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PART A

Definition of Creative Thinking and Problem Solving

Creative thinking is an important parcel in the educational process in each of the different fields of education, as mentioned in the different journals and articles that focuseson creative thinking. With that simple definition, creative thinking is also applicable not only to the students cognitive development but to the teachers as well, as they need to develop this particular skill in order to be productive in teaching (Patton !ritsonis, "##$%. &oth the teacher and the student must be aware of our own thinking skill. 't is important for both teachers and students learn how to sharpen these cognitive skills. (he teachers role is to plan creative lessons that develops the students to think and create creative outputs from and for their learnings, in result developing their creative thinking. )eanwhile, problem solving is the process of designing, evaluating and implementing a strategy to answer an open*ended +uestion or achieve a desired goal. &oth creative thinking and problem solving can be promoted by the classroom climates such as open, comfortable, rela,ed, challenging, safe, supportive, trusting, humorous, energi-ed, and collaborative. (hese climates rewarded creative behavior and encouraged thinking and e,ploring processes. students were free to voice opinions through non*threatening, entertaining, and enjoyable methods. (he e,emplary teachers selected for this study shared many character traits. (hey were/ approachable, personable, creative, caring, fle,ible, knowledgeable, energetic, interesting, motivating, imaginative, innovative, aesthetic, seekers of possibilities, leaders, insightful, original and uni+ue. 'n the development of education, there is a need to cultivate the creative thinking of the students (0iu et al., "##$%. (here was progressive shift of teacher*centered teaching to student*centered teaching in the different fields of education. 1ven in the traditional education of sciences like nursing, medicine, and allied sciences, there is a need to a
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healthy infusion of creative thinking in the traditional knowledge impartation of the professors and clinical instructors. Creative thinking cultivates active thinking in the students, brings with them a deeper understanding of the knowledge and concrete application of that knowledge learned. 'n planning the methods to be used, both critical thinking and creative thinking are used for the teacher to formulate innovative waysto teach the lesson (through simulations or role playing%. (he teacher must of course must be able to create activities that encourage the students to develop and practice critical and creative thinking, not only as to fulfill the needs of the lesson but also to become an inherent skill that may come to use in the future.

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"mportant findings of the stud!

&ased on the research finding, the researcher conducted this study to e,plore and to investigate teaching methods and those environments created by teachers who demonstrated e,emplary instructional approaches that nurture creative thinking and problem solving in students. 2uring that period, the researcher conducted data collection from student interviews, teacher interviews, classroom observations, data analysis, and data dissemination. (he researcher followed the guidelines of naturalistic in+uiry in conducting ethnographic interviews with students, teachers, and other college employees to obtain +ualitative data for e,ploration of the proposed research problem. (he data that the researcher collected from classroom observations, e,ploration, investigation, and surveys of student attitudes toward such classroom environments assisted in preparing the analysis of findings. Constructions that emerged from the study showed the notability of the following factors vital to promoting a creative classroom environment/ (3% teacher4s knowledge. ("% teacher character traits. (5% teaching style. (6% teacher4s passion and attitude toward students, subject, and teaching. (7% classroom management. (8% climate. ($% teacher*student interaction. and (9% student attitudes. 2uring this study, the researcher observed that students favored creative, open, and non*threatening climates over learning only by authority and conformity. furthermore, students supported such change. Classroom climates such as open, comfortable, relaxed, challenging, safe, supportive, trusting, humorous, energized, and collaborative promoted creative thinking and problem
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solving. Such climates rewarded creative behavior and encouraged thinking and exploring processes; students were free to voice opinions through non-threatening, entertaining, and enjo able methods. !he exemplar teachers selected for this stud shared man character traits. !he were" approachable, personable, creative, caring, flexible, knowledgeable, energetic, interesting, motivating, imaginative, innovative, aesthetic, seekers of possibilities, leaders, insightful, original, and uni#ue. $n order to raise a student%s curiosit , teacher can use diverse methods and strategies in presentation of subject content, in leading discussions and debates, and in encouraging small group interactions. !hese approaches encourage students to stud issues from contrasting views. !he selective content of what to teach is et another important element. !he researcher observed that the exemplar teachers selected for this stud exhibited an in-depth and rich specificit of knowledge in the subject matter and the field of stud . !hese teachers also held considerable knowledge about other issues, topics, and domains. !he researcher also observed that teacher-student interaction in the classroom sought numerous possibilities in fostering creative climate. $n addition, these teachers displa ed much respect toward the students who asked unusual #uestions and who held opposing opinions.

