critical thinking

Students have been struggling with deeper understanding within a text.  They generally are doing what I call "Plot Thinking".  By using an interactive read aloud and re-reading for different purposes, students will have an opportunity to develop their critical thinking over time.  I plan to...

This full report defines Learning Progressions as well as highlights how this methodology can be used for curriculum development and assessment.  The Literacy Learning Progressions describe the specific literacy knowledge, skills, and attitudes that students draw on in order to meet the reading...

In this article, David Conley focuses on how to assess meaningful learning in ways that promote student achievement while simultaneously meeting system accountability needs.  This article presents a vision for a new system of assessments, one designed to support the kinds of ambitious teaching...

The paper begins by comparing the Farrington model with other models of learning strategies, proceeds to considering examples of innovations in the field, and concludes by identifying implications for the field moving forward. The paper includes specific guidance on how performance assessments ...

In this paper, David T. Conley, well-known for his influential research on college readiness, draws on a wealth of recent research to argue that the time is ripe for a major shift in educational assessment, from an over reliance on standardized tests of math and reading, which tell us little...

This report is aimed at supporting state boards of education that are working on providing significantly more students with deeper learning opportunities and facilitating board-level conversations on key related topics. The report provides foundational principles that underlie deeper learning,...

This resource is a learning progression for high level thinking, with a focus on analysis, use of claims and evidence, reasoning, question posing, and attention to multiple perspectives. It was designed by Learner‐Centered Initiatives, to assist teachers in recognizing and assessing the nature...

This common analytic rubric assesses problem solving and critical thinking skills. It can be used across disciplines in combination with another rubric or on its own.

Throughout history, people who have been called “explorers” have been associated with making discoveries and changing the way others view the world.  Stories of their journeys have turned them into heroes who found new trade routes, created new maps, gained land and wealth for their home...

Don’t Believe Everything You Think: The 6 Basic Mistakes We Make in Thinking discusses how to recognize faulty thinking and develop the necessary skills to become a more effective problem solver. Author Thomas Kida identifies “the six-pack of problems” that leads many of us...

The purpose of the module is to examine the role of Ophelia in Hamlet based upon the social perceptions found in the readings. The unit is taught during the second quarter following work on multiple perspectives. 

This unit begins with a reading of Hamlet through the...

In this module, students will focus their reading and research on contemporary international child labor practices that benefit the American consumer. They will prepare an article for publication in a children’s magazine that defines child labor and focuses on the facts about this continuing...