Monday Summary: Video Games and Stealth Assessment-Sneaky Teachers

I just read the neatest little article.  Anyone reading bits of my blog knows I’m a critical thinking geek.  I also happen to love adventure video games.  They’re really great at developing critical thinking skills.  I’m even thinking of ways to incorporate some of my favorites from BigFish Games into information literacy courses as a way to encourage critical thinking skills in fun ways.  However, I never thought of the sneaky uses detailed in this article.

Article: Kaya, Travis. (2010). “A ‘Stealth Assessment’ Turns to Video Games to Measure Thinking Skills.” Chronicle of Higher Education, 57(12).  A13. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Kaya gets Valerie Shute (here’s her webpage), an associate professor of educational psychology at Florida State University, to discuss stealth assessment.  In order to test students’ thinking skills, among other things, without inducing test anxiety, Shute has utilized video games.  Students already grow up playing games.  They’re enjoyable and can reduce anxiety rather than causing it.  It also helps that video games can be used in the classroom without the students realizing they’re being tested.  It conveys more realistic results to professors. 

Shute sees stealth assessment as a way of modernizing teaching for groups of all ages.  Video games can draw students by increasing the desire of a student to participate.  It increases the relevance of some course projects by modernizing the instruction and gaining the students interest.

A couple of games in the article interested me right away. 

Shute designed a computer game (Smithtown) for undergraduates several years back.  It helped them learn microeconomics.  Think about that.  A game for learning microeconomics.  How cool is that?  Students had to alter economic factors and look at the results.  It ended up teaching important lessons about scientific inquiry.  If the students altered too many variables, they wouldn’t be able to determine the cause and effect relationship of their experiments.  Students learned to be patient, work with smaller numbers of variables, and dig out the actual cause/effect relationships. 

The second game is another game promoted for in-class use by Shute.  It was created by the University of Indiana’s Center for Research on Learning and Technology.  Taiga Park deals with ecology.  Students have to investigate the cause of a large scale fish die-off.  They get to interview witnesses and business owners and learn about basic scientific principles involved in ecological research.  It just sounds neat!

I think I may have to give Shute a hug if I ever meet her.  This is awesome stuff.  I love the twenty-first century.  I swear when I finally get hold of a librarian position, I’m going to be pushing video games for the info lit courses.  I cannot think a better way to engage college age students and still get them learning.

Monday Summary: Narratives, Games, and Learning Environments, oh my!

Here it is, after a two week break.  This week we’ll look at the following article:

Dickey, Michele D. “Game Design Narrative for Learning: Appropriating Adventure Game Design Narrative Devices and Techniques for the Design of Interactive Learning Environments.” ETR&D. 54.3 (2006): 245-263.

Michele Dickey is a professor at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.  She focuses on instructional design and technology and has several publications on games and gamers.  So, she knows a thing or two about instruction and video games.

Dickey’s main purpose is to look at the possible place of narrative structures and games in the problem solving process and learning environment.  This article focuses on adventure games, after briefly covering other genres and mentioning the overlap of genres.  Adventure games tend to have the most developed narrative structures.  After a literature review (with some wonderful resources I’ll be digging up later), Dickey moves into the theoretical framework section of the article.  In this section she touches on the idea of learning environment.  Basically, this is a more modern idea among educators that students learn best when engaged and have an interactive environment in which to learn.  Knowledge (unlike information) cannot be transmitted from the instructor to the student.  The student has to construct her knowledge within the framework of the learning environment.  The old notion of lecturing and mindlessly copying notes doesn’t cut it here.  Students can be approached individually in a learning environment unlike the old school approach of having “each student do the same thing at the same time” (249).

Again, Dickey focuses on the adventure genre of games because of the more developed narrative structures found in them.  They can overlap with other genres, such as puzzle, first-person shooters, etc.  The adventure genre of games can, according to Dickey, “be characterized as a problem-solving environment” (250).  Problem-solving environments require players to interact and synthesize the information.  They have to use the narrative structure and environment of the game to solve problems, puzzles, go on quests, etc.  This can mean interacting with and interpreting characters in the game, utilizing objects, solving riddles, etc. 