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The relevan#e of the findings to !our o$n learning environment :n important aspect of effective teaching that ' learned during the past year relates to creating a supportive classroom environment. : warm, safe, and caring environment allows students to ;influence the nature of the activities they undertake, engage seriously in their study, regulate their behavior, and know of the e,plicit criteria and high e,pectations of what they are to achieve< (=ueensland 2epartment of 1ducation, "##7%. :fter reading the journal, ' e,pressed the importance of a positive classroom environment by stating that teachers needed to try to relate to their students, be someone they could confide in, make students feel comfortable asking +uestions, and avoid labeling students :ccording to Wilen et al., ("##6%, part of building a supportive climate for learning involves teachers sharing their e,pectations concerning learning of content, achievement, and social behavior with their students. ' creating a positive and learning* centered environment. 'n fact, ' described many instances in which ' set a positive tone for the class, made her e,pectations known and established a routine of conduct and respect. (he purpose of this was to guide students to be both respectful in their conduct and responsible for their actions and work. (he researcher indicate that creating an atmosphere of mutual respect and support in the classroom, where students feel safe in e,pressing concerns or asking +uestions, and where tolerance and a sense of common identity and community are promoted (>tronge, "##". Wilen et al., "##6. >hepard, "###%. ' began to develop an understanding of methods for creating a classroom environment conducive to teaching and learning, and tried to put them into practice during the instruction of my class. ?ne
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of my first goals was to create a classroom community which fostered acceptance and respect (&enchmark 6.3 and &enchmark 6."%. : way in which ' set out to accomplish this was in instructing students how they should treat one another. @or e,ample, ' wanted students to treat each other nicely when playing class review games. ' indicated to students that they were not to laugh or get angry at someone who didnt know an answer, but to be supportive and applaud their effort. 'n this way ' hoped to instill a sense of community in which individual strengths and difference were respected. :nother way in which ' hoped to inspire respect and tolerance was through the use of cooperative learning groups. (he goal of using groups was to encourage students to help and rely on one another to complete a task, and to learn to work with people who may be different from them. @or e,ample, in the 0ab, students were divided into four*person lab groups designed to have students with varying abilities work together. ' assigned each member of the group a specific role so that everyone could participate to the best of his or her uni+ue abilities. >tudents worked cooperatively in order to perform the e,periment, collect data, and analy-e the results. 1ach student was then responsible for writing a laboratory report based on group work in order to ensure individual accountability. 'n this way, ' hoped to ensure the conscientious participation of every student because each was responsible for his or her own work and the success of the group as a whole. &eyond promoting tolerance and respect, ' also wanted to create a classroom environment that enhanced social relationships, student motivation, and engagement in productive work (&enchmark 6.5%. ?ne way in which ' accomplished this was by changing student seats monthly, as indicated on my lesson calendar. ' changed seats fre+uently in order to allow students the chance to work with different people of varying abilities and to make new friends. ' hoped that this would promote new social interactions, motivate students with a change of scenery, and ma,imi-e productive work by splitting up talkative or easily distracted students. ' also let students know that if they were repeatedly disruptive,
