Module 7 - Using the Seeing Reason Tool to Target Thinking Skills
Activity 7.3
Viewing Project Ideas
During this activity, you will identify the components of a good project, view examples, and brainstorm some ideas for integrating the Seeing Reason Tool into your project.
Step 1: Reviewing the Power of the Seeing Reason Tool
In Module 4, Bloom’s Taxonomy was used to consider the types of thinking that the Visual Ranking Tool could support. Let’s take a look at another model, Costa and Kallick’s Habits of Mind, to review the range of thinking that could be supported by the Seeing Reason Tool.
| Uses of Seeing Reason Classified by Costa and Kallick's Habits of Mind | |
|---|---|
Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and Precision | • Communicating ideas clearly in writing, verbally, and visually, (e.g., writing in detail the explanation of factors and relationships, discussing the causal relationships verbally with a partner or teacher, and arranging and colour-coding factors and their causal relationships so that they can be understood visually) • Using precise language to accurately communicate a complex concept (e.g., creating factors and relationships that fit within the linguistic form of the tool) |
Creating, Imagining, and Innovating | • Creating representations of and understanding patterns within complex systems (e.g., creating and arranging factors in new ways to model a novel approach to visualizing a complex issue) • Conceiving new solutions to problems by examining alternate possibilities (e.g., using the information gained from the use of the Seeing Reason Tool to create solutions to a problem) |
Thinking Flexibly | • Examining possibilities from many angles (e.g., using the Seeing Reason Tool to explore all the possible factors involved in the cause of a particular effect) • Changing one’s thinking and opinion about a topic or issue when confronted with new and/or conflicting information (e.g., using the Seeing Reason Tool to help develop understanding over time; allowing for and supporting map changes as new information is received) |
Striving for Accuracy | • Supporting ideas with specific, relevant, measurable, and accurate evidence (e.g., providing specific data to clarify the meaning of factors or relationships) |
Thinking Interdependently | • Thinking in concert with others to contribute to a better understanding of an issue (e.g., all members of a team work together to find and make sense of evidence, determine factors, and explain relationships) |
| Remaining Open to Continuous Learning | • Building upon initial ideas to obtain greater understanding of complex systems (e.g., returning to add factors and relationships to a Seeing Reason map after research and fact-gathering) |
| Thinking About Our Thinking | • Planning for, reflecting on, and evaluating the quality of one’s own thinking skills and strategies; reflecting on the plan upon completion of the implementation for the purpose of self-evaluation (e.g., supporting reflection through the Comments feature and self-reflective activities tied to the various iterations of the map) |
The Seeing Reason Tool provides learners with the ability to hypothesize, research, and draw preliminary conclusions about how some part of the world operates. Through this tool, learners will:
List Factors — learners working in pairs discuss and create factors that apply to their problem. They create these factors on a map and add a description of the factor. The teacher talks with the learners as they develop their hypothesis through the use of probing questions.
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Show Relationships — Talking through the relationships, the learners now show those relationships on their maps by connecting factors with arrows. Both simple relationships (e.g. As the number of cars increase, traffic jams increase) and complex relationships (e.g. As snow increases, accidents increase, and as accidents increase, lanes decrease) are shown. When learners add relationships, they describe how the relationship works and what evidence would prove whether the relationship is valid. Learners working in teams continually communicate with each other and with the teacher as they think through the creation process.
Investigate and Revise — After learners have a map that shows their initial reasoning about a problem, they test and research their ideas. Armed with new data, the teams modify their maps to reflect changed knowledge and opinions.
Present Their Findings — After learners have finalized their maps and researched and obtained evidence for their findings, they must decide how to best present the information.
Learners can express their understanding of cause and effect without ICT, but the power of the Seeing Reason Tool
is that it enhances reasoning and communication. When learners discuss,
represent, and defend the ideas that go into maps, their understanding
deepens. When teachers examine changing maps, they find opportunities
to interact with learners and guide their learning.
From your experience with Seeing Reason in creating your own maps, what do you see as its strengths to support higher-order thinking?
