4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making

Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources. Students:

c. collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions.

One of the most important benefits to educational technology is the ability to find multiple sources of research information. From learning the mating patterns of the ring-tailed lemur, to finding peer discussions on the next election, students have access to more information, as well as different types of information, than ever before. While you can find all about ring-tailed lemurs at your library, the internet allows you the opportunity to not only find the facts, but also lots (and lots!) of opinions on almost every imaginable subject. While it is harder to wade through all the information, it is a great opportunity to hear many more sides to issues.

I am an Integrated Science Major. I hope to teach in an elementary classroom but think teaching at the middle school level, especially in science, would be very exciting with all the technology available. I believe strongly in science being a hands-on, evidence-to-conclusions environment in a science classroom. Two of the technology areas I believe would be best utilized in a science curriculum would be data collection, storage, and presentation and research.

I would design a lab, let's say, on conservation of mass. The students would carry out the lab in the classroom and use technology in any/all of the following ways:

Students could use a graphing program, such as Excel, to collect and store data and choose the most appropriate way to present the information. ie: bar graphs, line graphs, lists, etc. They could share this information on a classroom wiki.

Students could also take pictures of their lab, either to visually represent the step by step instructions or show the reactions and results of their experiments. These digital photos could be uploaded and included in a final report and/or presentation.

Students could use the internet for research, to search for resources, to view simulations and compare them to their own lab, to watch videos about the lab experiment, etc.

Students could also use PowerPoint or other mulitmedia tools to present their findings and conclusions to peers and teachers or post on a classroom website. Of course, there is always the opportunity for the student(s) to blog about their lab experience.

By collecting others' information and combining it with their own, students would be able to collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions (conclusions).