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(e,pectations%. (hese e,amples demonstrate that ' regularly analy-ed the classroom and made decisions to promote student learning. 'n order to create and maintain a smoothly functioning learning community (&enchmark 6.6%, ' enacted several strategies. (o begin with, ' carefully planned lessons for the class with the idea of making transitions between activities as smooth and efficient as possible. >tudents easily became familiar with my basic lesson format of start*up activity, interactive lecture, labAactivity, and reinforcement e,ercise (lesson calendar%. )oreover, ' sought to develop thinking routines in my classroom. :ccording to Bitchart et al. ("##"%, ;(hinking routines act as a major enculturating force by communicating e,pectations for thinking as well as providing students the tools they need to engage in that thinking. (hinking routines help students answer the +uestions they have (he goals of these activities were to get students thinking about a concept at the start of class, evaluate their prior knowledge, clear up any misconceptions, and link concepts to their everyday lives. ' also provided opportunities for students to work both collaboratively and independently. >tudent groups worked together to time the motion of their car and measure the distance it moved (picture%, and then used this data to calculate their car4s speed. (his activity was also designed to foster students4 higher order thinking, as students were re+uired complete a lab report in which they reflected on the accuracy of their hypotheses or ways in which they could have improved their project. ' feel it is crucial in science to make sure that students make the connections between the content and the activities in order to achieve complete understanding. 'n order to further improve students higher*order thinking, ' also included several writing activities. ' wanted students to be able to e,press themselves in a scientific fashion through writing, which is a task students often find challenging. @or the )otion >tory assignment, students wrote a creative story describing an imaginary walk that corresponded to a provided distance vs. time graph. >tudents were re+uired
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to reference distance, time, speed, and acceleration in their story, and were provided with a performance checklist to verify that their assignment contained all necessary components. (he aspect of teaching that ' struggled with my student teaching was establishing and maintaining discipline. ' decided to develop a list of e,pectations for the class as well as determine conse+uences for misbehavior, in order to establish a clear standard of conduct for the classroom (&enchmark 6.C%. )y e,pectations included being +uiet and listening while ' was speaking, and completing homework on time. Conse+uences for disrupting class or failing to complete homework included a referral to the student planning center or inability to participate in lab activities, respectively. ' also made myself available to students to talk about any problem or to provide e,tra help. )oreover, ' decided to talk to certain students individually about their conduct, demonstrating that ' was sensitive to students individual needs (&enchmark 6.7%. ' found that e,pliciting detailing my e,pectations and having an open discussion with students fostered better teacher*student communication and ultimately led to a more productive classroom and successful classroom management. ' also believe one of the keys to an effective functioning classroom lies in knowing what students should be doing at any moment, and incorporating multiple and varying hands*on activities into lessons designed to engage students in productive tasks. :s indicated by my lesson calendar, ' carefully planned and organi-ed activities for each day, hoping to ma,imi-e engaged learning time and minimi-e wasted time (&enchmark 6.3#%. 1ach lesson, which lasted 3*7 days, included a demonstration or start*up activity, an interactive lecture, one or more laboratory activities, and assignments designed to reinforce concepts and give students the opportunity to practice new knowledge and procedures. ' also included e,tra worksheets or activities for each lesson in my unit in case there was additional time available.

