California Educator

vested interest in this issue? By asking these questions, students are t hin k ing ab out t he informat ion and not just memor izing it. They are synthesizing, internalizing a n d e v a l u at i n g i t . A n d b e c au s e o f thes e things, there is a much b etter chance that they will remember it. Lantos defines critical thinking as the ability to make connections. "I'm convinced that when you're listening to good teaching, you hear a familiar re f r ai n ," he s ay s . "It go e s l i ke t h is : 'What is the connection between … and …? ' Teachers need to create an academic environment in which stud e nt s c an s i f t t h rou g h t h e m a s s of facts being hurled at them and begin t o p e r c e i v e p at hw ay s o f i nt e r c o n nectedness." Lantos finds it ironic that students b e g i n l e ar n i ng by m a k i ng c on n e c tions. " They're taught to check their subtraction by adding. They can see Turn students into teachers In a normal high school classroom students are expected to do very little and teachers do most of the work, says Jack Stanford, an English teacher at Palm Springs High School. But when you put them to work, amazing things happen. For example, students went from writing four essays per year to writing 22 without him spending extra hours reading, critiquing and grading them. That's because students are grading each other — and becoming critical thinkers in the process. Stanford, a Palm Springs Teachers Association member, created an ingenious system where students evaluate one another's essays using a detailed rubric. Writers are judged on whether their argument is convincing, their evidence is compelling, or their paper contains too many errors. Students use code names and usually those doing the grading are in a different period than those being graded. If students don't agree with the grade, they can challenge it, and Stanford has the final say. "It changes my role from someone who dispenses all the wisdom and knowledge to someone who makes sure that scoring is done correctly," he says. "And it takes a lot of critical thinking skills for students to organize their thoughts and grade each other. The kids like it and I think it helps them. They learn more from this than just turning in an assignment and seeing my copious comments all over it." "I like it because we can reflect upon what others have written and see where they need help," says Kerresa Robinson, a junior. "And you pay more attention to the comments from your fellow students." She finishes grading an essay and explains she has given it a score of 6 out of 9. "He had good verbs and a good plan of attack, but it needed more work. The prompt was vague and the evidence wasn't convincing. He needed more names and quotes." "I want them to be better readers, but first they have to be critical thinkers," says Stanford. "When they read a book, they have to be aware of the language, the rhetorical strategies of the writer, and the message. Hopefully words won't just wash over them while they read, and they will look for more than what's going to happen next." june 8-21 June.09.indd 13 2009 | www.cta.org 13 6/4/09 1:57:38 PM

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