Response to Derek Bok on Critical Thinking

Derek Bok, the ex and future president of Harvard, has written a new book about our "Underachieving Colleges" He points out that the lecture method is still the dominant method of teaching and asking students to regurgitate low level facts is the dominant method of testing. There is certainly a role for the lecture method especially when the teacher engages the students with questions during the lecture or establishes a climate in which the students engage the teacher by asking questions. Unfortunately, that is not the nature of most teaching in higher education, high schools or in most corporate training rooms. Although, corporate trainers are miles ahead of public education in using methods that engage the ability of the students to think critically.

Dr. Bok points out that most everyone believes that one of the most important goals of higher education is to develop the ability of students to think critically. Yet, neither the typical lecture or testing for low level content helps students meet this goal. If you were to create a heirarchy of methods that require the ability to think critically, that is the ability to analyze, synthesize and evaluate ideas, I think the list would look like this from least to most:

1. Showing a film

2. One way lectures:
a. Lecturing in a boring manner without asking questions that require the students to think.
b. Lecturing but asking rhetorical questions that the professor answers themselves (yes, the
plural pronoun "them" is now acceptable with singular nouns - Ask Richard Lederer).
c. Lecturing with power points slides.
d. Lecturing in a way that engages the students interest.

3. Interactive lectures but involving the students by asking questions that require them to
analyze, synthesize or evaluate ideas and facts during the lecture.

4. Problem solving assignements:
a. Giving students assignments that requires them to engage in research that requires
them to think critically to fulfill the assignment.

b. Asking students to analyze case histories and make presentations that allow the teacher to
help them learn to think critically.

c. Giving the students a problem to solve that requires them to think critically to solve the
problem.

5. Having the students participate in a simulation of reality that requires them to analyze data,
make decisions and suffer the consequences of those decisions. And after the participation,
help them analyze the experience in a way that develops their critical thinking.

Yes, this might seem a little self-serving to say that experiential learning and particularly simulations are one of the best methods for developing critical thinking. But I don't think I will get much disagreement from those who have actually used simulations or other experiential methods in the classroom or in a business environment.

In Memory of Barbara Steinwachs

By Garry Shirts

I first met Barbara Steinwachs when she attended a course I was teaching at UCSD on simulation and game design in the early 1970's. She remained a close friend until she passed away at the beginning of this year. There are no words that can adequately capture the essence of her personality and character. It's easy to be optimistic, friendly and interested in others when one is young, healthy and engaged in an active professional practice. But she remained optimistic, engaged and interested in others when she knew she was dying. She and her husband Art came to visit us in Del Mar before she died. She'd already had several several operations to treat her breast cancer. She'd received years of chemo therapy with all the highs and lows of remission and then return of the disease. So when they came to visit we were prepared to offer her support and comfort in her dying days. That didn't happen. She expressed the same exuberance for life I'd experienced during the many years of friendship during her healthy years. We discussed politics, friends we knew in common, religion, her experiences running BaFa' BaFa'. By the time our visit ended, I'd forgotten that this was a person who had only a few months to live.

We could all take lessons from her on how to face difficulties and death with dignity. Her courage and strength is an example for all who knew her.

She was fortunate to have such a loving, supportive husband to be with her during last days. Our thoughts go out to him during these difficult times. He's suffered a great loss. Fortunately, he has memories of their wonderful years together to help him during these difficult days.

Just for fun: Text of 03 Christmas Card

Dear Friends and Family:

We are writing to let you know that we won't be sending Christmas cards this year. If we sent you one last year we just wanted to let you know that you shouldn't expect one from us this year and if you didn't receive a card from us last year, we won't be sending you one again this year. We hope you won't feel bad about this situation.

If it is any consolation, you are in very good company. We also aren't sending cards to any of the Pulitzer prize winners, or any of the Nobel Laureates or to President and Mrs. Clinton. You are, in other words, right at the top of a list of very important people who will not receive cards from us. If we were to send you a Christmas card or a season's greetings card, we would send you our warmest greetings and wish you the happiest of holidays and hope that the coming year is one that brings you good health and great joy

Just for fun text of 05 Christmas card.

