While at my Professional Development this week, the focus was on student-centered classrooms, and the need to develop within students, critical thinking skills (among others). We met in groups and discussed why this is presenting a challenge to us. My group unanimously felt that a huge challenge was in that it is a culmination of problems. We all know that the tests have become a series of bubbles students need to fill in. Whatever happened to the writing part of the test? We have noticed a down-turn in our students' ability to write and construct well-written paragraphs and papers, because the focus has shifted. Writing is not "tested", and therefore is no longer a focus in the classroom, yet somehow we still expect our students to be able to write well. Impossible task? Perhaps, when we aren't giving our students the tools to be successful with their writing.
So how does this relate to critical thinking, you may be asking yourself. Can students truly be thinking critically when all they have to do is choose the correct answer and fill in a circle? Critical thinking really needs to be associated with constructed response, whether it be a paragraph or complete essay. Even our Science teachers would be willing to include more constructed response questions, if it weren't for one thing: frustration. Teahcers-ELA and other disciplines alike-get frustrated when reading constructed responses, trying to determine what students are trying to say, and just getting frustrated in the process. Solution? Bring writing back to the classrooms-real writing instruction-and strong constructed responses will follow. The payoff? Critical thinking skills will (should) improve because students will have the tools to critically respond in ALL subject areas-simply by bring writing back to the ELA classroom. We miss you, writing, please come back to us! :)
