蔡瑞瓊


摘? ? 要:批判性思維包括批判性思維技能和批判性思維傾向,是學生思維由低階向高階發展的原動力。在指向批判性思維培養的英語閱讀教學中,不同的思維可視化策略可運用于不同的環節:在讀前導入環節,借助“See -Think - Wonder”培養學生的推理和解讀技能;在讀中理解環節,借助“Connect - Extend - Challenge”培養學生的解讀和評價技能;在讀后討論環節,借助“Circle of Viewpoints”培養學生的開放思想和認知成熟度。
關鍵詞:英語閱讀教學;可視化思維策略;批判性思維
思維品質指思維在邏輯性、批判性、創新性等方面所表現的能力和水平[1],體現英語學科核心素養的心智特征。其中,批判性思維包括批判性思維技能和批判性思維傾向,是學生思維由低階向高階發展的原動力。批判性思維技能包括解讀(interpretation)、分析(analysis)、評價(evaluation)、推理(inference)、解釋(explanation)和自我調節(self-regulation)六項認知技能[2]。批判性思維傾向則包括尋找真理、開放思想、分析能力、系統化能力、自信心、探究能力、認知成熟度[3]。批判性閱讀是培養批判性思維的重要途徑[4]。然而,目前的初中英語閱讀教學往往集中在語言知識和語言技能層面,忽視了學生批判性思維的培養[5]。
可視化思維策略是指運用具體的思維工具來體現學生思維方式的一種可視化策略,可以幫助學生實現更深層次的理解,提升學生的思維品質[6]。哈佛大學Project Zero(零點計劃)提出的“Circle of Viewpoints”“Claim - Support - Question”“Compass Points”“Connect-Extend-Challenge”“I Used to Think ... Now I Think”“See - Think-Wonder”“Think-Pair-Share”“Think-Puzzle-Explore”“What Makes You Say That?”等可視化思維策略的核心理念在于思維模式是可教授的,這為思維教學提供了有效的工具。本文基于校本拓展教材《劍橋新思維英語青少版學生用書》(外語教學與研究出版社),探討“See - Think - Wonder”“Connect-Extend-Challenge”和“Circle of Viewpoints”三種可視化思維策略分別運用于英語閱讀教學的讀前導入、讀中理解以及讀后討論三個環節中對培養學生批判性思維能力的作用。
一、在讀前導入環節,借助“See - Think-Wonder”培養學生的推理和解讀技能
在讀前導入環節,可視化思維策略“See -Think - Wonder”可以幫助學生對文章內容進行預測,培養學生的推理和解讀技能[7]。“See”引導學生仔細觀察圖片并進行描述;“Think”引導學生在圖片與已有認知間建立聯系,進而推斷出圖片的寓意;“Wonder”鼓勵學生在“See”和“Think”的基礎上對文本內容進行推理,激發學生的閱讀興趣。下面以第八單元“Spend the vacation of a lifetime — in a cave!”為例進行闡述。
首先,教師以“See”為起點,引導學生觀察并描述圖片。“Spend the vacation of a lifetime — in a cave!”講述的是西班牙旅游城市瓜迪克斯的洞穴酒店,且附有一幅組合插圖(如圖1所示)。在讀前導入環節,教師借助圖1,提出問題“What do you see from the picture? ”,引導學生對圖片進行描述。
【教學片段1】
T:What do you see from the picture?
S1:I see mountains, trees, plants, windows, doors and a ladder.
T: Anything else?
S2: (I see) houses.
T: Where are the houses?
S2: In the mountains.
T: So they are more like caves which have the functions of houses.
在“See”這一起點環節,教師應引導學生觀察圖片,并盡可能全面地描述觀察到的內容,但無需解釋圖片信息間的內在聯系。由教學片段1可知:S1從直觀上羅列出圖1的事物;S2則從整體視角對圖1進行了描述,并提出“houses”。此時,教師通過問題“Where are the houses?”,引出文章主題“cave”。如果學生觀察不全面,教師則可通過“Anything else?”進行追問。
其次,教師以“Think”為支點,引導學生辨析內在聯系。在鋪墊必要的圖片信息之后,教師提出問題“Who / What ... do you think ...? ”,即以“Think”為支點,引導學生在圖片與已有認知間建立聯系。
【教學片段2】
T:What facilities do you think does the cave have? And why?
S1: I think it has water and electricity, which are necessary to our daily life.
