Teaching to think in the university classroom. an experience at the schoolteaching of the university of la rioja

Abstract

The teacher’s work means not only a sound knowledge about the students’ possible especial needs but also a critical thought and a creative mind for the direct treatment with these students. In the context of the subject “Psychological Foundation for Especial Education” in the degree of Education in the University of La Rioja an innovative experiment was carried out in order to develop the students’ competences. In fact, its main objective was to activate the students’ critical thought about their previous ideas on the especial educative needs and the knowledge one acquires in the classroom context. Moreover, another objective was to develop their creative mind about the possible activities that a teacher can use with his students, depending on their needs. Two topics were mainly dealt with this methodology: high capacities and disturbance of the autistic spectrum. Several activities were carried out and the results proved very positive effects about the students’ motivation and learning.

Keywords

• innovación educativa
• pensamiento creativo
• pensamiento crítico