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:nother way in which ' managed space and attention to provide e+uitable engagement of students was through periodically switching which students sat in the front of the room. &ecause students sitting in the front of the room typically receive more teacher attention, ' wanted both low and high*achieving students to have this e,perience. ' also tried to keep students on task and prevent them from falling behind through the use of progress reports. (hese reports were designed to let students and their parents know how students are doing in class by showing their grades and any missing assignments. Beports were produced monthly and re+uired parent signatures. >imilarly, students in the strategies course received weekly print outs of missing works for all of their classes, so that they could use their class time productively to finish up work and learn new approaches for keeping up with their works.

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Aspe#ts of the stud! that are $orth appl!ing in !our o$n #onte%t

:ccording to (orrance and >after (3CC#%, students prefer to learn creatively by e,ploring, +uestioning, e,perimenting, manipulating, listening, and testing. Beacting to powerful cultural forces, however, educational institutions encourage intelligence and logic, insisting that students learn by authority. Dotably, students do not learn e,clusively through authoritarian command. :uthoritarian systems of learning lack fle,ibility, originality, elaboration, uni+ueness, novelty, fluency, and purposiveness of creative thinking. ;(he preservation of this nations way of life and future security depends upon its most important national resources. intellectual abilities and, more important, creative abilities. 't is time, then, that we learn all we can about those resources< (Euilford, 3C7C, p. ", )asuri de Corte, "##7%.

)any of these students seemed to learn better and think more critically and more creatively in a ;safe environment,F a term which students and teachers used fre+uently during their interviews. (o their way of thinking, safe environments are settings in which they do not feel threatened, but feel comfortable to e,press opinions and ideas. )any of these students are intuitive, courageous risk takers. they are brilliant, open to change, creative, emotional, dedicated, and care much about their learning e,perience. 'n return, they also hold the same e,pectations of their teachers. When they visited with the researcher about what constitutes a creative environment, students used the following key words most fre+uently to e,press their opinions/

0earning. fun. interest. freedom to voice opinions.

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enthusiasm. comfortable and safe environment. humor. challenge. openness. love of the teacher for teaching and for the subject taught. encouragement to think. student*teacher interaction. student*student interaction, respect, and challenge of ones own thinking.

(hey also e,pressed opinions about e,periences that they usually had as students. (hose e,periences sharply contrasted with e,periences they had with favorite and e,emplary teachers. 'n those classrooms students fre+uently commented that, unlike the creative environments mentioned above, they felt stifledin e,pressing creative ideas. 'n addition, they felt an overwhelming pressure to conform and obey to rigid classroom structural guidelines. ?n the other hand, the respondent pool of teachers selected for this study was open to new possibilities. )ost of them spoke openly about the need to change an anti+uated educational system. :nd most e,pressed their disappointment with a rigid and ;so*traditional< system of thinking and learning. (hey responded favorably to student concerns, ideas, and +uestions. they verified the importance and value of student ideas. and they were skillful in capturing students attention. 'n addition, they understood the significance of basic skills to creativity and emphasi-ed these skills in their classrooms. (hey guided students through the learning process with care, wisdom, and knowledge. >ome teachers used many approaches not only to motivate students in their thinking, but also to produce interest and e,citement.

@re+uently they constructed debate, discussions, and role playing scenarios to accomplish such goals. Without e,ception, all of these teachers connected prior information and prior re+uired entry skills to new information and new knowledge. (hey used brainstorming activities and synectics (a well*known creative thinking techni+ue of making the familiar strange and the strange familiar% e,ercises to relate problems and ideas that seem difficult, if not impossible, to relate. (hroughout the learning process,
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these teachers used critical monitoring and continuous evaluation methods (by way of discussions, group projects, or teacher*student interaction% to assist in diagnosing the prere+uisite skills that the students already possessed. )aking these evaluations by the teacher were essential in planning instructional focus and individually guiding students needs in learning new materials and new skills. 'ntrinsically, these teachers were able to minimi-e confusion and avoid unnecessary instructions. this permitted e,tra time for the teacher to focus on problems such as skills deficiencies and content misinterpretations (EagnG, et al., 3CC". >mith Bagan, "###%. >ome of the teachers encouraged students to create the connections on their own. others created the connections for them. :ll of these teachers showed respect toward the students and treated them as adults, younger colleagues, and future professionals PART &

Method to identif! field dependen#e and field independen#e among the students' Witkin (3C$5%, a pioneer in learning styles, defined learning styles in terms of a process. He argued that learning styles are concerned with the form rather than the content of the learning activity. 0earning style refers to individual differences in how we perceive, think, solve problems, and learn. Witkin spent a great part of his academic career developing measures of learning style. His work concentrated on determining to what e,tent a person4s perception of an item was influenced by the surrounding field in which the item appeared. He wanted to determine if ;some people saw the tree, while others saw the forest<. :ccording to him whereas field*dependent people see the forest, field*independent learners see the tree within the forest. 'n theory, there are as many learning styles as there are learners, and the practical implication of learning styles for teaching*learning interactions are numerous. Devertheless, in recent years, only a few of the possible number of styles have received

