Content thinking

Integra(ng Mental Processes for Thinking

with Content Courses

For high school learners who are borderline in reading and wri(ng

What is Kentucky’s defini4on of college readiness?

College readiness is the level of prepara4on a first-­‐4me student needs in order to succeed in a credit-­‐bearing course at a postsecondary ins4tu4on.

“Success” is defined as comple4ng entry-­‐level courses at a level of understanding and proficiency that prepares the student for subsequent courses.

Co-­‐Requisite Skills Support of Content Courses (1) accelerated learning opportuni4es; (2) secondary interven4on programs; (3) college and career readiness advising; and (4) postsecondary college persistence and degree comple4on.

The Council on Postsecondary Educa4on, in partnership with KDE, led the development of the Unified Strategy for College and Career R e a d i n e s s . F o u r g o a l s w e r e iden4fied to reduce the need for remedia4on of recent high school graduates by 50 percent by 2014 and to increase college comple4on rates of students entering without being prepared for credit-­‐bearing coursework. The defined unified strategies include: (1) accelerated l e a r n i n g o p p o r t u n i 4 e s ; ( 2 ) secondary interven4on programs; (3) college and career readiness advising; and (4) postsecondary college persistence and degree comple4on.

What is Kentucky’s defini4on of “success” in college readiness?

“Success” is defined as comple4ng entry-­‐level courses at a level of understanding and proficiency that prepares the student for subsequent courses.

What does comple4ng entry-­‐level courses at a level of understanding and proficiency that prepares the student for subsequent courses mean.?

“Success” is defined not as comple4ng an entry-­‐level course, but comple4ng at a level of understanding and proficiency that prepares the student for subsequent courses.

That means the learner needs to be able to think cri4cally with the content of the entry-­‐level course in ways that make that content useful in new situa4ons – transfer learning.

Cri4cal for Transfer Learning

What is required mentally of the learner to be able to think cri4cally with the content of the entry-­‐level course in ways that make that content useful in new situa4ons – transfer learning?

In order for the learner to develop competence in an area of inquiry the learner need to be able to

• develop a deep founda4on of factual knowledge, • understand facts and details in the context of a conceptual framework, and • organize knowledge in ways that facilitates retrieval and applica4on.

Cri4cal for Cri4cal and Crea4ve Thinking in the Content Areas

“Contrary to popular belief, learning basic facts is not a prerequisite for crea4ve thinking and problem-­‐solving – it’s the other way around. Once the learner grasps the big concepts around a subject, good thinking will lead the learner to the important facts.” (John Bransfrod)

Ini4a4ng a Founda4on of Cri4cal Thinking and Problem Solving around grasping the big concepts around a subject which will lead the learner to the important facts.”

Inquiry (“Big Picture” or “Big Ques4on”)?

Wri4ng: Who?, What?, Where?, When?, Why?, How?

Reading: What is the conceptual framework?

Humani4es: How will the elements and history for a given art (cause) affect ones percep4on (effect) of that form of art in the future?

History: What caused a given event (effect) and how will the event affect the future?

Inverted Pyramid Mental Processing Support Wri4ng to Learn as Thinking

Reading to Learn as Thinking Conceptual Framework

understanding the facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework

Organiza4on

Suppor(ng

organizing knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and applica(on

Knowledge

Humani4es as Thinking The Arts

two-­‐dimensional , sculpture, architecture, literature, dance, movies,

Technical Elements media, visual s(muli

Increasing Percep4on comparison-­‐contrast Cause-­‐effect

History

art by region and (me

developing a deep founda(on of factual knowledge

Inverted Pyramid Mental Processing Support Wri4ng to Learn as Thinking

Reading to Learn as Thinking Conceptual Framework

understanding the facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework

Organiza4on

Suppor(ng

organizing knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and applica(on

Knowledge

History as Thinking History

(me, loca(on, events

Organizing Events comparison-­‐contrast cause-­‐effect

History details

developing a deep founda(on of factual knowledge

Collabora4ng on Thinking Support for History, Introduc4on to Humani4es, Communica4on, Reading, Wri4ng There are many common threads across these disciplines. One that helps put those threads in perspec4ve is the impact these bodies of knowledge, skills, and behaviors will have on the learner’s future. These bodies of knowledge and skills are not ends in themselves, but rather learning these bodies of knowledge and skills prepare the learner for something further from their future experiences. That something further is transfer.

