The requirements of modern education focus on the principle of “teaching not science, but learning to learn.
This is the task set by the technology of critical thinking development.
In pedagogy it is evaluative and reflexive thinking that develops by superimposing new information on personal life experience.
One of the tasks of the technology of critical thinking development is the formation of communication skills, skills of formulating questions. After all, it is impossible for people to communicate without questions. In the flow of information in which we live, we need to learn to analyze information, to be able to express our attitude to it, to reject unnecessary information, to formulate questions and find answers to them.
Unfortunately, in class we ask more often, and this is a big problem for our children. They are being answered questions they didn’t ask. And kids stop asking questions. They know they’re going to be told something, often something they’re not interested in or don’t understand. It is ideal when a child asks questions himself, wants to know something himself.
The ability to formulate questions will allow us to form, first of all, such types of IQs as cognitive and communicative.
Today I want to show you one of the popular techniques for developing critical thinking that was developed by the American scientist and psychologist Benjamin Bloom. Benjamin Bloom is known as the author of a unique system of algorithms for pedagogical activity. His proposed theory divides educational goals into three blocks: cognitive, psychomotor, and affective. Simply put, these goals may be designated as blocks “I know”, “I create” and “I can do”. That is, the child is offered not ready knowledge, but a problem. He or she should find ways to solve this problem using his or her experience and knowledge.
This method is called “Bloom’s daisy chain” or “daisy of questions and answers. It is quite popular in the world of modern education.
This technique is based on working with a text. Since students have to work with the text in various lessons – the technique is universal and can be used not only by a teacher of any subject with children of any age.
The main thing in working with a text is comprehension of information. One of the main methods of understanding information is to ask questions about the text and find answers to them.
Do we need to teach how to ask questions? To paraphrase Alison King, “Those who can ask questions can think.
Teaching a child to think is one of the main goals of education.
“Bloom’s Daisy helps teach children how to ask questions.
“The daisy consists of six petals, each containing a certain type of question. Thus, six petals are six questions:
1. Simple questions – questions to answer which it is necessary to name some facts, to remember and reproduce some information: “What?”, “When?”, “Where?”, “How?”.
2. Clarifying questions. Such questions usually begin with the words: “So you say that…?”, “If I understood correctly, then…?”, “I could be wrong, but I think you said about…?”. The purpose of these questions is to give the student opportunities for feedback on what he or she has just said. Sometimes they are asked in order to elicit information not present in the message but implied.
3. Interpretive (explaining) questions. Usually begin with the word “Why?” and aim to establish cause and effect relationships. This type of question “works” when there is an element of independence in the answer. 4.
Creative questions. This type of question often contains a particle “would”, elements of conditionality, assumptions, predictions: “What would change …”, “What would happen if …?”, “How do you think the plot will develop in the story after …?
5. Evaluation questions. These questions are aimed at finding out the criteria for evaluating certain events, phenomena, facts. “Why is something good and something bad?”, “How is one lesson different from another?”, “How do you feel about the main character’s action?”, etc.
6. Practice Questions. This type of question is aimed at establishing the relationship between theory and practice: “How can you apply …?”, “What can be made of …?”, “Where can you observe … in normal life?”, “What would you do in the place of the hero of the story?”.
Options for using Bloom’s Daisy in the classroom
Two options are possible:
The questions are formulated by the teacher himself. This is an easier way, used at the initial stage – when it is necessary to show the students examples, ways of working with the daisy.
Questions are formulated by the students themselves. This option requires a certain amount of preparation from the children, because it is easy to come up with reproductive questions, but the task-questions require a certain skill.
2. PRACTICAL PART.
And now I suggest that you try this technique. The text that we are going to discuss now appears on the screen. In the corner there is a daisy, which you can use as a guide when drawing up questions. After reading the text, we will try to put together questions of all kinds and ask the other groups of teachers. We have three groups in all.
Sanya and Vanya were on their way home from school. They were walking through a forest. The forest was no longer red, nor green, but white-grey. Trunks are covered with snow. Feet fall through the snow. And under the snow crunching and rustling dry leaves, needles and twigs.
Sanya took a twig and wrote something on the snow.
Vanya looked at it, read:
– “Sanya.” Big deal! Spring will come, the snow will melt, and there won’t be anything left of your letters.
Vanya took a knife out of his briefcase and carved “Vanya” on the trunk of a birch.
– Now that’s more like it! And you in the snow! – he said.
– What a fool! – Sanya said.
-Why?
-Because all my life people will walk by the birch tree and say: “What a fool this Vanya is!” – (Based on S. A. Baruzdin)
Based on the example of the text, the students made up these questions:
1.Simple.
Who are the main characters of the story?
Where does the action take place in the story?
When does the action take place in the story?
How is the winter forest described in the story?
2.Clarifying.
If I understand correctly, the action in the story takes place in winter?
I could be wrong, but I think the main characters were coming home from school.
As far as I understood, Vanya carved his name on the trunk of the tree?
3.Interpretive.
Why did Vanya carve his name on the trunk of the birch tree?
Why did Sanya call Vanya a “fool”?
4.Creative.
What would have changed if Sanya had not written his name in the snow?
How do you think Vanya reacted to Sanya’s last remark?
5.Practical.
What would you have done in Vanya’s place?
What would you have done in Sanja’s place?
6. Evaluative.
Why is Vanya’s action condemned?
Which of his friends was right?
3. Bloom’s cube (+ practice with it).
When you and your children have already mastered the daisy chain, you can move on to Bloom’s cube.
This method is more difficult, in that less time is given to coming up with a question. But at the same time it includes a game moment, the spirit of competition. This method is even more like children.
Tip. You can vary the questions on faces of the cube as you wish. It is important that they affect all aspects of the theme.
“Bloom’s cube” can be used at all stages of any type of lesson. However, it is most convenient to apply the method on generalizing lessons when children already have an idea of the essence of the theme.
As for using it at an earlier stage of studying the block of material, in this case the work with the cube can be done in groups, that is, the answers to the questions students need to formulate together. This simplified method helps not only to “pile up” all the children’s knowledge, but also to develop in children a sense of teamwork, the need to help each other and take responsibility for the work of all team members.
Formulations for elementary school students of the edge of the cube can be simplified, but also address the cognitive, creative, and emotional sides of the personality.
