Deborah,
Very good point. This is a tried and true approach - the Socratic method. Good post.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I have used case studies to help foster analytical skills. Another way to foster analytical is not to use close ended questions. Using open ended questions makes the student think and to rely on their own knowledge of the subject and experience.
An example would be, tell me how to insert a picture into a Word document.
Deborah,
When yoou can get them to slow down and do that, it can pay some significant dividends for them. Good points.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I engage my students and prepare them to think out of the box. Helping them to indulge themselves by investigating the problem, troubleshooting and then reflecting. It has been exciting for them.
Pamela,
Having students engage in guided practice case studies is a terrific way to develop analytical skills. Nice going.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
For my students we give them multiple scenarios and have they describe what steps they would take in the situation.
We also give them scenarios that involve possible diagnosis and treatments. They must research and using their best judgement tell us what the diagnosis is, what test they would perform as well as how they would treat the issue.
They must research what has worked in the past and what new treatments could be tried now.
Mazen,
Orchestrating the classroom to work in this fashion takes skill, but is definitely a preferred method. Nicely done.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
By allowing them to generate many different possible solutions to a problem and then systematically as a group/class rule-in or rule-out their potential solutions. Making errors is o.k. in the classroom; they are considered teaching moments!
Students learn much from each other and it takes much of the facilitating burden off of my shoulders. Also they quickly see that not all great solutions came from "the textbook".
Angela Hutchinson,
These procedural guidelines and processes that have been developed by different industries are definitely powerful tools to keep the professional on track with the analytic process. Helping our students develop a thorough understanding of these steps and how to properly process information to follow them to the correct conclusion is still a challenge with many of them. Thank you for your contribution.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
They have to write S.O.A.P.'s for the patients, this is a daily process in their career and follows all the steps of problem solving.
Cecilia,
This is a terrific example of reflection taking someone to the "Ah ha" moment.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Cecilia,
Agreed! There are some who are very telented with this and using this approach could be very beneficial to them in developing CT skills.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Cecilia,
This is excellent! Very nice.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Here's a story about process: My ex-husband was a world class scientist, on a team racing against other teams around the world to come up with some kind of solution involving DNA. My ex was up late one night working hard on it, as he had for weeks. He came to bed and was there about 10 minutes when suddenly he sat up. "I have it!" He got up and took notes, and tested his solution over the next several days, and it worked. With this solution, his team won, and he was sent places like Denver and Japan and Germany to present it. I asked if he told them how he hit upon the solution, but he said no, it was to woo woo for the scientific community at large, although he did verbally talk about it to his direct peers.
Storytelling accomplishes this as well, not just in traditional cultures, but in the classroom and workplace as well.
It just occurred to me that I could help students to develop analytical skills when I teach research & website evaluation by having one of them find a website and evaluate it right there, instead of just showing them. Time is an issue--teachers needing them back in class--so I hadn't thought of this approach.
Luke,
This sounds like a terrific approach. Can you provide the group with an example from your online class?
Thanks so much.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I like to use role playing to help students foster analytical mindsets. I have recently started substituting many techniques in the lab for others. Keeping the students out of the typical rut and forcing them to apply known answers of past experiences to new problems I interject into the daily scenario not only makes them realize their own knowledge base and application, but keeps me on my toes as well!
Ellen,
This seems like a very comprehensive process. Nicely done. Do you happen to know the results (effect of the campaign) of the initiative? Thank you for sharing.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
A good example of this process in an English class is an informative paper. The English instructor I work with assists the students with narrowing and focusing the topic so that it is truly a topic that can be researched. An example is the broad topic of bullying in schools. I worked with a student and she researched an initiative at her son's school that educated the student's on bullying. Then she analyzed the effect of the anti-bullying campaign on the overall changes observed by her son and his friends. In addition, she looked for general research regarding bullying in schools. In this way, she was not simply summarizing the topic as so many students are inclined to do. Narrowing the topic and truly analyzing a situation involved much more critical thinking.