Dickey also discusses how narrative factors into motivation.  She does this by looking to the field of literature (my old stomping ground).  Narrative based games use plot hooks (what keeps you guessing, wanting to find out more) and emotional proximity (identification with the character the gamer is playing, investment in the narrative) to engage gamers.  Using literature again, Dickey looks at the idea of the quest as a draw to keep gamers engaged and interacting.

While motivation is important in gaming and to the narrative design, Dickey sees narrative better served in the instructional setting as a “cognitive framework for problem solving” (252).  What’s that, you may wonder?  Humans have a habit of using narrative to define boundaries when they’re solving problems.  If you’re playing a game where the character can use magic spells, you’ll put that into your cognitive framework.  Likewise if your character has the ability pick locks, sword fight, utilize modern technology, etc.  The cognitive framework aids you in developing categories and relationships to work with.  You become aware of the characters you can interact with and how you can interact, what objects are beneficial and not, what skills are likely to be relevant, etc.  The narrative allows you to “identify and construct causal patterns that integrate what is known (backstory, environment, rules, etc.)” (252).  You figure out what you can and cannot do in the game setting through the narrative and through some trial and error in that narrative setting. 

Dickey points out that the narrative structure provides a “scaffolding for problem solving” (256).  Players develop skills for problem solving and “multimodal literacy” as they encounter problems, puzzles, and obstacles.  They have to use critical thinking skills in order to navigate the game and reach their goals. 

Dickey closes the article with a section on integrating adventure game narrative into the learning environment.  She points out that this is a framework not a “formula” for designing a course or learning environment.  She also points out the obvious notion that games are designed primarily for entertainment.  So, not all games will work for learning environments or as educational tools. 

Monday Summary: Riddles and Computer Games (1995)

Yes, this is an older article.  I still kind of, sort of, remember 1995.  Dr. John H. Doolittle published the following article way back then:

Doolittle, John H. “Using Riddles and Interactive Computer Games to teach Problem-Solving Skills.”  Teaching of Psychology.  22.1 (1995):  33-36. 

Doolittle’s main premise is that word tables, interactive video games, and riddles aid in the development of creative and critical thinking.  His focus is on undergraduate college students.  Students learn to think of multiple solutions to problems, instead of locking themselves into only one solution.  Along those lines, students also learn to let go of wrong answers or risk failing the task.  Students are required to think creatively because the expected answers with riddles aren’t always correct.  Flexibility in thoughts and problem solving patterns emerge.

Doolittle also points out something that should be obvious.  Those of us who read or listen to stories read aloud have more developed and active imaginations.  Movies and television can be interesting forms of entertainment but do not provide the kind of cognitive development that comes from an engaged imagination and interactive participation.

Doolittle offers some suggestions for riddles and games.  He also cautions against student frustration, which can halt the developmental process.  He closes with his empirical evidence for the effectiveness of these techniques, which is very preliminary but shows possible promise. 

So, this really is a fascinating article, and I’ll be following his citations and digging deeper for empirical evidence.  I don’t think many researchers take video games seriously as a way to encourage information literacy, creativity and critical thinking skills.  One thing that did bother me a little bit with this article was the fact that nearly half of his eighteen citations were to his own papers, books, and games he’s developed.  I can understand his reasons, but it still bothers me for some reason.  I need to track down his other resources and some more updated findings. 

This article did solidify some wonderful ideas I have for the classroom.  I have a syllabus and schedule emerging from the murky depths of my mind.  Perhaps, I will have to share these ideas with my readers. 

Am I weird or what?  I’m not employed at the moment and I’m still developing courses.  I just need some imaginary students and I’m set.  I wonder if I can get an imaginary paycheck?

Oh, look.  A link to the article!  

