Higher Thinking Skills Through IT-based Projects  

There are four types of IT-based projects which can effectively be used in order to engage students in activities of a higher plane of thinking. To be noted id the fact that these projects differ in the specific process and skills employed, also in the ultimate activity or platform used to communicate completed products to others.

            It is to be understood that these projects do not address all of the thinking skills shown previously in the Thinking Skills Framework. But these projects represent constructivist project.

            Key Elements of a constructivist approach:

          a)  The teacher creating the learning environment.

          b)  The teacher giving students the tool.

          c)  The teacher facilitating learning.

THE FOUR IT-BASED PROJECTS CONDUCIVE TO DEVELOP HIGHER THINKING SKILLS AND CREATIVITY AMONG LEARNERS

1. RESOURCE BASED PROJECTS

• The teacher steps out of the traditional role of being an content expert and information provider, and instead lets students find their own facts and information.
• The general flow of events in these projects are:

           1. The teacher determines the topic for the examination of the class. (e.g definition of a "man")

           2. The teacher presents the problem to the class.

           3. The student find information in response to the problems or questions.

• The central principle is to make students go beyond the textbook and curriculum materials. Students also encouraged to go to the library ,particularly to the modern extension of the modern library, the internet.
• Furthermore, the inquiry-based or discovery approach is given importance in resource-based projects.This requires the students, individually or cooperatively with members of his group, relate gathered information to the real world.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TRADITIONAL 

AND RESOURCE-BASED LEARNING APPROACH TO INSTRUCTION.

    TRADITIONAL LEARNING MODEL                RESOURCE-BASED LEARNING MODEL

Teacher is expert and information provider.                 Teacher is a guide and facilitator                       

Textbook is the key of source                                       Source are varied (print, video, internet, etc..)

Focus on facts information                                            Focus on learning inquiry                                                                  

        is packaged in neat parcels                                                  / quest/ discovery                              

The product is the be-all                                                Emphasis on process                                     

        and end-all of learning.                         

Assessment is quantitative.                                           Assessment is quantitative and qualitative.   

2. SIMPLE CREATIONS

              Students can also be assigned to create their software materials to supplement the need and relevant and effective materials.There are available software materials such as;                                                            

                             Creative writer (by Microsoft)on writing                      

                             KidWork Deluxe (by Davidson) on drawing and painting              

                             MediaWeave (by Humanities software) on multimedia.
               Creating is more consonant with planning , making, assembling, designing or building.Creativity is said to combine three kind of skills or abilities:

• Analyzing- distinguishing similarities and differences/ seeing the project as a problem to be solved.    
• Synthesizing- making spontaneous connections among ideas, thus generating interesting or new ideas.
• Promoting- selling of new ideas to allow the public to test the ideas themselves.        

     To develop the creativity, the following are the 5 keys tasks may be recommended:

                        1.Define the task

                        2.Brainstorm

                        3.Judge the ideas

                        4.Act

                        5.Adopt Flexibility

3. Guided Hypermedia Projects

               The production of self-made multimedia projects can be approaches in 2 different ways:

•  As an instructive tool, such as in the production by students of a power- point presentation of a selected topic.
•  As a communication tool, such as when students do a multimedia presentation ( with text, graphs, photos, audio, narration, interviews, video clips, etc. to stimulate a television news show.

HYPER STUDIO ( by Roger Wagner Productions) software is an example of a multimedia software.

4. Web -Based Projects

              Students can be made create and post web pages on a given topic. But creating web pages, even single page web pages may be too sophisticated and time consuming for the average student.

Reference: EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY 2

 PAZ LUCIDO, Ph. D

p. 46-54