Third Day: Developing Students' Critical Thinking Skills and Reflective Teaching

Camp SOAR 3 - Well, did you feel the title quite serious?
I thought about it too when I was reading the title. Okay, how can i develop studens' critical thinking skill? What is critical thinking? To be honest, I got a little bit confuse to about it. LOL.

Critical Thinking Skills

Just make it short, to do the critical thinking skill we can use a chart of Bloom's Taxonomy. Just look at this picture:

Then in our class, we can do it from the lowest level: remember. It is an activity to recall fact and basic concepts that already in our students' memory. After that, we can check if they understand by asking them to discuss, describe or explain. Next, make sure that they apply it. I mean they can use the information in new situations. While analyze  is the skill which shows them to draw connections among ideas. They can compare their answer perhaps and soon. After they analyze something, then they can make decision. Debate to each other which one is the best decision, and we are in the evaluate level. Furthermore, if they can design or produce new or original work that mean that they are on the highest level: create.

So, the important thing that we must remember is do not stuck on the same level for many years.
It is fine if we start from the beginner but being an expert is quite nice.

Actually, our students had apply this critical thinking skill in their life. You know that, they can make decision after analyzing something. Sometimes you see they are arguing too, right?

At this session, Candace as the facilitator did something interesting about what critical thinking is. She showed us a picture about a man (it is you) who is standing near the track switch while there is a train coming to the Y track. On the left track there is a worker stand at the track. On the right side, there are 5 people who stand at the track. You only have one chance to decide, are you going to save a man or them? Give your reason.

This activity could make our students try to make decision, argue, giving some reasons and etc. Then, that is critical thinking.

Unfortunately, if you got mad with my explanation about critical thinking why don't you just read this one

Reflective Teaching

Know Thyself - Socrates

The quote above tell us to know your self.

In the end of this session, I concluded that reflective teaching is an activity that we do after doing teaching learning activity. Then, how to do this?
First, you can documenting your teaching learning process in a video, watching it, taking some note about what do you need to fix and then you can modify it or eliminate it in the next class.
Second, you may have a college to observe your class. Ask him/her to tell you about how is your performance in class. Did you need something to change or not?
Last but not  the least, you can also ask your student to get written feedback about what did they feel after the class over. Are they happy? Do they don't like something? and soon.

We don't learn from experience... 

We learn from reflecting on experience -John Dewey-

After those two session, all of the campers have to promote about their school and town in School Poster Session. It was also great I can learned many thing from others, how to run an English Club at school, the activities, green school program, and many more.
We did it by walking around the class, looked at the others poster and ask them if we curious something about their school or town. In this session, we also had two best winner they are Dee and Jill. Their poster was so interactive and creative. Wonderful!

In the end of the day, we must do our first online reflection in google classroom and Ina have sent the reflection form, the campers task is to answer it. We will do this session everyday during the camp at 6 p.m to 7 p.m.

Okay fellows, that was our activity on the third day, don't forget to read previous day story and also the next day. See ya!