Creating a Culture of Thinking: Building the Skill & Will to Think Deeply - Paperback

by Tara L. Della Rocca (Author)

It is assumed that every classroom in America supports the development of thinking skills. Truthfully, more often than not, these environments encourage passive learning: listening, memorizing, following directions, and regurgitating information. To promote active thinking a different culture must be established in which students are taught deep thinking strategies and encouraged to use them. This book chronicles a year in spent inculcating in students the skill and will to use the critical thinking techniques of questioning and connecting. Through the year, these 5th graders developed the ability and inclination to be more active, inquisitive, and curious learners.

Author Biography

I have been teaching 5th grade at High Tech Elementary in Chula Vista, California since the school opened in 2011. It is here that I am encouraged to teach in a way that is both fun and meaningful for students and am surrounded by others who are passionate about teaching and learning. Prior to this I taught 4th grade at St. Mary's Elementary in New York, 5th grade at Cofradia Bilingual School in Honduras, for a summer in Uganda and another in Cambodia. I believe learning is about connecting with the world, observing it in detail, which sparks our wonder, and pursuing ways to answer our questions and solve the problems around us. I have enjoyed my ten years of teaching because I've gotten to share my enthusiasm for learning with others and because teaching challenges me to keep learning all the time. Before becoming an educator I spent four years as a business consultant, was in the Peace Corps in Samoa, and worked as a school counselor. I have a Bachelors of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame, a Masters of Social Work from the University of South Florida, a Masters of Childhood Education from Fordham University, and a Masters of Education-Teacher Leadership from High Tech High Graduate School.