David McGavock's List: Crap Detection

Asked what was essential for a great writer, Ernest Hemingway responded memorably, "A built-in, shock-proof crap detector." Most of us teachers will not become great writers. But if we are not good crap detectors and don't help our students to develop crap detecting skills, especially in the subjects we teach, we fail our students.

"Neil Postman’s classic essay Bullshit and the Art of Crap-Detection. Contains a handy taxonomy of forms of bullshit, and some useful “laws” such as: Almost nothing is about what you think it is about–including you.”"

"I’d like to briefly take a look at using critical thinking specifically for reading blogs and tweets (although this method could apply to just about anything). While there isn’t an official formula for doing this, I’d like to suggest using “The Five W’s” that we learn in elementary school as guidelines for inquiry; they include Who?, What?, Where?, When?, Why?, and (sometimes) How?.

Instead of using the Five W’s for developing content (they’re the basics for writing a successful news piece), use the Five W’s to analyze any post/piece of writing. Here’s how to get started:

"A SUPER-STREAMLINED CONCEPTION OF CRITICAL THINKING
Robert H. Ennis, 6/20/02"

"As I talk with leaders in the education and librarian communities, I am, particularly bothered by reports of students who just paste information from Wikipedia or Google into their term papers and call it a day. No matter what search brand you are using, these reports mean that a generation of youngsters are growing up accepting that just the first few examples of information they see on their screens are sufficient, and a generation of teachers are spending time struggling to convince them they need good Internet research skills. "

"Information Literacy Print

Access and Evaluate Information

* Access information efficiently (time) and effectively (sources)
* Evaluate information critically and competently

Use and Manage Information

* Use information accurately and creatively for the issue or problem at hand
* Manage the flow of information from a wide variety of sources
* Apply a fundamental understanding of the ethical/legal issues surrounding the access and use of information"

"Definition of Information Literacy

Although alternate definitions for information literacy have been developed by educational institutions, professional organizations and individuals, they are likely to stem from the definition offered in the Final Report of the American Library Association (ALA) Presidential Committee on Information Literacy, "To be information literate, a person must be able to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use effectively the needed information"(1989, p. 1). Since information may be presented in a number of formats, the term information applies to more than just the printed word. Other literacies such as visual, media, computer, network, and basic literacies are implicit in information literacy. "

"But it is heavy lifting for teachers, administrators, parents, and students to dump high school structures that inhibit reasoning and sustain those changes over time. In the face of actual or threatened budget cuts, there is even less determination to touch those taken-for-granted organizational routines. Yet the lessons of earlier reforms are clear: trying to get students to think without altering basic high school structures, will be no more than washing and waxing a jalopy."

"Critical and Creative Thinking - Bloom's Taxonomy

What are critical thinking and creative thinking?
What's Bloom's taxonomy and how is it helpful in project planning?
How are the domains of learning reflected in technology-rich projects?"

"Fundamentals are not “because I said so” facts and figures; they’re the tools, the equipment, we need to get to the real stuff, the critical thinking and the creativity in any endeavor. When you hear a jazz musician riffing at a million miles an hour, he is absolutely improvising; he is not winging it. He’s giving his brain the freedom to be brave, to explore, unencumbered by the burden of needing to actively cogitate on those fundamentals. He knows his art so thoroughly that he has the discipline to toe the line, the freedom to confidently act outside preconceived parameters, and—most importantly—the wisdom to know when to do one or the other."

"III. Research and Information Fluency \nStudents apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students: \n A. plan strategies to guide inquiry.\n B. locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information\n C. evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks. \n D. process data and report results. \n\nIV. Critical Thinking, Problem-Solving & Decision-Making \nStudents use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, design and manage projects, solve problems, engineer solutions and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources. Students: \n A. identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation. \n B. plan, design and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project.\n C. collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions.\n D. use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions. "

"Assessments of Information Literacy"

links to resources for assessing information literacy. Includes portfolio assessments from many different colleges.

"A Brief History of the Habits of Mind

HABITS OF MIND ARE･….dispositions that are skillfully and mindfully employed by characteristically intelligent, successful people when they are confronted with problems, the solutions to which are not immediately apparent.

The Habits of Mind were derived from studies of effective, skillful problem-solvers and decision makers from, many walks of life. They are synthesized from the works of such leaders from the fields of education, philosophy, psychology and the arts as Alan Glatthorn and Jonathan Baron[i], Reuven Feuerstein[ii], Edward de Bono[iii], Robert Ennis[iv] Arthur Whimbey[v], Robert Sternberg, [vi] and David Perkins[vii].

While each of these authors have different labels for describing the characteristics of thinking, their intentions were similar: to describe how people behave intelligently by becoming more flexible and open in thinking, monitoring one’s own thoughts, being curious and having a questioning attitude. Gradually these studies were synthesized by Arthur Costa into what was originally titled, “Intelligent Behaviors” and described 7 behaviors. With further reading and research, the list expanded from the original 7 to 12 then 14 and now 16 and there could be more."

