Thinking Skills for the 21st Century: Teaching for Transfer

Sunday, 16 February 2014: 8:30 AM-11:30 AM
Comiskey (Hyatt Regency Chicago)
A key factor in meeting global challenges is producing college graduates that can use their knowledge and skills; they can synthesize and evaluate, problem solve, and create. When most academic faculty began their careers, little was known about how to develop such skills in students, but these are no longer pie-in-the-sky dreams. Robust empirical evidence indicates that learning environments can be structured in ways that promote such higher order thinking. Cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal skills that support transfer of knowledge and skills to new situations can be taught, along with content. This is true for all students, not just those that are already high achievers. This session updates faculty on the instructional features known to develop students’ abilities to apply their knowledge and skills in new contexts. Not only will those features be explored, they will be demonstrated within the design of the session; presentations will be kept to a minimum. Participants will be engaged through individual and small group work, will have several opportunities to practice using their new knowledge, and will receive feedback on their performance. Faculty will leave the session having learned six features of instructional design that promote higher-order thinking, having experienced such design features, and having applied their new knowledge to their own classrooms.
Organizer:
Amy B. Mulnix, Earlham College
Co-Organizer:
Eleanor V.H. Vandegrift, University of Oregon
Speakers:
Amy B. Mulnix, Earlham College
What Does 'Teaching for Transfer' Mean?
Eleanor V.H. Vandegrift, University of Oregon
The Interactive Classroom
S. Raj Chaudhury, Auburn University
Using Technology to Foster Transfer
Jennifer R. Yates, Ohio Wesleyan University
Creating Opportunities for Practice-with-Feedback
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