Hello Everyone,
I recently viewed the edWeb.net “Big6: More Relevant and Important Than Ever!” webinar by Mike Eisenberg and Bob Berkowitz. It was truly fantastic to see these two gentlemen present on their information problem-solving processes, as I have previously researched the Big6 and the Super3. A presentation I co-authored and presented for one of my graduate classes and a resource sheet I made to accompany the presentation can be found on Google Drive, accessible through the side bar icon.
These two models provide students opportunities to practice “high-level thinking skills, innovative skills, and collaborative teamwork” (American Association of School Libraries [AASL], 2009a, p. 8), while aiding in their internalization of “adaptability,” the ability to take “initiative,” “creativity,” “self-direction,” and “flexibility” (AASL, 2009b, p. 13-14). These skills and dispositions, facilitated through projects and assessments that require students to engage in the Big6/Super3 processes, prepare students for the demands of the twenty-first century.
The webinar provided me with two main pieces of information about the Big6/Super3 processes that help solidify in my mind the importance to use them in a classroom or a library media center. For example, the two processes:
- provide teachers and students with a common vocabulary to discuss meta-cognition; and
- do not require all the students to do exactly the same thing in the same way at the same time.
I found it particularly important that the processes allow for students to work with individuality and flexibility, which made me think of how their use can facilitate students working within Gardner’s multiple intelligences and different learning styles (See this article from Vanderbilt University’s Center for Teaching for more information on learning styles). In the webinar, Mike Eisenberg even mentioned in a comment that the Big6 works with all learning styles, confirming my reaction.
Along with examples of how the Big6 can be used within the context of mathematics, Mike Eisenberg also showed how several examples of current technology can be used in each of the six stages. Below is his chart to show technology is context:
Overall, the webinar reinforced the view that the Big6/Super3 are timeless and universal and are vital to students’ success in work, school, and life as they function in the twenty-first century.
Enthusiastically,
Ms. Tyler
References
American Association of School Libraries [AASL]. (2009a). Empowering learners: Guidelines for school library programs. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.
American Association of School Libraries [AASL]. (2009b). Standards for the 21st-century learner in action. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.
