Fraternidad Magdongon

Taking a break gives the problem solver time to have the information and possible solutions to sink in. Problem thinker can weigh all the evidences that have been gathered and observe what others have done and see what else he/she has to do.This is important whether one is writing a research paper , working on an art project, or even preparing for a presentation or an exam.

Students are exposed both to printed and electronic sources. They are overwhelmed by information from databases. This is when critical thinking comes to play. Which info is accurate? Which is valid? Instructors can help students discern the academic and scholarly sources.

It is best to check attendance at the beginning of the class period. A student should also be made to know that whether he/she is not in class yet, the class will start and that he/she is responsible for what he/she has missed. Lastly, any homework is to be collected at the beginning of the class period.

There are many class activities that can generate critical thinking, such as brainstorming, group presentations, peer editing. When students ask each others how they can organize the presentation, what devices they can use to enhance their presentation, when they go over each others writing assignments, discuss their recommendations for correction- all these give students the opportunities to reason, to question, and to make judgments. The instructor has to make sure though that everybody in the group participates in the planning and in the discussions.

What if a colleague uses your hand-outs and other materials or adopt some of your procedures and present them as hers without even mentioning your name as source. Will it be more efficient to talk to the person or to just keep quiet about it.

To make students engaged in writing activities, peer editing is a good practice. When a student finds errors in his/her classmate's paper and offers suggestions for correcting the errors and improving the paper, he/she (the editor) sharpens his/her own skills and at the same time, helps his/her classmate improve his/her essay. Both writer and editor can derive a lot of benefits in peer editing.

Making the students write a short essay on the first day of class will give the instructor an idea about the students' strengths and weaknesses. Instructor should explain to the students that the essay will not graded. The instructor should also explain that the essays will help the instructor reinforce their strengths and overcome their problems. This is useful on the first day of an English Composition class.

In the syllabus, it is best to include the graded assignments and the corresponding percentage to be assigned to that particular assignment. For example, a research paper would be 40 %of the total final grade. Sometimes, an instructor could change the distribution, say to 30%, so I think it would be safe to add a caveat that the instructor could change that at his/her discretion and the students would be informed of this change.