Sample Offerings
The Critical Thinking Consortium invites teachers to engage in continuing professional development that will excite educators and empower students as learners. TC² facilitators will work with teams of teachers to nurture critical thinking as a foundation of educational practice in classrooms. Workshops, implementation, collaborative mentoring and resource development are part of TC²’s approach to supporting professional growth.
Possible workshop and/or focus group sessions
Embedding Critical Thinking (Elementary or Secondary)
These sessions support teachers in developing their understanding of critical thinking and learning to tweak their current practice to enrich student learning and foster critical thinking across the curriculum. Over time, teachers learn to readily recognize opportunities for critical thinking and to develop their own critical challenge across the curriculum. TC² critical thinking support resources are available.
Building Social Responsibility (Elementary)
These sessions focus on building a community of caring and acceptance. They address problem solving and decision making in the social context of schools. Teachers interested in strategies and activities that assist students to withhold judgment, refrain from impulsivity, develop empathy and make thoughtful decisions will find these sessions relevant, informative and immediately useful.
Critical Literacy (Grades K-4)
Literacy is not simply decoding. Literacy is thinking and making meaning. A critical thinking approach to literacy is based on the development of specific competencies that assist students to become independent problem solvers with text. Critical literacy development is supported by Thoughtful Books resources. Thoughtful Books are resource guides for selected children’s literature, designed to develop critical literacy and to promote social responsibility. Opportunities are available for teachers to pilot these resources in their classroom.
Assessment as Learning (Elementary or Secondary)
When assessment becomes instruction, the continuum of student performance requires performance-based assessment. These sessions demonstrate how critical challenges provide support for students and teachers to implement effective peer and self-assessment. The effective use of critical thinking assessment rubrics moves the focus from seeking the right answer to the quality of the students’ response.
Historical Thinking (Secondary)
Historical thinking identifies six concepts that underpin our ability to think historically. Each concept serves as an entry point to engage students in thinking critically about history. In this workshop participants will examine these concepts and discover new ways to engage and challenge students. A TC² support resource is available.
Special Topics (Elementary or Secondary)
These customized sessions extend the principles of critical thinking into specialized areas of particular interest to participants. These could include Mathematics, Social Studies, Global Education, Leadership and may be specially designed to meet educators needs and interests.
The last two years working on this project has truly been the most effective PD I have ever been involved with. The TC² model of implementing critical thinking for even the very youngest students is understandable, doable and inspirational! It’s become a way of life for me as a teacher and I’m very grateful for all the work you all do.
-Dixie Davis, primary teacher southern Alberta
