about the course
course description
Critical Thinking happens to be a trendy topic and an obvious conclusion to include it in your teaching practice. In fact it is very important for teachers to implement critical thinking in their lessons. For it helps students develop autonomy, self esteem and a better understanding of our world, through a conscientious evaluation of available information.
This course substantially introduces the concept of critical thinking. Also, it helps you grow tools and strategies needed to incorporate it in your lessons. The main goal is to develop the skill on how to teach critical thinking to students through any subject or discipline, and at any level of education. In this course, teachers are introduced to the elements of reasoning, universal intellectual standards, and intellectual traits through readings, discussions, and practical activities. Teachers have the chance to redesign lessons and strategies using the concepts and principles of critical thinking, practice strategies for Socratic discussions, help students to learn how to consciously use critical thinking skills and strategies while learning, and in their lives.
Critical thinking is connected with creativity, problem-solving, and leadership. These skills are fundamental, especially after the long and very stressful period of COVID pandemic.
In order to equip students with the necessary competencies to face the real outside world, adapt their career to future and new job placements. To gain a better understanding of the role they would like to cover in society and better interact with the people they’ll meet (colleagues, competitors, mentors, friends).
Critical thinking is and continues to be, a deeply misunderstood cognitive set of skills. Although all educators can agree on its importance, views remain split on what exactly critical thinking is, or how to effectively teach this skill to students.
The course covers strategies to not only develop students’ critical thinking skills but also blend critical thinking lessons into an instructor’s specific discipline and subject/topic.
Participants explore the complex topic of critical thinking and get a perspective on how a student could conceptualize—and practice—critical thinking in the classroom.
Teaching young people skills such as active listening, self-awareness and empathy can equip them to succeed both academically and socially.
On one end this training helps educators discuss and learn more on emotions, touching most of the psychological literature; On the other end, it fosters the understanding of the need for a common teaching method based on the development of “emotional competencies” skills in learners/students. While Education has perhaps been slow to recognise the importance of such emotional capacities, recent work has sought to address this lacuna. Perhaps the best-known representation of this trend is the work on Multiple Intelligences (Gardner 1983; 1993) and on Emotional Intelligence (Goleman, 1996; Mayer et al. 2000, Bar-On, 2002).
In educating nowadays – in a wider European perspective – we know the EU guidelines on the new “Key competences for the lifelong learning” (Recommendation May 2018) and other guidelines based showing the need to develop other key aspects like:
- Active listening,
- Vocabulary for feelings,
- Developing self-awareness,
- Showing empathy being ‘with’ others,
- Managing emotions and self-regulation.
This training will help educators improve their teaching method, by reflecting and increasing their knowledge on the main topics, widening perspectives and broadening their work to new cooperations with colleagues and international educators.
LEARNING GOALS:
Through this course, teachers will learn
- how to build critical thinking learning outcomes, assessments, and learning experiences into a discipline-based course
- understand which are the best tips to follow while designing classes focused on developing critical thinking
- formulate critical thinking assessments to fit your personal subject/topic
- the ability to ask high-level questions that trigger critical thinking in your students and have them ask even more.
- combine critical thinking assessments, outcomes, and experiences to ensure maximum effectiveness in learning
- avoid typical mistakes in teaching critical thinking
- teacher education, emotional competencies and development education: why it matters and how to teach it.
Target Group
Any teacher, at any level of education, working in a public or private school or educational institutions
program/Training Modules
INTRO/METHOD
Like all our programs, the present one is flexible and adaptable to special requests, depending on the subject taught or on the starting level of the participant.
Furthermore, in line with the JUMP Academy method, our courses are based on a strategic balance between formal and non-formal education, indoor and outdoor education and the team takes care of a very important aspect of international mobility which is the intercultural learning which we develop with short excursions and facilitating the interaction with local partners, businesses and citizens of our territory. Each local context has its own economy so it’s always useful, in training programs, to get in contact with concrete examples (experiential learning and real based learning).
We always try to connect our learners to local teachers and students to cooperate in developing innovation and networking for future projects. If possible, inside the program, a morning is spent inside a local school, visiting, observing, and cooperating in the realization of one or more lessons. The proposed program JUMP works, in European dimension and with an international spirit, at the local level and, according to the period of the training along the year and the weather, it is possible to change some sessions and add visits and meetings, in cooperation with our network of partners including schools involved in European projects).
WEEK DAILY SCHEDULE
Saturday or Sunday:
Arrival of participants, transfer and welcome. Lodging and logistic support. Depending on the arrival time the participants are helped to have a meal or fulfill any other need.
