How to get higher order thinking for below and well below students.
It's a fairly broad, yet uninteresting title for 2015. Time to breathe some life in to those words.
For 2015 I am teaching a year 3 1:1 iPad class. For the first time in my 13year career I have students who are emergent writers, level 1 for reading and stage 1 for maths. There aren't just one or two treasures, but 6. - that's approximately 20% of the learners in the class.
Higher order thinking, cognitive engagement, personalised learning - all that jargon fits well for learners who already know how to learn and for whom learning has been fairly successful.
My question asks, how would you begin to get higher order thought out of learners who have spent 18months to 2 years at school and have not made any academic progress. Students who are yet to fully understand the concept of an alphabet or words or even counting beyond their 5 fingers.
The 6 in my class come with all manner of special needs and special circumstances, however these learners don't have time to let those inconveniences get in the way. It's time to use their special talents - which they all possess, and find out how to accelerate these kids in the direction of their peers.
My main strategies and first thoughts lie with visible learning, rewindable learning, reflection and the incorporation of oral language. These students lack the language necessary to articulate their learning and thoughts - if I give it to them, make it rewindable and by nature, visible - will this create an impact in their learning?
We'll start with routines, we'll start with solidifying relationships and we'll get going.
