WICOR Wednesday
Higher Level Thinking
What is Inquiry?
Higher-level thinking, elicited by skilled inquiry, should be both teacher- and student-driven.
Teachers pose questions and guide students into deeper levels of thought.
Students use questioning processes to probe the meanings of texts, solve problems, or design investigations.
Ultimately, higher-level thinking is revealed through questioning, analyzing, and constructing of knowledge and understanding.
Using these resources, educators will be able to:
Use effective questioning techniques in the classroom to promote students’ critical thinking or higher order thinking skills.
Create a classroom culture that nurtures thinking and inquiry.
Engage students in using Costa’s Levels of Thinking to think more deeply and broadly.
Teach students to identify and employ the strategies and skills of successful learners.
What is our AVID Goal?
S= Twin Peaks Students will be focusing on the Instruction Domain, Indicator 4, Higher Level Thinking. Our students will utilize higher-level thinking questions in discussions & collaborative structures.
M= We are striving for 80% of teachers and students using higher-level thinking strategies consistently.
A = Our goal is to move from AVID students to all students school wide practicing these skills. (Meets AVID Implementation Expectations to Sustaining Schoolwide)
R = In April we will conduct a teacher & student survey to measure use and effectiveness
T= This goal will be achieved by May 1, 2019
Collaborative Study Groups
What are CSGs?
-myavid.org
Using these resources, educators will be able to:
- Support students’ development of collaborative inquiry skills.
- Foster continuous improvement through reflection on their learning and the learning process.
Before a CSG
- Students will have a Specific Question based on a concept or problem that they do not understand.
Click HERE for the Before CSG handouts for ALL subjects
During a CSG
- Students articulate their Specific Question
- Group members use collaborative inquiry to support the student presenter in clarifying confusion and checking for understanding
- Students, upon arriving at a solution, identify generalized steps/ processes that led to the solution
- Students appropriately use related academic vocabulary throughout
Click HERE for the During CSG handouts for ALL subjects
After a CSG
- Students will reflect on the learning in order to make connections between new learning and previous learning, their experiences, themselves, and/or the world
- Students reflect on the CSG process in order to continuously improve as active participants.
Click HERE for the After CSG handouts for ALL subjects
Grouping Guide
Arrange students into groups of four to seven:
• Use grade data to select the content focus for the CSG
• Divide students by the content of Specific Questions.
• Use the Academic Concept Rating Guide to group students by concepts or key terms to review.
• For true CSGs, students do not need to have the same skills and knowledge. By relying on the strengths of individual group members, the CSG creates a positive interdependence and productiveness. Heterogeneous grouping is encouraged.
Have students arrange their chairs or desks in a semicircle close to either:
• A whiteboard
• An easel
• Chart paper on the wall
If there is no large writing surface available, students can use:
• Butcher paper spread across their desks
• Tablet devices
• Individual whiteboards to display work
If your classroom has tables, students can arrange themselves in such a way that everyone can see each other, as well as the display area.
-myavid.org
Additional Inquiry strategies:
Want to be part of our AVID Team?
If you are interested in learning more about AVID and how to help with this amazing group of college bound students, please join us on the AVID Site Team. We will be discussing how using the AVID system school wide is positively impacting the culture of TPMS and how we can continue to build on this momentum. We are planning for lots more parent involvement and future events that will insure this is an awesome year! Everyone is welcome. We would love to have you join us!
- Next Site team meeting is November 29th
Contact:
Mikki Matautia (AVID Coordinator), mmatautia@powayusd.com, x2907
or
Katie Fixsen (AVID Elective Teacher), kfixsen@powayusd.com, x2309