Modules 12&14 Post 1

Modules 12 and 14 have to do with higher order thinking skills. Module 12 focuses primarily on metacognition, which is the process of thinking about your own thinking. As learners, we develop metacognition knowledge. Cognitive knowledge is having the knowledge of our cognitive processes, or how our brains work. Metacognitive regulation is our ability of being in control of our own thinking, morals and emotions. Children have a problem understanding other people's thoughts, but at the age of 4 they become capable of thinking about other people's thoughts. Adolescents also have a problem thinking about other people's thoughts in the fact that they think everyone is thinking about them. Essentially, metacognition is a challenge for children at these ages. There are teaching strategies that allow students to think about their own thinking, too. Reciprocal teaching is one of the most effective metacognition strategies; the teacher asks the student questions about their reading through summarizing, questioning, clarifying and predicting. Module 14 has to do with critical thinking which is similar to metacognition. One has to be aware of their own learning to delve into the depth of what they're learning. Steps to critical thinking involve clarity, accuracy, precision, relevance, depth, breadth and logic. Without these, a student lacks the proper traits to higher level thinking. Another important sign of higher level critical thinking includes problem solving. How do children who are in the beginning stages of Piaget's phases participate in problem solving, if any at all? Can preschoolers use prior knowledge to solve problems?

Lower order thinking is a type of thinking that essentially requires students to only regurgitate information they've learned. Lower order thinking doesn't require metacognition or critical thinking skills or problem solving. Lower order thinking only requires students to remember what they've learned. Higher order thinking requires students to create something of their own based on what they know. Higher order thinking involves analyzing, applying or evaluating information they've learned.

Information in the reading connects with what I know about Piaget. Piaget says biological maturation pushes development. This is evident with higher level critical thinking. In Module 14, it says that preschoolers aren't able to retrieve information through their memory to solve problems. They're only able to rely on what they are currently learning. This is a biological fact of nature and doesn't change depending on person. Biology has to push the child through development to help them understand how to problem solve. Children at 4 are much different than children at 12 in problem solving because they've moved through Piaget's stages.

I would and will participate in reciprocal teaching in my practice as teacher. This fosters students to think about their own learning with the guidance of my questioning. They're able to summarize what they've learned and then ask questions about it, which go through the taxonomy of metacognition: regurgitation of information to then analyzing it.