Dear Friends and Family:


Well it’s time for our yearly Christmas letter. We hope you enjoy it.

Cozette and I started the New Year in spectacular fashion. During the 2005 holiday season that ended on New Year’s day of 2006 we sent out 53 Christmas Cards By January the 3rd. we’d received 61 cards and 6 Christmas letters.. Seven more cards than we sent out. That pleased us very much. Last year we mailed 49 cards and only received 35 in return. But what really made us feel good is that we were mention mentioned in five of those Christmas letters. That meant that when those people recounted the important events and people in their life for that year, we were considered important enough to mention.

For example, In Bart and Martha Smith’s Christmas letter, they described Bart’s 60th birthday party they held in their back yard. Streamers were tied to the fence posts, balloons, floated above the garden, wonderful refreshments were served on the patio and music from on a boom box floated out over the yard, . They mentioned that more than 150 people accepted their invitation to celebrate Bart’s special day . We didn’t think about it at first but then we realized, we were two of those people. It pleased us so much to be mentioned in their letter. We just didn’t expect it.

In John and Mary’s Christmas letter they expressed great joy at having a new member of their family. In July they got a new dog. named Butch. They reported how much happiness he had brought into their lives and how everyone who came in contact with him loved him. We met Butch on the beach once in July when John and Mary were taking him for a walk. I bent down and scratched him playfully under his chin He wagged his tail for me. He was so warm and friendly I could tell he liked me. I just loved that dog. We were sure they were thinking of us when they said “everyone who came in contact with him loved him.”That was such a nice gesture on their part.

Six of the 59 cards we received were from mortgage and real estate companies. Cozette didn’t think we should count them as they were sent via bulk mail and addressed to “occupant” But I felt we should include them because they were delivered to our mail box and several of them were quite tastefully done. One had the picture of all the real estate sales persons in a sleigh being pulled by 6 reindeer. They were all waving happily as though they were in a parade. It was so cute. How I ask could we not include cards of that caliber?

We were also thrilled to receive 7 electronic cards. Cozette didn’t think we should count them either since they weren’t really card cards. But I loved them because they had pictures that moved and sang so they are part of the 61 cards we received. Two of the electronic cards not only included our e-mail address but all of the e-mail addresses of everyone else on their list. It would be a breach of confidence to tell who was on those lists besides us, but our e-mail address was right there among addresses of some very important people.

We also noted where we were in the order of the list under the assumption that they would put the addresses of those people they loved the most at the top of the list. In two of those lists we were in the top 25 (25th and 23rd). That made us feel very close to those people In one we were second from last, but we just met them a few years ago.

All in all it was a very good Christmas Card year.

It's a Piece of Cake- Personal, just for fun

It’s A Piece of Cake

By R. Garry Shirts

I sent an e-mail to my poker playing friends informing them that I would not be able to host the poker game on the agreed upon day because I was having eye surgery. My first draft of the e-mail said cataract surgery but I rejected that because it sounds so routine.. Eye surgery sounds so much more impressive.

I also didn’t want to mention cataract surgery because I knew their response would be like everyone else I’ve told. Those who have already had the operation say, “Don’t worry about it, it’s a piece of cake. You’ll be glad you did it.” Now why does that response irritate me? A doctor’s going to take a knife and cut into my eye, then he’s going to take a pair of pliers , grab the center of my eye and pull it out. Then replace it with a piece of plastic that may or may not fit. That’s a piece of cake?

If that’s a piece of cake? Why did I have to have a preop physical that included an ekg? There’s only one conclusion, they’re worried my heart’s going to be so stressed I’ll have a heart attack and die on the operating table?

If it’s a piece of cake. Why did I have to sign a four page list of things acknowledging that I knew what could go wrong, “the patient understands that even though this is a safe procedure, on rare occasions an infection might set in and he’ll be blind for the rest of the patient’s life. “ That’s a piece of cake?.

I didn’t read all four pages, but I’m sure it says in there somewhere that the doctor might slip and poke my eye out. “Oops, I’m terribly sorry. The nurse bumped my elbow, there goes your eye.”

