MIT at KPMG Session One

After looking at my MIT moonshot and questioning my thinking I have decided to change my inquiry.

Working with Justine (a Corporate Citizen at KPMG) and thinking what is my actual problem?

I discovered that my actual problem is low student achievement- I then thought what is going to

be the best solution to my problem. After thinking about all the possible solutions we arrived at

the conclusion that focusing on CRITICAL THINKING within reading (I decided to choose reading

instead of the STEM as my students have two curriculum levels to 'catch up' too. We talked about

reading underpinning most curriculum areas at level 3 as students need to be able to access other

parts of the curriculum through reading. This seemed the most logical place to start if I focus on

critical thinking in reading it will 'spill' into my other curriculum areas too.

Problem: Students are not working at Level 3 of the New Zealand Curriculum

Possible Solution/ Focus: Students need to be able to think critically, a framework will help them do this

and will give them a consistent structure to respond to texts in a critical manner.

Possible Tool: Critical thinking framework for READING. Including all the comprehension strategies that

will allow students to think critically about the text. Students will use the framework to self-assess AND

peer assess.

What will help me develop my tool? Bloom's taxonomy, NZC, Literacy learning progressions, Duffy sheet,

Sheena cameron reading comprehension strategies.

Digital Technologies that will help me?

Site page with links to each comprehension strategy. How to? With a lesson example or teacher model? Videos?

Glossary:

Framework- a basic structure underlying a system, concept, or text.

Critical Thinking- the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment.

Problem Solving- the process of finding solutions to difficult or complex issues.

Straight out of the curriculum

"During these two years, students continue to develop their accuracy and fluency as readers of a variety of texts.

They increase their level of control and independence in selecting strategies for using texts to support their

learning. By the end of year 6, students are required to read longer texts more quickly and to select appropriate

strategies for different reading purposes more effectively than students in year 5.

When students at this level read, respond to, and think critically about texts, they will :

-Understand how they select from and use their repertoire of comprehension strategies, which include: making

connections between their prior knowledge and the concrete examples in a text in order to understand abstract

ideas in the text.

-Locating and summarising ideas (e.g., by skimming or scanning, by identifying key words, topic sentences,

and key questions, or by using subheadings).

- Drawing on several related items of information in order to infer ideas and information that are not directly

stated in the text.

-Evaluating and integrating ideas and information across a small range of texts;