It is clearer today than it ever has been that we can hope to acquaint learners with at most a 4ny frac4on of what there is to know. College is preparing learners for going beyond the classroom with a focus on educa4on for life, not just a body of knowledge only. How does the informa4on being learned contribute to thinking; educa4on for thinking? It is the ability to think with the knowledge being learned that makes learning meaningful to an individual life.

I put together some thoughts along this line about percep4on and how the learner being able to organize and interpret the sensory world around them in terms of past experience – percep4on. The following slides are organized around Introduc4on to Humani4es, but I could have just as easily organized them around communica4on, history or wri4ng. Subs4tute your discipline in the slides as you read them. They all strongly rely on comparing and contras4ng, as well as cause and effect.

Co-­‐requisite Reading and Wri4ng Support of Entry-­‐Level Courses

Let’s take a stroll into the Introduc4on to Humani4es’ course to get a grasp of why being able to think in ways with the art (content) in humani4es that leads to being able to think with that content in future situa4ons is so important and how it relates to the defini4on of “success” in college readiness – “comple4ng entry-­‐level courses at a level of understanding and proficiency that prepares the student for subsequent courses.”

Co-­‐requisite reading and wri4ng support of content courses is about learning how to think with the content of entry-­‐level course.

Pupil dila(on or dilated pupils a r e c o n s i d e r e d t o b e aErac(ve. That has been a l o n g s t a n d i n g p e r c e p ( o n across socie(es and cultures.

There is considerable scien(fic evidence to substan(ate pupil dila(on aErac(on.

Look at the pain(ng below and tell me everything you see.

Now look at the next slide and see what you could be bringing to the pain(ng aJer taking an introduc(on to humani(es class. Introduc(on to Humani(es isn’t just about learning facts about the arts, it is about construc(ng deeper meaning about what you see and who you are, thus, giving you the mental tools for making life so much more interes(ng. If you succeed, you will never see the world the same way again.

Look on the next slide at the two-­‐dimensional mind map of the concepts you would be learning about in chapter one if you were taking Introduc(on to Humani(es. This knowledge gained about pain(ng, and drawings becomes prior knowledge when the learner knows how to apply certain mental processes for deep learning and are used by the learner. Those mental processes are what you will learn in the Introduc(on to Humani(es “Thinking Support” class that is connected to the Introduc(on to humani(es course.

Why is this important? Because percep(on is literally created by the brain. The more you have to bring (prior knowledge) to what you are seeing or hearing, the more meaning it has. Percep(on is changed by the organiza(on and interpreta(on of a piece of two-­‐dimensional art, for example, (pain(ng) in terms of this knowledge and experience you will be gaining. For the rest of your life you will see more around you than others and life will simply and more complexly be richer and more enjoyable. You are not just learning about arts in the humani(es; you are preparing yourself for a richer life. Do you have eyes to see and ears to hear? The answer is yes; however, without the knowledge found in the introduc(on to humani(es course and the mental processes for thinking about and learning that knowledge, what one sees and hears is very limited and life is far less rich in meaning.

See the mind map on the next slide about two dimensional art:

add white

PART ONE: Chapter 1 Introduc4on to Humani4es Expanding the Conceptual Framework

tint

relationship: blacks to whites to grays

value physical volume and density

The Media of the Arts

add black

shade

shape of object

form

mass

hue

elements roughness or smoothness

Two-­‐Dimensional Art

color

texture

value

intensity purity go hue linear form

Media drawing painting printmaking

Composi4on

line

color edge

implication for continued direction

Formal & Technical Quali4es

rhythm greatest visual appeal

Other Factors perspective chiaroscuro contrasts dynamics

focus Sense S4muli

juxtaposition

focal areas

equilibrium

closed composition

unity

harmony

variation

principles open composition

trompe l’oeil

repetition

balance symmetry

asymetrical

Look at the pain(ng below, “The Scream”. Tell me what you think is happening.

