Breathing Life into

21st Century Skills and the 4Cs

Critical Thinking, Teaching and Learning

Tony Gurr
zmir Trk Koleji
18th February 2017
My Last Weekend Conference
C
C
C
C
Communication
Collaboration
Critical Thinking
Creativity
Communication Critical Thinking

Collaboration Creativity

The 21st Century (or Next Generation)

English Language Learning (ELL)
Skills Matrix
Reflection ZAMANI
 Are these skills new
 I know you won't believe me, but
the highest form of Human
Excellence is to question oneself
and others.
To find yourself, think for yourself.
I cannot teach anybody anything. I
can only make them think.
SOCRATES Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.
(469-399 BCE)
 Are these skills new
Are they replacing the Traditional
Skills in English Language Learning
(ELL)
 Critical Thinking

Communication Creativity

Collaboration
 Are these skills new
Are they replacing the Traditional
Skills in English Language Learning
(ELL)
Has the ELT profession helped
teachers really get to grips with
these skills
 Community

Change

Competence
 Persistance Transparency

Inclusivness

Trust

Oral Communication Literacy Numeracy Problem-Solving

Financial Literacy Digital Literacy Scientific Literacy Civic Literacy

Communication Critical Thinking

Collaboration Creativity
My Personal Journey
as a Teacher
 Grammar
The FOUR
Vocabulary
Skills
Usage &
Meaning
My Personal Journey
as a Teacher
 Communicaton

Grammar
The FOUR
Vocabulary
Skills
Usage &
Meaning
The TRADITIONAL
5 Skills

Lexico-Grammatical
Listening

Speaking

Skills
Reading

Writing
My Personal Journey
as a Teacher
 Communication

Collaboration Critical Thinking Creativity

The TRADITIONAL The 4Cs
5 Skills (21st Century Skills)

Lexico-Grammatical
Listening Communication

Speaking Collaboration

Skills
Reading Critical Thinking

Writing Creativity
 ELL Skills Matrix

Lexico-Grammatical
Listening Communication

Speaking Collaboration

Skills
Reading Critical Thinking

Writing Creativity
The Elephant in the Room!
The 800-pound Gorilla in the Room!
 How do I teach
Critical Thinking

How do I start to teach

Critical Thinking
 Questions, Questions, Questions

As teachers, we have to remember THREE key facts:

Thinking is not expanded by answers

but by questions.

Questions, not answers, drive learning.

Dont just teach your children to read
Teach them to question what they read.
Teach them to question everything.
Dont just teach your children to read
Teach them to question what they read.
Teach them to question everything.
George Carlin
 How much do you KNOW?
Just as student-centred teaching begins with the
teacher (yani, what s/he believes and does in
the classroom), the creation of a Questioning
Culture starts with how the teacher answers the
questions that students ask!
Teachers have to start saying I DONT KNOW
(even when we do) and ask WHAT DO YOU
THINK?
 How Many & What Type of Questions?
The average teacher asks up to 2 questions every
minute, up to 400 in a day, around 70,000 a year, or
two to three million over the course of a career.

30-40% of questions are procedural (Have you

finished, yet? / Is your name on that?) and another
45% are display questions.
What is
this?

It is a pencil,
hocam.
What are
these?
They are pencils,
hocam. Mr and
Mrs Browns
pencils.
NEVER say to students Any Questions?

NEVER (well, try not to) ask a question that you

already know the answer to!

NEVER ask students questions after you have just

given them some information (the best teachers
ask students questions all the time) get them to
ask their questions when you have finished!
 Encouraging Kids to Ask More Questions.
Hold back on a new topic until the class has
worked out what questions they would like
answered in the following lessons.
Asking learners to set pop quizzes (with no
grades) at the end of a unit for other kids in the
class.
Awarding marks for the quality of the questions
rather than the quality of the answers.
 Effective Questions & Wait Time
Ask a question, such as "Do you know what we
call baby dogs?" - pause for at least 3-4 seconds.

And then, say a student's name: "Kezban."

By doing this, all the students will automatically be

thinking about an answer and only after another kid's
name is said will they sigh in relief because they were
not chosen.
 Using the other 3Cs
A great deal of research has shown that
Critical Thinking
teachers who use a variety of
techniques to encourage group
discussions and classroom debates as
well as roleplays and communication
Communication games have greater success in
developing their students CT skills. This is
Collaboration especially true when these learning
opportunities require students to
Creativity produce original work or solutions.
 The AGREE / DISAGREE Game

For this activity the teacher develops a number of statements

(some of which are a bit ambiguous).
Students are invited to the centre of the classroom (moving
tables and chairs out of the way) and the teacher flashes
these statements to students students then either move to
the left or right of the classroom (there is no middle-road).
Students then try to pursuade their friends to join their group
by giving arguments / examples.
 The Earth is flat.

AGREE DISAGREE
 Every student can learn.

AGREE DISAGREE
 Critical thinking is learnable.

AGREE DISAGREE
 Teaching critical thinking is
not as difficult as teaching
present perfect!

AGREE DISAGREE
the propensity and skill to engage in an activity
with reflective skepticism
McPeck, 1981, p.8
 GREAT IDEAS
The 3-2-1 Reflection Tool...

At the end of a lesson have students use the 3-2-1

method of summarising by having students record:
three things they learned,
two interesting things, and
one question they have about what was taught.
Allow time to share their findings with a peer and write
it down on an exit ticket.
 QUICK IDEAS
Upgraded K-W-L Charts

What do What do How do I What have

I know? I want to find out? I learned?
know?
 GREAT IDEAS
Doubting Thomas

Why do you think that?

How do you know this?
Can you tell me more?
What questions do you
still have?
What do you think?

FOR MORE SEE:

https://tr.pinterest.com/pin/207587864051791634/
the mental processes, strategies, and
representations people use to solve problems, make
decisions, and learn new concepts
Sternberg, 1986, p.3
The GENIUS Hour
 The GENIUS Hour

People do their best work, when they are

working on something they choose to work on!
1. Choice: Students must be able to choose their
own project and final product
2. Structured / Unstructured Time: It has to be
scheduled not at random times in the day
3. Peer Accountability: Its positive peer pressure
4. Reflection: What did you learn?
5. Sharing: Presentation or public display
 Could YOU
use this type of
project with your
students, too?
6 Tips for Getting Started with Genius Hour -
http://www.edutopia.org/groups/personalized-learning/802456

The Genius Hour Guidebook -

http://www.geniushourguide.org/

The Complete Guide to 20% Time (and Genius Hour) in the Classroom -
http://ajjuliani.com/20-time-guide/

50+ Topic Ideas for Genius Hour -

http://www.theprimaryprofessor.com/50-topic-ideas-for-genius-hour/
Wrapping-Up ZAMANI
 a lot of English is taught,
not enough is learned

John Rogers

TEACHing
Rogers, J. (1982): The World for Sick Proper.
ELT Journal, Vol.36/3. pp 144-151.
 Our CHALLENGE with ELT in canm
Trkiyem is not teaching English

it is in creating REAL learners!

The Bottom Lineon CT!
 English Language Learning
Skills Matrix

Lexico-Grammatical
Listening Communication

Speaking Collaboration

Skills
Reading Critical Thinking

Writing Creativity
 Steal 1000+ Other Ideas

https://tr.pinterest.com/explore/critical-thinking/
tonygurr@gmail.com