The rules of the game

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How would you like to be given a hockey stick and thrown onto a hockey field . . .
Without knowing the rules of the game?
Without any practice in the sport?

"No fair!", you say.

Well, that’s exactly how it is for students.
They are handed a No. 2 pencil and put in a room to take a standardized test –
Without ever knowing the rules of the game.
Without ever practicing the sport.

Here's the secret, The professionals who write the state standards and the standardized tests have been trained in two things:
1. the curriculum, and
2. Bloom’s taxonomy.

Standardized tests are not designed based on a general idea of critical thinking.
They are written using a very specific mode of critical thinking - Bloom's Taxonomy.

It involves six specific mental operations:
1. Recall - Recall the facts and define them (memorization, rote learning)
2. Interpret - Translate the facts into your own words
3. Apply - Apply the rules to a new situation
4. Analyze - Break down the facts
5. Synthesize - Add up the facts
6. Evaluate - Judge whether the facts measure up to a high standard

Consequently, students need to become proficient in all six ways of thinking.
They need daily practice in Bloom’s taxonomy . . .

How it works:
1. Students work in groups.
2. The class examines ONE concept . . . from six different points of view:
   Recall, Interpret, Apply, Analyze, Synthesize, Evaluate
3. Students display their strengths.
   Those who memorize well . . . serve as models for those who cannot.
   Those who interpret well . . . serve as models for those who cannot.
   And so on.
4. Students improve upon their weaknesses.
5. Students become proficient in all six levels of Bloom’s taxonomy.
And do well on standardized tests.

The assumption is simple. If you truly understand a concept, you can demonstrate it in six different ways.
In short, the test requires students to manipulate the facts.
Brain research supports this assumption; the more ways we examine things, the more connections (or neural traces) the brain makes, the easier it is to remember and understand something.
Is it time for you to try a new approach to classroom management and strategy? If so, this book is for you!

NEW Bloom’s Taxonomy	Words associated with each level:	Performance Education: Using examples from Ancient China and Confucius.
1. Remembering/Knowledge/ Recall Can your students recall, list, memorize, reproduce information?	define, duplicate, list, memorize, recall, repeat, reproduce state	Includes: Timeline, the 5W bubble map of Confucius, China’s three traditional belief systems (comparing facts), ABCs of Confucius, terms, and then a class game to recall what they have just learned.
2. Understand/Comprehension/ Interpret- Can you students classify, describe, or paraphrase the concepts that they just learned?	classify, describe, discuss, explain, identify, locate, recognize, report, select, translate, paraphrase	Gives tons of example questions to ask, ideas on how to end your class, links to websites to help students completely understand the times with music, pictures, and art and comparing them with Buddhism and Taoism. Translating Confucius’ words into your own.
3. Applying- Can they use the new information and apply it to another subject or idea?	choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write	Activities that the students must relate ancient China to their lives. If you lived in ancient China, what would change in your daily life? Clothing, Food, Pets, etc. Comparing Buddhist and Confucian proverbs.
4. Analysing- can the student distinguish between the different parts?	appraise, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test	Uses graphic organizers to organize the causes and results of Confucius, Venn diagrams comparing Buddhism and Confucianism, examining facts about Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism and using a chart of categorize each fact.
5. Synthesis- can the student justify a stand or decision?	appraise, argue, defend, judge, select, support, value, evaluate	What made Confucius tick? What do all the ancient civilizations have in common? What did Confucius want? What if you ran your school? Write three theories to explain why China invented the civil service test.
6. Creating/Evaluation- an the student create new product or point of view?	assemble, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, write	Distinguishing between fact and opinion, Top Ten Reasons why Confucianism was good/bad for China, Narrative, Expressive, Informative, Persuasive, and a 6 paragraph Essay. And of course the TEST!