Summary
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Subject index
Boost your students' 21st century skills
How do we measure students' inquiry, problem-solving, and critical thinking abilities so that we know they are prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st century? John Barell explains how inquiry leads to problem-solving and provides specific steps for pre, formative and summative assessment that informs instruction of 21st century skills. Included are examples that show how to use today's technology in the classroom and how to use inquiry to develop and assess students' ability to:
Think critically and creatively; Collaborate with others; Become self-directed learners; Adapt and become resourceful; Develop a sense of leadership, responsibility, and global awareness
The authors challenge teachers to reflect on their own learning, thinking, and problem-solving processes as well as those of their students. The text provides frameworks for monitoring students' progress and guidelines for communicating with parents. Teachers will find examples from all grade levels that show how to observe and assess students' growth in their development of 21st century capacities, making this a timely and valuable resource.
Formative Assessments: Gathering a “Wealth of Information”
Formative Assessments: Gathering a “Wealth of Information”
Recording our Students' Questions
During a unit on plants in Shauna Ullman's third-grade classroom in West Vancouver (Mulgrave School), Harry asked these questions:
May 9 How [do] the sun and rain affect plants? [Off the top of my head … Causation]
May 19 How do the sun and rain affect the germinating stage of the life cycle? [Digging deeper … Causation]
May 26 Does the climate affect the plant and its failure? [And deeper … Causation]
June 13 What will happen if you keep cutting down trees? [Questions left hanging … Responsibility]
Tish Jolley, Mulgrave's Primary Years Programme International Baccalaureate coordinator, shared these questions (personal communication, June 2011) as she analyzed the inquiry-tracking tool Shauna had been using ...
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