Guided+Discovery

=Guided Discovery of the Continuum for //Literacy with ICT//= Below are instructions on how to create and facilitate the following professional learning experience that we will do together today, "//Guided Discovery of the LwICT Continuum//".

To actively engage participants in a problem-solving situation that explores the structure of the continuum, and the text of each descriptor. To provide a forum for professional discussion and debate of the stages of thinking and learning as represented in the developmental continuum for //Literacy with ICT Across the Curriculum//. To give participants a sense of the process used to develop the continuum.
 * GOAL of this Professional Learning Experience (PLE)**

media type="custom" key="4203311" for Literacy with ICT Across the Curriculum– pages 19-23, 12, 15, and 17
 * Continuum Connections**


 * Time** – approximately 60 minutes

> .
 * Materials**
 * **Facilitator**: enlarged version of the continuum ‘puzzle’ and enough wall space to stick up the enlarged pieces - [refer to the media type="custom" key="4203315" BLM and the media type="custom" key="4203331" BLM to create enough puzzle sets for each group of two or three participants; this must be prepared well in advance]
 * **Participant**: (groups of two to three participants) copies of the continuum ‘puzzle’; laminated Black & White versions of the continuum for the self-check; copies of the Alan November article Teaching Zack to Think (if you write for and obtain his permission), or the URL for each group to access the article online.

November, Alan. Teaching Zack to Think. November Learning. ©2005. . October 5, 2005.
 * URL(s)**

> - Ask groups to place the title on top of the space they have for the reconstruction and to organize the cognitive domain above the affective domain. Have them reflect on the meanings of these terms. > - review the meaning of the title ‘Literacy with ICT’ [in literacy with ICT, the emphasis is on 21st century literacy, as achieved through Information and Communication Technology ICT, NOT on the technical skills of ICT literacy] > - cognitive domain – ask participants to contribute what they think of when they hear the word ‘cognitive’ [comes from a root word that refers to critical and creative thinking] > - affective domain – ask participants to contribute what they think of when they hear the word ‘affective’ [comes from a root word that refers to feelings, attitudes, beliefs, values] > - point out glossary terms: cognitive & affective [from the website for Literacy with ICT and on your ‘word wall’] > - Ask groups to sort out the 9 big ideas into those that they think belong in the cognitive domain and those that they think belong in the affective domain. There will likely be debate about where Communicate, Reflect, and Collaboration belong. Reassure participants that the placement of these ‘big ideas’ was solely a pragmatic decision, not an ‘empirical truth’, and that development team members struggled with this for a long time, finally coming to this consensus. > - Refer to the comparative chart entitled Literacy with ICT and Inquiry Processes Across the Curriculum (see page 12 of the Handbook) and pose the following **guiding questions:** > Knows – Comprehends – Becomes Aware > Analyzes – Applies – Believes > Synthesizes – Evaluates – Values > - Direct participants to place the three developmental stages in order, from simplest to most complex. > - Refer to the Stages of Thinking diagram on page 15 of the Handbook > cognitive [based on Bloom’s Taxonomy, see page 20 of the Handbook] > affective [based on Krathwohl’s Taxonomy, see page 22 of the Handbook] > - Before turning the groups ‘loose’ to organize the 27 groups of descriptors within the matrix of the continuum, give clues like > look for key words in the descriptors that match the 9 big ideas > look for ‘thinking verbs’ in the descriptors that correspond to the 3 stages, based on Bloom’s Taxonomy, and point out the ‘thinking stages diagram’
 * Directions**
 * Divide participants into pairs, or groups of no more than three. Each group must have enough table space to reconstruct the continuum. To each group, distribute a continuum ‘puzzle’ containing four nested envelopes.
 * Direct the groups NOT to open the envelopes until you instruct them to do so.
 * Advise participants that the purpose of this task is their engagement in the process, the final product and the ‘right answer’ is not what is important, as the continuum has already been developed ;-)
 * Conduct a guided discovery and reconstruction of the developmental continuum for Literacy with ICT Across the Curriculum by building the continuum structure piece by on the wall or on a chart stand using blue sticky tack to hold up large-sized versions of the Title and Domains, Big Ideas, and Stages as described below:
 * **Instruct each group to open envelope #1** – Title and Domains
 * **Instruct each group to open envelope #2** – 9 big ideas and critical inquiry process (9 rows of the vertical dimension of the continuum)
 * 1) What is critical inquiry? [critical inquiry is the process of posing questions (KWL), planning a way to answer the questions; collecting, organizing, and analyzing information needed to answer the questions; making a representation of your understanding of the answer; communicating your understanding to others; and reflecting recursively on the process]
 * 2) How does critical inquiry connect with curricular outcomes/processes in ELA, math, science, and social studies? [in Manitoba curriculum, ELA=inquiry; math=problem-solving; science=scientific inquiry; social studies=managing ideas and information]
 * **Instruct each group to open envelope #3** – 3 stages of critical and creative thinking and of becoming aware, forming beliefs, and acquiring values (3 columns of the horizontal dimension of the continuum)
 * **Instruct each group to open envelope #4** – 27 groups of descriptors (9 Big Ideas X 3 Stages = 27 groups of descriptors in the continuum)
 * **Walking around to the groups** to clear up any difficulties/misconceptions. Allow groups to work at their own speed.
 * **Checking ‘Answers’** – as each group is ‘finished’ reconstructing their continuum, give them a copy of the [|continuum]to self-check their answers
 * **"//Teaching Zack to Think//"** – as each group is finished self-checking their answers, ask them to read the Alan November [|article] Teaching Zack to Think to emphasize the need for teachers to reclaim their proper role in advancing the development of critical thinking (NOT technical skills.)

This professional learning experience is best done immediately before the one entitled Digital Citizenship.
 * Tips for Facilitators**


 * Debriefing**
 * **supporting skills** – discuss how the [|supporting skills] on the reverse side of the continuum poster are used to provide scaffolding for students in Literacy with ICT, (compare to how a novel study is scaffolded with instruction and experiences that help student understand the ‘tools’ needed for novel study, such as character, plot, setting, etc)
 * **Gradual Release of Responsibility** – discuss the process of [|Gradual Release of Responsibility] and how it applies to the Developmental Continuum for Literacy with ICT (see page 17 of the Handbook)
 * **Teaching Zack to Think** – invite participants to share ideas stimulated by reading this [|article](there will likely be much heated discussion on this topic, which will lead nicely into the professional learning experience on Digital Citizenship)

Move immediately into the Literacy with ICT professional learning experience on Digital Citizenship.
 * Extending the Learning Experience**

Refer participants to the //Handbook for Literacy with ICT Across the Curriculum//– pages 19-23, 12, 15, and 17.
 * Suggested Readings**