LA-3 (Grades 5-10)
This Is Not a Test: Creating a Community of Critical Thinkers
Carleen Matts Gulstad, North Junior High, Maple Grove, MN
carleen_gulstad@hopkinsschools.org
  

YES, we have standards, YES! Our students take standardized tests.  YES! We step up to the plate every day to make sure our kids have what they need to succeed in a changing world.  But, does attending to the must-do's mean there's no time for the art of teaching and making sure every student feels valued and accepted?

Is there a way to be true to why we became teachers in the first place and still meet the expectations of the mandates? In a word, YES. Participants will explore ways to create classroom communities using techniques designed to validate students' unique identities.  These strategies include Circles, creative autobiographical projects, and discussions of race, culture, and learning styles.

In addition, participants will learn practical ways to foster critical thinking, including Thinking Maps, response journals, and other literacy strategies.  Warning: your brain will hurt, but you'll leave this workshop with renewed energy and a whole lot of new techniques to try in your classroom.

Participants will develop standards-based curricula that honors the unique identities, stories, and learning styles of each student, effectively use Hyerle's Thinking Maps to teach students to identify and use eight patterns of critical thinking and foster community and discussion skills in their classrooms through the use of Circles derived from Restorative Measures in Schools.