Infusing Thinking Skills in Teaching Literature in English: A Pilot Program

1. ג'ודי שטיינר מפמ"רית על הוראת האנגלית רמת רחל 29 במאי 2008 כנס מחוזי מנהלים על יסודיים ומנהלי מחלקות חינוךהתחדשות בחינוך

2. In my talk today… • How it all began • About the pilot • About HOTS and their application • Future directions

4. The Pilot:The Literature Module Program 11th grade students taking the five-point Bagrut in Winter 2009, instead of module F • Learning Log • External written exam

5. Comparing Classifying Making connections Parts and whole Defining different perspectives Sequencing Uncovering motives Causal explanation Predicting Generating possibilities Solving problems Synthesizing Application HOTS that are being used for infusing thinking skills in teaching Literature in English

6. Components of Teaching Literature Integrating HOTS • Pre-Reading Activity • Basic Understanding (LOTS) • While-Reading Response • Analysis and Interpretation (HOTS) • Bridging Text and Context • Post-Reader Response • Reflection

7. Venn Diagram

8. Problem Solution 1 Solution 2 Solution 3 Chosen solution Problem – Solution Possible solutions

10. Integration of HOTS with the different domains Meitzav examinations Coursebooks Teacher Training Future Directions Weaving Thinking Skills into the Tapestry of English Teaching

11. “While at first I felt a little deceived by the course, as it seemed to be dealing with thinking skills rather than literature, I am now beginning to believe that this could be exactly what teaching EFL in Israel really needs.” “As we go on with these sessions, the English staff has begun using the HOTS and LOTS not only with the 11th grade classes. The questions have begun to seep into other levels also, since we find them useful for all classes.”

14. A Methodology for Teaching Thinking Skills Thinking skills can be taught in one of two ways: • Deductively - from the principles, rules, etc. to the specific instances of application. • Inductively - from the specific instances to the formulation of principles and rules.

15. The Different Stages:Introducing the Thinking Skill • Name the thinking skill • Describe and explain the thinking skill • Link the thinking skill to the learners’ life experience and academic content • Provide relevant vocabulary • Break the skill into component parts: the “how to” of the skill

16. Application of the Thinking Skill • Use and/or model the thinking skill (guided skill activity). • When possible, graphically/visually represent the skill (graphic organizers). • Apply the thinking skill to a new, content-specific situation or to a performance based task.

17. Reflection • Reflect on the demonstration and the individual application of the thinking skill. • Reflect on other uses and applications of this thinking skill. • Reflect on how well the thinking skill was applied and what can be done to improve one’s use.

18. Teaching is not simply the ability to create a fantastic lesson plan for one day: rather, it is the ability to weave various experiences together to form a tapestry that provides the opportunities for children to immerse themselves in quality literature and develop as sophisticated readers. Frank Serafini, University of Nevada

19. While at first I felt a little deceived by the course, as it seemed to be dealing with thinking skills rather than literature, I am now beginning to believe that this could be exactly what teaching EFL in Israel really needs. 

20. Sample Log Tasks for While-Reading Responses

21. Flashbacks/forwards: a very useful in technique in improvisation where you can ask groups to flash back or forward days, weeks months or years to other moments in the lives of the characters they are depicting. Post-Reading Activity

22. Basic Understanding of Text Teachers need to make sure that all students have understood the basic story line or literal meaning of a story, play or poem. This involves the use of lower-order thinking skills (LOTS).

23. Analysis and Interpretation Teachers need to analyze and interpret the text with their students. This requires the use of higher-order thinking skills (HOTS). HOTS need to be taught explicitly. HOTS can be taught before, during or after reading a text.

24. Bridging Text and Context Students will learn about the historical, social and cultural contexts of the text and its author and how these are reflected in the text or how they have influenced the writing of the text. This will deepen the students’ understanding and enjoyment of the text.

25. Reader Response Reader response enables students to pay attention to their reactions when reading a text and gain greater insight into what they are reading. There are three categories of reader response: • Pre- Reading Activity • While- Reading Response • Post- Reading Activity

26. Reflection Students reflect on their learning process after studying a literary text in three major areas: • reflection on how this process has influenced their reading of literature, giving specific examples. • reflection on the process of learning HOTS • reflection on the wider application of thinking skills.

28. The Learning Log A Learning Log is a journal which provides evidence of students' learning. The Log enables students to gain insights into the application of diverse strategies that can be used to analyze literature. It will also show how students become increasingly and actively involved in the process of learning both thinking skills and literature.

29. Literature Bagrut Exam • Students are given a short excerpt from a text followed by several focused lower and higher order questions. • Students are given an excerpt of a literary text studied in class. The students: • choose a HOTS from a list of the ten HOTS studied. • ask a question based on the HOTS they chose. • answer the question (60-80 words). • Students are given either a quotation or information about a text or author studied in class. Students explain how the information adds to their understanding of the text (60-80 words).

30. LOTS Surface-level, basic comprehension questions are considered to be Lower Order Thinking Skills.

31. HOTS Once a reader has mastered the basic understanding of a text, s/he is ready to move on to the next level which involves using that information in some way. This entails applying Higher Order Thinking Skills.