Thinking Skills and Creativity in the Internet Age
| Module title | Thinking Skills and Creativity in the Internet Age |
|---|---|
| Module code | EFPM916 |
| Academic year | 2019/0 |
| Credits | 30 |
| Module staff | Dr Judith Kleine Staarman (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 15 |
|---|
Module description
In this module you will learn about teaching thinking and creative thinking in the context of the new models of education emerging in the Internet Age. You will explore answers to the questions of what teaching thinking means now, what the relationship is between thinking and creativity and dialogue and between teaching thinking and creativity and networked technology.
You will find out about a number of approaches to teaching thinking exploring both the practices and the ideas behind them. The practical approaches you look at will depend on your interests and those of the group of students with you. They will include some or all of: Philosophy for Children, ‘Thinking Together’, ‘Learning to Learn Together (L2L2)’, 21st Century Skills, Metacognition, Group Cognition and Thinking Schools. You will look at a range of different learning theories in an attempt to understand education for thinking, creativity and dialogue in the internet age. You will also have the opportunity to experience collaborative knowledge creation mediated by online tools and to develop a specific approach to teaching (creative) thinking and dialogue for your own educational context.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This module will enable you to develop your own understanding of what thinking skills and creative thinking are, whether and how we can teach for thinking and creativity and how teaching thinking relates to dialogue and networked technologies. You will also learn about the implications of the Internet Age for teaching and learning. The module will equip you with knowledge and understanding of a range of different theories and contemporary approaches to thinking skills. It will also introduce you to research on teaching thinking and creativity within the context of the internet age. It will be an excellent preparation for either developing and applying your own approach to teaching thinking in your own educational context or for continuing to further research and you will gain a good understanding of issues around thinking skills and creativity.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Demonstrate the ability to reflect on and critically evaluate claims that have been made about teaching thinking, and creativity;
- 2. Demonstrate the ability to examine and critically evaluate various accounts of the relationship between cognition, networked communication technologies and social context;
- 3. Demonstrate a systematic conceptual understanding of theories of social and meditational aspects of learning;
- 4. Demonstrate the ability to relate this knowledge in a critical and self-aware way to the practice of teaching and learning and furthermore of thinking as a subject in its own right;
- 5. Demonstrate the ability to evaluate and critique the arguments and the ideas around the development of dispositions, habits, skills and strategies in the context of the Internet Age (or 21st Century skills) in order to form your own original synthesis;
- 6. Demonstrate your originality and self-direction in dealing with complex issues by identifying dispositions, habits, skills and strategies for the Internet Age and applying these to other curriculum areas and to 'real-world' problems;
- 7. Demonstrate your originality and self-direction in dealing with complex issues by identifying dispositions, habits, skills and strategies for the Internet Age and applying these to other curriculum areas and to 'real-world' problems;
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 8. Demonstrate the ability to review and evaluate critically current research and advanced scholarship relevant to the module content through close analysis of practice and theory;
- 9. Demonstrate awareness of ethical issues in relevant areas of the study and be able to discuss these in relation to personal beliefs and values;
- 10. Demonstrate the ability to critique theory, policy and research orally and in writing, drawing on relevant reading and research;
- 11. Demonstrate the ability to apply research-informed knowledge to evaluate ongoing school-based programmes;
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 12. Demonstrate the ability to make sound judgements in the absence of complete data based upon critical reflection; and
- 13. Demonstrate the independent learning ability required for continuing professional development.
Syllabus plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:
The first cluster of sessions will focus on several theories underlying the idea of teaching thinking in the context of the Internet Age. You will engage with theories of thinking and teaching thinking, as well as theories in creativity and creative thinking, including theories linking communications technology and social networks, group learning theories and theories of cognition and meta-cognition.
In the second cluster of sessions, you will be introduced to a number of approaches to teaching thinking, including group thinking, and creative thinking and you will be asked to consider the relationship between teaching thinking and the wider school culture. You will also be able to discuss and reflect on possible education futures in relation to teaching thinking and creativity and focus on new directions in teaching thinking and new research on thinking skills and cognition.
