This week we discussed learning design models and tried out Mentimeter. We thought about teaching models and how to integrate technology meaningfully. Having technological knowledge and feeling comfortable with it is integral to how lessons are experienced. In class, we also discussed Bloom’s Taxonomy and its limits. 

I just started listening to an audiobook called Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners by Ron Ritchhart, Mark Church, and Karin Morrison. Near the beginning, they critique Bloom’s Taxonomy, saying thinking is “much messier, complex, dynamic, and interconnected than” Bloom’s hierarchal format (pg. 8). 

Ways of thinking that help promotes understanding (pg. 11):

  1. Observing closely and describing what’s there 
  2. Building explanations and interpretations 
  3. Reasoning with evidence 
  4. Making connections 
  5. Considering different viewpoints and perspectives 
  6. Capturing the heart and forming conclusions 

These ways of thinking are the exact format I used when writing my art history papers in my undergrad! Figuring out how to facilitate higher-level thinking is difficult as a practicum student, and I think Liberating Structures is a great resource because I enjoy seeing a collection of ideas and methods in one place. Seeing it all together helps me come up with lesson plan ideas.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash