We know our math scores aren’t competitive with other developed countries. We all know someone, or we may be someone, who dislikes math. But why does an interest in math matter? Yes, being competitive in the global arena is crucial for our nation’s advancement. Yes, taking a math course is required to graduate. But math helps individuals accomplish much more than an “A” on their exam.

On the most basic level, learning math promotes analytical thinking skills. Dr. Vinod Menon, professor of psychiatry and neurological sciences at Stanford University, has conducted research illustrating how one year of math instruction has significant impact on the brain’s approach to problem-solving as revealed through brain scans of second and third graders.¹ As students move through math curricula from elementary to high school, they must learn to apply what they know to new ideas and different types of problems, building more complex thinking processes. Years of math where students work through steps, identify patterns, and apply complex thought processes hardwires the brain for deeper level thinking.

Beyond brain function, studying challenging math can promote perseverance and a mindset for rigor, which helps students far beyond the math classroom. Conquering math involving deeper and more complex thinking promotes a mental agility for problem-solving that can be called upon in a variety of arenas. And the willingness to work through challenging math helps students to develop the mindset to stay and wrestle with problems longer.

Students need math skills to think critically about finances. Stephen Meier, assistant professor at Columbia University, conducted a study indicating borrowers with poor math skills were two times more likely than others to experience home foreclosure.²  While he believed the results were no surprise, he hadn’t expected as great of a correlation between math abilities and foreclosure rates. The math skills necessary for sound investing are just as important for sound borrowing. Consider the “house of card” investments, ponzi schemes, hidden charges in investment portfolios, and other hard to assess situations people must wade through to make smart investment choices.

But for many students, learning to embrace challenge and build upon successes earned by overcoming difficult material, breeds confidence and an internal motivation stoked by knowing that with effort, achieving what was once believed too difficult, becomes a key ingredient for success. Overcoming the challenges that math often presents provides this experience.

Possessing math skills can open many possibilities for individuals, whether it leads to making more educated decisions in everyday life or leads to a career choice in a STEM field. How do you get students interested in math?

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¹â€œAdding it Up: Research Shows how early math lessons change children’s brain,” by Erin Digitale, http://med.stanford.edu/ism/2011/june/math.html

²â€œStudy Says Math Deficiencies Increase Foreclosure Risk” by Bob Tedeschi, June 11, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/realestate/12mort.html

The achievement gap between low- and high-income students is 30-40 percent higher for students born in 2001 than those born 25 years earlier, according to the National Summer Learning Association. The stigma of summer school is changing as experts find that summer learning losses continue to divide opportunities between low- and high- income students and that students can’t afford to unlearn knowledge every summer as our world standing in education continues to slip.

A strong focus for summer learning initiatives is on low-income students who don’t have the same summer learning opportunities afforded to their peers from higher-income families, causing them to be at a perpetual disadvantage at the beginning of each school year. However, summer learning loss isn’t exclusively a low-income problem. All students who don’t exercise their math skills over the summer lose about 2 months of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation skills. Low-income students are more likely to also lose 2 months of reading achievement, while their more affluent peers improve (NSLA).

This summer, LifeBound held a series of summer workshops for students in middle school through high school who attend school in Colorado Springs and Jefferson County School District. Scholarships were given to outstanding students to attend the week-long training. Class titles included: Critical and Creative Thinking: Becoming an Effective Coach, Problem Solver, and Decision Maker and Success in Middle School: How to Make a Great Transition for students in 5-9 grade and Critical and Creative Thinking and Mastery of Leadership: Leading in College, Career, and Life for high school students.

Students in Jefferson County are finishing up their last week in their summer workshops this week, and we look forward to hearing about all that they’ve learned. We will continue posting student reflections on our LifeBound student blog over the next few weeks. Today we have three articles by our talented middle school attendee of the Critical and Creative Thinking workshop in Colorado Springs, Keegan. Just one tidbit he took away:

You don’t have to do something great to be a great person. Whether you create a cure for cancer, or invent some socks that never smell, the thing that makes you great is your attitude.

Next week we will have some more articles from our high school students who attended the Leadership course.

Read Keegan’s blogs:

• What I Learned at LifeBound’s Critical and Creative Thinking Summer Workshop
• Using Critical and Creative Thinking Skills In and Out of the Classroom: A Student Reflection
• What I Learned About Teamwork and Leadership in LifeBound’s Summer Workshop

ACT Inc. just announced they are developing new assessments aimed at students between 3rd and 10th grade to test their college and career readiness skills. Many states are pushing for more students to leave school with the skills they need to succeed in college and career and ACT believes their new series, to be launched in 2014, will be the answer.

The New ACT College and Career Readiness Series 

The new ACT college and career readiness series will largely be available in a digital format to offer students and teachers instant feedback, with the option to take a written test for schools that don’t have access to technology. Tests will include multiple-choice, open-response, and interactive questions that will be analyzed to learn more about students’ strengths and weaknesses.

