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.
These projects represent constructivist
projects, containing the key elements of a constructivist approach to
instruction, namely:
a.)
the teacher creating the learning environment
b.)
the teacher giving students the tools and facilities, and
c.)
the teacher facilitating learning
But in these projects, it is the students
themselves higher thinking skills and creativity by means of:
ü searching
for information
ü organizing
and synthesizing ideas
ü creating
presentations
THE FOUR IT- BASED PROJECTS:
I.
RESOURCE- BASED PROJECTS
The teacher lets the students find their own facts and
information. Only when necessary for the active learning process does the
teacher step in to supply data or information.
The general flow of events in
resource- based projects are:
The
teacher determines the topic for the examination of the class
The
teacher presents the problem to the class.
The
students find information on the problem/ questions
Students
organize their information in response to the problem/ question
Relating to finding
information, the central principle is to make the students go beyond the textbook and curriculum materials. Students are 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.
Finally, the process is
given more importance than the project product.
The table below can provide the difference
between the traditional and resourced- based learning approach to instruction.
Traditional learning model
|
Resourced– based learning model
|
The teacher is expert and information
provider
|
Teacher is a guide and a
facilitator
|
Textbook is key source of information
|
Sources are varied ( print, video, internet, etc.)
|
Focus on facts
Information is packaged in neat parcels
|
Focus on learning inquiry/ quest/ discovery
|
The product is the be-all and end-all of
learning
|
Emphasis on process
|
Assessment is quantitative
|
Assessment is quantitative and qualitative
|
II. Simple Creation
Students can also be assigned to create their
software materials to supplement the need for relevant and effective materials.
In developing software, creativity as an outcome
should not be equated with ingenuity or high intelligence. Creating is more
consonant with planning, making, assembling, designing, or building.
Creativity is said to combine three kinds of skills/abilities:
1. Analyzing- distinguishing similarities and differences/
seeing the project as a problem to be solved.
2. Synthesizing- making spontaneous
connections among ideas, thus generating interesting or new ideas.
3.Promoting-
selling of new ideas to allow the
public to test the ideas themselves.
To develop creativity, the following five key tasks may be
recommended:
·
Define the task.
·
Brainstorm
·
Judge the ideas.
·
Act
·
Adopt flexibility
II.
Guided Hypermedia Projects
The production
of self- made multimedia projects can be approached in two 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 the
student do the multimedia presentation (with text, graphs, photos, audio,
narration, interviews, video clips, etc.) to simulate a television news show.
III.
Web- Based Projects
Students
can be made to create and post web pages in the given topic.
It
should be said, however, that posting of web pages in the internet allow the
student (now the webpage creator)
a wider audience. They can also link with other related sites in the internet.
