Google Art Project, Critical Thinking, and the OSSLT

I know what you're thinking--what in heavens name does the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) have to do with Critical Thinking or the Google Art Project?

One of the tasks of the OSSLT is for students to write a News Report.  They are given a title and a photo and need to make up the details in a formal news report.I contacted the Education Quality Assessment Office (EQAO) a few years ago expressing my dismay with this task.  My argument was that journalists don't even use the formalized report style the kids are expected to use.

The Educational officer responded to my query with the following information:
1) the news report is a writing activity that does not require excessive prior knowledge and thus works well in a timed (standardized test) environment;
2) because the task requires students to infer W5H about a picture before writing the report, it is a good gauge as to whether or not students can think critically and creatively.

While this does make some sense to me, for many students (especially for students who have issues writing tests or who have slow processing speed needs) this is an extremely challenging thing to do in a timed situation. But, for grade 10 students in Ontario who wish to earn a diploma, the OSSLT is a reality and so is the News Report Writing Task.  So how to we help our students with this task?

The typical way teachers try to support students to write this task is to have them write practice news reports.  Many teachers try to incorporate this task into their courses, while other schools have preparation booklets with the task in it.  This approach can be somewhat effective, but it can be boring and sometimes out of context for students.

How about just focusing on the critical thinking and creative part then? Combining  a strategy from the Critical Thinking Consortium with The Google Art Project allows kids to think critically, practice making inferences, and potentially delve more deeply into art.

Observation, Inference, Conclusion Chart

Garfield Gini-Newman, from the Critical Thinking Consortium engaged a group of teachers at my Board in an activity using the Observation, Inference, Conclusion Chart.  Essentially, he placed an image up on the screen and asked each group to agree on when and where the picture took place.  The result? We talked and argued for over 20 minutes.  Throughout the activity, Gin-Newman came around and did some "additive teaching" using statements like, "Did you notice....?"  "I wonder what that detail in the corner could be? "Hmm, I wonder if there would be a shadow there if it was 2 o'clock in the afternoon", etc...

O.k. Great for teachers--we love to talk!  But would students find such a task as interesting? Would they engage in conversation for as long?  I tried it in several grade 9 applied and academic classes and the answer is a resounding YES!  (We did provide students with sentence stems to help with their conversations, but they rarely needed them!).

The strength of the activity is the open-endedness, the fact that it builds inferencing skills, and that it really engages curiosity and critical thinking. It's also relatively low risk: students have to use details in the image to support their claims but otherwise, there is not real right or wrong answer. It can work in any subject and with any image that has enough detail to infer W5H.

Here's the graphic organizer I adapted: Click here

The Google Art Project

The Google Art Project is a resource where you can find millions of images to use in the activity described above.  I can find images that connect to any subject area and, as a bonus, will expose students to some of the most famous artists in the world.  I always hear teachers complain that students don't come in with any prior knowledge or culture-- well here's a great way to bring Art Galleries into the classroom.  Click here for a quick overview of how to use it.


Now of course students will need to organize their thoughts into actual writing of a news report for the task, but if we engaged students in regular critical thinking around W5H  and images, we are not just preparing them for that OSSLT task, but we will be helping them make sense of the world around them as well.

RAN (Reading and Analysing Non-Fiction)

Recently, two of my colleagues (Michael Ball and Gina Micomonaco) reminded me about The RAN Chart--Reading and Analyzing Non-fiction.  Based on the work by Tony Stead, a RAN chart is a great starting point for an inquiry classroom!

The categories are:

Prior Knowledge (What I think I know)
Confirmed (I was right about this)
Misconceptions (What I couldn't prove)
Wonderings (Questions I still have)
New Learning (What I did not know)

Here is one they created for a Junior class:

What I love about the RAN strategy is that it encourages kids to delve further into a text and test out their theories.  It also encourages "wondering."

"Wisdom begins in wondering." --Socrates

I do like the idea of using post-it notes as students can move them flexibly from one column to the next, but you could easily create a Google Slide (one for each category) which students could use with the same flexibility.  I would show older kids how to use "revision history" in Google Slides to track their progress.

The real power of this strategy, to me, comes at the end of the process, where students track what they have learned about the topic.  The RAN chart and post-it notes become key artifacts of their learning.  Students could take pictures of the post-it-notes that they had created, and combine then images or key quotations from the text.  Students speak to what they were thinking at the beginning, how that thinking changed, and what they learned about the topic.

Students can use tools like Explain Everything, iMovie, Keynote/Google Slides/Powerpoint, Prezi, or Adobe Voice to present findings.

Like any graphic organizer, it is important to model first, then have students try it in partners, before moving to independence.

