Assessing Critical Thinking In Elementary Schools

This practical, very effective resource helps elementary school teachers and curriculum leaders develop the skills to design instructional tasks and assessments that engage students in higher-level critical thinking, as recommended by the Common Core State Standards. Real examples of formative and summative assessments from a variety of content areas are included and demonstrate how to successfully increase the level of critical thinking in every elementary classroom! This book is also an excellent resource for higher education faculty to use in undergraduate and graduate courses on assessment and lesson planning.

This practical, very effective resource helps elementary school teachers and curriculum leaders develop the skills to design instructional tasks and assessments that engage students in higher-level critical thinking, as recommended by the Common Core State Standards. Real examples of formative and summative assessments from a variety of content areas are included and demonstrate how to successfully increase the level of critical thinking in every elementary classroom! This book is also an excellent resource for higher education faculty to use in undergraduate and graduate courses on assessment and lesson planning.

Critical Thinking and Reasoning provides access to expert views on critical thinking. It covers (1) the theory of critical thinking, (2) the psychology of its development and learning, (3) examples of successful instruction, and (4) potent ways to assess it.

This practical, very effective resource helps middle and high school teachers and curriculum leaders develop the skills to design instructional tasks and assessments that engage students in higher-level critical thinking, as recommended by the Common Core State Standards. Real examples of formative and summative assessments from a variety of content areas are included and demonstrate how to successfully increase the level of critical thinking in every classroom! This book is also an excellent resource for higher education faculty to use in undergraduate and graduate courses on assessment and lesson planning.

Educators know it's important to get students to engage in "higher-order thinking." But what does higher-order thinking actually look like? And how can K-12 classroom teachers assess it across the disciplines? Author, consultant, and former classroom teacher Susan M. Brookhart answers these questions and more in this straightforward, practical guide to assessment that can help teachers determine if students are actually displaying the kind of complex thinking that current content standards emphasize. Brookhart begins by laying out principles for assessment in general and for assessment of higher-order thinking in particular. She then defines and describes aspects of higher-order thinking according to the categories established in leading taxonomies, giving specific guidance on how to assess students in the following areas: * Analysis, evaluation, and creation * Logic and reasoning * Judgment * Problem solving * Creativity and creative thinking Examples drawn from the National Assessment of Educational Progress and from actual classroom teachers include multiple-choice items, constructed-response (essay) items, and performance assessment tasks. Readers will learn how to use formative assessment to improve student work and then use summative assessment for grading or scoring. Aimed at elementary, middle, and high school teachers in all subject areas, How to Assess Higher-Order Thinking Skills in Your Classroom provides essential background, sound advice, and thoughtful insight into an area of increasing importance for the success of students in the classroom—and in life.

Develop your students' critical thinking skills and prepare them to perform competitively in the classroom, on state tests, and beyond. In this book, Moore and Stanley show you how to effectively instruct your students to think on higher levels, and how to assess their progress. As states implement the Common Core State Standards, teachers have been called upon to provide higher levels of rigor in their classrooms. Moore and Stanley demonstrate critical thinking as a key approach to accomplishing this goal. They explore the benefits of critical thinking and provide the tools you need to develop and monitor critical thinking skills in the classroom. Topics include: The Difference Between Higher-Level and Lower-Level Thinking Writing Higher-Level Thinking Questions Assessing Critical Thinking Strategies to Develop Higher-Level Thinking Skills

Creativity and critical thinking are key skills for complex, globalised and increasingly digitalised economies and societies. While teachers and education policy makers consider creativity and critical thinking as important learning goals, it is still unclear to many what it means to develop these skills in a school setting. To make it more visible and tangible to practitioners, the OECD worked with networks of schools and teachers in 11 countries to develop and trial a set of pedagogical resources that exemplify what it means to teach, learn and make progress in creativity and critical thinking in primary and secondary education.

Even young students can develop vital critical thinking skills when they have access to rich content, meaningful opportunities to practice, and guided instruction. Critical thinking—evaluating and analyzing data to make informed judgments—is essential in both the classroom and everyday life. Teaching critical thinking skills in the elementary grades is often an afterthought—if it's a thought at all. Veteran primary teacher and instructional leader Erin Shadowens proposes that students of all ages benefit when teachers expand the definition of what is possible by engaging young learners with real challenges and supportive, accessible learning environments. In Critical Thinking in the Elementary Classroom, Shadowens * Explores the concept of critical thinking, clarifies misunderstandings, and delves into relevant research. * Introduces the Critical Thinking Framework to help nurture deep thinking in the context of content-focused lessons. * Presents case studies of the framework in action. * Shows how to apply the framework at the unit and lesson levels, addressing common instructional pitfalls along the way. * Describes how a "virtuous cycle" of assessment and feedback promotes academic achievement and critical thinking. * Illustrates how to foster an intellectual community with young learners. Ultimately, this book guides elementary teachers in supporting students to think deeply about rich content, make insightful connections, and address issues in broader, more meaningful ways, both in and outside of school.