Critical Thinking: The Heart of Social Studies

      When I started teaching, I set out on a professional journey to always try and answer, "What is true learning? What is true learning in every content area?"  As an individual, two of my core values are authenticity and competence.  There is something at the soul of learning, a little energy that spins inside of all people (big people AND little people) and it's my job to cause that nebulous of energy to grow.

     I believe one of the most important aspects of learning is honest reflection and self-evaluation.  For teachers, stepping back and taking an honest look at instruction is the impetus for change.  It's difficult because it requires honesty.  It's difficult because it can mean that we have to be critical of ourselves.  It's difficult because sometimes we don't know what we don't know.  But when we do it, the change that we feel creates joy and satisfaction.

   

I believe this: We MUST challenge each other to reflect on social studies instruction and embrace more substantial critical thinking in social studies. We can move in this direction if we, as teachers, more effectively seek personal understanding and ownership of the question, "Why is social studies important?"

As teachers of young historians, we must ask ourselves, "Isn't it time that we stop asking students to just learn information and facts? What does it look like for a student to be a historian? How do historians use sources to construct their understanding of the past? What processes and skills does a historian use to think critically about people, events, and ideas? Are we happy with everyone knowing the exact same facts, or are we going to embrace classroom experiences that allow students to bring their ideas and thinking to the table? How do the people, events, and ideas of the past connect to the people, events, and ideas of the present?"

As teachers of young geographers, we must ask ourselves, "Haven't we asked students to color enough maps, or given enough grades for coloring well and making sure labels are legible? What does it look like for a geographer to think about maps and sources that communicate geographic information? If a geographer looks at a source with geographic information, what processes does the geographer use to think about and understand the information? What is the difference between human geography and physical geography...and how are they connected? How does a geographer look at the world?"

As teachers of young economists, we must ask ourselves, "Isn't it time that we expand our view of economics beyond money and invite students to embrace the economic way of thinking? How might we embrace the concepts of scarcity or cost and choice so students can think critically about the multitude of decisions that they will make for the rest of their lives? How might we elevate the concepts of scarcity or cost and choice to understand the decisions made by people and societies in the past and present?"

As teachers of young engaged and informed citizens, we must ask ourselves, "Do we embrace democratic experiences that invite debate and multiple perspectives about issues? Do we develop opportunities where students become aware of how they can be involved in society?  Do we help students to see that the people in every time and place impact change by being involved and informed? Why is civics important?"

I believe we can embrace better social studies instruction if we reflect on what we're doing and start to have honest conversations with each other about GOOD social studies. I also believe that the thinking we ask students to do in reading is the exact same thinking that we should ask students to do in any subject. After all, READING is THINKING!  Critical thinking begins with letting go of tradition -  letting go of the focus on learning facts to regurgitate facts. Embrace thinking. Look at student work to see the thinking that's evident. Listen to the classroom conversation to see if you're creating a classroom where thinking takes place.

I believe that everyone can regularly incorporate two key strategies, and they'll start to illuminate the potential for critical thinking in social studies.

Questioning: Invite students to ask questions often.  Even if those questions are not answered, the questions reveal critical thinking.  Ask questions as a class.  Ask questions in small groups.  Ask questions independently.  Ask questions before you start learning about content.  Ask questions as you are learning about content.  Ask questions as part of the analysis process for maps, primary source, and any other source you're exploring with students.  And when the opportunity presents itself, take a question and turn it back on the students saying, "What do YOU think?"  

Make Connections: Invite students to make connections.  How is this event similar to events today? How does this person's actions help you to understand people of today? How is this place the same and different than where you live? How does this person's choice help you to think about choices you might need to make in life?

Your challenge: Take the time to have a 30 minute conversation with a colleague to answer the question, "What is good social studies instruction that is engaging, creates relevance, and invites students to THINK?"

   

Using the Question Formation Technique to Explore Conceptual Ideas in Elementary Social Studies

Just yesterday, we were able to bring together 100 teachers for a Preschool-6th grade Social Studies Kickoff, with the goal of exposing teachers to new ideas, elevating strategies and tools for critical thinking, and enhancing collaboration among elementary social studies teachers.

With our district's focus on concept-based learning and quality instruction, we decided to expose teachers to an instructional strategy from the Right Question Institute out of Harvard University. We chose this strategy because asking questions is a strategy that's used by teachers in all content areas at all grade levels. The Right Question Institute developed a well-researched and incredibly powerful critical thinking experience known as the Question Formation Technique.  Their rationale for designing this technique is explained by one of the book's authors, Dan Rothstein,  in this TED Talk (13:41). In this talk, you'll notice how the skill of asking questions declines from age 5 to age 18.  You might predict that a variety of variables impact this pattern, but the bottom line is...IT'S SAD! Asking questions is a skill, and it's a skill that needs developing if we are to have students who participate in society as critical thinkers.  With the Question Formation Technique, teachers "express deep satisfaction as they see their students rapidly develop divergent, convergent, and metacognitive thinking abilities and become more confident learners." (p. 2) (To find out more, check out the link above or look into their book Make Just One Change: Teach Students to Ask Their Own Questions.)

The Question Formation Technique involves a process where teachers design something known as a Question Focus, an "item" designed to elicit questions and critical thinking from the learner. Learners then engage in a process using the Question Focus, a process where each step has been carefully studied and refined to maximize the questioning and critical thinking experience for learners.  In general, this is the process.  (Teachers can access all necessary resources by creating a log-in at rightquestion.org and looking under "resources.")

Google Doc of the Process

Below, you'll find a list of each Question Focus that was developed specifically for social studies in each grade level.  Included is a general sense of the conceptual ideas we were hoping would be elevated when learners were engaged in the Question Formation Technique.  Every Question Focus was designed as an introduction to a significant conceptual idea so students would begin to explore questions at the heart of learning instead of the teacher simply presenting the essential questions for the learning. We felt that this process created greater ownership by learners, and in this case, ownership of future learning that is based on conceptual curriculum goals or understandings.   (NOTE: A Question Focus might be applicable to other grades depending on the purpose for its use.  Questions will always be different as individuals, as groups, and as critical thinking abilities develop among learners.)

Question Focus Samples: Preschool to 6th Grade

• 6th grade Question Focus: This was designed to be used with a Western Hemisphere study when students begin to examine the era of European exploration and to consider multiple perspectives when analyzing the impact of exploration on early cultures of the Western Hemisphere.
• 5th grade Question Focus: This was designed to be used with a unit titled Changing Face of North America: Emergence of a New World Society (We no longer use the Euro-centric title of "Colonial America"). The goal was to elicit questions related to why people came to the Atlantic coast of North America, where they settled, why, and the patterns that existed within this migration of people.
• 4th grade Question Focus: This was designed to go with a state study of Colorado.  The goal was to cause learners to ask who came to Colorado over time, why, and where did they settle.
• 3rd grade Question Focus: This was designed to go with a study of Denver titled The Big City.  The goal was to illuminate the idea that citizens and government work together to create important changes over time. 
• 2nd grade Question Focus: This was designed to go with a civics study.  The goal was to cause students to think about various forms of conflict and active citizenship of students.  An image of the man scratching his head was placed on a mirror and then the mirror was placed at the top of the page where you see three scenarios of conflicting students.
• 1st grade Question Focus:  This was designed to go with a history unit and was created to help students consider how and why things have continued to stay the same or change over time. This is the history concept of continuity and change over time. 
• Kindergarten Question Focus: This was designed to go with a civics study where students explore the purpose of classroom rules, citizenship, and roles within the classroom.
• Preschool Question Focus: This was designed to go with civics learning related to respectful interaction and classroom rules.