Upcoming Institute

Summer Institute 2008

topic

Nurturing Critically Thoughtful Learners

date

20 August 2008
8:30 am to 4:00 pm

location

The Vaughan Estate, Estates of Sunnybrook
2070 Bayview Avenue,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Past Institutes

2007
22 August 2007
Character Development

2005
24 August 2005
Building Effective School Discipline

2004
26 August 2004
Creating Professional Communities in Schools

Toronto Principals Centre presents:

"A crucial first step in more effectively
promoting both critical thinking and subject
matter understanding is greater clarity
about critical thinking—what it can and
should comprise. Without a solid understanding,
we are likely to adopt a superficial approach,
have significant gaps in our treatment
or proceed in an ineffectual
if not counter-productive manner.”

- Roland Case, 2004

The Toronto Principals’ Centre presents a one day Institute to explore and reflect on recent research and practice that brings together the concepts of brain compatible learning, differentiated instruction and assessment, and thoughtful, critical thinking skills—all essential components in nurturing student success and teacher effectiveness. Come as a school leader or, better yet, bring your leadership team. This institute recognizes and honours the student success initiatives currently in place in TDSB and provides an opportunity for participants to deepen and extend their understanding as they plan to provide a thinking, caring school climate.

Participants will:

• Develop a clear understanding of the nature and attributes of an effective critical thinker.
• Identify and practice framing powerful questions and tasks that invite learners to think critically and make reasoned judgments.
• Explore the tools for intellectual thought and consider how these tools support board initiatives in literacy, instruction, assessment and character education.
• Work with six prompts that help educators frame engaging and critically thoughtful activities for learners.
• Consider how the tools for intellectual thought can be used as a practical and powerful means to differentiate instruction and assessment while ensuring classrooms nurture thinking and problem solving in all students
• Reflect on how embedding critical thinking in teaching can deepen and enrich assessment for, as and of learning.