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the attention of 0" researchers. one of the most well researched areas is ;field independence< (@'% or ;field dependence< (@2%. @' A @2 refers to how people perceive and memori-e information (Chapelle, 3CC7%. >tudents can enhance their learning power by being aware of style areas in which they feel less comfortable, work on the development of these, and thus provide avenues to foster their intellectual growth (1liason in !ang, 3CCC%. >imilarly, teachers can identify strong style patterns in their classes and make effective use of such information by devising lesson plans, which accommodate individual learning style preferences. Bobert Wyss ("##"% has created the following learning styles checklist to enable teachers of 1@0 gauge their learners4 tendencies towards @'A@2. (his kind of assessment does indicate students4 preferred general learning styles. 0earners whose responses tend toward the right*hand side of the list, indicate a preference for @2, conversely, those who check more on the left show a preference for @'. Cognitive tunnel vision limits learners with a strong @' tendency and prevents them from seeing the big picture. While they get ;stuck< on unfamiliar vocabulary or ambiguous grammar structures, their @2 counterparts will have already understood the gist of a written or spoken discourse * without, however, having caught the precise meaning of every word. >een in this light, the @2 learner has the advantage of overlooking problems in order to see the general configuration of a problem or idea. >ummerville (3CCC% referred to field dimensions of independence and field dependence as a global versus an articulated style that reflects the ;degree to which an individuals processing of information is affected by the conte,tual field< (p. 5%. @' learners have been referred to as ;analytical, competitive, individualistic, task oriented, internally referent, intrinsically motivated, hypothesis testing, self*structuring, linear, detail oriented, and visually perceptive< (Hall, "###, p. 7% whereas @2 learners have been referred to as ;group*oriented, global sensitive to social interactions and criticism,
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e,trinsically motivated, e,ternally referential, not visually perceptive, non*verbal, and passive learners who prefer e,ternal information structures< (Hall, "###, p. 8%. Eovernor (3CC9% added that @2 learners are in more need of social input and e,ternal help in interpreting clues embedded in a particular learning task. Hu (3CC9% observed that @' learners are more analytic and rely less on e,ternal clues than their @2 counterparts. @' learners, it appears, are more able to generate and structure their own knowledge rather than accepting knowledge reprocessed by others. Hall ("###% pointed out that the 7differences between @' and @2 learners are more likely the result of ;varying information processing skills such as selective attention, short*term memory encoding, and long*term recall at which field independent individuals are more accurate and efficient< (p. $"%. : number of studies have noted that the distinction between @ield*2ependent and @ield*'ndependent individuals is similar to that of differentiating Holists and >erialists (e.g., Ionassen Erabowski, 3CC5. Biding Cheerna, 3CC3%. @ield* 2ependent individuals typically see the global picture, ignore the details, and approach a task more holistically. @ield*'ndependent individuals tend to discern figures as being discrete from their background, to focus on details, and to be more serialistic in their approach to learning. 'n the field*dependentAindependent model of cognitive or learning style, a field* independent learning style is defined by a tendency to separate details from the surrounding conte,t. 't can be compared to a field*dependent learning style, which is defined by a relative inability to distinguish detail from other information around it. (heorists define these two cognitive styles in terms of how they are psychologically different * which makes this a useful model for teachers trying to understand their learners. 1,ample @ield*independent learners tend to rely less on the teacher or other learners for support.

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'n the classroom :ctivities such as e,tensive reading and writing, which learners can carry out alone, are useful for field*independent learners. 'n the field*dependentAindependent model of cognitive or learning style, a field* dependent learning style is defined by a relative inability to distinguish detail from other information around it. 't can be compared to a field*independent learning style, which is defined by a tendency to separate details from the surrounding conte,t. 1,ample @ield*dependent learners often work well in teams as they tend to be better at interpersonal relationships. 'n the classroom :ctivities that connect different parts of a lesson are useful for field*dependent learners. @or e,ample, learners can discuss what they know about a topic, predict content, or look at and listen to related material.