Information Literacy and Critical Thinking Exercises: Cracked Edition

I’ve come up with a new exercise to be done after going over basic information literacy skills and determining that the students are ready to take on a more difficult task.  Cracked.com is a fun, yet often frightening, place full of sarcasm, crude humor, descriptions of violence, and cussing.  It’s a great place to practice info lit and critical thinking skills, but use caution.  If I assigned an exercise like this at the local community college, I’d get complaints at the least (mostly due to the cussing).  Of course, evolution, climate change, and thought provoking literature also results in complaints at that place (true story-apparently The Secret Life of Bees is heretical and unfit for the classroom and Persepolis is of the devil-who knew?).  So, you may want to alter this exercise, depending on where you’re located.

Cracked.com is a humorous website.  It is in no way a scholarly resource.  However, this website can also be rather informative if, and only if, we fact-check the authors’ claims and analyze the resources used in the articles.

Most of the articles on Cracked are written in a countdown format (top ten…, the worst seven…, five great…, etc.).  This allows some flexibility for instructors with this assignment.

The basic assignment will have students checking the links/resources provided in the article(s).  They need to vet the links provided using the skills they’ve developed in class.  Students should also provide additional resources outside of those provided in the article(s).  This encourages fact-checking and instills the habit of utilizing multiple resources.

Assignment #1

Select an article (in numbered/countdown format) from Cracked.com (instructors are encouraged to provide a selection to simplify the selection and grading process-Examples here, here, and here).  Choose only one section of the article to work with.

Read your chosen section carefully.  Summarize and ask questions in your journal.  Write down comments and pay attention to fact versus opinion.

Follow the link or links provided as evidence.  Are these sources valid, relevant, up-to-date, etc?  Analyze the links and determine if the sources are credible or not. 

           

After vetting the provided resources, find additional resources either backing up or refuting the article’s claims.  Analyze your resources for credibility.

Paper (research based but may be considered with an exploratory slant) or Presentation (PowerPoint is always an option) should include the following:

·       Provide an overall summary of your chosen article-focusing on your chosen section.

·       Discuss your findings concerning the links

·       Discuss your additional resources

·       Critique your article section based on your research.  Were the ideas presented in the article actually facts?  Remember, don’t confuse opinions, humor, and sarcasm as hard facts.

·       Conclude with what you’ve discovered through this exercise and with any comments on the Cracked humor/info format.

Assignment #2

This is the same as assignment #1, except the student should work with a full article instead of one section.  This might be an interesting final assignment for a credit based information literacy class.

Assignment #3

This is the same as assignment #2.  However, have the students work in groups (the number of group members to be determined by the number of article sections).  Each group member is responsible for one section (as in assignment #1).  However, the final paper/presentation should be a collaborative effort with group members reviewing and checking other members’ progress.

Here’s the slightly modified version in Google docs.

Monday Summary – Math and Libraries

I’m starting something new.  Monday Summary may not happen every Monday.  However, I’ll endeavor to summarize and offer my thoughts on a library science related article every week.  I’m starting with a simple article this week.  One from a more popular periodical, instead of something scholarly.  I’ll try to switch up sources every once in a while.  The purpose of this is to keep me up to date on my field and to find interesting tidbits of information related to information literacy, critical thinking, or whatever tickles my fancy.  A second purpose is to inform my readers (and I have stats proving you exist even if few comment).  Most of my readers are not information professionals, but they might be interested in what librarians find print worthy.  Feel free to ask questions or post comments or email me if you want.

 

Fleming, Dan.  “Let Me Count the Ways.” School Library Journal.  August 2004, 42-44.

This isn’t one of those peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles that I should be digging through, but it caught my geek-eye due to the MATH.  I work algebra problems for fun and relaxation (yes, I’m one of those people).

Dan Fleming’s overall argument is that librarians should integrate math into information literacy lessons and everywhere else we can.  He focuses mainly on k-12 because of his experience.  He doesn’t want librarians to feel intimidated by math integration and recommends looking at statewide math standards as a starting point and focus for math lessons.  Fleming summarized the math standards for Massachusetts in this article.  He recommends developing math resources through collection development and finding math in “non-math” subjects (and while collaborating with teachers in those subjects).  An insert on the last page of the article provides details on the “Links between Information Literacy and Math Skills.”  The article closes with encouragement of creativity and by offering example exercises.

