ASCD SmartBrief Special Report:
Teaching Students to Think (Part 1)
Incorporating thinking skills into curriculums in an era of standardized tests is a challenge, but teachers across the country are making reasoning abilities a priority. In this information economy, many educators argue these skills will be more vital than ever.

This two-part ASCD SmartBrief Special Report on "Teaching Students to Think" explores the many ways educators are developing students' thinking skills. Part I of the report focuses on the place of thinking skills in the curriculum today and offers some instructional and assessment strategies. Part II, to be published Thursday, Feb. 21, explores best practices and professional development.

If you don't receive ASCD SmartBrief on a daily basis and find our report on teaching students to think useful, we urge you to sign up for our timely e-newsletter. ASCD SmartBrief delivers the stories making news in your profession directly to your inbox -- for FREE.

At a Glance

Emphasize skills that matter
When we require our students to simply regurgitate memorized facts on standardized exams, we build analytic test-taking expertise, writes Robert J. Sternberg, a Tufts University psychology professor. Assessing students for creativity and practicality in addition to analytical skills gives a more complete picture of student abilities and more accurately predicts academic success in college. Educational Leadership (1/2008)

• Clarify education goals so critical skills aren't left behind: Employers highly value critical thinking, communication, technology and collaborative skills, but such skills go largely untested and sometimes untaught, writes Arnold Packer, a senior fellow at Western Carolina University and a former executive director of a special federal commission on necessary skills. Some states, like North Carolina, have started mandating that 21st-century skills be demonstrated to educators before graduation. Education Week (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org) (11/6)

Two-thirds of U.S. voters say 3R's no longer sufficient
Some 66% of U.S. voters say students need more than just reading, writing and arithmetic, and about 88% believe students are ill-equipped in critical-thinking, problem-solving and communication skills, according to poll results released by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. "Voters generally are not happy with the direction our schools are headed with respect to ensuring we have the skills to compete," the report's authors said. eSchool News (free registration) (10/15)

Instruction & Assessment

Teach thinking systematically to expand students' horizons
Thinking requires regular practice in reading comprehension, communication skills, collaboration and writing, say Terry Roberts and Laura Billings of the National Paideia Center. Such systems can be used to stretch students as well as prepare them to reason consistently and deliberately throughout their lives. Educational Leadership (2/2008)

Middle school IB program encourages critical thinking
Although the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program was controversial when it was launched four years ago in a Fairfax County, Va., school, some of the program's first graduates have boasted higher SAT scores. The coursework "definitely made us think, and not through rote knowledge, but making connections to the rest of the world," said one student. The Washington Post (11/4)

Computerized tests may better measure reasoning skills
Critical problem-solving and information-analysis skills that cannot be easily measured on traditional pencil-and-paper exams may be revived through computerized tests, according to a National Center for Education Statistics report. However, widespread use of such exams may be hampered by insufficient infrastructure. eSchool News (free registration) (10/3)

Debate teaches students to research, think critically
Debating prepares students to think critically and craft reasoned arguments, advocates say. "There is nothing more important an education can provide a child than to foster a hunger to think critically and the tools to know how," says Steven Kalas, a behavioral health consultant. Las Vegas Review-Journal (1/20)

Perspectives/Strategies

Opinion: Arts vital to collaboration, creative thinking
The decline of arts education limits children's development, collaborative work experiences and appreciation of differences, writes Stephanie Perrin, head of one of the oldest U.S. secondary schools for the arts. Most U.S. schools are still designed for a 19th-century economy, not the 21st-century world that requires risk-taking and creative thinking. Education Week (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org) (1/29)

Commentary: Standardized tests dull higher-order thinking
Standardized tests have pushed out subjects that require students to exercise anything beyond basic skills, said nationally certified science teacher Anthony Cody. Educators must find ways to teach synthesis, analysis, creativity and collaboration. Teacher Magazine (free registration) (10/10)

Viewpoint: Unstructured play essential to children's creative-thinking skills
Young children need play to develop, but as recess, physical-education and art are cut from many public elementary schools to accommodate more testing, such opportunities for fun are diminishing, writes Steven T. Webb, deputy superintendent of Vancouver, Wash., schools. But children must learn to explore their creativity and think across disciplines to thrive in a global economy, Webb says. Education Week (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org) (10/10)

Opinion: NCLB leaves citizenship behind
Standardized tests encourage standardized thinking, psychologist Barbara M. Stock writes. Policies that pressure students to memorize a single right answer rather than ask questions or think critically is a major step backward. Education Week (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org) (10/16)

ASCD Resources

Online resources for teachers and students

Ideas for thinking-based lesson plans:

Harvard's Visible Thinking: Research-based lessons for developing thinking skills.

Harvard's Artful Thinking: Integrate art-based thinking into regular classrooms.

National Center for Teaching Thinking: Offers a variety of lesson plans infused with critical thinking.

National Debate Project: Use debate as a foundation to promote student reason.

Teachable Moment -- Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility: Aids teachers with study questions and resources to help students learn how to think critically about current events.

Thinking Maps: Eight tools to help students categorize their thoughts.

General resources:

Critical Thinking: What It Is and Why It Counts: Paper introducing the importance of critical thinking.

Foundation and Center for Critical Thinking: Offers research, professional development and assessment tools meant to improve thinking-based instruction.

Books, articles and other ASCD resources

Book: Developing Minds: A Resource Book for Teaching Thinking

Book: Developing More Curious Minds

Audio: Teaching Thinking Skills: The Connection to Increased Student Learning

Video: How to Engage Students in Critical Thinking

Video: How to Spiral Questions to Provoke Student Thinking

DVD: Learning to Think ... Thinking to Learn: The Pathway to Achievement

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