Promoting Higher Level Thinking

From: Center for Faculty Innovation (CFI)

A goal of most instructors is to help their students become effective analytical thinkers and real-world problem solvers. This workshop conducted by Mike Pavelich, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at the Colorado School of Mines, will explore how we can more deliberately and consistently achieve this within our courses.

Blosser's Taxonomy defines these as Convergent and Evaluative Thinking. We will work with the taxonomy to identify traits of each type of thinking and develop questions for use in our specific courses. We will discuss the problem of giving students "tricky" questions and work out possible solutions.

Participants from all disciplines will leave with new insights into student thinking, with questions they can use in their courses to inspire higher-level thinking and with strategies for working with students to maximize buy-in.

Register now for this informative and thought provoking workshop beneficial for instructors from all disciplines!
(http://www.jmu.edu/cfi/maysymposium/higherlevelthinking.html)

Details:
Date: Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Time: 9:30 - 12:00 (Includes breakfast (8:30-9:30) AND light lunch (12-1) in Taylor 405)

Location: Taylor 306

Facilitator:
Mike Pavelich, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at the Colorado School of Mines, has been active in engineering education and chemical education circles for 35 years.

This event is part of the annual JMU May Symposium, a collection of diverse professional development activities during the week after graduation. Check out the JMU May Symposium Website for more information. (http://www.jmu.edu/cfi/maysymposium)