Group Critical Thinking Essay

Documentation Support

Jessica Madrigal, Justyn Correa, and Nataly Martinez

Dr. Yvette Latunde

April 28, 2020

Webpage:

http://intro2equations.weebly.com
 Introduction

In an effort to develop a learning plan that is effective and informative to most students, a
variety of theories must be incorporated and applied to enhance the presentation of the material
being discussed. Our group has focused on middle school mathematics, incorporating such
theories that are valuable across any subject or topic being taught in the school setting. The
following contains a variety of theories and approaches which can be used in order to create an
effective and efficient learning environment for all learning types. The particular theories have
been arranged by type, to which each theory discusses the definition and application to our
teachings. This website serves to focus on the specific unit plan of Equations and the critical
aspects that make up our unit plan.

Psychology and Cognition

In our classroom, we will incorporate assigned seating, daily instructions utilizing

powerpoints with text, video, and visual examples, and a Daily Focus Board containing the
students’ warm-up for the day. At the beginning of each class, students will enter and begin their
daily warm-up. We will then review the Daily Focus Board whole-class. The primary reason for
this is to keep a consistent entry routine so that students know what is expected right when they
enter the classroom. Overall, this assists the students with their psychological learning by
encouraging their independence. We will also create seating charts to place students next to
individuals they work well with to ensure students feel safe and comfortable and behave well
within the classroom.

Behaviorist Theories

Watson’s theory states that a child’s environment determines their behavior, so to ensure
we have an environment that is conducive to learning, we will establish consistent routines, post
expectations, and track student behaviors for feedback. According to Skinner's work on operant
conditioning, "behaviors that are reinforced are strengthened, while those that are punished are
weakened," (Cherry) so we will use behavior modification to increase desired behaviors. As we
rigorously monitor, we will praise students for quality work using the exemplary student
responses in our lesson plans. Students will also receive praise for using sentence stems that help
them justify their responses in complete sentences. Sentence stems will also be provided for
think-pair-shares so students can engage in meaningful conversations when discussing their
work. Praising students for their strong responses and participation will reinforce those
behaviors. If a student chooses to not complete quality work during class, they will be assigned
to complete it on their own time after school so that the behavior is weakened.
 Similarly, according to Thorndike's "Law of Effect," when "satisfaction follows an
association, it is more likely to be repeated" (Cherry). One of our goals is for students to check
their work against a “Criteria for Success.” So, a “Criteria for Success” will be included in each
lesson and displayed on the board as students work on their independent practice problems. As
we rigorously monitor, we will offer feedback and praise students for following the different
criteria. This will increase student investment in utilizing the “Criteria for Success” to measure
the quality of their work so they receive positive recognition. We will also include exemplar
responses in our exit tickets to provide in-the-moment feedback and praise to increase
investment in the next exit ticket. Lastly, we will display exemplar student work in our
classroom to continue to encourage students to complete their best work.

Constructivism and Piagetian Theories

Piaget’s development learning theory stresses the importance of presenting instructional

material at a level that is age-appropriate for students. When new knowledge is accessible to
students, it’s assimilated and accommodated into existing schemata, which leads to learning
(Huitt & Hummel). For new knowledge to be available to students, we will present content in a
form that activates students’ prior knowledge so that they can build on it in the learning process.
One way that we will incorporate students’ past learning experiences and knowledge in our unit
plan is by including questions from foundational standards aligned to the objectives. With the
help of a coherence map, we will identify and map out all of the different standards that students
should have mastered to help them learn the new content. We will then spiral in questions
aligned to these past standards in the students’ warm-ups on our Daily Focus Board. Another
way that we are going to activate prior knowledge and facilitate student learning is by providing
scaffolded “Exploration” problems that allow students to form their conclusions with leading
questions. So, our unit plan will include “Checks for Understanding” to help guide students in
filling in the gaps (Huitt & Hummel). This will allow students to share the learning experience
and be actively engaged learners instead of just listening to the teacher lecture the entire time.
Lastly, to encourage the knowledge constructing process through the formulation of conjectures
during class discussions, we are going to praise, rather than dismiss, students for explaining their
reasoning behind approaches they may have used to solve problems.

Vygotsky’s and Bruner’s Theories

Lev Vygotsky

Psychologist Lev Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development “refers to the difference

between what a learner can do without help and what he or she can achieve with guidance and
encouragement from a skilled partner” (Blunden, 2011). To assist a student in moving through
the zone of proximal development, we as educators should focus on three essential components
that aid the learning process. The first is using the presence of someone with knowledge and
skills beyond that of the learner, or a more knowledgeable student, to be within the same
environment in hopes the skills “rub off” onto the learner. The second is through social
interactions with a skillful tutor that allow the learner to observe and practice their skills. The last
is through scaffolding, or supportive activities provided by the educator, or a more competent
peer, to support the student as they are led through the zone of proximal development.

One way we will incorporate these supports into our classroom is by assigning students
into groups to work on their in-class assignments. Each group will have an individual who fully
understands the concepts being taught who can complete the assignment independently. The goal
is to create an environment for other students to interact and learn from this individual, thus
leading them through the zone of proximal development to master the objectives. Because every
student must equally participate during group work, we will assign each member of the group a
specific role.

Jerome Bruner

The concept of the spiral curriculum is the idea that as a curriculum develops, it “should
revisit the basic ideas repeatedly, building upon them until the student has grasped the full formal
apparatus that goes with them” (Bruner, 52). We will incorporate Jerome Bruner’s concept of a
spiral curriculum in our unit plan by reviewing the relationships between addition and
subtraction and multiplication and division and building on their understanding to introduce
solving equations algebraically using inverse operations. Bruner also concludes that “motives for
learning [...] must be based as much as possible upon the arousal of interest in what there is to be
learned” (111). In our unit plan, we will spark student interest by connecting what they are
learning to problems that are culturally relevant to them. We will also incorporate activities that
keep them engaged with the content.