There will be plenty of opportunity to discuss ideas with peers, both through online media and face-to-face in seminars.
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 30.5 | 269.5 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 30.5 | 10 sessions of 3 hours each. Face-to-face seminars (Campus) and online moderated seminars or webinars (Online) 1 x 0.5 hour tutorial |
| Guided Independent Study | 10 | Reading or viewing tasks given as preparation before sessions |
| Guided Independent Study | 10 | Commenting online in response to specific tasks given in sessions. |
| Guided Independent Study | 100 | Supervised research for the essay task |
| Guided Independent Study | 30 | Supervised research for the presentation to peers |
| Guided Independent Study | 50 | Participation in wiki |
| Guided Independent Study | 69.5 | Guided online research and discussion |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outline plan for the essay | 500 words | 3,4,5 | Written/ verbal feedback from tutor |
| Presentation of work to peers | 10 minute oral presentation (500 word equivalent) 10 minutes questions | 1-8 | Peer or tutor feedback |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theorised essay | 60 | 4000 words | 1-13 | Written |
| Collaborative digital assessment | 30 | 2500 words | 1-13 | Written |
| Reflective summary of contributions to online discussions | 10 | 500 words | 1-13 | Written |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theorised essay | Theorised essay (4000 words) | 1-13 | 6 weeks |
| Individual digital assessment | Collaborative wiki (2500 words) | 1-13 | 6 weeks |
| Reflective summary of contributions to online discussions | 500 words | 1-13 | 6 weeks |
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Banaji, S. & Burn, A. (2010) (2ndedition) The Rhetorics of Creativity: A Review of the Literature, London, Arts CouncilEngland. http://www.creativitycultureeducation.org/research-impact/exploreresearch/the-rhetorics-of-creativity-a-literature-review,58,RAR.html
Beghetto, R. A., & Kaufman, J. C. (2007). Toward a broader conception of creativity: A case for 'mini-c' creativity. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 1(2), 73-79
Boden, M. (2004) The Creative Mind: Myths and Mechanisms, (2nded) London: Routledge
Brown, John Seely and Douglas Thomas. (2011). A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change. CreateSpace.
Craft, A. (2005). Creativity in Education: tensions and dilemmas. Abingdon: RoutledgeFalmer
Dweck, C. S. (2012). Mindset: How You Can Fulfil Your Potential. London: Constable & Robinson Limited.
Flynn, J. R. (2009). What Is Intelligence: Beyond the Flynn Effect(expanded paperback ed.). Cambridge:Cambridge University Press.
Larkin, S. (2010). Metacognitionin Young Children. London: Routledge
Lucas, B. and Claxton, G. (2010) New Kinds of Smart; How the science of learnable intelligence if changing education. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Littleton, K. and Mercer, N. (2013). Interthinking: Putting talk to work. Abingdon: Routledge.
Perkins, D. N. (1995). Outsmarting IQ: The Emerging Science of Learnable Intelligence. New York: Free Press.
Salomon, Gavriel (1997). Distributed cognitions: Psychological and educational considerations. Cambridge University Press.
Sternberg (ed). Handbook of Creativity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Trilling, B & P. Hood, (2001) “Learning, Technology and Education Reform in the Knowledge Age, or ‘We’re Wired, Webbed and Windowed, Now What?’”, in C. Paechter, R. Edwards, R. Harrison, & P. Twining, (Eds.), Learning, Space and Identity, Paul Chapman Publishing & The Open University, London, UK, 2001. Also at: http://www.wested.org/cs/we/view/rs/654
UNESCO (2005). Towards Knowledge Societies: Unesco World Report. [www.unesco.org/en/worldreport]
Wegerif, R.B. (2011). Towards a dialogic theory of how children learn to think. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 6(3), 179-190.
Wegerif, R. (2013). Dialogic: Education for the Internet Age. London and New York: Routledge.
Wegerif, R, Kaufman, J. C. & Li , L., (2015) Routledge International Handbook of Research on Teaching Thinking. Routledge.
| Credit value | 30 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 15 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 7 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 25/05/2018 |
| Last revision date | 29/03/2019 |
