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WELCOME Complex Thinking: DOE: TS 167844 BRANDMAN: EDDU 9193 COMPLEX THINKING

The recent tragedy of Malaysia flight MH 370 provides an example of complex thinking. COMPLEX THINKING

Think of the process they are using to find the plane in relationship to the 10 skills we have talked about in the class. COMPLEX THINKING

Identifying the problem to be solved, decision to be made, how to compare and contrast ideas, forming an opinion or invention. Why were certain tracking devices on the plane disabled? COMPLEX THINKING

Why did it turn off course? Where did it land or crash into the ocean? COMPLEX THINKING

Evaluating your assumptions A terrorist took over the plane. The pilot or pilots deliberately turned the plane off course and crashed it in the ocean. Some mechanical problems caused all the problems. COMPLEX THINKING

3. Suspend judgment. Obviously this is something very difficult for the people who had loved ones on the plane. They want answers now. For the investigators, they need make sure they don’t look only for data that supports their theory of what happened to the plane. COMPLEX THINKING

4. Identifying additional information they need. COMPLEX THINKING

The Black Box that holds the information needed to move forward in the investigation is actually orange. This contains much of the additional information they need. COMPLEX THINKING

5. Assessing the credibility of the information. The information in the Black Box can not be altered and is accurate. COMPLEX THINKING

6. Using prior knowledge and experience. Each plane that crashes is taken to a site and reassembled. It is examined in great detail and the knowledge gained in that examination is used to prevent future crashes. COMPLEX THINKING

7. Maintaining objectivity. The investigators must make sure their emotions and possible desire to provide grieving family members with answers get in the way of coming up with an accurate analysis of what happened. COMPLEX THINKING

8. Prioritizing information. Investigators have incredible amounts of information, they must decide which of that information is important and which is not. COMPLEX THINKING

9. Predicting outcomes. The investigators have used a variety of information sources to predict that the plane went down in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Australia. COMPLEX THINKING

10. Reflections. As they receive new information, they are open to changing their minds. Admitting what they had originally thought is incorrect. COMPLEX THINKING

So the 10 complex thinking skills are used in a variety of situations in life. COMPLEX THINKING

Today our goal is to go through the Practicum/Portfolio page by page to make you are clear on how to answer each question and what evidence you need from your students so you will be able to complete it on time and receive credit for the class. COMPLEX THINKING

For those of you taking the class for Brandman University credit, your Practicum is due today. You can either turn in a hard copy or send Joe and electronic copy. COMPLEX THINKING

For DOE teachers, your Portfolio is due June 19th. You can submit either a hard copy or an electronic copy. COMPLEX THINKING

For those of you turning it a hard copy, you have a couple of options. 1. Bring it to Dave’s classroom (D-2)at Jarrett Middle School on June 19th from 9:00-1:00 pm. COMPLEX THINKING

2. Turn it in at the Pearl City High School Cultural Center when we are teaching either of our summer classes. We will be there June 16-18 and 23-25th. Please bring it between 9:00 and 1:00 pm. COMPLEX THINKING

The very last day we will be accepting Portfolios will be June 25th. We have to be strict about this deadline as the credit needs to be submitted to the PDE3 office so teachers using this class to reach the next level on the salary schedule will be able to get their raise starting 1st semester. COMPLEX THINKING

All the grades must be turned in at the same time, so if one person is late in turning in their Portfolio, it delays the credit for everyone in the class. COMPLEX THINKING

For those of you turning in your Portfolio electronically, you need to send it to: loverdeportfolios@gmail.com You can turn your Portfolio and soon as you complete it. Again, the last day we will be accepting Portfolios will be June 24th. COMPLEX THINKING

IMPORTANT INFORMATION COMPLEX THINKING

1. We do not use the payment tab on the PDE3 website, we keep our own records. It will always show you as not having paid for the class. 2. After the class is complete, we don’t send you back your portfolios. They will be available next spring at our February classes. COMPLEX THINKING