And then there’s the other statement people make, “You’ll be glad you did it.” I think I may have some of my middle son in me. I remember telling him to ”have a nice day” as he left for junior high school and he replied, “Don’t tell me what to do.”.

Well don’t tell me I’m going to love it until you understand the background of this eye surgery. First, I don’t need the surgery. I can read most books and magazines without glasses. All I have to do is hold the book up close to my eyes. How can anyone with vision that good need surgery? At a distance, I can see perfectly fine with glasses. When I’m driving, I can recognize a car coming at me or one that I’m approaching in plenty of time to take evasive action. I don’t need to be able to read the highway signs because most of the time I know where I’m going. I don’t need to be able to see small animals because they know how to get out of the way of an approaching car. If people knew how well I can see, they wouldn’t be saying, “You’ll be glad you did it,”

People who haven’t had the surgery try to say something encouraging, but I know what they’re thinking. They’re thinking, “he’s getting old. Next his hearing will go, then his knees, and the next time we see him he’ll be wandering around Ralph’s in a walker looking for boxes of Depends.”

Although I’m chronologically old I don’t feel old. If someone came up to me on the street and said, “Quick, how old are you?’ And I didn’t have time to think, I would probably say, “I’m 40, 45 max.”

Even though I don’t need this surgery, I’m going to go through with it because I’ve been worried about going blind ever since I was a 12 year old kid. That’s when my mother happened to see me in the shower doing more than getting wet. “You keep doing that Garry Shirts and you’ll go blind” she warned. It s taken a little longer than I thought, but it’s finally happening.

BaFa' or RaFa'

We don't have a blog for the educational side yet so I'm putting this here until we do. I'm frequently asked by teachers whether they should use BaFa BaFa' or Ra'Fa RaFa' for their students. The difficulty is when it is used for 7th and 8th graders. If it is beginning seventh graders then I would say use RaFa'. If it's towards the end of the year I would suggest BaFa' BaFa'. The test is, if you point your finger at the student and they bite it, then you know that they've exited the wonderful age of 5th and 6th graders and are starting into those wonderful teen age years. You should then use BaFa'

Another consideration is the intellectual maturity of the students. RaFa' is much easier to understand so if you have an intellectually challenged group of eight graders, then I would recommend RaFa' rather than BaFa'.

On the other hand street wise eight graders, even though they may be challenged as far as academic skills are concerned but no intellectually, I would recommend BaFa' BaFa'

Cal Ripkin Jr. and I Give Advice on Raising Kids

According to a news report on television, Cal Ripkin Jr. has a new book out telling parents how to work with their athletic sons and daughters. One of his key points, apparently, is that kids are trying to figure out who they are and this is a process with lots of highs and lows. If the parent praises the kid excessively when he or she performs well, it increases the depth of the lows.

I think the book Punished by Rewards is accurate when it suggests that praising and rewarding kids or anyone else is more often counter productive than productive. For example, the curve reflecting the number of books read by kids who were rewarded by giving money for reading books was initially much steeper than one in which the kids were encouraged to read books because of the intrinsic value of reading. However, when the rewards stopped, as they inevitably will, the curve dropped dramatically and the intrinsically rewarded curve passed them by a great margin resulting in many more books read in the long run by those intrinsically rewarded than those extrinsically rewarded with money.

But if a parent must reward, I think it is best to reward the process. In every situation there are many things you can't control. But the one thing a person can control is how well they prepared, whether or not they stuck to it during the difficult times, whether they created the mental conditions that allowed the talents they'd work so hard to develop to express themselves. In other words praise the process not the outcome. This means that every child is a candidate for praise not just those who give outstanding performances.

Learning from poor judgment

I think this quote from W.W. Milne should become a tak line for all of us experiential learning advocates:

“Good judgment comes from experience, and experience ... well, that comes from poor judgment.”

– A.A. Milne

If you exercise poor judgment in the real world there can be dire consequences. If you exercise poor judgment in a simulation, all that happens is that you get a chance to learn from the experience.