Just a short question: Can we and should we assess student logic and reasoning? Why? Also, feel free to add anything that you have learned over the past two weeks.....................about life!!!
I think that it logic and reasoning is something important that children and students should learn. It may be a harder thing for someone to assess but at the same time important to teach and try to assess. It is important for children and students to know how to reason and the logic behind what they are reasoning. Without this ability students my just become robots moving through life without questioning why of how something is happening. Let’s take the election that has just passed, I found myself asking how. How are they going to make change, what are they going to change and why are they going to change it. If I never learned how or why it is important to ask the reasoning for different actions they I would have voted for whoever someone told me too. It is the same things for students. In my class I always model my thinking and reasoning’s, explaining why I am asking the questions I am thinking and my logic behind it. I feel that reasoning and logic allows more critical thinking and problem solving skills grow. Without the understanding of reason and logical thinking, critical thinking and problem solving skills would not happen and students would grow up never asking questions or questioning why things happen. Or they will grow up with a distorted logic and reasoning.
I agree with Meghan...it's probably difficult to assess, but something that should try to be assessed. Maybe hypothetical, open-ended questions about current events, etc. would be a good approach to see how students think and use logic to answer something? We can see the ideas generated and their thought process in open-ended assessment. Multiple-choice questions, in my opinion, aren't effective in assessing student logic and reasoning.
I feel that reasoning and logical thinking are very important for students to have and learn. They do not learn this type of thing overnight. It is a work in progress and continues to improve as the children learn and comprehend more things. I see my Second graders learn this by preparing for the cognitive Terra Nova Test. They must use logic and patterns to understand certain things. The way that they are prepared for this is by doing practice by working on other types of question somewhat like the ways that they are tested on. I think that it is important for students to think logically. The way that you can assess your students at an early age about logic and reasoning is by having your students take short essay, multiple choice , and essay question tests. I think that it is really important to expose young learners to different types of tests. If they start learning at a young age then it will come easy to them. I have learned since Hurricane Sandy not to take things for granted. Such as electricity. To be grateful for what we have in life.
I am always stressing logic and reasoning in my class, especially since it’s art. I want them to truly understand that these pictures were made for purpose and reason. I usually provide images or samples at the beginning of a lesson and I make sure I ask them how and why they think things are the way they are in the picture. You can do this with kindergarteners all the way up. With my older students I show them samples of work that wasn’t truly successful. I ask them what they think I would say worked and what did not work in a project and why. I don’t grade them on this sort of thing it’s more for my information and to get them to think.
I am not certain if logic can be taught or is developed through a continuing series of learning experiences that foster critical thinking and genuine reflection. The implications that logic can be taught suggests that there is only one reasonable answer or correct way to think in order to process information in efforts to achieve a particular learning goal. This flies in the face of differentiation. As teachers, we know that there is always more than one way to achieve learning outcomes. I think teacher time would be better spent having students explain their thinking and logic by providing sound rationales for their academic decision making. Our focus should be providing students with opportunities to develop and hone their critical thinking skills thereby increasing their logical cognitive processes, which would increase their ability to reason. Granted students can be taught the logical steps in a process but I have never attempted to teach logic as I believe most of my thinking boarders on the illogical when I am compared with someone that has mastered the fine art of linear thinking. I believe as students mature so should their ability to think and reason in a logical manner. But often times we tend to forget that too much emphasis on logical thinking can destroy a child’s ability to think creatively. This diminished creative thinking really begins to manifest itself in middle school. I think the ultimate goal would be to have students that can think both logically and creatively as necessary, without fearing their thinking may be considered incorrect. In fact it should be the catalyst to gain greater understanding through appropriate dialogue, questioning, and reflection.
I think that the ability to think and reason effectively is something that comes with practice. In my discipline, my students experience this by making connections and drawing conclusions about what they read. They learn that it is not enough to make statements or offer opinions. Their conclusions must be supported by a text and they must explain their reasoning behind their ideas. It takes time for them to be able to do this effectively, but they do get better with practice. It is not easy to assess students' thought processes, but it can be done using "open-ended" types of prompts and by allowing students to verbally defend their conclusions in an open forum. In this way, the students practice the "thinking" process that needs to occur in order to effectively reason out a problem. Modeling the process is essential.
What I loved about this Brookhart reading was that it not only made a case for WHY we need to assess reasoning, but it framed the way in which we can do so. In my opinion, we need only look at mass media to understand the importance of being able to use reason and logic to assess the validity of information and its application. I find it frightening how unquestioning we have become as a society. I find it frightening that my students are being taught that compliance with mainstream thinking is the key to success. If we do not only allow, but encourage our students to question us, where will we all end up? It is imperative to give our students the tools they need to think through situations; these include thinking about data and relationships to come to reasoned conclusions. Although few of us have been trained in logic, there are studies in this branch of thought going back to Aristotle. Incorporating this kind of training. We must help students avoid the pitfalls of false reasoning, making sure they can distinguish correlations from cause and effect, etc. This reading really make me decide to build some explicit lessons on reasoning into my argumentative writing unit.
