tools to assess strategic thinking?

Hello friends, Explaining one's reasoning is a hallmark of strategic thinking. If we want students to enhance their higher order thinking skills, we will create many opportunities for them to explain their reasoning in writing as well as through discussions in pairs, in small groups, as well as with the whole class. I was wondering if anyone has developed tools to assess learners' strategic thinking? Are there such tools available online that could be adapted for use in adult literacy classes?

Thanks for your input!

Cheers, Susan

Moderator, Assessment CoP

Comments

Hi Susan, and thank-you for starting this conversation.

Kentucky is running a small pilot aimed at contexualizing academic instruction with the skills needed for entry-level employment: Communication, Critical Thinking, and Collaboration. 11 counties have been working over the last 6 months to explore teaching strategies and develop lessons that provide opportunities for students to learn and practice these skills. Over the next 12 months they will deliver these contextualized lessons and submit feedback from both instructors and students, which will be used to evaluate the pilot. We also work collaboratively with workforce development to ensure that our efforts are aligned with what employers are seeking.

We also plan to research options for validating that students can bring these skills to the workplace, so I am very interested in hearing from others who may be using tools to assess students readiness for entry-level employment.

Hi Sharon, Thanks for joining the conversation and posing your own important question on this topic. May I ask about the learners you are focused on for this project? Are they mainly ABE students? Are they working on high school completion? Do they speak English fluently or are you including English learners as well?

Cheers, Susan

Moderator, Assessment CoP