It is often felt that students are more engaged in scoring grades and focused on marks in higher education in particular. The challenge for teaching community is to maintain a balance with thinking skills & academics.The industry requires problem solvers and thinkers , which are the requisites of leaders, which eventually the employers look for from the job seekers. How would one in college as a core subject faculty help them, apart from project based learning and internships?
Communication Skills: There continues to be an emphasis on the ability to communicate. In the digital age, however, we have access to a wide variety of new ways to communicate from video-conferencing to social media. Future employers need to be able to communicate with people within their team, as well as people outside of the team and organization.
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills: There is a decreased emphasis on employers following directions and an increased emphasis on employers thinking critically and solving problems. In a rapidly changing world, employers need employees who can solve problems, provide ideas and help improve the organization.
Technology Skills: Almost every business that I talked to said that employers will need to be skilled at using technology. In the digital age, technology is everywhere. Schools, however, have been slow to adapt to this change. Rarely are students required or taught to learn technology efficiently. This needs to be emphasized.
Soft Skills: Schools rarely spend time teaching students soft skills, including skills such as time management skills, organizational skills, the ability to look someone in the eyes when talking to them, or using a firm handshake. I have heard a number of times, by different business leaders, that these skills seem to be disappearing.
Empathy and Perspective: Although this skill has always been important, it seems to be another one that is slowly disappearing. The ability for our students to put themselves in someone else’s shoes, to understand their feelings, and to help solve their problems.
Excellent question! As rightly pointed out, the focus is on getting the grades. Academic inclination is fine and to be encouraged, but not to be obsessed with 'only marks'. Practical problem solving may not adhere to the standard concepts in the book. So, lateral thinking and going beyond the 'book knowledge' does a lot of help in honing and fine tuning the needed skills. Group discussions to analyse the basics, Debates on the pros & cons of a particular topic, Student led classes, Journal articles to challenge the conventional practice and participation in conferences to acquire the right overview may stimulate the students to put on the thinking cap.
Thanks a lot for your thoughtful endorsement!
The students need to be thinking through the learning process,as mentioned by your the GD's and debates would help them think different from being conventional , and would foster knowledge only if they are motivated to apply in practical conditions. May be simulations and AR would facilitate, if we lean little on technology, yet scope and time are always challenges in the learning eco- system we have!
We need to think of critical thinking as a process, not an ability. A process can be taught, practiced, and perfected. Critical thinking should be part of every course.
Subramaniam Balachander
apart from the above lateral thinking also gives good results.
The interaction - between the teacher and the students- which provides an atmosphere filled with confidence, warmth of the relationship, and a sense of psychological security.
Stay away from negative criticism because negative criticism prevents learners from learning, and is considered one of the main causes of poor performance, because it makes the learner feel defeated and prevents him from thinking.
The teacher's use of strategies for asking for clarification, such as asking for more ideas related to the main idea, or requesting more clarification.
One of the important functions that the request for clarification achieves is that it helps the growth of pupils' thinking in thinking.
Absolutely. The key for me is to always have a model to follow. My experience has been that students learn by applying the model to many situations. Michael W. Marek
The primary situation here is how much time to you spend one on one with your students? Do they know you to be interested in taking them to idea places that can be found outside the basic reading for your course?
These two attributes are necessary for your students to know you as a questioning and thinking person rather than a video that you turn off and on containing the content of your course subject matter.
Understand that as a teacher you are the model of how you want to see and engage your students in their learning process. If your students do not see you asking yourself questions, how are they to know that you are indeed a person who explores idea areas that are not in the text books you prescribe them to read and be tested on? If you do not bother to ask them challenging questions when you have an opportunity to engage in exploitative thinking with them, how are they going to learn that original thought is important in their learning as well?
Are your students monkeys that play monkey see monkey do? Is not that how you learned questioning and analyzing are important to do too? Think back to remember the teachers that impressed you with their wisdom. If you want to be in your students' minds as a thinker, do more than be one. Show them how to become one too.
That questions may imply several things. Provide learners with complex situations that allow them to derive a solution when you push them to think of solution and let them try such solution if it works. That alone can stimulate thinking.
My undergraduate university required all students, whatever their major course of study, to graduate with a minor in philosophy. In addition to the critical thinking involved in a study of the great philosophers this had the consequence that conversations in the cafeteria, coffee shop and wherever else these students gathered, always turned to philosophy, where the true critical thinking occurred. We were not debating with one another for grades, but to analyze and convince. Or require all, whatever their major, to take courses in quantum mechanics and see what happens.
Critical thinking means, making a well thought out, logical and reasoned judgment. As Michael W. Marek mentioned, it is a process and therefore need a holistic approach in the teaching-learning environment to develop this skill. One of the important classroom approaches could be to make students to solve problems in real-world contexts. There is growing evidence that 'assessment drives learning' and therefore it is essential to set our assessments (formative or summative) considering this aspect.
Thank you Subramaniam Balachander for your question. I think there are several approaches. The idea is to focus on active learning, critical thinking, asking questions, construction of knowledge, problem-solving, searching for supportive evidence, and justification of views, analysis etc.