This article was published in 2004, and I haven’t noticed an increase in math in libraries, which is depressing.  Fleming is onto a great idea here.  Math, especially through word problems, can develop critical thinking skills.  It may also encourage an interest in math and science among students.  At the very least it may encourage an appreciation of those subjects and the way subjects bleed into one another and overlap. 

Fleming quotes one of his former students, Theresa Conroy, as stating, “The school library provides a setting for students to take a second and third look at ideas presented in the classroom” (44).  I think this is a point many people miss.  Librarians can reinforce subject knowledge, understanding, and literacy.

I think Fleming’s ideas can apply just as well to higher education.  College and university librarians should take note when it comes to information literacy courses (whether general or subject specific).  Any way we can encourage math and science should be viewed as important in the United States.  We’re already falling behind in those subjects compared to several other countries.  And critical thinking skills need constant reinforcement throughout life.

I’m one of those “math” people.  I’m always playing with numbers and automatically get interested when they come up.  So, Fleming’s article speaks to me, especially considering I never thought of this approach before.  I’ll be trying to find ways to integrate math into some of my upcoming worksheets and lessons (look for those blog posts soon).

Oh Look, Another Example of Poor Critical Thinking Skills

The whole creationism/intelligent design thing really pisses me off.  If you wanna believe it, go ahead.  But do not, DO NOT, try to get this stuff passed off as science.  Anyone who has any ability to distinguish between bunk and relevant resources should know better.

One of Ken Ham's buddies will be in Minnesota promoting falsehoods today. 

Thanks to PZ Myers for the info on this topic. 

An Example of Poor Critical Thinking Skills

Human beings see patterns-even when they don't exist.  It's an evolved trait that has helped us survive.  However, it does have its bad side.  Without basic critical thinking skills and information literacy, the human mind can warp itself into a slobbering conspiracy theory loving mess.  On a personal level, I've seen this happen with my biological father and one of my older brothers  (the world is ending every few years and the government is watching everybody).  On a national level, we can see this in people like Glenn Beck. 

See, this is why I promote teaching critical thinking skills and info lit.  This is why I studied to be a librarian.  I wish more conservatives and Republicans would stand up and denounce this jerk.  He's doing nothing but harm to their reputations at this point.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bang my head against my desk and throw back a few tylenol.  grrrr....argh....ugh

Critical Thinking and Video Games???

I would have loved any teacher that assigned a game for homework or as an in-class test. 

I’ve been involved in one form of gaming or another since I got a Nintendo and a Sega back in the eighties and computer games since I got my first computer back around 1993.  I didn’t have internet until a few years later (dial-up).  I’ve played all sorts of games but always find myself coming back to the puzzle and hidden object games.  Games that involve some level of problem solving ability or pattern recognition but that are still simple enough to complete in a short amount of time. 

Old school gamers might remember two of my favorites:  the original Quest for Glory and King’s Quest series.  Those were some awesome games.  I still think they’re neat games, even with the terrible graphics (by today’s standards).  Those type of games involved problem solving and puzzles.  You were sent on all sorts of minor quests in order to complete the main objective of the games.  Today, I play puzzle games and hidden object games for fun.  I usually download those from PopCap and BigFish Games online.  I also play games like Harvest Moon on the Wii.  I know that seems silly in some respects.  However, these games do involve the ability to figure out patterns and solve puzzles and riddles.  If they’re difficult enough, this forces the gamer to use at least a basic level of critical thinking skills.  Of course, I do love a nice “shoot’em up” game from time to time (one word-zombies).

See, games are a good thing.  I should see if I can find something to back this up. 