Field Indepencence and Field Dependence Checklist

(here are advantages and disadvantages to @' and @2 learning styles and both are important for 0" learning. (he @' learner e,cels in classroom learning which involves analysis, attention to details, and mastering of e,ercises, drills, and other focused activities. (he @2 learner, by contrast, seems to achieve a higher degree of success in everyday language situations beyond the constraints of the classroom. tasks re+uiring interpersonal communication skills.

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0isted below are the principal characteristics of the two cognitive styles and the implications of each for 0" learning (1llis 3CC5. based on Hawkey/ 3C9"%. &y using this check list, teacher can differentiate the students whether they are in @' or @2 learners.

&il. 3 " 5 6 7 8 $ 9 C 3# 33 3"

'tem ' have no problem concentrating amid noise and confusion. ' enjoy analysing grammar structures ' feel ' must understand every word of what ' read or hear. ' think classroom study is the key to effective language learning. ' prefer working alone to working with other people. Beceiving feedback from other people really doesn4t affect my learning at all. ' need a +uiet environment in order to concentrate well. ' find grammar analysis tedious and boring. ' don4t mind reading or listening in the 0" without understanding every single word as long as ' 4catch4 the main idea. ' think communication is the key to effective language learning. ' really enjoy working with other people in pairs or groups. ' find feedback useful as a means of understanding my problem areas.

&

A#tivities for students $ho have been grouped as either field dependent or field independent

Reading strategy training (especially for field independent learners): Crossing Out Unfamiliar Items (his lesson plan has been devised to teach learners to develop the habit of forgoing unfamiliar items for main idea comprehension and may be used most effectively as a segment of a series of lessons, each structured around a specific reading strategy (eg, reading for gist, scanning for details, crossing out subordinate details, etc%. Daturally,
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this lesson plan can have as its theme a variety of topics and is given here merely as a sample from which teachers might draw ideas/ any number of topics can be substituted for the one given here. (eachers should choose a reading conte,t they feel would be of general interest to their learners. Learners/Skills Level: 'ntermediate*:dvanced reparation !ime: 5# minutes "ppro#imate Class !ime: 7# minutes * 3 hour $ain %ocus O&'ectives: &uild learner confidence as regards ability to understand difficult te,ts. :ssist learners in adopting and using reading strategies which will boost their reading rate proficiency while increasing their overall reading comprehension. (ecessary $aterials: >ome basic visual props (eg, pages from an art maga-ine%, news article related to lesson theme which is to be divided in half, photocopies for students, clock. Incidental O&'ectives: Help field independent learners 4overlook4 problem areas in order to focus on main idea. 'ncrease learner interest in reading rate proficiency. 'ncrease learner motivation to engage in 0" reading more often. >timulate reflection on the sociolinguistic similaritiesA differences between the native and target language cultures.

)arm*up "ctivity: !+e ,lues :s a visual aid, the teacher may choose to walk +uietly around the classroom holding up a few e,amples of art where shades of blue are particularly appealing or striking, such as in the the 'mpressionist work of )onet, or in Picasso4s &lue Period. :nother option is to read off a few lines of poetry andAor popular song lyrics that speak about the blues, such as F)y love is blue,F etc.
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(eacher/ F(he blues. What does it mean to 4have the blues4J How do you feel when you4ve got the bluesJF 1licits random responses. F2o you know any other collo+uial e,pressions in 1nglish that mean to feel sadJF (Possible responses may include Fto be down in the mouth,F Fto be down in the dumps,F etc.% FWhat about in your native languageJ What e,pressions do you knowJF 1licits a few e,amples. )ay elect to provide e,amples from another language . FKou know, cultures differ in the ways they e,press the e,perience of feeling blue. (hey also differ in the ways they view and react to sadness. 'n some 1uropean countries and in the Lnited >tates feeling sad is sometimes thought of as something negative, or even abnormal, and is often treated with prescription medicine. 's this the case in your country tooJ What do people usually do to get over feeling blue in your countryJ What do you doJF 1licits comments.

