Learning Skills for Thinking and Problem Solving

Science

Learning Skills for Thinking and Problem Solving

Problem Identification, Formulation and Solution

I. Ability to frame, analyze and solve problems.

A sample outcome for Thinking and Problem Solving talks about students being able to formulate a scientific question about phenomena, a problem, or an issue and using a broad range of tools and techniques; plan and conduct an inquiry to address the question.

In order for students to be able to do this, they need to practice this type of thinking. One activity that edClass has is called Planetary Data Deductions. This activity uses Excel. Students are asked to use information for the nine planets. They will be asked to analyze this information by determining a question and using scatter plots to help determine the relationship between two sets of data in the database to determine an answer to their question. This is a great activity to help student begin to understand what type of data they might collect and how they could go about highlighting relationships. You can locate this activity by going to the Search Catalog tool in the edClass Web site and type in the Book Number E457. There you will be able to Open the book to review it.

English

Learning Skills for Thinking and Problem-Solving

Critical Thinking and Systems Thinking

Exercising sound reasoning in understanding and making complex choices, understanding the interconnections among systems.

A sample outcome for Thinking and Problem Solving Skills could be for students to construct a virtual museum exhibit focusing on the impact inventions and inventors have had on society over time.

Students must be able to focus on a topic and then make choices in their research that best exemplify the topic of choice. They must then take the research and analyze it to highlight the impact of these choices. Conclusions must then be demonstrated within the virtual museum product. The edClass activity called Inventions Storyboard is a perfect activity to guide students through the curriculum discussion of this topic, provide a scaffolding for the research needed and then the technical guidance needed to create a virtual museum storyboard. This particular edClass activity also comes with a finished sample that you could readily use in your presentation; however the process throughout the entire activBook is a very important point to share as well. The Book Number for this activity is E616.

Mathematics

Learning Skills for Thinking and Problem Solving

Creativity and Intellectual Curiosity

Develop and communicate ideas to others

A sample outcome for Thinking and Problem Solving with Creativity and Curiosity could be for students to use digital cameras to photograph representations of geometry concepts from their surroundings.

Once students might have digital representations of geometry concepts they still need to know how to go about using these examples to determine the properties they are seeing. Teachers need to see how these images can be used in conjunction with other tools. The edClass activity is called Rise Over Run. Students will build a Slope Calculator in Excel and practice using this tools on a number of real world things that are provided in the activity. They can then extend the use of this tool by going out and taking digital images of other real world geometry concepts. The Book Number for this activity is E275.