3. Once we have all the Portfolios on June 25th, we will look them over to make sure you have completed each section. If we have a concern about any of your answers or student evidence, we will contact you. COMPLEX THINKING

4. We then submit the credit to the PDE3 office and they send back a list of Portfolios they want to review. They randomly pick 10% of the Portfolios for review. Once we have those names, we take a second look at those Portfolios. We then send them to the PDE3 office. COMPLEX THINKING

5. Once they have them for review, we no longer have any control over the process. It has taken as little as 5 days for the reviewer to approve the Portfolios and as long as 4 weeks. It depends upon the number of Portfolios they have to review from different classes. COMPLEX THINKING

6. The reviewer is not looking at whether or not they agree with your answer to any of the questions, but that you: Answered the question. Put some thought into it and didn’t just provide a one word or short phrase answer. Provided student evidence and completed the captions. COMPLEX THINKING

7. We have never had a Portfolio rejected that had addressed every question and provide a thoughtful answer. COMPLEX THINKING

8. If you can’t complete the Portfolio on time, you can use the $185 for any future class we teach. COMPLEX THINKING

9. Please keep the Data Sheet which is the first page of the workbook. It contains all the information you need for this class. -Course numbers -Class dates -Due dates for the Portfolio/Practicum -Contact numbers and emails for Joe & Dave -Refund policies COMPLEX THINKING

Turn to page #2 in your Portfolios. We will provide you with numerous examples of what you want in this section. COMPLEX THINKING

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Identify the skill…What are you asking the students to do in the activity. Grade level and subject matter… Purpose…Which of the 5 are you asking the students to do. Description of activity…Be specific in how you will present the activity, the instructions, logistics and any student products that will be created. COMPLEX THINKING

E. Criteria to evaluate the activity…You must have at least two criteria. Here are examples of what we’re looking for in this section of the Portfolio. COMPLEX THINKING

Identification: I am going to have my students help create the rules of behavior for the classroom. 3rd General COMPLEX THINKING X

I am going to split the class into groups of 4. Their assignment is to list at least 5 characteristics related to the type of classroom they want to learn in this school year. If they are struggling, I will provide them an example such as, “I feel safe to share my ideas and opinions.” From those characteristics, we will create our rules. I am going to split the class into groups of 4. Their assignment is to list at least 5 characteristics related to the type of classroom they want to learn in this school year. If they are struggling, I will provide them an example such as, “I feel safe to share my ideas and opinions.” From those characteristics, we will create our rules. COMPLEX THINKING

I am going to split the class into groups of 4. Their assignment is to list at least 5 characteristics related to the type of classroom they want to learn in this school year. If they are struggling, I will provide them an example such as, “I feel safe to share my ideas and opinions.” From those characteristics, we will create our rules. Are the rules fair to everyone in the classroom? Do they create a safe and supportive environment? Are they clear and easy to understand? COMPLEX THINKING

Here is a high school example: Identification of the specific skill: The purpose of this activity to help students understand the dynamics of business related to assessing consumer need and developing products to meet those needs. COMPLEX THINKING

B. Grade level and subject matter: Grade level: 12th Subject: Business C. Purpose of the activity: _____ Problem solving ____ Decision making __X__ Invention _____ Comparing & contrasting _____ Forming an opinion COMPLEX THINKING

D. Description of the activity: Students will first develop strategies to determine consumer needs and price points. Next they will determine what products they could create taking those two factors into consideration. Finally they will create the product and sell it to their fellow students. COMPLEX THINKING

Here is a second example. COMPLEX THINKING

You will use the same procedure on all 10 skills. Take a moment now and look at the 10 skills and make sure you have answered A-D on each one. COMPLEX THINKING

Identification Complex thinkers are good at defining the problem, decision to be made, etc. They look beyond the obvious and ask questions of themselves and others to make sure they are on the correct track. COMPLEX THINKING

2. Evaluates Assumptions Complex thinkers look at what they believe and know about a situation. They are careful because we all have a lot of ideas and information in our brains that we think is accurate and it isn’t. COMPLEX THINKING

