Reflection: Pedagogical Initiatives

Critical Thinking Community MCEETYA four-year plan 2009 – 2012

Provides resources that link critical thinking strategies with curriculum.

Great practical strategies for enhancing teaching practice; therefore, learning experiences. I will be using this and referring back regularly. They are great reminders of effective teaching practice.

Also, the website provides a glossary of critical thinking terms, which will be very helpful for me as a teacher when planning and developing tasks and for students, so they can better understand the expectations of a task.

 

E.g.

Ensure students are actively engaged by employing these strategies when asking students to contribute their ideas:

1.     Summarise or put into their own words what the teacher or another student has said.

2.     Elaborate on what they have said.

3.     Relate the issue or content to their own knowledge and experience.

4.     Give examples to clarify or support what they have said.

5.     Make connections between related concepts.

6.     Restate the instructions or assignment in their own words.

7.     State the question at issue.

8.     Describe to what extent their point of view on the issue is different from or similar to the point of view of the instructor, other students, the author, etc.

9.     Take a few minutes to write down any of the above.

10.  Write down the most pressing question on their mind at this point. The instructor then uses the above tactics to help students reason through the questions.

11.  Discuss any of the above with a partner and then participate in a group discussion facilitated by the instructor.

The MCEETYA four-year plan outlines the strategies the Australian and state and territory governments will undertake to meet the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (2008).

This document really focuses on the development of the individual student. It provides holistic learning and development goals by linking back to the 2008 Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians.

This document helps to provide links to the Third Space of student’s learning, as it encourages stronger connections between learning institutions and students’ lives.

The document also provides recommendations to ensure quality teaching and leadership.

For each aspect MCEETYA outlines their role in the enhancement strategy.

 

E.g.

Agreed strategies and actions for supporting senior years of schooling and youth transitions:

·       providing stimulating and relevant experiences, excursions and school-community links for senior years’ students

·       ensuring all students have access to quality support, information and advice to facilitate access to further education, training, careers, and employment options

·       enabling more rural and remote young people to participate in higher education programs

 

References

Foundation for Critical Thinking. (2015). The Critical Thinking Community. Retrieved from http://www.scseec.edu.au/archive/Publications.aspx

MCEETYA. (2009). MCEETYA four-year plan, 2009-2012. Retrieved from http://www.scseec.edu.au/archive/Publications.aspx