I think that it logic and reasoning is something important that children and students should learn. It may be a harder thing for someone to assess but at the same time important to teach and try to assess. It is important for children and students to know how to reason and the logic behind what they are reasoning. Without this ability students my just become robots moving through life without questioning why of how something is happening. Let’s take the election that has just passed, I found myself asking how. How are they going to make change, what are they going to change and why are they going to change it. If I never learned how or why it is important to ask the reasoning for different actions they I would have voted for whoever someone told me too. It is the same things for students. In my class I always model my thinking and reasoning’s, explaining why I am asking the questions I am thinking and my logic behind it.
ReplyDeleteI feel that reasoning and logic allows more critical thinking and problem solving skills grow. Without the understanding of reason and logical thinking, critical thinking and problem solving skills would not happen and students would grow up never asking questions or questioning why things happen. Or they will grow up with a distorted logic and reasoning.
I agree with Meghan...it's probably difficult to assess, but something that should try to be assessed. Maybe hypothetical, open-ended questions about current events, etc. would be a good approach to see how students think and use logic to answer something? We can see the ideas generated and their thought process in open-ended assessment. Multiple-choice questions, in my opinion, aren't effective in assessing student logic and reasoning.
ReplyDeleteI feel that reasoning and logical thinking are very important for students to have and learn.
ReplyDeleteThey do not learn this type of thing overnight. It is a work in progress and continues to improve as the children learn and comprehend more things. I see my Second graders learn this by preparing for the cognitive Terra Nova Test. They must use logic and patterns to understand certain things. The way that they are prepared for this is by doing practice by working on other types of question somewhat like the ways that they are tested on. I think that it is important for students to think logically. The way that you can assess your students at an early age about logic and reasoning is by having your students take short essay, multiple choice , and essay question tests. I think that it is really important to expose young learners to different types of tests. If they start learning at a young age then it will come easy to them.
I have learned since Hurricane Sandy not to take things for granted. Such as electricity. To be grateful for what we have in life.
I am always stressing logic and reasoning in my class, especially since it’s art. I want them to truly understand that these pictures were made for purpose and reason. I usually provide images or samples at the beginning of a lesson and I make sure I ask them how and why they think things are the way they are in the picture. You can do this with kindergarteners all the way up. With my older students I show them samples of work that wasn’t truly successful. I ask them what they think I would say worked and what did not work in a project and why. I don’t grade them on this sort of thing it’s more for my information and to get them to think.
DeleteI am not certain if logic can be taught or is developed through a continuing series of learning experiences that foster critical thinking and genuine reflection. The implications that logic can be taught suggests that there is only one reasonable answer or correct way to think in order to process information in efforts to achieve a particular learning goal. This flies in the face of differentiation. As teachers, we know that there is always more than one way to achieve learning outcomes. I think teacher time would be better spent having students explain their thinking and logic by providing sound rationales for their academic decision making. Our focus should be providing students with opportunities to develop and hone their critical thinking skills thereby increasing their logical cognitive processes, which would increase their ability to reason. Granted students can be taught the logical steps in a process but I have never attempted to teach logic as I believe most of my thinking boarders on the illogical when I am compared with someone that has mastered the fine art of linear thinking. I believe as students mature so should their ability to think and reason in a logical manner. But often times we tend to forget that too much emphasis on logical thinking can destroy a child’s ability to think creatively. This diminished creative thinking really begins to manifest itself in middle school. I think the ultimate goal would be to have students that can think both logically and creatively as necessary, without fearing their thinking may be considered incorrect. In fact it should be the catalyst to gain greater understanding through appropriate dialogue, questioning, and reflection.
ReplyDeleteI think that the ability to think and reason effectively is something that comes with practice. In my discipline, my students experience this by making connections and drawing conclusions about what they read. They learn that it is not enough to make statements or offer opinions. Their conclusions must be supported by a text and they must explain their reasoning behind their ideas. It takes time for them to be able to do this effectively, but they do get better with practice. It is not easy to assess students' thought processes, but it can be done using "open-ended" types of prompts and by allowing students to verbally defend their conclusions in an open forum. In this way, the students practice the "thinking" process that needs to occur in order to effectively reason out a problem. Modeling the process is essential.
ReplyDeleteWhat I loved about this Brookhart reading was that it not only made a case for WHY we need to assess reasoning, but it framed the way in which we can do so. In my opinion, we need only look at mass media to understand the importance of being able to use reason and logic to assess the validity of information and its application. I find it frightening how unquestioning we have become as a society. I find it frightening that my students are being taught that compliance with mainstream thinking is the key to success. If we do not only allow, but encourage our students to question us, where will we all end up? It is imperative to give our students the tools they need to think through situations; these include thinking about data and relationships to come to reasoned conclusions. Although few of us have been trained in logic, there are studies in this branch of thought going back to Aristotle. Incorporating this kind of training. We must help students avoid the pitfalls of false reasoning, making sure they can distinguish correlations from cause and effect, etc. This reading really make me decide to build some explicit lessons on reasoning into my argumentative writing unit.
ReplyDelete