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Developing Minds 2024
Critical Thinking Across Social Studies
Overview
The 6th edition of the Developing Minds conference took place at SFU Harbour Centre on February 16, 2024. The event was attended both in-person and online by a varied audience of 110 secondary school teachers, graduate students and university faculty all learning from each other. This event was made possible through the partnership of BC Social Studies Teachers Association, SFU Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and with the support of SFU Faculty of Environment.
In response to the recent changes in BC Education Curriculum that established Critical Thinking as a core area of competency throughout BC Classrooms, the Developing Minds Conference aims to bring secondary and post-secondary educators together for insightful conversations. This year’s theme focused on critical thinking across social studies classrooms in BC, exploring why and how to implement critical thinking in classrooms.
The keynote was delivered by Dr. Peter Ellerton (University of Queensland) who discussed the importance of critical thinking as its own subject matter to be covered in classes. Attendees then got inspired by 7 different talks in the morning, and strategized about how to implement the insights from the talks in classrooms in roundtables.
EVENT DETAILS
- Friday, February 16th, 2024
- 8:00am to 5:30pm
- SFU Harbour Centre or online
Program Book
About Developing Minds
Recent changes in the BC education curriculum established 'Critical Thinking' as a core teaching approach throughout K-12 classrooms. Students benefit from a rich community of inquiry that promotes deeper understanding of curriculum content and equips them with valuable life skills. School systems already using this approach have documented success using a number of outcome metrics.
Critical thinking skills transfer readily from the classroom into post-secondary education, and beyond. Not only do they enhance learning outcomes but students also gain a competitive advantage in the job market by acquiring skills in critical, creative and collaborative thinking frequently sought by modern employers.
The Developing Minds conference seeks to open up discussion among provincial education stakeholders keen to explore how teaching critical thinking in K-12 classrooms transfers into post-secondary education for student benefit.
Simon Fraser University presents a day of roundtable discussion and keynote presentations on teaching critical thinking within BC’s education system, with a focus on connecting creative thinking with critical thinking skills in the classroom. Attendees will hear from keynote speakers with direct experience, and then collaborate to build a provincial framework of reference.