"Questioning: A comprehension strategy for small-group guided reading
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=408

A lesson plan for grades 3-5 English Language Arts
* Learn more about language arts, metacognitive strategies, questioning, and reading.
* Email
* Delicious Delicious
* Digg Digg
* Facebook Facebook
* StumbleUpon StumbleUpon\n\nIn this ReadWriteThink lesson, the teacher explains the difference between thin (factual) and thick (inferential) questions, and then models how to compose question webs by thinking aloud while reading. Students observe how to gather information about the topic and add it to question webs in the form of answers or additional questions. Students practice composing thin and thick questions, as well as monitoring their comprehension, by using question webs independently in small-group reading. This practice extends knowledge of the topic and engages readers in active comprehension. "

"Encouraging Critical Thinking Online

Encouraging Critical Thinking Online is a set of free teaching resources designed to develop students' analytic abilities, using the Web as source material.

Two units are currently available, each consisting of a series of exercises for classroom or seminar use. Students are invited to explore the Web and find a number of sites which address the selected topic, and then, in a teacher-led group discussion, to share and discuss their findings. The exercises are designed so that they may be used either consecutively to form a short course, or individually.

The resources encourage students to think carefully and critically about the information sources they use. The subject matter of the exercises is of relevance to a range of humanities disciplines (most especially, though by no means limited to, philosophy and religious studies), while the research skills gained will be valuable to all students."

"Uses of Critical Thinking

Critical thinking underlies reading, writing, speaking, and listening. These are the C basic elements of communication. Critical thinking also plays an important part in social change. Consider that the institutions in any society - courts, governments, schools, businesses - are the products of a certain way of thinking.

Any organization draws its life from certain assumptions about the way things should be done. Before the institution can change, those assumptions need to be loosened up or reinvented.
Critical thinking also helps us uncover bias and prejudice. This is a first step toward communicating with people of other races and cultures.

Critical thinking is a path to freedom from half-truths and deception. You have the right to question what you see, hear, and read. Acquiring this ability is one of the major goals of a liberal education.

Skilled students are thorough thinkers. They distinguish between opinion and fact. They ask powerful questions. They make detailed observations. They uncover assumptions and define their terms. They make assertions carefully, basing them on sound logic and solid evidence. Almost everything that we call knowledge is a result of these activities. This means that critical thinking and learning are intimately linked.

Practice your right to question!"

"Boost Your Teaching – With Critical Thinking

Part of the series: Boost Your Teaching

More to view/download/share: links
Part of the series Boost Your Teaching

Roy van den Brink-Budgen, a former chief examiner for critical thinking, explains some of the concepts involved in helping your pupils developing critical thinking skills.

Learning how to analyse, evaluate and produce arguments can help pupils become enquiring thinkers, and skills can be developed across subjects and key stages.

Whatever the subject, critical thinking encourages students to take claims and ask questions about them, whether they are made in conversations, in the classroom, or in the media."

"Effective Reading Comprehension Strategies
Introduction
Reading comprehension is fundamental to ultimate educational success. Yet elementary students struggle with it on a daily basis. In order for students to comprehend their reading materials, it is helpful to explicitly teach comprehension strategies. (Check out this list!) I will be looking at three aspects of human cognition to be of assistance in this task: metacognition, working memory, and activating prior semantic knowledge. As an educator, it is important that I help my students reach as much of their potential as I can. Testing different strategies on my students can help me, but even more importantly, can help my students identify the best ones for each of them."

"Who We Are

The Media Standards Trust is an independent registered charity that aims to find ways to foster the highest standards of excellence in news journalism on behalf of the public, and ensure public trust in news is nurtured.
Our Aims
We believe high standards of news and information are critical to the health of our democratic society. These standards are being challenged by the enormous, revolutionary changes in the production, funding, packaging, delivery and consumption of news and information.

In many areas these changes are leading to:

* - More frequent inaccuracies in reporting
* - Less original sourcing
* - Escalation in the use of ‘manufactured news’
* - Increase in self-censorship
* - A growth of subjective over objective reporting
* - Reduction in sustained, in-depth reporting on the ground, particularly investigative reporting


As the news media undergoes radical transformation, these standards are under threat as never before. We will work on behalf of the public and the public interest to find ways to preserve and foster high standards."

The Four Ds of Journalism

The best way to learn news literacy is to think like a journalist.\n\nReporters have distinct traits that either led them to the profession or that they developed while doing journalism.\n\nThe four Ds of thinking like a journalist exemplify these qualities. They are:

1. Doubt - a healthy skepticism that questions everything.
2. Detect - a "nose for news" and relentless pursuit of the truth.
3. Discern - a priority for fairness, balance and objectivity in reporting.
4. Demand - a focus on free access to information and freedom of speech.