Teachers know that curiosity fuels learning. We intentionally design lessons that spark students’ questions. We celebrate inquiry, encourage exploration, and recognize that students often learn more deeply when they wrestle with uncertainty rather than simply receive answers. A classroom where students wonder, question, and investigate is a classroom alive with learning. Yet somewhere between the […]

How do teachers shift the focus from passive learning to active exploration, challenging students to think critically, solve complex problems, and apply their knowledge in authentic contexts. Experienced educator and CEO of WhyMaker, Liz Gallo, explores promoting deeper understanding by immersing students in meaningful tasks that mirror the challenges they’ll face outside the classroom, ultimately […]

                            Thinkers are characterized by their curiosity, willingness to explore different approaches, and the ability to think critically about a task. Thinking generates learning. The question for us as teachers is “How much thinking are our students doing?” Students who succeed in […]

A Kindergarten and High School Science teacher describe the collaboration they entered with each other, their students, and outside school partners to engage students in inquiry and critical thinking through hands on learning experiences. They recommend the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program: https://www.globe.gov/ Get in touch with Pam Patterson:  ppatterson@hollandcsd.org […]

An article by Ron Berger, We Learn by Doing: What Educators Get Wrong About Bloom’s Taxonomy, triggered me to reexamine an earlier blog I wrote after reading Sam Wineburg’s and Jack Schneider’s article, Inverting Bloom’s Taxonomy. Berger shares how the original and revised Bloom’s Taxonomy provided educators with an understanding of the importance of giving students opportunities […]

The National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking defines critical thinking as an “intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.” The process tends to help us judge and evaluate situations based […]