The first step in helping students think for themselves just might be to help them see who they are and where they are.
If we truly want students to adapt their thinking, design their thinking, and diverge their thinking, it (the thinking) has to start and stop somewhere.
Generally, this means beginning with the learning target a teacher establishes and ending with an evaluation of how the student “did.” But thinking has nothing to do with content. Thinking is a strategy to learn content, but they are otherwise distinct. This process, then, is about thought and learning rather than content and mastery.
Examining A Self-Directed Learning Framework
In 2013, we created a framework to guide students in self-directed learning. The idea was/is for each student to truly think for themselves. There are two theories that underpin this concept of students being able to create and navigate their own learning pathways:
More at: http://www.teachthought.com/learning/self-directed-learning/teaching-students-to-think-for-themselves/
If we truly want students to adapt their thinking, design their thinking, and diverge their thinking, it (the thinking) has to start and stop somewhere.
Generally, this means beginning with the learning target a teacher establishes and ending with an evaluation of how the student “did.” But thinking has nothing to do with content. Thinking is a strategy to learn content, but they are otherwise distinct. This process, then, is about thought and learning rather than content and mastery.
Examining A Self-Directed Learning Framework
In 2013, we created a framework to guide students in self-directed learning. The idea was/is for each student to truly think for themselves. There are two theories that underpin this concept of students being able to create and navigate their own learning pathways:
More at: http://www.teachthought.com/learning/self-directed-learning/teaching-students-to-think-for-themselves/