Mar 27, 2015
The PTSM: Curriculum Level• STAGE I: Advanced content + short term creative
and critical thinking activities
• STAGE II: Challenging activities that develop creative thinking and problem solving skills
• STAGE III: Independent projects
Role of the Teacher
• STAGE 1– Provide advanced
content– Plan short-term creative
and critical thinking activities
– Develop the tools of inquiry in the discipline
– Teacher as instructor and questioner
Stage II• Students work on inquiry-based activities related to the content of the curriculum.
• Activities are generally more realistic, longer in duration (generally one to several hours spanning several days), and more complex than Stage I activities.
• The most common strategies used in activities are creative problem solving, problem-based learning, inquiry techniques, research methods, scientific method, inductive and deductive reasoning, syllogism, analysis of arguments, and concept analysis.
• The level of pace and challenge must be appropriate for the ability level of the student.
The Role of the Teacher
• STAGE 2– Create interesting and
relevant ill-structured problems
– Gather and organize resources
– Facilitate problem solving teams
– Assess problem solving process and products
– Teacher as coach
The Role of the Teacher
• STAGE 3– Provide project
parameters• Content
• Process
• Product
– Scaffold self-regulation– Teacher as consultant
Strengths of the PTSM• Student Benefits
– Fit with the STEM disciplines
– Development of thinking skills
– Development of personal talent
• Teacher Benefits
– Easy to learn
– Encourages teacher creativity
– Fits natural instructional progressions