It may be important to encourage students to conduct applied research that focuses on solving societal problems rather than focus on academic based research for the sake of getting a degree certificate
@Subraminiam Balachander Teachers should act as motivators. They should offer solution oriented assignments to students. Students must be facilitated to learn the difference between basic and applied science; between art, science and technology; between patent and technology. They should be persuaded for learning by doing. Let them show how a little practical knowledge is worth hundreds of theories. And, finally our student must feel and experience "knowledge is not a power in itself, it becomes so when it is utilized to provide solution to a problem"
Thanks!
https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/policies/twoyearcollege/7--development-of-student-skills-for-academic-and-professional-s.html
I have skill students community in faculty of Education, Northeastern University, Thailand is "One Curriculum : One Community" in resource center in the village and district for students interest in the field.
Communication Skills: There continues to be an emphasis on the ability to communicate. In the digital age, however, we have access to a wide variety of new ways to communicate from video-conferencing to social media. Future employers need to be able to communicate with people within their team, as well as people outside of the team and organization.
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills: There is a decreased emphasis on employers following directions and an increased emphasis on employers thinking critically and solving problems. In a rapidly changing world, employers need employees who can solve problems, provide ideas and help improve the organization.
Technology Skills: Almost every business that I talked to said that employers will need to be skilled at using technology. In the digital age, technology is everywhere. Schools, however, have been slow to adapt to this change. Rarely are students required or taught to learn technology efficiently. This needs to be emphasized.
Soft Skills: Schools rarely spend time teaching students soft skills, including skills such as time management skills, organizational skills, the ability to look someone in the eyes when talking to them, or using a firm handshake. I have heard a number of times, by different business leaders, that these skills seem to be disappearing.
Empathy and Perspective: Although this skill has always been important, it seems to be another one that is slowly disappearing. The ability for our students to put themselves in someone else’s shoes, to understand their feelings, and to help solve their problems.
Yes, enhancing thinking skills of learners is the key challenge that the instructors of today's world are facing. We can encourage and enhance thinking skills of students through active classes, project based learning, question-answer session at the end of class, and group discussions.
Subramaniam Balachander I think this is a question most if not all of us teachers ask constantly as our students are regrettably more concerned with passing exams than actual learning. Academy is supposed to be about training our students and qualifying them to compete and survive in the professional world. Yet, it seems our students are getting less and less concerned with competence.
Unless a paradigm shift takes place pedagogically speaking and exam-based academic learning is replaced by a critical thinking-based system, I am afraid teachers will continue to face intellectual bankrupcy and the situation isn’t promising...
Thank you so much again. I think conceptual for pedagogically speaking and exam-based academic learning is replaced by a critical thinking-based system, the same activity "One Curriculum : One Community" to resource center in the village and district for students interest in the field. Example in first semester 2019, I have playing and learning for students group project interest the field growing phak waan pha were appraisal survey resource center on 8 weeks. They were active learning, learning by doing , presentation and happiness. the result research instruments were: 1) the instruments using for work development including: (1) the training schedule for 3 nights, 4 days. The Knowledge Management Program consisted of Knowledge Part including the Knowledge Management, Leadership, and Self-Sufficiency Economy, and the Practice Part including the Quality of Life Developmental Plan, Individual Household Account, Compost Production, Fish Food Production by using the Red Maliophaga, growing Wild Meliantha Sauvis, and Learning Center Management, and the Affective Part including the Feeling, Interest, and Application.
I have skill students community in faculty of Education, Northeastern University, Thailand is "One Curriculum : One Community" in resource center in the village and district for students interest in the field long time. Because we have the Handbook for developing the Knowledge Management for Leaders of Self-reliant Learning Center based on Sufficiency Economy Philosophy, and 2) the instruments using for data collection including: (1) the Achievement Test with item difficulty between .55-.81, Item discrimination between .24-.81, and Reliability values of total issue = .86, (2) The Behavioral Evaluation Form of Knowledge Management Program for Leaders of Self-reliant Center, (3) The After Action Record (AAR), and (4) The Questionnaire of Satisfaction in Seminar Training of Knowledge Management Program for Leaders of Self-reliant Learning Center by using the t-test cutting point, the item discrimination values were ranged between 2.30-7.00, The Reliability value of total issue was = .93, and (5) The Indicator of Success in Knowledge Management Program Self-reliant Development the Reliability value of total issue was = .97. The statistic included the Percentage, Mean, Standard Deviation, t-test, and Effectiveness Index. So researchers and students have to self-reliance and happiness in the teams.
Yes,it is. I have a researching in the title of "Development of Knowledge Management Program for Leaders of Self-Reliant Learning Center based on Sufficiency Economy Philosophy" for leader of self-reliant learning center in the village and district for students interest in the field long time to the sample .
Yes I have thinking to the development of students to leader researcher in the future. We encourage thinking skill along in students community learning by doing in toptic interested.
I must thankfully record here that the response had been excellent for the topic' encouraging "Thinking skills" among students in higher education.It also proves that faculty members across agree on the requirements.Though in my work place I go to try beyond the syllabus to influence students develop thinking skills , it was good to note that there were noteworthy suggestions.Thanks to all.
It is utmost important to develop critical thinking among the students along with other academic activities which can be developed through various methods. brainstorming and games can be used for developing such thinking among the students.
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