Critical+Thinking+Project+by+Chauncey+Monte-Sano

Nathaniel MacDonald Teaching Literacy Article Review Chauncey Monte-Sano, “Beyond Reading Comprehension and Summary: Learning to Read and Write in History by Focusing on Evidence, Perspective, and Interpretation,” //Curriculum Inquiry// Vol. 41 Issue 2, (March 2011)

Chauncey Monte-Sano wrote this article explaining how critical thinking has waned in the classroom, and how action should be taken to bring it back. In order to study this, Monte-Sano analyzed the content being taught in several classrooms, and noticed that when assigned critical thinking tests, the students did poorly, because they could not draw their own conclusions throughout history. This is important for students of all ages, but it becomes even more critical when they get older, so they can apply what they have learned in real life situations. After being taught how to critically think more, Monte-Sano noticed that students were able to connect to historical situations, draw their own conclusions, and implement what they have learned in situations they encountered.

I really liked this article, because it reinforced my wish to make students better thinkers outside of the classroom. I don't know what she asked on the tests specifically, I feel that they proved her point fairly well: students need to learn how to draw connections while studying history. I would like to know how she developed her tests to align with state standards, and I would also like to know if this would help them on the regents exams, or if this style of thinking is more useful outside of the classroom.

This article was really enjoyable for me, because I am really glad to see other teachers trying to implement critical thinking into their classrooms. I wish I could get my hands on the tests that were assigned, but in the end I feel that if I use classroom discussion, personalized essays, and debate, critical thinking will have to be used, and it will help my students much more down the road than rote memorization. I also wish to link this with my reenactment article, and provide hands on activities in my classroom to help with critical thinking. This way, students will learn apply the lessons in life, and they will see that social studies doesn't have to be boring textbook work!

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