"ctivity -: !imed Reading (eacher hands out te,t/ an e,cerpt from a recent maga-ine article (i.e, first half% on how different cultures respond to feeling blue. FBead though the passage +uickly, but not so fast that you miss the overall meaning. '4m going to time the reading and keep time on the board. Dote how long it takes you to read and understand the te,t.F Class reads the te,t while the teacher times the students.

"ctivity .: Crossing Out Unfamiliar Items F?!. Here is another passage from the same article. (his time, while you read take your pencil and cross out all the unfamiliar words you encounter and continue reading.
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:gain, write down how long it takes you to read through the passage.F Class reads the second te,t while the teacher keeps time.

"nalysis FWas it possible to catch the main idea of the passage even without understanding all the vocabularyJF 1licits responses and directs the focus of the class discussion toward the possibility of reading te,ts without stopping to look up all the unfamiliar words in the dictionary. FWhen and where might this way of reading be most usefulJF 1licits responses, or provides answers if students produce none (eg/ on the bus when time andAor resources are limited, etc%. FDotice how your time improved with the second reading. When you read difficult material in the future, instead of using your pencil to cross out unfamiliar words you can use your mind to cancel them....and get on with your readingM Dow, this is really the key point of this reading strategy/ that you develop the ability to focus on comprehension rather than allowing yourself to repeatedly get stuck on unfamiliar vocabulary and thereby lose the flow of the discourse.F

Conte#t Clues (Optional): :t this point, the teacher might wish to engage the class in identifying the specific Fconte,t cluesF in the second passage which helped facilitate main idea reading comprehension. (his is done in pairs or small groups. ('f the students are not familiar with the concept of Fconte,t clues,F this is an ideal opportunity to introduce them to this important reading strategy.%

Researc+ "ssignment
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>tudents research a maga-ine, newspaper, or internet article in 1nglish related to the blues. (his could include anything from the &lack :merican &lues music tradition to Picasso4s early artistic development, historical investigation into the 1lisabethan origins of 4blues4 e,pressions in 1nglish, or merely some learner reflections as to why the color blue might be so often associated with sad moods in collo+uial 1nglish. :fter having read the article they4ve selected or reflected long enough, students ne,t write a brief summary.

The evaluation on the suitabilit! of the a#tivities developed

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(he suitability of the activities of the student is one of the main concerns of educational needs. Becent theories about this issue defend that teaching must be adapted to individuals while promoting, at the same time, the students adapting to the teaching demands (Corno, "##9%. Cognitive styles are among the dimensions of individual differences considered particularly relevant in adaptive teaching (>ternberg, Erigorenko, Nahn, "##9%. (hey have been defined as forms of processing information, manifested in intellectual activities and also in the affective and social spheres of the individual (Erigorenko >ternberg, 3CC7%. these patterns seem to modulate individuals learning behavior (Price, "##6. Bichardson, "##7%. 'n particular, field dependence*independence (@2'% is considered one of the most heuristic cognitive styles constructs (Nahn >ternberg, "##8%. 't is conceived as referred to preference for internal versus e,ternal cues for conduct organi-ation (Witkin Eoodenough, 3C93%. @ield*dependent subjects, who are especially sensitive to e,ternal clues, and tend to take information e,actly as it is presented to them, normally pay attention to its global aspects in what seems to be an effort to capture the structure of this information (Clark Boof, 3C99. )arenda-, 3C97%. (his tendency is an obstruction in intellectual tasks which demand concentration upon isolated elements within a perceptive andAor symbolic whole, or in those which involve restructuring.