N o ( c e t h a t y o u r interpreta(on of the pain(ng is coming from your own mind. You are making it up. Your brain organizes what it sees along with everything you already know and c r e a t e s a n interpreta(on of the pain(ng.

What if I told you that the building in the b a c k g r o u n d i s a s l a u g h t e r h o u s e .

Would that change w h a t y o u t h i n k i s h a p p e n i n g i n t h e pain(ng?

What if you read in the painter’s diary, “One evening I was walking along a path, the city was on one side and the river below. I felt (red and ill. I stopped and looked out over the river—the sun was se\ng, and the clouds turning blood red. I sensed a scream passing through nature; it seemed to me that I heard the scream. I painted this picture, painted the clouds as actual blood. The color shrieked.” Now what do you see?

Yes, it would influence your interpreta(on. This is what happens when you learn about the elements and history (context) of two-­‐dimensional art in the introduc(on to humani(es course. An aim of introduc(on to humani(es is to enable the learner to add concepts and history (context) to their knowledge, which will become prior knowledge with which to organize and interpret the arts encountered resul(ng in a shiJ in percep(on in their future.

The Media of the Arts

Two-­‐Dimensional Art Media drawing painting printmaking

Formal & Technical Quali4es

Other Factors perspective chiaroscuro

contrasts dynamics

focus Sense S4muli

juxtaposition

trompe l’oeil

The shiJ in percep(on is your brain organizing what it is seeing along with your prior knowledge to create an interpreta(on. Learning in the introduc(on to humani(es course is not just about ge\ng a grade; it is about building the prior knowledge that will shiJ your percep(ons. in the long run, it is about making your life richer and more interes(ng.

Look again at the mind map below of the concepts you will be learning in the Introduc4on to humani4es course. The goal of the Support “Thinking” course that goes long with the humani4es course is to help ensure that you learn the mental processes that will enable you, as a learner, to more easily learn, retrieve, and apply the concepts below for art you encounter. physical volume and density

The Media of the Arts

add white

tint

add black

shade relationship: blacks to whites to grays

value

shape of object

form

mass

hue

elements roughness or smoothness

color

texture

Two-­‐Dimensional Art

value

intensity purity go hue linear form

Media drawing painting printmaking

Composi4on

line

color edge

implication for continued direction

Formal & Technical Quali4es

rhythm greatest visual appeal

Other Factors perspective chiaroscuro contrasts dynamics

focus Sense S4muli

juxtaposition

focal areas

equilibrium

closed composition

unity

harmony

variation

principles open composition

trompe l’oeil

repetition

balance symmetry

asymetrical

Summarizing Art and a Shif in Percep4on?

One of the first things a learner wan4ng to “think to learn” about art in the humani4es is to understand the focus of the text and that focus is “on concepts (formal elements and media s4muli) and percep4on, as well as on history, which fall within the scope of human endeavor. We are talking about a shif in percep4on (effect) in the presence artwork that is the direct outcome of the organiza4on and interpreta4on of stored concepts (knowledge -­‐ formal cri4cism) and history (contextual cri4cism). When in the presence of a piece of artwork, think of percep4on as the organiza4on and interpreta4on of sensory data (s4muli) in terms past experience (prior knowledge).

You will be organizing and interpre4ng what you see, hear, or feel (the artwork) and that organiza4on and interpreta4on will draw on your prior knowledge (what you learned in the textbook -­‐ the formal elements and sensory s4muli, for examples)

Those endeavors deal with the “fundamental characteris4cs that make us human -­‐ our ability to intuit and to symbolize. The humani4es cons4tute a larger whole into which the arts fit as one piece” (text).

Reading and Wri4ng Support for Transfer Learning in Entry-­‐Level Courses (the defined goal of college readiness)

Reading and wri4ng support of entry-­‐level courses begins by helping the learner learn how to construct a conceptual framework (“big picture”) of the content about to be learned that enables the learner to understand the entry-­‐level courses content in the context of a conceptual framework – cri4cal for cri4cal thinking and problem solving.

The support con4nues with with helping the learner learn how to reflect on what they are learning in the entry-­‐level course. Reflec4on is built around inquiry, re-­‐ exposure with elabora4on (connec4ng to prior knowledge), and clarifica4on and organiza4on (wri4ng).