Friday Fallacy Introduction

I found this nice website listing and reviewing logical fallacies.  It hasn’t been updated since 2001, but it still has relevant info.  It gave me an idea for my logic postings.  Because many people learn best by figuring out what NOT to do or at least by recognizing faults in reasoning, I think it’s best to focus on fallacies while doing my logic posts.  I already know several from teaching composition courses, but I’ve also encountered some on this list I don’t know.  Every Friday (starting next week) I’ll post a fallacy with a definition and some links.  It’ll kind of be a mini-tutorial.  I may also add some worksheets or exercise ideas.  If I get crazy, maybe I’ll make a PowerPoint.

Here are two more links on fallacies:

A Wikipedia listing

The Writing Center at the UNC at Chapel Hill

And so, Friday Fallacy is born.    

Critical Thinking Exercises: The Gossip Series 1 & 2

Wonderful new idea for critical thinking exercises.  This is the start of the gossip series.  These are very general exercises that can be tailored to suit course needs and requirements.  I would encourage class discussion of these exercises.  Papers may also encourage individual reflection but aren't exactly necessary.  I'm also promoting the use of a critical thinking and information literacy journal.  Such a journal could be kept by students during the semester and used for discussion sessions.  It's also a great way to get students more aware of their skills and where they need improvement. 

Critical Thinking Exercises:  Gossip Series 1 & 2

When it comes to critical thinking, everything is fair game.  Gossip may seem like a simple and inconsequential activity in several cases, but it is a great place to practice critical thinking skills.  It’s also a great time to start working on critical thinking because gossip is so easy to break down.  In the following exercises we’re not necessarily looking for answers.  We’re looking for questions and patterns of thinking.

Exercise #1

Find two entertainment stories.  These will ideally be short articles pertaining to persons in the film or music industries.  One should focus on a person you admire or at least like on some level.  The other should focus on a person you cannot stand.  Summarize both articles (one paragraph per piece). 

Next, go through the articles line by line.  Write down any questions or thoughts that come to mind as you read (no matter how sappy or snarky) in a journal entry.  I will not be looking at these entries for substance.  I just want to know you got your thoughts down on paper. 

Write a brief paper discussing the following:  What kinds of questions did you ask for each article?  Did the questions and thoughts you had vary from article to article?  Did you find yourself agreeing with one article more than the other?  Which one?  Do you know why?  Provide some examples from your journal entry.

Exercise # 2

The next time you hear gossip at home, work, etc. write it down in your journal when you have a chance.  Summarize what you heard without using real names or identifying information.  When you were listening to the story, did you think of any questions or ask any out loud?  Did you think something you didn’t share with the gossiper?  Did you participate in the gossip?  Why or why not?

After you’ve written everything down, review over the event a few times.  Write down any new questions that come to mind?  Do you trust the story?  Why or why not?  Does it matter if you trust the gossiper?  Can you see your opinion of the story changing based on your feelings toward the gossiper or your feelings toward the subject of the story?  Why or why not?  How does this influence your view of fact versus opinion?  How could you go about finding out whether or not the gossip is true?

Write a short paper detailing your experiences. 

Here it is in Google Documents.

I need to give credit to my fabulous Mother for inspiring the gossip series.  She uses her critical thinking skills to shred gossipers.  Seriously, it always ends in metaphorical blood and guts.  She does beautiful work.

Comments and Post Update

I’ve been informed of a problem in the comments.  Some people are having trouble posting even though I’ve allowed anonymous comments.  It has something to do with BlogSpot, and other people have complained.  Some people are having no luck commenting unless they have Google accounts or change their web browser.  And some people aren’t having any luck at all posting comments.  If you do want to contact me about a post or to provide feedback, just email me.  You can find my email on my profile page (link on the left).

I have managed to get an email from another LIS person regarding my last critical thinking and information literacy worksheet/chart posting.  I’ll post her comment as an edit to the post. 

Ken Ham and Kentucky

I hate Ken Ham.  I'm not going to be nice or PC about this.  The man is a disaster for the world and for the state of Kentucky.  He and his creation museum and ark theme park make me fear for my state and, more importantly, my job search. 

I have this horrible nightmare that all my applications will be thrown in the trash when the hiring managers and committees see I'm from Kentucky.  The state's current associations make me cringe.

