[P506 Syllabus MS Word Format]
Dates: January 18th-March 8th (8:00-1:00, Saturdays), IU-B, IUPUI, IU-SE, USI
IU-Bloomington: see Section 5785 and 9077, School of Education: Room 2140
(Contact: Curt Bonk)
IUPUI: Section V148 and V193, ES Room 2132 (Contact: Curt Bonk & Rae Kornbroke)
University of Southern Indiana (Evansville): Forum Building: Room FA29
(Contact: Shannon Hoehn)
IU-Southeast: Section M508 (Contact: Juanita Schickel)
Instructor: Curtis J. Bonk, Associate Professor
Dept. of Counseling and Educational Psychology
Room 4022 Wright Education Bldg
Work Phone: (812) 856-8353; Home Phone: (812) 335-1746
Work Fax: (812) 856-8333; Home Fax: (812) 339-1254
E-mail: cjbonk@indiana.edu
Homepage: php.indiana.edu/~cjbonk
Course Web Site can be found at: www.indiana.edu/~bobweb/.
Intended Audience:
Public school teachers, higher education faculty, corporate trainers, and
administrators in all sectors are struggling with wave after wave of
educational change. Many recognize the need for shifting their teaching
philosophy to a more learner-centered or hands-on approach. However,
they too often lack the time and resources necessary for successful
navigation through such changes. This course provides a roadmap or
useful guide for those stuck in the murky swamp of paradigm change and
educational reform. Different versions of this course have been fun and
interesting to teach since 1991. With videoconferencing added in 1996,
the audiences for this course have been extended throughout Indiana.
This course is now intended for:
Graduate students wanting to feel better prepared to teach.
Practicing teachers searching for professional development or ways to
address block scheduling. Corporate trainers wanting to embed practical
strategies into their workshops and classes. Graduate students looking
for a thesis or dissertation topic related to nontraditional teaching.
Instructional designers interested in embedding thinking skills into
software and other media. Administrators and principals hoping to
integrate various educational reform efforts. Graduate students seeking
to explore the literature on student thinking in more depth. Private
consultants offering thinking skill or problem solving workshops or
training. Higher education professors wanting to enhance their instruction
with innovative teaching. Graduate students looking to round out a
doctoral or master's degree or minor in educational psych. Anyone
interested in linking thinking skills to cooperative learning and
motivation.
I truly believe that the market for people with skills from this course
will explode in the next decade. Why? First of all, there are thousands
of teachers, graduate students, parents, and corporate trainers in
Indiana and elsewhere wanting to upgrade their pedagogical skills and
knowledge related to student thinking and learning. At the same time,
colleges and universities are establishing centers for excellence for
teaching and learning. To help in these efforts, some materials from
this course have been placed on the Web and are reusable by teachers and
learners located anywhere in the world. Perhaps more importantly, there
are thousands (if not millions) of bored and depressed learners who savor
the brief moments when their instructors try something new. You can be
such an innovative instructor!
Course Purpose:
Since the early 1980's, countless reports have detailed the shift toward an
information-based economy and the need for a more technologically
sophisticated workforce. With each advance in technology, there are
renewed projections of increasingly higher skill levels needed to
effectively function in society. Though most of these changes are
occurring faster than public schools and universities can adapt, some
institutions are starting to develop learning environments that stimulate
and nurture critical and creative thinking as well as cooperative learning
and student motivation to succeed. At the same time that educators have
become aware of the importance of imagination, decision-making, and other
higher-order thinking skills, business and industry leaders have cried out
for flexible and creative employees who can look beyond the numbers.
In response to the emerging global marketplace of the twenty-first century,
there has been a renewed interest in teaching and learning within public
school and higher education settings as well as in military and corporate
training environments. There has also been a parallel explosion in
information about instructional practices and ways of delivering or
communicating that information. No longer will people tolerate a
curriculum that emphasizes individual learning over cooperative learning or
the rote memorization of facts over problem solving and creativity.
