Critical Thinking for Vocabulary Learning

The question is not:

Can we use critical thinking to teach vocabulary?

The question is:

How can we teach enough vocabulary without it?

Critical thinking is defined as a higher order process of reasoning that allows a student to move beyond an individual an individual viewpoint, to question assumptions, and to deeply analyze a range of complex information issues and problems. Teaching the elements of critical thinking is important in modern education, as it provides learners with the ability to deal efficiently and successfully with the changes of the new technology world. To cultivate such competency, learners must go beyond focusing on textbook knowledge and develop the necessary cognitive skills to make valued judgements, rational arguments, and evaluations.There should be exposure to teaching and learning of critical thinking during the process of learning L2. Once critical thinking is integrated into the ongoing education process learners will be more successful in thinking critically in  the second language.Teachers should train students in choosing the appropriate strategies that best suit their language needs. In addition teachers should design useful activities for students to improve their vocabulary.

In this regard i believe that traditional teaching methods need to be replaced by the learner-centered approaches in order to develop students' critical thinking ability.

Technology tools and lesson planning

Computers save time and help us organize material more easily when it comes to lesson planning. There are also lesson-planning apps and websites we can use to make our life much easier when typing up and organizing our lessons. I would like to mention some ways to enhance our lesson planning and organization.

• Lesson organization

Computers help you better organize and present your information. Typing up your notes in Microsoft Word or Google Docs, or creating a PowerPoint presentation, helps you focus less on how you’re going to teach and more on what you’re going to cover.

• Visual aids

Fortunately, the Internet provides more opportunities than ever to find relevant images so we can give students a concrete context for the subject. 

• Videos

A short, entertaining, instructional video is a great way to get students excited about learning.

• Class reading

Kindle library can be used by the teachers  in their English classes. The students could adjust the size of the text and follow along as their classmates took turns reading. Besides using Kindles, you can also project the assigned text onto a big screen 

• Board work with a Smart board

With this technology, you can easily project your computer screen onto the board while still retaining the functionality of a traditional classroom whiteboard. Games
Educational games are a great way to reinforce your lesson and engage your students. Students can play pre-selected games on individual computers, or the teacher can project one game onto the board and play it as a class.

• Research

Now, computers enable students to quickly and easily collect information from a wide range of credible online resources. Students can also use local library web pages to more efficiently search for relevant hard-copy sources.

• Presentations

When it comes to presentations, computers provide a fun variety of ways for students to share their knowledge. PowerPoint is definitely a favorite that can be used with all ages.

Constructivism

Constructivism is an approach to learning that holds that people actively construct or make their own knowledge and that reality is determined by the experiences of the learner. Constructivism believes in personal construction of meaning by the learner through experience, and that meaning is influenced by the interaction of prior knowledge and new events. 
I would like to mention some of the principles of constructivism.

1. Knowledge is constructed, rather than innate, or passively absorbed
2. Learning is an active process
3. All knowledge is socially constructed
4. All knowledge is personal
5. Learning exists in the mind

So what is the role of the teacher in a classroom?

The primary responsibility of the teacher is to create a collaborative problem-solving environment where studenta become active participants in their learning. A teacher acts as a facilitator of learning rather than an instructor. The teacher makes sure she understands the students preexisting conception and guides  the activity to address them and then build on them.

What are the features of a constructivist classroom?

1. Knowledge will be shared between teachers and students.
2. Teachers and students will share authority.
3. The teacher's role is one of facilitator or guide.

Multimedia, Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences and Cooperative learning

Every good teacher wants to find better ways to motivate students and inspire quality learning in the classroom. If teachers accept Dr. Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences, then they accept that all people are different and that educators should respect, value and nurture that diversity. Yet one does not need scientific research to validate what teachers have known for centuries--regardless of age, gender, race, or socio-economic background, students like to have choices. They like freedom. They like feeling that they are smart.  Plato put it memorably: "The purpose of education is to make the individual want to do what he has to do. Students enjoy tasks in which they can predict success.  Since understanding how students learn is the crucial step in a providing a quality education, offering them different opportunities to draw upon their multiple intelligences strengths is an excellent way to ensure quality learning.nowing that the brain behaves very much like a computer, where data is constantly entered, stored, linked and retrieved, it only makes sense to integrate computer software and applications to pique students' intelligences and learning behaviors.  Current research suggests that the brains of today's students are perfectly 'wired' to navigate through multimedia applications.  Studies further suggest that students learn better when engaged in lessons involving well-developed multimedia resources.  These resources, such as Treasure Hunts, Subject Samplers, WebQuests, or Virtual Field Trips are relatively easy to create and/or are readily available online for the educator.  In addition to biology, there are a multitude of applications across the curriculum that need to be incorporated in the classroom.  The use of such learning opportunities would certainly empower students and give them the chance to develop the self-confidence, knowledge and skills necessary to survive in this Information Age and inspire them to become life-long learners.The classroom often offers a student's first experiences practicing most life skills. Teachers should deliberately create opportunities for students to cooperate with each other, share responsibilities, solve problems, and control conflict.