Learning and Leading - November 2009

Cool Tools for

Problem Solving and Critical Thinking

While I was helping to write rubrics for the NETS•S, one question that came up for every standard was, “What does technology have to do with the focus of the particular standard?” Many technology tools support the processes involved in all three aspects of Standard 4—Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making. There are also tools for data collection, visualization, and analysis.

My rubrics co-writers (David Barr and Lajeane Thomas) and I realized that the field of computer science has also contributed many useful concepts and tools for these skills, captured under the term computational thinking. According to Jeannette Wing from Carnegie Mellon University, who coined the phrase, computational thinking represents a universally applicable skill set that everyone, not just computer scientists, would be eager to learn and use (http://portal. acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1118178.1118215). The concepts and tools mainly have to do with abstraction and automation, two very important processes in solving complex real-world problems, especially problems that involve huge amounts of data.

According to Pat Phillips from Microsoft, who writes and presents on the topic, the underlying idea in computational thinking is developing models and simulations of problems. One of her strategies for teachers to encourage computational thinking is to use simulations and modeling for each subject area. Under the sponsorship of Microsoft, she has created a list of resources available through the Computer Science Teachers Association website for computational thinking in language arts,

mathematics, life and physical sciences, computer science, and fine arts ( http://csta.acm.org/ Resources/sub/ HighlightedResources.html).

I found a great resource on her list. Your Take. org has a free (until June 2010) collaborative problem-solving tool called SCAN, an acronym for their problem-solving process: Stop and think things through; Clarify the key issues; Ask yourself what’s most important; Now, what is your next step? The SCAN method includes examining issues, forming opinions, understanding others, and assessing your work. There are more than 100 entries in the SCAN database, including lessons for a variety of content areas, current events, violence prevention strategies, and life skills. Lessons cover technology such as cell phones in the schools, incriminating Facebook photos, cyberbullying, and ethical issues such as plagiarism. The standards they list are the old NETS•S, but the correlations with the new NETS•S are amazing. There is also a great quiz to help students discover more about how they think and collaborate. Students can quiz themselves on how good they are at involving others, getting the right information, prioritiz-ing, planning, listening, and asking questions.

I invite you to write an article for L&L about successful classroom experiences with these tools or with any of the other tools you find through Phillips’ lists. Please also contribute to the NETS•S implementation wiki (http:// nets-implementation.iste.wikispaces.net).

I also encourage you to explore computational
thinking, how it affects your subject area, and how
to teach students more about this important topic.

ISSUE ORIENTED

By Anita McAnear

Anita McAnear is L&L’s acquisitions editor and national program chair for NECC. A former middle school math and language arts teacher, McAnear has been with ISTE since 1983.