Instead, many new centers for teaching and learning excellence are intended
to help teachers engage learners with more authentic and active learning
experiences. Even with such renewed interest and resources, most teachers
still lack the time and resources to adequately deal with the proliferation
of instructional practices and associated ideas regarding educational
change. The basic purpose of this course, therefore, is to attempt to fuse
motivation and cooperative learning to thinking skill areas such as
critical and creative thinking. The reason for this synthesis is to enable
teachers, administrators, consultants, instructional designers, corporate
trainers, and graduate students to sort through masses of information
available on these topics and see some benefit within their personal and
professional lives.
Instructional Approach:
As indicated above, a modern-day workforce clearly demands skills such as
creativity, flexibility in thought, the ability to make decisions based
upon incomplete information, complex pattern recognition abilities,
synthesis skills, and holistic thinking. To get there, we need
transformative ideas about teaching and learning. Nevertheless, in this
course, you will have a choice: (1) you can select a few strategies to
enhance your instruction, or (2) you can rethink your teaching and learning
practices altogether.
The books and activities selected, therefore, will enable us to understand
and address coinciding trends in education related to creative thinking,
critical thinking, motivation, and cooperative learning. In starting on
this path, specific techniques and ideas will be offered as well as
implementation steps. Integration of these approaches in terms of
reforming one's instructional practices will be a key end of course goal.
Demonstrations and hands-on experiences of various methods will be used to
highlight method similarities and differences. In addition, students will
be exposed to ways to use technology to increase student thinking skills
and teamwork. Strategies specific to particular content areas will also be
highlighted. Finally, advice will be offered for getting started using
these alternative instructional strategies.
Course Objectives (after the course, students should be able to):
1. Understand the commonalities and differences of creative thinking,
critical thinking, cooperative and collaborative learning, and motivation.
2. Feel comfortable in using creative thinking, critical thinking, and
cooperative learning methods in teaching.
3. List thinking skill and cooperative learning options for different age
groups and tasks.
4. Design innovative curricula with meaningful problems and projects based
on learner-centered principles.
5. Arrange learning environments wherein students will reflect on thinking
skills and teamwork.
6. Appreciate the importance of individualizing instruction and
personalizing thinking skill activities.
7. Motivate students through an assortment of instructional techniques.
8. Understand possible roles of technology in student critical and creative
thinking and collaborative learning.
9. Reflect upon educational innovations in the areas of motivation and
thinking skill development.
10. Focus on the aspects of thinking enhanced by different cooperative
learning formats.
Required Texts:
Gary A. Davis (1998). Creativity is Forever (4th Edition). Dubuque, Iowa:
Kendall/Hunt Pub.
Bonk, C. J. (2003). Packet of Course Handouts.
Topical Sequence:
Week 1. Jan 18th General Introduction to Course and Motivational Techniques
Week 2. Jan 25th Creative Thinking Defined and Explained (Read Davis 1-4)
Week 3. Feb 1st Creative Thinking Methods (Read Davis 5-7 & 10; Due: A.
Curric Brainstorm #1)
Week 4. Feb 8th Critical Thinking: Defined and Explained (Read Davis 8-9 &
11)
Week 5. Feb 15th Critical Thinking Methods (Read 2-4 chapters of new book)
(Due: 2 Task II due)
Week 6. Feb 22nd Cooperative Learning Methods I: Generic (Read 2-4 chapters
of book selected)
Week 7. March 1st Cooperative Learning Methods I: Specific (Read 2-4
chapters of book selected)
Week 8. March 8th Critical, Creative, Coop, Motiv. Integration Wrap up
(Due: Final Presentations)
Note on readings for Weeks 5-8: P506 students are to read one additional
book during the second half of the course. P600 students are to read 2
additional books or one book and relevant one special issue of a journal.
I want you to read books either in critical thinking, cooperative learning,
motivation, or problem solving. For P600 students, at least one of these
books should be research related. You pick the book(s) or journals. Some
of the books that I recommend include:
Sample of Other Books:
K-12 Books:
1. Baer, J. (1997). Creative teachers, creative students. Allyn & Bacon.
2. Bellanca & Fogarty (1991). Blueprints for Thinking in the Coop.
Classroom, IRI/Skylight Pub.