:s a teacher, we should identify the difference of cognitive learning styles among our students. We have to know that there are certain differences between field independence and field dependence groups. @ield independence students tend to use metacognitive strategies, which involve monitoring, planning, organi-ation, etc., more fre+uently than their field dependence counterparts. (his is in line with the findings of Iamieson and Chapelle (3C9$% and !rashen (3C$$, as cited in &rown, "###%. :s field dependence has been associated with naturalistic second language ac+uisition and field independence with classroom learning (1llis, 3C97. &rown, "###. Carter, 3C99%, it seems natural for field dependent students to use more metacognitive strategies to enhance their formal learning. >imilarly, field independent students make more use of
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cognitive strategies including translation, repetition, transfer, rehearsal, etc. (his can also be attributed to conscious learning and the activities that can be found in formal classroom situations.

@or e,ample in :ctivity 3 and ", field independent and operational learners e,cel. field dependent students benefits from the attention to detail during the timed reading for fluency. (imed repeated readings are an instructional practice for monitoring students4 fluency development. Bepeated readings, under timed conditions, of familiar instructional level te,t can increase students4 reading speed which can improve comprehension. (his ativity will improves reading rate, one aspect of fluency. 't is also improves reading accuracy, a second aspect of fluency, and leads to improved comprehension.

(here are many benefits in gaining a faster reading rate and !laeser (3C$$% presents four positive points in this regard. (he first one is the amount of time you will save when you4re able to double your speed (for e,ample%. With an increase in speed, the student will be able to cover more materials than at a slower speed. @or e,ample, students that are slow readers (37# words per minute versus students that are good readers (57# words per minute%. (he difference in +uantity is at about ".55 times more for the faster students. 'f the student increases their production to "7# WP), they would be increasing their reading production. (hese are important gains for the student that will promote academic success.

(he second advantage is that readers are able to concentrate better which leads to greater comprehension. ?f course this area is under debate because there have been studies of students that lost comprehension when they were striving to increase their reading speed. (his is usually the cause of Frushed readingF and contains little
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more techni+ue than scanning. However, it is believed that through an FeffectiveF timed reading program, students can attain an increased reading rate and comprehension.

(hirdly, with the increase in potential speed and comprehension, academic grades tend to rise as well. (his is all due to the control of e,tra time, which allows for greater understanding.

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Referen#es &rown, H. 2ouglas. 3CC6. Principles of 0anguage 0earning and (eaching (5rd ed.%. 1nglewood Cliffs, DI/ Prentice*Hall, 'nc. 1liason, P. 3CC7. 2ifficulties with cross*cultural learning styles assessment. 'n 0earning >tyles in the 1@0 Classroom. 1d. I. Beid. &oston, ):/ Heinle and Heinle Publishers. 1llis, Bod. 3C97. Lnderstanding >econd 0anguage :c+uisition. ?,ford, 1ngland/ ?,ford Lniversity Press. Hudson, B.@., 0ane, H.&., Pullen, P.C. ("##7%. Beading @luency :ssessment and

'nstruction/ What, Why, and HowJ. (he Beading (eacher, 79(9%, $#"*$36. Iohns, I. &erglund, B. ("##"%. @luency/ =uestion, answers, evidence*based

strategies. 2ubu+ue, '?/ !endallAHunt Publishing Company. !uhn, ). ("##6%. Helping students become accurate, e,pressive readers/ @luency instruction for small groups. (he Beading (eacher, 79(6%, 559*566. !ang, >humin. 3CCC. 0earning >tyles/ 'mplications for 1>0A1@0 'nstruction. @?BL), Ool 5$, Do 6. !eefe, I.W. 3C$C. >tudent 0earning >tyles/ 2iagnosing and Prescribing Programs. Beston, O:/ Dational :ssociation of >econdary >chool Principals. >kehan, Peter. 3C9C. 'ndividual 2ifferences in >econd 0anguage 0earning. 0ondon/ 1dward :rnold.

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