STUDY GROUP OUTLINE

1. What is something you are very good at doing? Why do you think you are good at this activity? Is it important to know why you are good at a hobby?
2. The author compares the thinking of beginning students with experienced students (Pgs 125-126). First, where does your class fit on her continuum? Next, where does your best student fit? Finally, where does your poorest student fit? Are you surprised at the spread of thinking skills? What impact does this spread have on the effectiveness of your teaching style?
3. If you told your class that every single student was an expert at something (Pg 126-127) would they believe you? Would this comment have a positive effect on their individual self-images? Predict what kinds of experts you would discover in your classroom. How could you use the discovery of these experts to further your classroom goals?
4. Ms. Cromley identifies seven effects on learning (Pgs 126-127) when students improve their thinking skills. For each effect, think of an example of beginning and/or experienced thinking you have observed in your students.
   • Memory
   • Mental models Specific topics Subject-specific strategies Using strategies at the right time Automatic
   • Deep understanding
5. Experts learn what to notice by watching teachers who point out what to notice, by doing a lot of problems, by getting feedback on their work, and by talking about how they chose the most important information. (Pgs 127-128) How could you apply this premise?
6. Experts learn organized subject knowledge by watching what teachers emphasize, by reading a lot, by getting feedback on how organized their ideas are, and by discussing the connections among what they read. (Pg 128) How can you be sure that your students are organizing their newly acquired subject knowledge?
7. Experts learn to inter-connect information by watching teachers explain the deep connections among systems, by practicing a lot, by getting feedback on how deep their understanding it, and by discussing the connections among systems. (Pgs 128-129) Give an example of three different things you taught recently and explain how you can connect them in the minds of your students.
8. Experts learn appropriate content-area strategies by watching other experts model strategies, by practicing using strategies, by reading widely, and by discussing content-area-specific issues. (Pg 129) Identify three strategies you feel are content-area-specific and explain when they are most appropriate.
9. Experts learn to develop automatic skills by watching other experts use their own automatic skills quickly and efficiently, by practicing basic skills over and over until they come naturally, and by practicing specific strategies and then evaluating the effectiveness of each strategy for a specific application. (Pg 130) What automatic skills do you have that might help your students?
10. Experts learn to become self-aware of what they do and do not know by observing other experts’ self-awareness, by practicing being conscious of their own thinking, by reading widely on many topics, and by discussing what information is important. (Pg 130) This self-awareness is sometimes called “monitoring” because you observe yourself objectively as if you were watching a computer monitor. Identify one area where you are successfully monitoring yourself and another area where you suspect you may not be very self-aware.
11. In items 5-10, what do you notice as constants in each type of good thinking? What implications does this have for you as a teacher?
12. “Characteristics of Beginners and Experts” (Pgs 131-132) compares beginning and experienced teachers. In each category, decide where you fit.
    
    Distribute the student handout entitled “Characteristics of Beginners and Experts: Reading Comprehension” (adapted from Pg 132). After students have indicated where they think they fit, collect the papers and use the information to target needed instruction. If you feel it is appropriate, place another mark on the line in each category showing your evaluation of that student’s ability to apply critical thinking skills to his reading comprehension, and return the form to the student. This could be the basis for individual progress conferences with students.
13. When students bring faulty preconceptions into the classroom those preconceptions can sabotage your lesson. (Pg 133) What are two things you could do to correct the students without being confrontational or embarrassing anyone?
14. How would a long-term project (Project Based Instruction) be an effective setting for developing problem-solving skills in your students? Have you used projects? If yes, what kind of project, how long was your project, and what kinds of results did you observe? If no, does PBI appeal to you as an idea for the future?

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