Course Syllabus

Course Title:

EPSY 5760: Teaching Thinking Skills

Course Description:

Whether in professional careers or daily life, contemporary society is increasingly in need of individuals proficient at good thinking –including problem solving skills, critical reasoning, creativity, and analysis, to name a few. If we, as a society, are in need of citizens with such skills, then as educators within that society it is our responsibility to do everything possible to nurture and develop those capabilities in students. This course will prepare educators to be both role models of good thinking and developers of such skills in students. The major purpose of this course is to study the theoretical and practical aspects of thinking skills instruction. Participants will learn how to prepare and deliver lessons that incorporate thinking skills instruction within the disciplines they teach. Participants will develop a grade level specific taxonomy of thinking skills, apply strategies that teach of, for, and about thinking, and organize a unit of instruction using a framework that promotes the use of thinking as students move toward enduring understandings.

Prerequisite(s):

All participants in this course should have prior teaching experience; current employment as a teacher, curriculum specialist, or g/t facilitator is strongly suggested. This course could be useful for parents who homeschool their children.

Instructor Information:

Name Jann H. Leppien, Ph.D.

Email jleppien@mt.net

Phone 406-771-0003 (home), 406-868-2757 (cell)

Course Goals:

1. Participants will acquire better understanding of human learning and intellectual development that will serve as a foundation for more responsible curriculum and instructional decision making.

2. Participants will develop a rationale that can be used to assist students in understanding the importance of clear thinking.

3. Participants will develop and practice the skills necessary for them to infuse good thinking into their respective curriculums and to bring the direct teaching of thinking skills into their classrooms. To this end, students will create and pilot units and/or lessons that apply the skills this course purports to develop. 4. Participants will develop a thinking skills taxonomy that can be used to guide classroom instruction. The taxonomy will identify, define, and proceduralize the skills, processes, and dispositions that are emphasized at a particular grade level.

Textbooks: Please purchase this text prior to the course.

Developing Minds: A Resource Book for Teaching Thinking, Arthur Costa (Ed), Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 3rd Edition, 2001, 0-87120-379-0

Course Requirements:

This course has been divided into 10 modules of instruction to guide you toward expertise in understanding thinking skills instruction. On Mondays, you need to log on and enter the appropriate weekly module. In this file, you will be given an overview of the module, the text articles that you will read, and a performance task that must be completed during the week with your students. The tasks that are required use a variety of instructional practices from sharing teaching strategies with other educators in this class to designing a thinking skill taxonomy that will be sent to the instructor via email attachments. In some instances, you will be given a week to complete the tasks, and for other assignments I have extended the duration of the readings and performance task to two weeks. I have intentionally designed the course in this manner so that you begin to use the recommended strategies outlined in the text and apply them to your educational setting. In essence, we all should grow throughout the semester as we interact with the course content, apply it to our classroom (educational) settings, and gain expertise and confidence in the teaching of thinking.

The approach used for meeting the course objectives is a combination of reading assignments, participation in classroom discussions, and performance tasks that require you to demonstrate understanding of a particular key concept, skill, or principle. These course assignments are outlined in each module.