Monday morning session: 09:30 – 12:30
Meeting in the lobby of Villa Gabriella International, welcome, first briefing by the organizers, presentation of the team, logistics information, gadgets distribution and start of the program. Walking down to the city center. Outdoor team building game “The Mission Impossible in Soverato by JUMP”. Getting to know the important places of the city, orientation points, traditions and cultural elements, getting in contact with local citizens.
12:30 end of the morning activity
Free time for lunch or to enjoy the beach
Organized lift from the city center to the Villa.
Monday afternoon session: 15:00 – 17:00
“Experience Calabria. A place to live, a place to love”. Presentation of JUMP and of the most important cultural elements of the region. Participants are asked to present themselves quickly and introduce their school in a creative or digital way using the internet and our screen.
Dinner organized for all the groups in a local restaurant.
Tuesday morning session: 09:30 – 12:30
Meeting on the terrace of Villa Gabriella.
First outdoor ice breaking game to get to know each other and create a good working climate.
Division in small groups and start of the indoors or outdoor sessions with the JUMP trainer.
Introduction to module 1: Understanding Critical Thinking and the usual incorrect understanding of the topic.
13:00 – 15:00 lunch break and free time
Tuesday afternoon session: 15:00 – 17:30
1st excursion to develop cultural knowledge, strengthen team building and socialization among participants.
“Walking tour to the old village of Soverato Superiore, visit to the Church of “La Pietà” of Gagini and exploring the narrow streets. Interacting with local people.
Free evening to enjoy the city center
Wednesday morning session: 09:30 – 12:30
Module 2: Differences between teaching and teaching with the focus on Critical Thinking
Module 3: Critical Thinking in the different fields of use and its potential in empowering teaching.
13:00 – 15:00 lunch break and free time
Wednesday afternoon session: 15:00 – 17:00
Module 4: 25 Of The Best Resources For Teaching Critical Thinking
Free evening to enjoy the city center or rest.
Thursday morning session: 09:30 –12:30
Module 5: 10 Team-Building Games That Promote Critical Thinking.
13:00 – 15:00 lunch break and free time
Thursday afternoon is (usually) free time.
The staff will provide some suggestions for possible activities or excursions. For example to Catanzaro city, Capital of the region
Friday morning session: 09:30 – 11:00 (shorter morning lesson).
Module 6: Design my own learning and teaching pathway.
11:00 free time to visit the local market which is nice and folkloristic.
On Friday – at an agreed time – usually in the afternoon – it’s organized as an excursion in a beautiful and unique old village with a final dinner. The staff enjoys it and there’s a professional guide with us.
Depending on the season the excursion starts in the morning or in the afternoon. From July to September it’s usually in the afternoon-evening for the high heat.
Saturday morning session: 09:30 – 12:00
Closing the course: Evaluation and delivery of formal certificates/Europass and admin documents.
Saturday afternoon: Free time and last moments all the participants together for socialization.
Sunday:
Departure of participants.
The indicated times may suffer some changes depending on the season (earlier in the winter time and later in the summertime).
TRAINING MODULES
Module 1: Understanding Critical Thinking and the usual incorrect understanding of the topic
Module 2: Differences between teaching and teaching with the focus on Critical Thinking
Module 3: Critical Thinking in the different fields of use and its potential in empowering teaching
Module 4: 25 Of The Best Resources For Teaching Critical Thinking
Module 5: 10 Team-Building Games That Promote Critical Thinking
Module 6: Design my own learning and teaching pathway
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Through this course, teachers will gain
- a new knowledge on how to build critical thinking learning outcomes, assessments, and learning experiences into a discipline-based course
- a better understanding of which are the best tips to follow while designing classes focused on developing critical thinking
- different methods of critical thinking assessments to fit your personal subject/topic
- the ability to ask high-level questions that trigger critical thinking in your students and have them ask even more.
- how to ensure maximum effectiveness in learning
- new methods of how avoid typical mistakes in teaching critical thinking
- new competences on emotional competencies and development education: why it matters and how to teach them.
certification details
JUMP certifies or 36 hours for 6 days course (6*6) or more if extra hours are needed, per day. Or 30 hours for a 5 days course (6*5).
The course can be also extended to a 2 weeks course with the options 10 days or 12 days course if asked and agreed, depending on the project of the sending organization.
10 days are excluded the weekend (5+5), 12 days are from Monday to Saturday morning (6+6).
At the end of the training, JUMP delivers a formal certificate of attendance and the team is at disposal to fill the Europass certification document according to the EU model template and other needed documents for reporting of the sending institution.
Certification details
Our courses are in line with the Erasmus+ Quality standards for courses under Key Action 1 (learning mobility of individuals)
Costs
The cost is fully covered by the Erasmus grant. Write to info@associazionejump.it to ask for information on costs and the services provided to plan your mobility project in Soverato with JUMP.
How to apply
For info and registration about the course fill the form below or contact us to our mail.