Don’t go swimming for at least an hour after eating? Did any of you grow up with that bit of mythical information? COMPLEX THINKING

3. Suspends Judgment Complex thinkers wait until they get all the information they need before solving the problem, making a decision, etc. They avoid the temptation to think “fast” and get it over with. They can “slow” down. COMPLEX THINKING

4. Additional Information Complex thinkers determine what they know and what they don’t know about a situation. They then decide what additional information they need to solve the problem, make a decision, etc. COMPLEX THINKING

Complex thinkers are always seeking additional information. What… Where… Why… How… Who… When… COMPLEX THINKING

5. Assesses Credibility of Information Complex thinkers evaluate the sources of their information. They look for any bias the provider of that information might have towards influencing what people believe or think. COMPLEX THINKING

Everyone and every organization has an agenda. What’s important is knowing what that agenda is! COMPLEX THINKING

6. Prior Knowledge and Experience Complex thinkers look for patterns and use their prior knowledge and experience to solve the problem, make a decision, etc. COMPLEX THINKING

7. Maintains Objectivity Complex thinkers maintain objectivity about the problem to solve, decision to be made, etc. They avoid letting their emotions control their thinking. COMPLEX THINKING

8. Prioritizes Information Complex thinkers can analyze and evaluate information to determine if that information is important and pertinent to solving a problem, making a decision, etc. COMPLEX THINKING

9. Prediction Complex thinkers have the ability to anticipate both intended and unintended outcomes. Intended outcomes are what we hoped would result from our action. Unintended outcomes are those we never anticipated happening related to our actions. COMPLEX THINKING

10. Reflection Complex thinkers reflect upon their problem solving, decision making, etc. They evaluate the outcomes and use that information in future problem solving and decision making situations. COMPLEX THINKING

This is a time for each member at your table to share one of their 10 actions. This should provide you not only with ideas, but be able to compare how you answered the question with how other answered the same question. COMPLEX THINKING

Turn to page #12 in your Portfolios. COMPLEX THINKING

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Requirement #2. The creation, implementation and evaluation of 5 activities you will use in your classrooms related to the complex thinking skills. Each activity must include the following information: COMPLEX THINKING

A. Identification of the skill being taught and the goal. (Which one of the 10 and its purpose. They must be 5 different skills.) B. Name of the activity. C. Procedures and products related to the activity. D. Collection of 2 student work samples prior to the implementation of the activity. COMPLEX THINKING

E. Development of criteria to evaluate the effectiveness of the activity in teaching complex Thinking. F. Collection of student samples from the same 2 students after implementing the activity. G. Completion of a caption for the 4 pieces of student evidence. COMPLEX THINKING

Here is another example. COMPLEX THINKING

Complex Thinking skill: You will identify which of the 10 skills this activity is addressing. Example: A. Complex thinking skill: Additional Information COMPLEX THINKING

Goal: The goal of this activity to have students create questions they need answered before making a decision on which student in their classroom they are voting for to be their representative on the school’s student advisory board. COMPLEX THINKING

B. Name of the activity: School Advisory Board Selection Questions. COMPLEX THINKING

C. Procedures and products: Each student will receive a 3x5 card and be asked to create three questions they want answered by the candidates for Student Advisory Board. Then they will get in groups of 4 and share their questions. The group will then decide upon 4 questions they will submit to the entire class. COMPLEX THINKING

Next, the teacher will read all the questions submitted by each group and talk about the merits of each question, the information the answer would provide and if there was a better question to get the desired information. They will then open it up to a class discussion and give the students the opportunity to create new questions. COMPLEX THINKING

The class will then vote on the best 5-7 questions that they will want the candidates to answer. COMPLEX THINKING

D. Samples of 2 student’s work prior to the implementation of the activity. For this particular activity, the teacher could collect the 3x5 cards of 2 students that were filled out as the first step in this activity. COMPLEX THINKING