PZ Myers (yes, I get many posting topics from him) posts about Ken Ham's "teaching" style.  Ham is very good at not teaching critical thinking skills.  The video is terrifying.

Critical Thinking Example

OK.  I know I’ve posted today.  However, Dr. PZ Myers, a biologist at the University of Minnesota-Morris, has just posted a wonderful shredding critique of a supposedly scientific article.  He points out all the red flags and eviscerates chastises the author.  Dr. Myers even makes a point of finding out the author’s affiliations and how the paper got published in the first place.  This is a wonderful example of critical thinking when it comes to resources.  It’d be lovely if every undergraduate student could learn from just this one example.

Medical Advice

Librarians and medical advice just don’t mix, unless the librarian also happens to be a practicing medical doctor (but that much cool may not be possible in one person).  Whenever someone asks me for medical advice (whether at a library or elsewhere), I usually suggest that person see a doctor.  I may direct them to some online resources, such as the Mayo Clinic, if it’s just curiosity or databases, such as MedLine or CINAHL, if it’s for research.  But I also caution against self diagnosis and utilizing online medical resources for treatment options. 

I also warn people away from medical chat and discussion boards.  If you need support for a condition, fine.  But don’t ever use one of those for diagnosis.  I’ve had people tell me they use Yahoo! Answers for medical advice.  I never know whether to laugh or cry when I hear this.

This is another place where critical thinking skills and information literacy come in handy.  An information literate person with critical thinking skills is better equipped to recognize the BS in many medical websites.  That person is no better at diagnosing or treating illness than others (unless we’re dealing with a medical professional), but sometimes recognition of bad resources is good enough to avoid a catastrophe.

I bring this topic up because I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow and because I need to learn to follow my own advice.  I’ve spent the last few days looking online for answers and utilizing symptom checkers.  If I believe what I’ve found online, I should have been dead a few days ago, and I may have two dozen different medical conditions.  It’s enough to make a person a hypochondriac.  My own online search reminded me about the problems of medical information literacy and self diagnosis.  Right now I do know for a fact that I’m suffering from information anxiety and overload (and that is something librarians are qualified to diagnose…sometimes). 

Info Lit and Critical Thinking-Introduction

So, I thought I’d spend some time discussing information literacy and critical thinking.  We didn’t spend a large amount of time discussing this in class, at least in a direct manner.  We spent time learning how to complete searches and work on reference interviews, and some of that can be used in teaching patrons how to access information.

I think it’s become obvious that Americans lack critical thinking skills, at least in some areas.  It’s like a selective skill set.  People will use info lit and critical thinking skills when it suits them but abandon those skills when they become more difficult.  I think Zipf’s principle of least effort comes into play here.  It’s easier to not use critical thinking skills.  We can see this in everyday life when it comes to gossip or commentary presented as news (it’s obvious that some commentators on CNN, Fox, and MSNBC have extreme bias). 

We may believe what our neighbor tells us about the reclusive guy in the house down the street with the odd hair.  Most of this doesn’t affect us in dangerous ways.  We may miss out on some interesting interactions or lose the opportunity to make a new friend based on gossip, but it won’t kill us.  However, what if our neighbor tells us the guy down the street is a sexual predator?  Do we believe our neighbor, shun the guy down the street, and keep our kids from playing outside even in broad daylight?  What if we find out five years down (when we’re steeped in paranoia and our kids are pale as vampires and have vitamin D deficiencies) the road that our neighbor was wrong about the guy down the street?  Wouldn’t it be better to just check the sex offender registry or ask our neighbor where he got his information than to spend years locked in by potentially false information?

This comes down to the fact that people have a built in reticence when it comes to “looking stuff up.”  Sometimes we believe the first thing we hear so we don’t have to put the effort in to research.  Sometimes we’ll even fill in the blanks with conjecture, which is often plainly false, or worse, made up.  This is how rumors and urban legends get going. 

