The Island

Creative, Critical, and Collaborative Thinking

When I first did the readings for this module, my classes were just beginning their first collaborative assignment for the year. This assignment originally began as a UBD project incorporating an earlier RAFT writing task (see above, from: Reading Rockets.org).

You will notice it has evolved a great deal since its earliest beginnings. Now, it is much more like a 'Design to Specs' critical thinking challenge because students must make reasoned judgements based on criteria (Case, 2008). I have used this task a few times in the past to get a sense of students' familiarity with this kind of work, especially in terms of working well with others, problem-solving, and comfort level with presenting a product to the classroom community. As well, it is one of my attempts to create an experiential and holistic learning experience that hinges on memory, story, and place (FNESC, 2007).

I start by having my grade 8 students close their eyes and put their heads down on their desks. I then tell them a very descriptive tale about me winning the lottery and taking them on an amazing month-long field studies trip to Hawaii. (Of course, we charter a jet and fly first class with all the perks.) Once the stage is set - you probably guessed it - disaster strikes. We fly through a massive and completely unexpected storm and despite all the pilot's efforts, the plane goes down somewhere off the coast of B.C. Then I give them this MAP (above right) of where they wash ashore.

As well, students receive this information:

The Island

An exercise in survival

Scenario:

·       You are stranded on an island somewhere in the north Pacific.

·       It is late January and the weather is cold. It doesn’t snow much here, but the weather hovers around 5 degrees Celsius in daytime and dips below freezing at night.

·       You landed on the island in good condition with three other similarly healthy people (your classmates). Two other people are there who are critically injured. Two others are deceased. The total number of people (dead and alive) is 8. All others including your beloved teacher, Mrs. Wiberg, are entirely gone, as well as the wreckage from the plane, which has sunk beneath the waves.

·       Besides underwear, socks, a t-shirt and jeans, each person possesses the following weatherproof clothing articles: jacket, boots, pants.

·       One of each of the following items also washed up on shore: digital watch, Swiss-style army knife, length of nylon rope.

·       You know that a ship will pass closely by these waters in 30 days.

·       What will you need to do to survive? What needs will you have to meet? How will you get the things you need?

·       You know that a coroner’s inquest will follow when you eventually get home. At the inquest you will have to present your project and explain your conduct on the island and what you did to stay alive.

Your group (4 students) must explain the answers to these questions. Your response must be REASONABLE AND CONVINCING. You can present your work to the inquest in any way you choose.               

Hint: Once you have chosen your group members, your first task might be to decide what the words 'reasonable' and 'convincing' mean. 

It should be noted here that grade 8 students typically delight in 'killing me off' and 'grossing me out.' (For instance, they mourn my passing for approximately 3 ½ seconds. Also, cannibalism is inevitably mentioned, and then it comes up several more times.) This time, however, this stage of brainstorming was fairly short-lived as group members, and then the whole class, debated what the two terms, 'reasonable' and 'convincing' actually meant (Wearing, n.d.). For 'reasonable', both classes came up with these words that we recorded on chart paper: fair, sensible, rational, smart. For 'convincing', both classes decided on: believable, strong.

When combined to co-create criteria, one class decided that "Mrs. Wiberg, may she rest in peace, would be proud of us" summed it up, and the other class said, "Our grandmas would think we had done our best to make good decisions, plus we won't go to jail." Of course, both of these summations made me laugh, but in a good way!

After a brief class discussion to brainstorm basic needs (items included: water, food, shelter/warmth, assistance and dignity for the injured/dead, a signal, and [for some groups] a legacy), groups began researching and planning their presentations. It was gratifying to hear students consistently refer back to the word lists and criteria we had brainstormed, rather than cannibalism and my untimely and fictional death! "Listening, memorizing, and writing," indeed (Carswell, as cited in Case, p. 33, 2008)!

At the start of Friday's class, students were shown a list of 'Possible Products and Performances' from McTighe & Wiggins (2004) - see above.

Final products to be shared with the class by mid-week so far include: a large poster of the island with bullet points and a legend, several diaries / journals, a cooking show, a rap, and several skits. I am looking forward to seeing the end results!  

References

Case, R. (2008). Beyond Inert Facts: Teaching for Understanding in Elementary Social Studies. In R. Case & P. Clark (Eds.) The Anthology of Social Studies: Issues and Strategies for Elementary Teachers, (pp. 33-47). Pacific Educational Press. http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/sspp/html/beyondinertfacts/page12.html 

Classroom Strategies: RAFT. Reading Rockets.org. https://www.readingrockets.org/classroom/classroom-strategies/raft

Gini-Newman, L. (2013). Tips for Teachers: Seven Ways to Frame a Math Problem. The Critical Thinking Consortium. http://tc2.ca/uploads/PDFs/TIpsForTeachers/TipsforTeachers-7WaystoFrameMathProb.pdf

McTighe, J. & Wiggins, G. (2004). Understanding by Design: Professional Development Workbook. ASCD.

Wearing, J. (n.d.) Module 2 Tip Sheet - Teaching Strategies for Critical Thinking Learning Activities. PME 833. Queen's University. https://onq.queensu.ca/content/enforced/56140-PME-833/Module%202%20Teaching%20Strategies%20for%20Critical%20Thinking%20Learning%20Activities.pdf?ou=56140