3. Campbell, Campbell, & Dickinson (1999). Tchg & lnrg through mult
intelligences. Allyn & Bacon.
4. Johnson, D., Johnson, R., & Holubec, E. (2002). Circles of Learning,
5th ed.
5. Johnson, D., Johnson, R., & Holubec, E. (1998). Cooperation in the
Classroom, 7th edition.
6. Kagan, S. (1993). Cooperative Learning. Kagan Cooperative
Learning.www.kagan.online.com
7. McCombs, B. L., & Pope, J. E. (1994). Motivating hard to reach
students. Washington DC: APA.
8. McCombs, B. L., & Whisler, J. S. (1997). The learner-centered classroom
and school: Strategies for enhancing student motivation and
achievement. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
9. Perkins, D. (1992). Smart schools. NY: Free Press.
10. Slavin (1994). Coop learning: Theory, research, & practice (2nd Ed).
Allyn & Bacon.
11. Starko, A. J. (1993). Creativity in the classroom: Schools of curious
delight. Longman.
College Books:
Angelo, T. A. & Cross, K. A. (1993). Classroom Assessment Techniques: A
Handbook for College Teachers (2nd Ed). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
Publishers.
Bransford, J. D., & Stein, B. S. (1993). The ideal problem solver (2nd
ed.). NY: Freeman.
Johnson, D., Johnson, R., & Smith, K. (1998). Active Learning: Cooperation
in the College Class.
Huba, M., & Fred, J. (2000). Learner-centered assessment on college
campuses. Allyn & Bacon.
Corporate and Adult Training Books:
De Bono, E. (1990). Lateral thinking: Creativity step-by-step. HarperCollins.
Scannell, E., E., & Newstrom, J. W. (1991). Still more games trainers play. McGraw-Hill.
Higgins, J. M. (1994). 101 creative problem solving techniques: The
handbook of new ideas for business. The New Management Publishing Company.
Owen, H. (1997). Open space technology: A user's guide (2nd ed.). Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Thiagi, S. & Parker, G. (1999). Teamwork and teamplay: Games and activities
for building and training teams. Jossey-Bass.
von Oech, Roger (2002). Expect the unexpected (or you won't find it).
Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
About the Instructor:
Curt Bonk is interested in nontraditional and informal learning
environments as well as the use of technology in education. Dr. Bonk's has
done research on higher-order thinking, teamwork, mentoring, and emerging
educational technology. Such interests stem, in part, from working for
five years in the business world as a CPA and corporate controller. During
the past decade, Curt has provided hundreds of workshops for teachers,
trainers, administrators, and other educators on online learning, active
learning environments, distance education, cooperative learning, critical
and creative thinking, and case-based reasoning. He received a number of
teaching and mentoring awards as well as recognitions for using technology
in his teaching. He currently teaches educational psychology courses
within the Learning, Cognition, and Instruction program at IU as well as in
the Instructional Systems Technology (IST) Department.
Guest Speaker:
Note that Carin Neitzel will be the guest speaker for Week 6. Carin has
received awards related to excellence in teaching as an associate
instructor in educational psychology at Indiana University. She teaches
statistics, childhood socialization, and introductory educational
psychology. Her interests are in young children's academic self-regulation
and metacognition, parent-child interactions, and creative teaching
approaches. She successfully completed this class in the summer of 1996
and team taught the course with Dr. Bonk in the summer of 2000. Carin is
an extremely creative and popular instructor who plans to defend her
dissertation early in 2003.
Grading Scale:
I will use a 90-80-70-60 scale based on 180 total points.
168 pts = A;
162 = A-;
156 = B+;
150 = B;
144 = B-;
138 = C+;
132 = C;
126 = C-
Class Activities: (I) Class Participation; (II) Reflection and Personal
Exploration Activities; and (III) Final Project
I. Class participation and attendance (30 points). The instructor will
note attendance and participation each week in this class. He will abide
by all policies of Indiana University concerning student attendance.