The RAN strategy, a very useful graphic organizer, has seemed to fall by the wayside in high school classes.  This year when I work with high school teachers and their students, I plan to use it!

Have you tried RAN in a high school classroom?  I'd love to hear about it!

Here are two excellent resources which provide further support and ideas:

 Adventures in Literacy post by Colleen and Stacy.  Their blog is chalk-full of helpful tips for reading based on Core Standards.

Making Shift Happen post by  Lorraine Boulos on using the RAN strategy for Inquiry based learning using the Wendats as a sample (Ontario Curriculum).

Setting kids up for success

Many of us are two weeks into a new school year and with that comes the opportunity to think reflectively about what has worked and what hasn't.  Here are a couple of ideas that may help to create a positive learning environment and set the tone for the rest of the school year.

Have EVERY student create an IEP (Individualized Education Plan)

Image:  http://blog.enablemart.com/letsblogability/2010/06/what-is-an-iep-learning-about-ieps-individualized-education-programs.html

We understand that students who are accessing student services are legally entitled to an IEP, but wouldn't it be useful if all students communicated their strengths and needs to their teachers?  Not only might this be a great opportunity for teachers to get to know their students, but it would also eliminate the stigma of an IEP.  Heck, I wish I could give some conference presenters my own IEP!

How about creating IEPs on a Google Doc or Google Form so that it can be shared with teachers the following semester or year?

Sample IEP on Google Forms

Foster a Growth Mindset

"Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning." Benjamin Franklin

I just returned from a two-day SIM session which used the Growth Mindset Theory as the underpinning of how we can achieve greater student success in Math in Ontario.  The theory has been around for a while, but it's worth mentioning because research supports that fostering a growth mindset works.

Some students (many of whom have been told they are failures in school since Kindergarten) don't believe that they can learn, that trying is futile. Undoing these beliefs takes persistence and a caring adult who genuinely believes every student in front of them can learn and who provides opportunities for growth and reflection.

So Teacher mindsets make a huge difference!  Do we already pre-determine our students' ability based on social, cultural, or genetic factors? Do we think we know in September which students will work at Level 4?  Do we refer to a group of students as "My Level 2's,  Level 4's?"  If the research shows that Growth Mindsets contribute to student success, then our language and actions as teachers has to reinforce the belief that the students before us can and will learn as a result of our teaching.

And it works!! We told a group of grade 9 Applied students that they would be better readers at the end of the semester, worked hard to give them strategies, asked them to reflect on which strategies helped them to be better readers, and guess what? At the end of the semester, they not only thought it to be true, but they performed better on the post-diagnostic.

Check out this video:

This simple anchor chart shared on Twitter by @Principal_EL reminded me about how important it is to ensure that students really believe that they can become better readers, writers, creators, etc...

I would actually have students sort a few sentences that reflect one Mindset or another and then create their own anchor chart.  

More information on Growth Mindsets:

Carol Dweck's article on Mindsets and Equitable Education
Jo Baler's work on Mindsets in Math
Brain Pickings Blog on Fixed vs. Growth Mindsets
You can even become a Mindset School.

ASK your students for Input and then LISTEN to what they say

Why not show kids the Curriculum expectations and get their ideas?  If we relinquish our "control" of what kids are learning, we may just be surprised at the results.  Perhaps not for the entire course (just yet), but how about for one "unit" or for 10% of the time?

I love Shelly Wright's three guiding questions:

What are we going to learn?

How are we going to learn it?

How will we share the learning?   

Her blog is a great starting point for any teacher looking to move to an Inquiry-based classroom.

In my experience, students who were able to choose their own reading, tended to be more engaged in the activities.  So obvious but so often we dictate what kids read, when they read it, and what questions are important about the reading!

Focus on Self-Assessment and Goal Setting

In their book, "Knowing What Counts, Self-Assessment and Goal Setting," authors Gregory, Cameron, and Davies provide practical ideas and templates for practising self-assessment so as to improve self-directed learning in students.

I especially love the simplicity of some of the strategies and the reproducible templates, particularly the idea of "proof cards": Teachers give students cards that have a word or phrase printed on it such as "favourite," "potential," "perseverance", or "improvement".  Students select ONE proof card, a word, and an example from their own work that provides evidence or proof of that word or phrase, as well as reasons to support their selection.  It's a great way for students to recognize their growth.

Regularly asking students what strategies work and don't work best for them, also helps them to realize that they can actually control how they learn best.  Tech tools such as Google Forms, Padlet, Socrative are quick ways a teacher can gather and share regular input from kids about what they know.

Here are a couple of examples of student self-assessment forms I've used in English Class:

Exit Card
Final Metacognitive Reflection