ITEN Launches Seminar Series on Critical Thinking

Today, teachers use of innovative practices in the classroom is essential for inspiring students to learn in a fast, complex, and information dense environment. This month, the OAS-SEDI’s Inter-American Teacher Education Network (ITEN) launched a webinar series on Critical Thinking in collaboration with the International Literacy Association (ILA). The first webinar in the series, "Developing Oral Academic Language with Critical Thinking Activities," was conducted on March 13 by the education specialist Dr. Jeff Zwiers, senior researcher of the renowned School of Education at Stanford University and director of professional development of the Understanding Language Initiative.

A total of 292 people from 30 member states of the OAS registered to take part in the webinar that promoted specific strategies for teachers to encourage critical thinking in their students, focused on how to put ideas into words in a clear manner and to have fruitful academic conversations with others. Thinking critically allows students to make better decisions based on objective information, develop critical evaluation, formulate conclusions, cultivate the imagination, and solve problems effectively.

Further emphasizing the importance of critical thinking skills in the classroom, and in the spirit of collaboration between OAS initiatives, on March 12 and 19, ITEN also organized, in conjunction with the Professional Development Scholarship Program (PDSP) of the OAS-SEDI, the webinar “Scholarships for the Online Course on Technology, Collaboration and Critical Thinking for 21st Century Schools offered by Fundación Evolución de Argentina.

From 2012 to date, ITEN has offered 47 live webinars with more than 14,960 people registered from all Member States of the OAS. All webinars are recorded and posted on the network’s Youtube channel, which operates as a virtual library of innovative teaching practices in the Americas and has become a reference for teachers and education specialists from the region.

The webinars, other virtual tools and in-person activities offered by ITEN are aligned with the goals of the 2015 Inter-American Education Agenda, adopted by the Ministers of Education in their last meeting held in February in Panama. The activities are developed with institutions and experts in the field of the teaching profession, and are supported by the Ministries of Education, which contribute to the design, promotion and implementation of the initiatives in their country.

In 2015, ITEN will launch new initiatives to respond to the growing regional demand for highly trained teachers. A series of Audio Programs in English and Spanish to strengthen the ability of teachers in rural areas to develop critical thinking skills in their students; Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) to support the teaching of sciences using inquiry based methodologies, and a Virtual Toolkit guide with theoretical and practical tools to strengthen teachers’ ability to develop critical thinking skills in their students with emphasis on numeracy, literacy, science and citizenship education.

Throughout the years, ITEN has helped raise the professional development of thousands of teachers in the Americas, through a robust virtual community of practice that now counts with over 20,000 members, reaching a growing number of students with improved and innovative teaching practices. All activities are offered by ITEN to participants for free, with contributions from the OAS and financial support from the Permanent Mission of the United States to the OAS.

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