11B

After reading through some of the questions and answers my peers have submitted, I found a lot of strong, college-level questions which require higher-order thinking.  For example, A Country Girl’s Perspective (Link: http://turnupthecountry.blogspot.com) provided in-depth, critical thinking questions that made me think.  She answered her last question, “How does nurturing an environment fuel creativity?”  After reading her answer, I thought her it was very well-written and clear.  In addition, she used examples such as the TED Talk where Ken Robinson discussed how schools focus on mathematics and literacy.  Schools should also focus on creative thinking such as art, music, dance and drama classes as well.  Children should be rewarded for creative thinking and also be allowed to do so in a welcoming and nurturing environment.

Ciarra’s blog can be found at the following link:  http://ciarracm.blogspot.com/2013/11/11b-good-questions-is-perfect-start-in.html

In Ciarra blog, she answered the following question, “In the article by Jonan Leher, ‘How To Cultivate Eureka Moments,’ the author emphasizes that group interaction appears to pay a key role in innovation. What do you think?”

Ciarra created and answered a question which is very college-level because it includes the author’s name and article title in the question.  A student answering this question would have had to read the article and be prepared to summarize and analyze the article as well as relate it to themselves personally. 

Reading many of the questions of my peers, I found that many students listed questions which require critical thinking skills such as analyzing, evaluating, interpreting, and synthesizing.   During high school, many tests and quizzes required students to memorize information and then show what they know on the quiz or test day.  I have found in college, that many questions require a deeper understanding of class material.   Also, students often are expected to relate the class objectives to their own personal life or an event that occurred in their life.  Students need to be able to relate to class material and then further discuss it with peers.  Additionally, students may be required to complete a group project and work effectively with others.  Now when I begin to study for an open-ended essay exam, I need to be able to summarize information and be able to also think creatively with the information to produce an interesting and unique response.  I think it would also be beneficial to create questions with classmates, answer each other’s questions, and then discuss all of the responses.