States are right. Schools need to incorporate college and career readiness curricula in tandem with students’ academics to help them make an early connection between high school and college; an education and a career; and their strengths, interests and goals for the future. LifeBound books like Gifts and Talents, People Smarts, and Making the Most of High School encourage students from middle school to high school to search for their interests and passions so they can become more connected with their peers, their schoolwork, and themselves, as well as develop critical thinking skills and social and emotional intelligence. ACT wants to teach to the “whole” child, however, part of the self-discovery process that prepares students for college and career is in the doing, not the  testing.

Students can take assessments that help them evaluate what they are good at and the professions that align with their strengths. However, learning about a career and being ready for a career path are two different things. Last year, an unprecedented study found 45% of college students didn’t learn critical thinking skills over four years in college. Giving students another test to take, whether or not it’s directed at college and career readiness, will not exercise the critical thinking skills they need to be successful in their college or career years. So, while we applaud the need to have a greater emphasis on career exploration, we encourage the ACT and all who look thoughtfully at this issue to provide a more expansive way to look at self, options, and the people who can help students learn about themselves through the lens of experiences they have had through fields of study and actual workplace contributions.

Experiential learning is key for students to explore college and career interests, develop critical thinking skills to deal with real-world problems, and assess both their strengths and weaknesses. In college, “success” is defined by much more than what students know. Students are graded on what they know how to do. This learning happens by doing their coursework, getting an internship, making valuable connections, and becoming involved with people who can be of help in the discovery process. Professionals are also evaluated on what they know how to do, not just on what they know. This learning happens in the field and out of the classroom. It is where risk meet reward to create opportunity.

College and Career Success Is Not a Formula

Let’s help students early and often to develop critical thinking skills, self-awareness, a knowledge of strengths, weaknesses and interests and a curiosity that can help them to negotiate any unknown in their learning, professional or personal.  Let’s use technology, reading, and advocacy groups which students can form themselves; role models who can guide and inspire; informed and aware teachers and counselors all of which provide the network students need to ignite genuine passion. That motivation can propel students in the most purposeful and effective way no matter what career they may decide to pursue.

Success is not a formula, but an awareness. Let’s promote awareness over yet another quick-fix recipe so that we can broadly, not narrowly, help students to understand themselves, their options, and the paths which make sense for them to pursue their goal. For the informed, self-directed and inspired student who is given the gift of space and time to consider these options, the career paths and opportunities are limitless.

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Sources

“ACT to Roll Out Career and College Readiness Tests for 3rd-10th Grades” by Caralee Adams. 2 July 2012. Education Week. Accessed on 9 July. http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/college_bound/2012/07/act_plans_to_roll_out_career_and_college_readiness_tests_for_3rd-10th_grades.html

“Study: Many college students not learning to think critically,” by Sara Rimer. 18 July 2012. The Hechinger Report. Accessed on 9 July 2012. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/01/18/106949/study-many-college-students-not.html#storylink=cpy

In a competitive global market the soon-to-be college graduate and new professional needs to know their unique talents and abilities in order to stand out from the crowd. Our economy is recovering slowly; a shift in our schools  and colleges can set new expectations to better prepare graduates for workforce realities. Many K-12 schools, whether out of choice or necessity, still teach to standardized tests and curriculums. However, the new professional is anything but standardized. The new professional is self-aware, stands out because of their ability to develop unique strengths, can connect their education to their career, is fully integrated into traditional and digital communication, and understands how to use personal discipline for professional advantage. If there isn’t enough time to emphasize this model in class, teachers can emphasize the importance of this exposure out of class.

If the institutions don’t have the money, time, perspective, or know-how to teach to students unique strengths, students often miss learning the skills they need to thrive in the real-world.  When teachers and parents don’t make specific opportunities available for students to apply their academic skills to real-life job prospects, young minds struggle to make those connections which employers deem imperative. Small change can make a big impact, whether it’s one teacher making a difference in his class, one initiative helping kids work on their skills after school, or parents creating a supportive culture at home. Below are some small ways educators, professionals, and parents can help find and develop students’ gifts and talents to prepare them for success in school and their career.

Robinson believes the waste of talent we see in our schools is not “deliberate”, but rather “systematic”. There will be an education revolution, as Robinson calls it, but how long can you wait for change? If your school curriculum doesn’t offer enough creative outlets, how can you make one change in your lesson that uses students’ critical thinking skills instead of memorization? If you’re a parent, what is one activity, whether a physical one, a video game, board game, etc. that develops critical and creative thinking skills you could encourage kids to play at home?

