Analysis of Learning: Critical Thinking as Pedagogy in English Language Arts
In reflecting on my prior education, the tenth grade stands out as a defining moment in which my learning made a significant transition from merely learning material to being able to think critically about the material. This shift did not occur by myself, I am lucky to have been in Mrs. P.’s tenth-grade English class in which we examined literature that discussed themes I had never read, let alone discuss in a classroom setting. Mrs. P. did not focus solely on the material, but on how the material could encourage further lines of questioning that encouraged her students to change the way they viewed the world around them. As a pre-service teacher, it is now evident to me that Mrs. P. utilized the idea of creating critical thinkers as the core of her pedagogy and it is for that reason that she was such an effective educator.
I had spent the first nine years of my educational career in Catholic-based private schools in Halifax, Nova Scotia which undoubtedly had a large part in cultivating the student I am today. However, it was upon my transfer to a public High School for the tenth grade where the most pivotal moment of my education occurred in Mrs. P.’s English class. The schools I had attended previously were primarily focused on the transmission of knowledge with very little to do with the cultivation of critical thought on the material being shared. In 2015, the Council of Atlantic Ministers of Education and Training, or CAMET, finalized a set of skills students should be able to exercise by the time they graduate from the school system. In this list they titled Essential Graduation Competencies, critical thinking is among the six listed items with creativity and communication (CAMET, 2015). Mrs. P. introduced our tenth-grade class to the novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, with which we spent weeks studying the intricacies of the novel. Upon having ‘behind-the-scenes’ knowledge on the other side of education as a Pre-Service Teacher, I can see the expertise in the way Mrs. P. integrated a variety of educational principles and foundations in her lessons.
Bloom’s Taxonomy is an excellent resource for reference in which an educator can quickly determine what is an appropriate request of their student based on their stage of comprehension. The scale includes six levels, ranging from least to most complex: remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create. Over the weeks we studied this novel, we spent time on each categorization of thinking. The categories remember and understand were used during our reading of the novel while apply, analyze, evaluate, and create were used in the post-reading section of our study. It is difficult to be asked to create something before you have been able to analyze its meaning. In EDUC421a with Dr. Jennifer Mitton, we often discussed the ways of thinking and how they may increase understanding. Bloom’s Taxonomy describes the different stages in thinking in relation to complexity, while Burke wrote in 2008 about the various methods in which you may be able to stimulate the thinking process within this framework set out by Bloom. Burke’s ways of thinking can also be broken down into six actions: talking, writing, drawing, questioning, reading, and integrating (Burke, 2008). Mrs. P.expertly utilized these two principles in congruence with each other. We often spoke in groups to solidify our understanding; we applied real-world ideas to the novel and vice versa through writing and often created our own visualizations of the text through drawing. It is often difficult to picture how we may use these principles in the classroom, however with this experience with Mrs. P, I am confident I will be able to follow suit and use similar techniques to ensure my students are getting the most out of their material. As educators, we want our students to leave our classrooms and be able to use a variety of techniques to not only analyze and interpret the art they encounter, but also various types of media, news, and propaganda they will interact with so they may effectively, safely, and intelligently navigate the world around them.
In addition to the use of educational principles in the classroom, I also see the presence and value in the integration of principles for the educator in their craft from the Teaching Standards of Nova Scotia (NSTS) as well as the Bachelor of Education Program outcomes. Two of the standards are specifically reminiscent of my time in Mrs. P.’s class – the second and sixth items in the list: “(2) Teachers know their subjects and how to teach them. (6) Teachers model and promote professionalism in teaching” (Province of Nova Scotia, 2016). Firstly, Mrs. P. very skillfully utilized various techniques in the classroom to broaden our learning that displayed her thorough knowledge and understanding of her content. Second, even at fifteen years old, Mrs. P. treated me and my peers with respect. She valued our voices and would offer correction or guidance kindly and without judgment. She is and will continue to be the model example for me as I progress in my teaching career. There are two program outcomes in the Bachelor of Education program outcome document that I feel relate to the standards mentioned above: “3.3. The ability to organize safe and constructive learning environments based on educational principles of open-mindedness in communities of inquiry” as well as “4.5. Awareness of and skill in using appropriate instructional methods and models (e.g., experiential learning, cooperative learning, inquiry-based learning)” (Nova Scotia Teacher Education Program Outcomes, 2017). These are outcomes Mrs. P. nurtured in her classroom and her pedagogy that I value deeply as a future educator. Throughout my progression and development as an educator, I will continue to reflect on the ways in which she integrated these ideals so that I may follow suit.
It is without question that one of the most important reasons I am in the Bachelor of Education program is because of the influence Mrs. P. had on my learning. It is not only my goal to have this profound impact on my students but to ensure that I am providing the same quality of education I received in her class. She prioritized our critical thinking skills in various ways and contexts that allowed us to take them seamlessly outside the classroom and into our real lives. The world of today is one fraught with constant contradiction, false information, and propaganda from companies and governments alike. It is the duty of an educator to not only prepare students for their next destination whether it be post-secondary education or the workforce when they leave the grade school system but to also prepare them to be able to navigate the world around them on a day-to-day basis safely and intelligently.
References Burke, J. (2008). Chapter 9: Teaching thinking in the English classroom (pp. 238-248). English teacher’s companion (3rd ed.). Heinemann. Council of Atlantic Ministers of Education and Training. (2015). The Atlantic Canada Framework for Essential Graduation Competencies Nova Scotia Government. (2016). Nova Scotia Teaching Standards: Excellence in Teaching and Learning. Nova Scotia Government. (2017). DRAFT NOVA SCOTIA TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAM OUTCOMES. Saint Francis Xavier University. (2022). Bachelor of Education Handbook 2022-2023. University of Waterloo. (2015, August 25). Bloom’s Taxonomy. Centre for Teaching Excellence.
Artist Statement
This is an adaptation of an essay I had written for my Principles and Practices course taken in my first semester of the Bachelor of Education program at St.FX University. For the paper, I reflected on one of my favorite classes in high school and connected my experience with relevant literature and standards that I had encountered during my studies. In doing so, I discovered that the teacher I had for this class was an expert in her integration of policies and educational strategies into her classroom. She encouraged the development of our critical thinking skills every day through various mediums and activities. I had known since taking this class that I had wanted to be a teacher with the goal of changing my student’s worldview as she had done with mine, but through this deeper analysis through the eyes of a pre-service teacher I realized just how skillful she was from a professional standpoint as well. This essay is a written representation of a very foundational element of my pedagogy in response to a personal experience I have had in my own schooling experience.