II. Reflection and Personal Exploration Activity Options (90 Points--Pick
any three):
Note: Most of the tasks below will be graded for coherence and organization
(10 points); originality and generative learning (10 points); and
completeness and thoroughness (10 points). Two tasks are due February 15th
(Week 5 meeting) and the other is due March 8th (Week 8 meeting).
A. Curriculum Brainstorm (30 points)
In this option, I want you to spend 1-3 hours (don't spend much time on
this) all alone brainstorming all the possible ways you could use critical
and creative thinking and motivational techniques and cooperative learning
in your job setting (page 1). After we share some of your ideas in class,
you will spend more time personally ranking these ideas and reconfiguring
your original 3-4 lists. For example, you might sort your ideas into
categories or prioritizations that are useful to you this coming year (page
2). Next, I want you to reflect and jot down notes on this list and how it
changed (page 3). On the Bobweb Web site are examples of good curriculum
brainstorms from prior years. I will give feedback on this three-page
(single-spaced) assignment related to your creative ideas, coherent
reflection, and practical relevance. (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for practicing
teachers!)
B. Thought Paper (30 points)
The exploratory thought paper allows you to summarize some of the thinking
you have been doing as a result of this class (e.g., the effects of
thinking skills and cooperative learning on your life). Your thought piece
will be a 2-4 page (single-spaced) exploration and explanation of a
thinking skill, motivational strategy, or cooperative learning technique or
idea that you have been contemplating. This is not mindless idea doodling,
but, instead, is a way to coherently explore something that "inspires" you
(at least temporarily). Your basic contentions should be based on strong
logic and relevance to class, personal feelings, and at least some
creativity and personal exploration. See Bobweb Web site for examples.
C. One Super Summary Search (30 points)
You might conduct a library (preferably ERIC) search on a topic within
motivation, critical thinking, creative thinking, or cooperative learning
that you find important (this must include at least 10 articles; for P600
students, at least half of these must be research-based articles). For
instance, you might be interested in cooperative learning in science
classrooms; or, more specifically, cooperative learning in environmental
science classrooms. If that is your topic, you would search through the
research and practice literature on this topic (let's say for the past 3-5
years) and then create a personal bibliography on this topic for your later
use. I would like for you to categorize the articles somehow (e.g.,
according to research or practice, task, age-groups, domain, time required,
etc.). In addition, I would like for you to write a one paragraph summary
for about 3-5 of these articles, wherein you summarize the article and
discuss its importance to the field and to yourself and your colleagues.
You will turn in the following items to me: (1) bibliography of the
articles found listed in important categories/topics and (2) 4-5 brief
summary abstracts. I will look for the following in your work:
completeness, relevancy to topic, and coherent analysis and categorization.
Unless I ask, I do not need copies of any of the articles you select
though you might include the first pages of every article. See course
Website for examples.
D. Program or Strategy Review (30 points)
Find a method for teaching thinking skills, cooperative learning, or
motivation, or a problem solving program or other heavily researched method
(e.g., reciprocal teaching, CoRT, CIRC, Philosophy for Children,
cooperative scripts, etc.) and review or synthesize that approach and its
applicability to learners who you currently or someday might teach. What
flaws or limitations are apparent? What are the strengths or potential
uses of the program? You might ask a teacher how he or she would actually
use it in the classroom. You are to turn in a 2-4 page single-spaced
review of this program or approach.