News can also fall into this pattern.  News organizations rush to report stories, to get information on air before other networks.  This can often lead to false information and retractions, if the news organization is honest.  For example, the recent shooting of Congresswoman Giffords had news agencies reporting everything from documented facts to odd conjectures.  Several of the initial stories reported Giffords as dead, when in fact she is responding well to her current treatments.  The lack of facts and loads of misinformation get worse when we move from the news to the commentary.  Commentators are the bread and butter of many news stations anymore.  And viewers may see the commentators as experts on whatever they talk about.  Whether that’s because the commentator is on a news station or is television or is otherwise famous is anyone’s guess. 

I’ve been guilty of believing a news commentator if his or her views happen to match mine.  It’s human to do so.  However, I’ve also made it a point to look up their reported facts for myself.  I do this for several reasons: to practice research and critical thinking skills, to see the data for myself without commentary, to fact check, and to avoid embarrassment in public if I find myself in a discussion on the topic in question.   

So, we know that human beings usually try to take the path of least resistance to information, even if it may be wrong.  We’re also aware from library science research that people have to deal with information overload on a constant basis in this world of online access and 24 hour news cycles.  This can create anxiety and further reinforces taking the path of least resistance.  The fear of not knowing leads us to take quick measures to assuage our anxiety.  How do we overcome this?  How can human beings move beyond the fear of not knowing to better understanding?  Can we turn our information anxiety into curiosity without fear?

I don’t think it’ll ever be a hundred percent.  Humans have evolved too many instinctual and primitive reactions to completely remove the fear of the unknown and information anxiety.  We can, however, redirect these energies and tame that part of us that wants a quick answer regardless of the cost.  (For an interesting look at our inner beast and living with it, go to this video-but keep in mind that philhellenes is a commentator on YouTube)

Teaching information literacy and critical thinking skills throughout life (starting as early as possible) can help reinforce the notion that it’s ok to not know.  It’s perfectly fine to say “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.”  It won’t kill us to take more time to find a correct answer.  It may in fact save our lives and our sanity.  Beyond just encouraging curiosity and the desire for the correct information, it is also important to teach these skills on other levels.  Recently, test scores and performance in several subject areas, including math and science, have fallen compared to other nations.  We’ve also seen a reduction in science and education funding and attempts to promote woo in American classrooms.  This makes it difficult for us to compete on an international level and can eventually hurt our status as an innovative and inventive country, which in turn can hurt our economic standing even more.  The New York Times had a post on this topic in September of 2010.  It looks at government reports from 2005 and 2010 on the subjects of science, technology, and global economic competitiveness.

One of the best ways to introduce students to critical thinking and reinforce it in more experienced students is to force students to look at how they seek information.  What patterns do they follow?  What are their strengths?  Weaknesses?  Are they applying critical thinking to some subjects but not others?  Or do they not apply critical thinking to any subject?  One way I have found is to introduce this topic with a research assignment-to combine information literacy and critical thinking.  When I taught at a local community college, I would ask students to research a topic (for example, plagiarism).  In the first assignment I had students use a search engine they’re familiar with, like Google or yahoo, and research the topic.  They had to provide citations and summarize what they found in at least three sources.  In the second assignment I had them do the search again but use scholarly databases in the college library.  Again, they had to provide citations and summaries for at least three sources.  For the third assignment, the students had to write a short paper comparing and contrasting the search methods, what they found, and how they searched.  They also had to tell me which method was better for college research and why.  The fourth assignment in this series was a discussion.  And, yes, I’m one of those silly teachers that like the desks in a circle.  It puts everyone on equal terms in a physical sense.  During the discussion, I used Socratic questioning and grilled them on every little thing.  I liked playing “devil’s advocate” during these conversations.  It forced them into self reflection and also forced them to verbalize their thoughts in a public forum.  You’d be amazed how fast students progress when this is done on a weekly, or even bi-weekly, basis. 

OK.  I’ve droned on long enough for one posting.  I’ll be back in a few days to discuss more about critical thinking and information literacy.  Hopefully, I’ll be a little more focused.  I tend to feel like I’m rambling when I blog.