of the patient's condition and evaluate reasons for the condition is helping them develop their thinking at the highest levels of Bloom's cognitive process scale. Very nice work.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
My classroom is a patient's bedside. As the students complete their assessments, my first and most frequent question is Why and I try to build on each of their answers leading to use of prior learning to develop a logical explanation for the current condition of the patient.
Krystal,
The team approach is an excellent way to allow each student insights to multiple perspectives. You are absolutely correct, the more "real" we can make it, the better. Keep up the good work.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Stacy,
The "what if" approach is an excellent tool for helping students stretch the knowledge they have already obtained and learn practical application. Very good job.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I think real-world examples are great, especially when you can have them explain their own problems and have the class try to figure out how to solve them. When working with adult learners, the more "real" we can make it, the more they will be invested in it.
