Use of 3-2-1 learning strategy for critical thinking-teaching Magic Post

by Terry Heick

What is 3-2-1 strategy? The 3-2-1 strategy is simply a format that can frame-Well, really anything.

Examples of 3-2-1 strategy

There should be no question of teaching and learning. You could ask someone to name …

3 of your favorite music kinds, 2 of your favorite songs and 1 model that you have noticed by making this list of genres and songs

3 cities you visited, 2 of your favorite memories of these 3 cities and 1 place where you would like to go

3 causes of pollution, 2 solutions that could help approach these causes, and 1 thing that a person can do every day to help immediately / have an immediate effect

You have the idea. It’s just a simple way to frame a subject or a task, which makes it accessible and “fast”. For teachers, this means the possibility of a higher commitment of students and more possible uses in your class, from the newspaper or the discussion invites evaluation forms or exit slips.

The most common use of 3-2-1 that I saw is in response to a reading or a lesson-generally 3 things you have learned, 2 things that made you curious or confused, and 1 most important thing you have learned or should do with what you learned.

Use the 3-2-1 learning strategy for critical thinking

In 15 Reflection strategies to help students keep what you have just taught themI wrote: “The 3-2-1 is a proven way to supervise anything from an entry of pair or newspaper sharing (for example, to ask students to write 3 things they think they know, 2 things they do not know, and one thing that they are certain of a subject about the mastery of the mastery of the skill, the skill in post-improvement, and a way of making your argument. which you still need to improve, and a way of making your stronger argument) of the post-evaluation. »»

Returning and rereading the position recently, I came to mind that the 3-2-1 (or 1-2-3-or even 2-1 and 1-2) format could be a simple strategy for critical thinking. The “3-2-1” sequence itself has no significant potential, with the exception of its ability to supervise the potential of other Strategies.

Note that these are only approximate examples of use of 3-2-1 for learning. Do not hesitate to take one of these elements and to improve them or to create yours according to an idea that you have of the tinks. 🙂

Also note that I use sometimes vague or imprecise words like “thing” and “name” and “could have” and “could have”. I did it to make it general enough to be clearly useful for a range of school levels in content areas. The “thing” can be anything, from fractions or water cycle to a discussion on Shakespearian sonnets. (In this way, it’s similar to 6 Domains of Cognition Taxonomy for teaching.)

The point that I hope to underline is that the 3-2-1 strategy is a simple way to frame anything-which means that it is a useful tool for teaching critical thinking.

Analytical / conceptual

3 differences between metaphors and symbolism, 2 things they have in common, and 1 general effect on a text they each have

3 underlying hypotheses of democracy, 2 common misunderstandings of democracy, 1 reason for democracies have endured as a form of modern government

You could also have asked students to appoint 3 strengths of democracy, 2 forms of democracy and 1 way in which he might have to evolve to maintain relevance in a changing world (disinformation, false, propaganda, supporter, etc.)

Write 3 questions in terms of recall or understanding, 2 questions at “apply” level and 1 question in terms of assessment

Discussion / Listening / Debate

3 ways you agree, 2 ways you disagree, and 1 thing you learned (or it surprised you) during your conversation

3 things they said, 2 points they have done, 1 thing you would like to know more about

3 things that I know (generally) about the state of mind, 2 examples of the effect of the state of mind (generally), 1 thing that I noticed on my state of mind today / before this lesson / recently, etc. (especially)

3 ways in which my thought occurs easily or naturally for me, 2 ways of which my reflection requires a concentration or efforts on my part, 1 adjustment that I can make in response

3 things that I remember thinking during the lesson, 2 things that I remember having done during the lesson, and 1 thing that I could have done but I did not do it

In time

Spend 3 minutes to summarize, 2 minutes to clarify and 1 minute writing a sentence that concisely sums up the “thing”

3 things I could do with what I learned, 2 things that others do with this kind of knowledge or skills, 1 thing that I am I will do with what I learned

3 similarities, 2 differences, 1 question-guide-learning-learning

3 things I learned, 2 things that were a bit confusing, 1 “big idea” that summarizes the relevance of all this

3 open questions, 2 closed questions, 1 question of deepening

3 clarification questions, 2 survey questions, 1 contextualizing question

Lessons planning: What are the three ways that I designed with enough flexibility to meet the needs of a range of learners? What are the two questions or challenges I plan? If they can only learn one thing about this lesson, what do I want it to be (ideally in a sentence)?

Curriculum planning: What are the three most important “big ideas” in this program? (Obviously, it could be any number – six, ten, etc.) How can they unify “less important” or less wide ideas? What are the curriculum planning strategies that I can use to promote lasting understanding (or critical thinking, transfer, etc.)? What is a change that I can bring to this program to make it more flexible for all learners?

See 20 types of questions for critical thinking

Examples of reading response prompts

Non-fiction / Simple text: name 3 things you remember or learned of reading, 2 things that have made you confused or surprised, and 1 thing that you would like to know more about

Non-fiction / less simple text: Name 3 Examples of text structure, analyze 2 ways whose structure affected its meaning, and name 1 affirms that the text seemed to be well supported or not supported

Fiction: describe 3 ways of which the author developed the protagonist during the book, describe 2 ways whose development affected the development of the plot and identify and explain 1 change that the author could have made in this development and how this change would have affected the meaning of the text / your enjoyment of the text, etc.

Use the 3-2-1 learning strategy for critical thinking