Promoting Equity in Critical Thinking Skills

Teaching with CLASS®

How can we shape innovators starting at a young age? Early childhood teachers have a big role in promoting confidence in problem solving.

Dr. Lourdes Norman-McKay joins us to explain how teachers can get students comfortable with shades of grey in the discovery process and with not knowing the right answer.

Dr. Lourdes Norman-McKay is a professor at Florida State College and the author of a globally marketed undergraduate microbiology textbook with Pearson. She earned her baccalaureate degree from the University of Florida and her Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine. For the past 18 years, Dr. Norman-McKay has been teaching allied health students at the collegiate level. She also serves as a speaker for the U.S. Department of State's International Information Programs––a diplomacy outreach bureau––to promote STEM education, innovation, and women in STEM.

This episode dives into Quality of Feedback and Concept Development.

Actionable tips to try from this episode:

• Ask more questions, give fewer answers
• Increase questions on how children know things rather than on what they know
• Focus on learning by experiencing and doing
• See mistakes as opportunities

Learn more about promoting equity in critical thinking skills:

• How to Help Girls Avoid the Trap of Perfectionism
  
• How Do Integration and Connections to the Real World Contribute to Concept Development?
• The Impact of Creating an Emotionally Supportive Learning Environment in Math Classrooms

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