E. Expert or Scholar Review (30 points)
Sometimes an instructional approach or thinking program is synonymous with
the inventor or creator of that program. In this option, I want you to
review the work of a scholar in this field. For instance, you might read
about person who invented a popular instructional technique or series of
techniques or who authored a famous book, such as Roger von Oech
(www.creativethink.com/), Edward De Bono
(www.edwdebono.com/), David Perkins
(www.pz.harvard.edu/PIs/DP.htm), Barbara McCombs
(www.du.edu/~dri/Personnel/McCombs.html), or David or Roger Johnson
from the Cooperative Learning Center (www.clcrc.com/). You might
place an appendix in the paper outlining that person's life. You might
send that person (or someone who has developed similar programs or
strategies) a letter asking for additional information. For instance, you
might want to see what else exists on a topic, find out how teachers are
using a thinking skill program, write to competing researchers for research
reports, or something similar. It is the exploratory, inquisitive nature
of the task that is prized here, not what you actually do. In addition to
orally reporting what you found out, you must turn in a 2-4 page single-
spaced summary of the work of this person. Be sure to include what you
did, why you chose this activity, what you gained from it, any resources
received, and a copy of your letter(s).
F. Test or Instrument Review (30 points)
Instead of reviewing a program, scholar, or instructional technique, in
this option, you are to find a test or instrument in an area related to
this course (e.g., a creativity test, critical thinking test, motivational
instructional, problem solving procedure, or cooperative learning index),
and use it with at least one person and then critique it. If you cannot
get a copy of the instrument, then you are to review the literature on the
use of this tool or test and make recommendations for others who might want
to employ it. You might also ask a teacher how he or she would use it in
the classroom. Be sure to turn in a 2-4 page single-spaced report of the
instrument along with an appendix of relevant contact information (address,
price, age level, etc.) and examples of instrument items, if available.
G. Book or Special Journal Issue Review (30 points)
In this option, you are to review a book or special issue of a journal
related to this class (including one of the books you decide to read for
Weeks 5-8). It can be a book or special issue that is practical, research-
oriented, or theoretical. What are the key points or findings of the book
or issue? What are the strengths and weaknesses? What are future trends?
How will you apply some of the ideas from this book? Note: that you might
compare and contrast two books. An option of this would be to write a
rebuttal to an existing review or critique as if you were the author. You
should turn in a 2-4 page single-spaced review.
III. Final Project Options (Pick one):
P506 students I recommend Option A below and P600 students I recommend
Options B, C, or D.
A. Presentation/Description of Curriculum or Workshop Idea (60 points: this can be team taught)
For P506 students, the key class assignment here is the development of a
curriculum idea or workshop on critical or creative thinking, motivation,
or cooperative learning for a content area that you teach or would like to
teach someday. Here, I want you to specify the materials to be
learned/studied, targeted age group, learning objectives, instructional
plan, time length, method(s) used and procedures, and anticipated
assessment procedures (about 4-5 single spaced pages total). Note that the
topic of this workshop or lesson is up to you. I would ask that you
present your curriculum ideas to the class with at least one class handout
so that we all benefit from your efforts; the normal time allotment is 12-
15 minutes for individuals and 20-30 minutes for teams. During your
presentation, you can be as creative as you want to be.
Grading criteria for your workshop presentation and paper include:
Organization of the presentation (flow, length, practiced).
Topic stimulation (active engagement).
Usefulness of materials (clear, practical, handy, relevant, informative, handout(s) provided).
Knowledge of the topic (expertise, good ideas, insights).
Scope of plans and curriculum impact (goals clear, important, appropriate, significant, doable).
Effort (digging deep, extensive depth displayed here, work-work-work-work, persistence).
Typically, presenters are provided with immediate feedback from other
students as well as from me. I have collected tons of examples from
previous years to share with you--see Bobweb Web site for some of these
previous workshops. This assignment is typically the highlight of the
course!
B. Research Proposal on Instructional Strategies
For those in P600, I would prefer you focus more on research ideas. For
instance, you might conduct a pilot test of an instructional approach.
Alternatively, you might observe and code the teaching techniques used by
one instructor or a series of instructors. Or, you might observe a student
"think aloud" as he uses a learning strategy or technique. Instead of
that, you might perform action research in a course that you are teaching.
For instance, you might try out a cooperative learning, more specifically,
a collaborative writing technique. Please turn in a maximum of 10 single-
spaced pages, exclusive of references, appendices, chats, and tables.