Create opportunities for students to practice professional skills and find professional role models. For many students, there can be a disconnect between what they’re learning in school and how that knowledge applies to the real world. Many students ask, “Why are we learning this?” and parents and educators don’t always have a better response than “because I said so” – or some variation. Share the true purpose of the learning and connect the value of each idea to career and personal life.

How are you helping students draw the connection between school and life? Would you be willing to coordinate positive role models to come speak to your students? Consider the impact of bringing in a real-life role model to a class that is tapped into the unreal behaviors of many of today’s celebrities. It’s the responsibility of parents, educators, students, and the community to create a stable tomorrow.  Our energy and our imagination can transform current difficulties and frustrations into  a new, vibrant and energizing learning environment.

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Sources:

¹Â “How Schools Stifle Creativity,” By Sir Ken Robinson. _{http://www.cnn.com/2009/OPINION/11/03/robinson.schools.stifle.creativity/index.html}

²“How One Principal Recruited Role Models to Motivate His Black Male Students,” by Baruti Kafele. 14 April 2012. Good. Accessed on 20 April 2012. http://www.good.is/post/how-one-principal-recruited-role-models-to-motivate-his-black-male-students/

How do you use critical thinking in your adult life? Do you wish you would have had better critical thinking skills when you made a decision in your youth? How did you learn to think critically?

Critical thinking skills aren’t only for the classroom and opportunities to teach students critical thinking skills are by no means limited to classroom, either. In Oregon and Washington, students in kindergarten through high school recently played in the 46th annual Oregon Chess for Success state tournament. Chess for Success has participated in research that found chess can improve critical thinking skills, according to the article “Students learn more than checkmates with Chess for Success.”

Director Julie Young says chess players learn life skills like impulse control, delayed gratification, long-term planning, and strategizing. On their website, Chess for Success says:

“Chess has a positive effect on the self-image of students, particularly those students who have not enjoyed academic success and may not be perceived as “smart” by their peers and adults. Chess possesses a unique capacity for focusing the attention of young children and providing challenging experiences that stimulate the development of critical thinking, even among children who are usually restless and unable to concentrate on schoolwork.”

Chess for Success is a great example that shows critical thinking skills can be introduced and refined through a variety of modes. Students can be encouraged to ask problem-solving questions in math class. Parents can give their child a real-life scenario and ask their opinion of what the best option is. Kids can be encouraged to think before acting in social circles. What critical thinking activities can you include in your lessons? How can you bring critical thinking skills to your theater, psychology, or language class?

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“Students Learn More Than Checkmates with Chess for Success,” by Molly Harbarger. 3 March 2012. The Oregonian. 7 March 2012. http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2012/03/students_learn_more_than_check.html 

In 2011, an unprecedented study found forty-five percent of students made no significant improvement in their critical thinking, reasoning or writing skills during the first two years of college. Many were stunned by the number of college students entering and graduating from college without critical thinking skills, a core 21st century skill necessary for making smart personal and professional decisions.

Even though the subjects of the study were second-year college students, this study also showed us that critical thinking doesn’t get enough emphasis in the K-12 classroom leading up to higher education. Learning to think critically is not something that can wait until students are in their young adult years when they are starting to make some of the most important decisions of their lives.

In the article “Critical Thinking: A Necessary Skill in the Age of Spin,” former teacher Randy Kasten illustrates why maturing kids are especially in need of critical thinking skills to navigate their changing world.

“….Young people — without significant life experience and anxious to fit in — are especially vulnerable to surface appeal,” says Kasten.

Critical thinking is one skill that can keep kids’ social and emotional pulls to surface appeal in check and help them make well-informed decisions.

Consider the decisions students make from an early age that have the power to impact future outcomes. Kasten lists targeted advertising that creates their buying and eating habits, friends that help them make good or bad decisions, and romantic relationships that do or don’t end well. Strong critical thinking skills help students make healthy choices for their academic, personal, and professional lives.  It also gives them the courage to say “no”, manage impulsivity,  resist peer pressure and manage conflict diplomatically.

Developing critical thinking skills must be a priority for educators, students, and parents before students leave their K-12 education.  LifeBound’s book CRITICAL AND CREATIVE THINKING FOR TEENAGERS asks students to solve today’s biggest problems, by  developing an inquisitive mind, strong investigation skills, the ability to ask powerful questions, and the skills to imagine, dream and create.

When and where do  you see students exercise their critical and creative thinking skills? What is the cost when students  aren’t exercising their critical and creative thinking skills? Do you think critical and creative thinking skills could solve our nation’s “innovation crisis”? What could strong critical thinking skills do for us in terms of solving problems around the world like poverty, AIDS, the aging population, the  sex slave trade and the exploitation of workers on foreign shores?

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Source:

“Critical Thinking: A Necessary Skill in the Age of Spin,” by G. Randy Kasten. 2 March 2012. Edutopia. Accessed on 5 March 2012. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/critical-thinking-necessary-skill-g-randy-kasten