E. Three criteria you will use to evaluate the effectiveness of the activity. 1. Did the questions require the candidate to answer the questions beyond a simple “yes” or “no” response. COMPLEX THINKING

2. Did the questions reflect an understanding of what a complex thinker would want to know before voting for a candidate? 3. Would the questions provide information that is pertinent to the responsibilities associated with the Student Board position? COMPLEX THINKING

F. Student work after implementing the activity. The teacher could now ask the students to write 3 questions they would want to ask a candidate for Principal of the school, City Council, Mayor, Governor, etc. COMPLEX THINKING

They would collect these answers from the same 2 students who they collected the 3 Student Advisory Board questions to start this activity. COMPLEX THINKING

G. Evaluation of the activity based upon the pre and post student work samples. There are many ways to go with the evaluation based on the pre and post questions. The important thing is that you use the pre and post data as the basis for your analysis. COMPLEX THINKING

Questions you should answer…. Was there a difference in the depth of the pre and post questions? How significant was the difference? Was the difference consistent with the pre and post questions of other students in the class. What changes would you make in the activity related to how you presented the material? COMPLEX THINKING

Questions you should answer…. 5. Did the activity take the appropriate amount of time based upon the results? 6. Would you do this activity in the future? COMPLEX THINKING

Student work samples collected before the activity: Put the 3x5 cards the 2 students filled out at the beginning of the activity behind page 14 and answer the caption questions. COMPLEX THINKING

What are these documents? These are 3 questions that the students created to ask of candidates in their classroom for the Student Advisory Board at the school before my lesson. COMPLEX THINKING

Why is it evidence? This is evidence because it reflects the student’s level of understanding related to the complex thinking skill of seeking additional information before making a decision. COMPLEX THINKING

What is this evidence of? This is evidence of students who don’t have a clear or deep understanding of what information they need to make good decisions. Their questions did not reflect higher levels of thinking, only simple recall and recognition. COMPLEX THINKING

Student work samples collected after the activity: Put the 3x5 cards the 2 students filled out related to questions they would ask a candidate for City Council, Mayor, etc. after the activity. These would be placed behind the “pre” question 3x5 cards that are behind page 14. COMPLEX THINKING

These captions could be like the following. What are these documents? These are 3 questions that the students created to ask of candidates for the position of City Council after the presentation of my lesson on seeking additional information. COMPLEX THINKING

Why is it evidence? This is evidence because it reflects the student’s level of understanding related to the complex thinking skill of seeking additional information before making a decision. COMPLEX THINKING

What is this evidence of? This is evidence of students who now have a deeper knowledge of the types of questions they need to ask that provide them better understanding of a candidates views and potential abilities. COMPLEX THINKING

You will use the same process for the other 4 actions. COMPLEX THINKING

At your tables, share one of the actions you took. Also share the student evidence you collect both pre and post action. COMPLEX THINKING

Turn to page 27 7 28 in your Portfolios. Reflections…. Make sure you spend some time answering these questions. This is an area where the reviewer is looking for some thought and analysis on your part. COMPLEX THINKING

Again, not that they agreed with you or that each actions worked, but that you reflected upon it and will use what you learned to become a better teacher. COMPLEX THINKING

A number of you have asked about any future classes we will be teaching. We have two new classes that have been approved by the PDE3 office. COMPLEX THINKING

A Four-Step Model for Increasing Rigor in Your Classroom It will be taught June 16, 17 and 18that the Pearl City HS Cultural Center Course #: IS 178375 COMPLEX THINKING

Creating the Optimal Learning Conditions for the Brain: Putting the Latest Research Into Practice It will be taught June 23, 24,and 25th, also at the Pearl City HS Cultural Center. Course #: AR 178390 COMPLEX THINKING

They are each worth 3 “PD” credits and costs $185. COMPLEX THINKING

If you have any questions between now and when the Portfolios are due, call or email Joe. Remember the Powerpoint used today will be available for you to download at Joe’s website: JoeLoVerde.com COMPLEX THINKING

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