Description
Explicit instruction in thinking skills must be a priority goal of all teachers. In this book, the author presents a framework of the five Rs: Relevancy, Richness, Relatedness, Rigor, and Recursiveness. The framework serves to illuminate instruction in critical and creative thinking skills for K-12 teachers across content areas.Each chapter treats one category of thinking skills. A chapter begins with a brief anecdote that illustrates the category, then discusses the skill, presents relevant life questions, and concludes by examining chosen strategies for the three thinking levels. Bruce Williams has more than thirty five years of international consulting experience,and is noted for his expertise in group facilitation and in planning and team building methodologies. Williams’ specialty is facilitating participative, interactive group workshops whether they are focused on strategic planning and consensus building or instructional methodologies for the classroom. He has conducted successful workshops on brain compatible learning and school change facilitation, and he frequently presents in the areas of cooperative learning, higher order thinking skills, and authentic assessment. With seven years’ experience in teaching English as a second language in Japan and Korea, Williams is highly experienced in working with diverse populations. Thirty-six years’ experience in adult training also make him a valuable resource in facilitating school change. In addition to conference workshops in 2002 in Australia and New Zealand, he has been invited three times to present workshops for teachers in Singapore. In April of 2004, Williams was the keynote speaker for 400 principals and teachers in Beijing. Introduction 1. Relevance About Relevance The Life Question Understanding Information–Skills of Comparing and Contrasting Generating Insight–Skills of Evaluating and Judging Discerning Implications–Skills of Applying 2. Richness About Richness The Life Questions Understanding Information–Skills of Classifying, Sorting, and Ranking General Insight–Skills of Visualizing and Imagining Discerning Implications–Skills of Creating, Innovating, and Inventing 3. Relatedness About Relatedness The Life Questions Understanding Information–Skill of Connecting Generating Insight–Skill of Forcing Relationships Discerning Implications–Skill of Generalizing 4. Rigor About Rigor The Life Questions Understanding Information–Skill of Explaining Why Generating Insight–Skill of Inferring Discerning Implications–Skills of Sequencing and Predicting 5. Recursiveness About Recursiveness The Life Questions Understanding Information–Skill of Analyzing General Insight–Skill of Making Analogies Discerning Implications–Skill of Transferring Conclusion Appendix A: Brainstorming and Planning Lessons Appendix B: Blacklines of Graphic Organizers Bibliography
