Critical Thinker

First Placement Evidence

Description and Rationale:

The piece of evidence I have chosen from my first placement to show my ability to be a Critical Thinker is an Alabama History lesson I taught concerning the invention and use of the Cotton Gin. Students were first asked to complete the reading of a lesson from the book and then complete a graphic organizer placing the vocabulary words from the lesson in the book under certain headings. After this students were given the assignment to think about what they had learned and try to put themselves in the position of people in Alabama, or the south, in the nineteenth century. Students had to create a poster advertising and promoting the use of the cotton gin. This assigment was a great use in critical thinking. I myself actually had to put myself in the position of a person of society in the nineteenth century and along with this, I modeled the importance of critical thinking skills by giving my students the opporunity to think critically. The students had to use problem-solving strategies to figure out how to promote and persuade people to buy and use the cotton gin.

Reflection:

After seeing how much the students enjoyed this lesson, I realized how thinking critically is very important in the lives of young children. If students learn critical thinking and problem solving skills at a young age, they will be able to complete higher order thinking as adults. Through my planning and implementation of this lesson, I also believe that my ability to be an effectve Critical Thinker has shown through.

Second Placement Evidence

Description and Rationale:

The evidence I have chosen to show my being a Critical Thinker for the secind placement is the use of Venn Diagrams comparing different fairy tales in the Kindergarten classroom. Venn Diagrams are definitely an upper level idea, but as far as critical thinking, Kindergarteners are able to complete them in the correct manner. I used Venn Diagrams to show the comparison between two sets of fairy tales, while I was teaching a fairy tale unit. The fairy tales compared were first, Dinorella compared to The Cowboy Prince, and second The Boy Who Cried Wolf compared to The Wolf Who Cried Boy. After reading each set of fairy tales to the class, I lead the class in thinking critically and creating two separate Venn Diagrams comparing the similarities and differences of the stories. Completing Venn Diagrams with Kindergarteners took critical thinking skills from both myself, as well as, the students. The ability to teach this lesson successfully and for the students to understand it correctly shows my strength as a Critical Thinker.

Reflection:

As I think back about this lesson, I realize what an undertaking it actually was. To have Kindergarteners to understand and complete a Venn Diagram is a great accomplishment. I realize that Kindergarteners are capable of much more than I first realized, and I also realize that I grew as a Critical Thinker through teaching this lesson. In my teaching, I will strive to create engagin lessons, such as this lesson, that will allow not only me, but also my students to be critical thinkers.