Learning Theory and Social Cognitive Theory

Social learning theory acknowledges the role of cognitive processes in observational

learning of behaviors. According to Bandura, before deciding whether a behavior is imitated,
four mediational processes: attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation, must occur. A
significant component of social cognitive theory is observational learning. To capture students’
attention, we are going to introduce our unit with a hook that connects to their personal
experiences. To assist in the retention of the material, we are also going to include real-world
problems that students can relate to in our lessons. After increasing investment in the content, we
are going to focus on “developing competencies through mastery modeling, strengthening
people’s beliefs in their capabilities so they make better use of their talents, and enhancing self-
motivation through goal systems” (Bandura, 275).

Bandura also stresses that “self-beliefs of efficacy enhance or impair motivation and
problem-solving efforts,” (279) so we are also going to be providing students with constructive
feedback during guided practice to encourage the development of their self-efficacy. We will
praise students for their insightful comments and questions and react to misunderstandings
positively, so students do not become discouraged when they make mistakes. We hope to
encourage students to keep trying and improving so that they feel capable of attempting more
difficult problems. Because a significant component of social cognitive theory is observational
learning, incorporating these methods into our classroom will help create a positive and safe
learning environment. Not only do the students see the environment being created, but they react
to feel safe in the open and welcoming environment as well.

Cognitive and Metacognitive Development & Critical Thinking

Cognition refers to the intellectual functioning of the mind concerning the learner’s
ability to attend, acquire, represent, and recall information. To assist students’ cognitive
development, we will provide them with different tools and methods for solving problems to
assist in their retention of the material. We will also provide students with manipulatives for a
more hands-on approach to learning and include activities that address different learning styles.

Metacognition is the knowledge and control people have over their thinking and learning
activities. Because “critical thinking has also been referred to as metacognition,” (Snyder, 90)
our unit plan will focus on developing students’ critical thinking skills by providing them with
opportunities to explore the content first rather than just giving them different problem-solving
tools. In this way, students will activate prior knowledge, attempt and discover different
approaches from one another, and learn by trial and error. We will continue to encourage critical
thinking by facilitating class discussions rather than lecturing and questioning students’ thought
processes so that they are “thinking about their thinking,” (Snyder, 95) making sure to provide
students with time to think. According to Van Gelder, “students also must practice the art of
transferring the skills from one situation to another,” (43) so we will provide students with
similar question types to assess for transferability. Our end of unit assessment will also include
questions that focus on critical thinking over fact-based problems (Snyder, 93). As Van Gelder’s
first lesson states: “Critical Thinking Is Hard,” (42) so one way that we will support students is
by doing think-alouds to model what critical thinking looks like.

Throughout our unit, we will also provide students with opportunities to reflect on what
they have accomplished and what they can improve on. We will administer exit tickets with
questions that not only assess their content knowledge, but prompt students to think about how
and what they learn, as well as challenges they face. Some examples include when students were
learning well and when students had thought differently about something.

Intelligence and Creativity

The theory of successful intelligence points that “some students who do not do well in
conventional courses may have the ability to succeed if they are taught in a way that better fits
their patterns of abilities" (Sternberg). This includes four skills: memory skills, analytical skills,
creative skills, and practical skills. In collaboration with other prominent psychologists,
Sternberg proposed the WICS (Wisdom, Intelligence, Creativity, Synthesized) model. We must
remember what we learn, our memory, use critical thinking to evaluate the things we learn,
analytically, be innovative in finding better ways of doing things and solving problems,
creatively, and apply and put to action what we learn, practically.

We will incorporate Sternberg's factors of "successful intelligence" by alternating

teaching styles in our unit plan. Lessons and discussions that encourage analytical thinking
involve students comparing and contrasting different tools for solving equations and evaluating
whether their solutions make sense in the context of the problems. We will also teach practically
by having students use a protractor to explore and measure different angle measures around the
classroom. Lastly, we will focus on making content meaningful to students. We will stress that
math is all around us and is used daily, relating to the students the different ways the lessons
being taught can assist them throughout their lives. By giving the students diverse and multiple
concrete examples, we will set them up for success by meeting their needs.

Conclusion
The information above provides an array of theories and approaches that can be applied
to the overall learning process for students. The examples were focused on a middle school
mathematics classroom. Incorporating these key points into the unit plan is likely to increase the
academic achievement of the students being taught and the expertise of the educators. Solving
equations is a critical topic within the sixth-grade mathematics curriculum, and the implications
of the theories and approaches discussed above can increase the overall effectiveness of the
lessons being taught to students.
 References
Bandura, A. (1988). Organisational Applications of Social Cognitive Theory

Blunden, Andy (2011) Vygotsky’s Theory of Child Development

Bruner, Jerome S.The Process of Education, Harvard University Press, 1976. ProQuest Ebook
Central
Cherry, K. (2016). The Origins of Psychology: A Brief History of Psychology Through the
Years .Verywell, an About.com brand.
Huitt, W., & Hummel, J. (2003). Piaget's theory of cognitive development
Lee Wantanabe-Crockett (2014). The Importance of Teaching Critical Thinking
Snyder, L. G., & Snyder, M. J. (2008). Teaching Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills
Sternberg, R. J., & Grigorenko, E. L. (2003). Teaching for Successful Intelligence: Principles,
Procedures, and Practices
Van Gelder, T. (2005). Teaching Critical Thinking. College Teaching, 53(1), 41-46.