My experience teaching 21st-century skills to a group of international students at a university in South Korea continues. The spaghetti and marshmallow lesson was a success. Feedback from students was very encouraging (you can see some of the comments in the pictures below). Having focused on collaboration and cooperation in the previous class, we moved on to critical thinking. The focus of many of our classes will be on critical thinking skills, and I will use Blooms' Taxonomy to guide me in the activities I create and the projects I will ask the students to complete. I have attached the worksheet I used for this class (entitled transport, the cheating section will be next week's class), and it might be helpful to have it available whilst I go through the activities and the students' responses.
Week One
As a warm-up activity, I showed the students this picture by Karl Jilg and asked the students to work in pairs and think about the picture's message. The responses from the students ranged from the dangers of traffic to the lack of freedom pedestrians experience compared to road users.
We then discussed the issue of traffic and transportation in our society. One of the questions I asked was, do you think there are too many vehicles on our roads? Several students commented that there aren't enough cars on the road, and they believe each family member should have their own vehicle. One student felt car ownership was a sign of wealth and position in his culture (Uzbekistan). Therefore people should be encouraged to own cars. Another student (Vietnam) challenged this view and talked about how an increase in vehicles can negatively affect society.
Critical Thinking Skills: Knowledge.
Key Skills Developed: Identifying, Recognising & Naming.
The next part of the lesson focused on the knowledge section of Bloom's Taxonomy. I asked the students to work in small groups and identify some ideas that can help reduce traffic in big cities. The students had to separate their ideas into three sections; what the individual can do, what businesses can do, and what the government can do. Once the students had got some ideas, I asked them to write their statements on the board. A small kinaesthetic activity such as writing on the board goes a long way in alleviating boredom in the classroom. We then spent some time discussing the ideas the students had presented. One of the more exciting ideas involved businesses using drones to deliver fast food to people.
Critical Thinking Skills: Comprehension.
Key Skills Developed: Interpreting, Summarising.
After the break, we moved on to the comprehension part of the lesson. The students read the America Walks extract on page two of their handout and then answered the comprehension questions.
Critical Thinking Skills: Application.
Key Skills Developed: Implementing & Using.
It was now time to apply the knowledge the students had gathered in the previous activities. I had students work in small groups and create a role-play. Students would take the role of either a local government official or parent. The task involved the parents trying to convince the local government official to create a safe walking route for their children. Each character had their own brief, the parent wanted the safe walking route, the government worker had very little money to spend. The goal of the task was to create a compromise between the two parties, thus using their communication and collaboration skills.
The students performed their role-plays, and each group produced an excellent attempt at reaching a compromise. Most groups suggested the community could work together to create a safe walking route with the support of the local government.
Students then continue their wonderful journey along the path of self-reflection by completing their student journals.
Week Two
The first class began with a quick overview of the themes we had discussed in the previous lesson. We then had a discussion about the benefits of walking.
Critical Thinking Skills: Analysis & Synthesis.
Key Skills Developed: Constructing, Designing, Planning & Producing.
I explained to students the idea of an infographic and told the students about today's assignment. Using the internet and their own knowledge, they will research the benefits of walking and produce an infographic. We are lucky because our classroom is equipped with computers. This makes it easy for students to create a high-quality piece of work. Working in pairs, students will research the information, choose the information they want to use, paraphrase the information and then use an infographic they have created to present the information.
All of the information to complete the task is included on the worksheet. If you don't have computers in your classroom, you can assign the activity as homework from the first week and use the infographics as an assignment and have students talk about their work in a future class. I decided to spread the work over two weeks and have the students produce the infographic in class. This activity helps students develop their creative skills and also allows them to practice the vital skill of paraphrasing.
Critical Thinking Skills: Evaluation.
Key Skills Developed: Outlining, Deconstructing, Checking & Attributing.
Students then shared their infographics with the class. This allowed students to explain their work to other students whilst also listening to the feedback from their classmates. Students justify their work and defend their opinions. This activity is most effective in an expo-type scenario if you have time. Have students move their desks to create an expo layout, where students can walk around the class and sit down and chat with other students about their work.
Finally, the activity that keeps on giving: ***Reflection***
Students continue their wonderful journey along the path of self-reflection by completing their student journals.
*This blog post is from 2017* As previously mentioned, I lost my login for my other blog site and I am in the process of moving the posts over to this site. If you want a copy of the worksheet just let me know.
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