Higher level thinking in intel

I'll be honest: sometimes I worry that when I'm a teacher I won't be able to happily mix content with and higher order thinking skills, both of which are very important to becoming a well-rounded, smart, critically thinking adult. The Intel workspace tools offer a relatively simple way to incorporate both aspects into the learning process. Each of the tools (visual ranking, seeing reason, and showing evidence) goes beyond simply regurgitating facts, or just making a claim. They force students to rationalize their thoughts and thought processes. This is crucial, especially for young people. So often people - of all ages - make claims that they cannot substantiate, or they don't have evidence or don't know where it came from, or they blindly say one thing is better than another. The Intel programs offer very clear and process-oriented opportunities for students to think about their thinking, which I highly value. An example of the cause-effect tool used to encourage higher thinking skills is writing a paper on WWI. There are many causes of WWI, and this tool could be used to help organize students' arguments, and then also make them rationalize the reasons they include and exclude.

Another way these tools promote higher order thinking is by requiring students to respond to their classmates' work and critique their choices. Not only does this benefit the student whose work is being critiqued, it also forces the critiquer to look at other perspectives and ways of seeing the same argument, which can help make his/her argument stronger. If, for example, students are asked to rank the most influential people in US history, they also have to justify their responses. So while it is likely that each student (or group of students) will have a different opinion and perspective, they will be able to explain their thinking within the tool and other students can better understand, and potentially adjust their perspective.