Option B. Research Proposal:
I. Title Page (Name, affiliation, topic title, acknowledgments)
II. Review of the Literature
Intro to Topic/Problem (purpose, history, importance) (1 page)
Review of Literature (contrast relevant literature on the topic) (2-3 pages)
Statement of Hypotheses/Research Q's (what do you expect to occur) (1 page)
III. Method Section (2-3 pages)
Subjects and design (i.e., sample, who and how assigned to groups)
Materials/setting (i.e., hardware, software, text, models, figures)
Dependent measures/instruments (i.e., tests)
Procedure (i.e., training)
Other (i.e., coding, other materials)
Experimental analyses or comparisons
IV. Results and Discussion (OPTIONAL):
1. Antic/dummied results;
2. Discussion of results
V. References (APA style: see syllabus for example)
VI. Appendices (pictures, figures, graphs, instruments, charts, models, coding criteria, etc.)
C. Grant Proposal
Perhaps you are working for a center that needs grant money. Here is a
chance to help out. After thoroughly reading a topic area, draft a
proposal for a grant to a government agency or a foundation. You (and your
boss) choose the funding agency, title, and monies needed. Include the
purpose and goals, timeline for the project, ramifications or implications,
budget, and other items required in the grant. An extensive literature
review and associated research questions should ground your proposal, while
the names and addresses of 3 reviewers and your resume should end your
proposal. Please turn in a maximum of 10 single-spaced pages, exclusive of
references, appendices, chats, and tables.
D. Center Creation Proposal
Write a proposal to create a teaching and learning center with a focus in
an area wherein you are interested. This proposal can either be internal
(i.e., written to a university, school district, or corporate training
department) or external (i.e., written to a government agency or
foundation). Include a rationale and purpose for center in your proposal
as well as goals or targeted plans, a timeline, a budget, stakeholders, key
players (make up names and bios if you want), space needed, resource needs,
etc.). Please turn in a maximum of 10 single-spaced pages, exclusive of
references, appendices, chats, and tables.
Grading Scale from Options B, C, or D
(Note 1 (low) to 10 (high) for each of the following criteria):
1. Review of the Problem, Issue, and Literature (interesting,
relevant, current, organized, thorough)
2. Relevancy (linked to content of the course, connections to course,
fulfills task expectations)
3. Implications/Future Directions (important, generalizability,
options available, research focus)
4. Overall Richness of Ideas (richness of information, elaboration,
originality, uniqueness)
5. Overall Coherence (clarity, unity, organization, logical sequence,
synthesis, style)
6. Overall Completeness (adequate info presented, fulfills task, no
gaps/holes, precise, valid pts)
E. Web Site Update
The Bobweb was created in 1996 by Jamie Kirkley, a former student of this
class. She and I hoped that the site would help future students of this
class. Using grant money from the Continuing Studies Program, former
student, Dr. Noriko Hara (now an IU Professor in SLIS), and I later
expanded and refined it in 1997 and 1998. While some parts of it have been
continually updated since that time, as will be apparent when you explore
it, it could now use an update and perhaps even an overhaul. One option
would be to create a new portal of information in the Bobweb on one or more
topics related to this class (e.g., active learning, online motivation, or
creativity testing). Alternatively, you might update existing resources in
the Bobweb. Or you might try some combination of the two. When done, you
are to write a 1-3 page single spaced reflection paper on why you selected
that topic and what you learned from it. Depending on the scope of the
project, two people might work together here.
Grading Scale from Option E
(Note 1 (low) to 10 (high) for each of the following criteria):
Organization of the Web Materials or Web Site (easy to navigate, well laid out).
Currency and Relevancy of the Materials (useful, current, handy, needed, relevant).
Originality and Creativity (creative spark here, uniqueness, novelty, catchy).
Scope and Depth of Web Materials (comprehensive, complete, appeals to broad audience).
Effort (digging deep, extensive depth displayed here, work-work-work-work, persistence).
Overall Activity and Design (significant, important, valuable, well worth the effort).