S2: I think there is also Wi-Fi connection in the cave. If not, probably no one likes to live there.
S3: I don’t think there will be Wi-Fi connection in the deep mountain. It’s good to stay close to nature instead of phones.
T: Both S2 and S3 mentioned “Wi-Fi connection”, we can also call it broadband connection. It doesn’t matter that you have different understandings about whether there is broadband connection in the cave.
在教學片段2中,學生基于已有認知對洞穴的設施展開討論。在此基礎上,教師提出問題“Who do you think will live in the cave? And why?”,引導學生展開進一步的思考。這不僅有助于培養學生的推理、分析等批判性思維技能,而且也可以為后續的文本閱讀作鋪墊。在這一過程中,教師引導學生進行“Think - Pair -Share”,即獨立思考、與同伴交流以及成果分享。部分學生的成果分享如下:
S1:It can be so expensive to live in this special cave, and I think only rich people can afford it.
S2: I think only poor people who can’t afford houses in the city or suburb will live in this special cave.
再次,教師以“Wonder”為切點,引導學生對文章內容進行推測。在“See”和“Think”環節,學生已經對“cave”有了一定的了解。因此,教師在“Wonder”環節創設Post - it活動,引導學生運用句式“I want to know ...”來對文章內容進行推測。學生基于各自的興趣點積極發言,部分發言如下:
S1: I want to know where to find these caves.
S2: I want to know what the caves are used for.
S3: I want to know what facilities the caves really have.
S4: I want to know when the caves were built. Do they have a long history?
借助可視化思維策略“See - Think - Wonder”,教師可以引導學生觀察文本插圖,培養學生解讀圖片以及推測文章內容的能力,激發學生的閱讀期待。
二、在讀中理解環節,借助“Connect - Extend - Challenge”培養學生的解讀和評價技能
在讀中理解環節,可視化思維策略“Connect - Extend - Challenge”可以幫助學生將已有認知與文本信息聯系起來,進而在充分解讀文本信息的基礎上對其進行評價。“Connect”引導學生在解讀文本信息的基礎上,運用已有知識進行思維加工;“Extend”旨在拓寬學生思維的廣度和深度;“Challenge”引導學生對文本信息進行評價。下面以第九單元“Your brain is like a muscle — use it or lose it!”為例進行闡述。該語篇講述的是如何提升記憶力。語篇的前半部分講述提高記憶力的方法,后半部分則闡述如何利用編寫故事來提升記憶力。該語篇結構清晰,生詞較少,適合學生進行自主閱讀。
首先,教師引導學生以三人為一組,借助“Connect - Extend - Challenge”任務單(如表1所示)進行自主閱讀,以促使學生將已有知識與語篇信息聯系起來。
然后,教師提供語言支架“I used to know / think that … (Connect), but after reading the passage I know that … (Extend). However, I want to challenge the idea because … (Challenge)”,引導學生對文本內容進行解讀和評價。下面是兩位學生的思維路徑:
S1: I used to think that it was a waste of time to remember a list of vocabulary by making a picture story (Connect), but after reading the passage I know that our brain works a lot in picture stories (Extend). However, I want to challenge the idea because my classmates and I usually find it more difficult to make a picture story than to remember vocabulary (Challenge).
S2: I used to think it was good to remember as many words as possible at one go (Connect), but after reading the passage I know that it’s not good to over-train our brain, so we should stop when we’ve remembered a list of vocabulary (Extend). However, I want to challenge the idea because human brains can be so different that it’s hard to define “over-train” (Challenge).
兩位學生分別基于自身經歷,辯證分析語篇所闡述的記憶方法的有效性。
接著,教師引導其余學生對上述兩位學生的辨析進行評價,部分學生的觀點闡述如下:
S3:Although it may take more time to make a picture story before remembering the vocabulary, you can find that your memory can last much longer by making picture stories.(評價S1)
S4:I think what the passage really means is that if you find that you are tired when you remember a list of vocabulary, then just stop. Take a break for about 20 minutes, and your brain will work well again. You don’t have to challenge the reasoning because of the word “over-train”. (評價S2)
借助可視化思維策略“Connect - Extend-Challenge”,教師可以引導學生將已有知識與文本信息聯系起來,并對文本信息展開思考和評價。這有助于培養學生的解讀和評價技能。
三、在讀后討論環節,借助“Circle of Viewpoints”培養學生的開放思想和認知成熟度
批判性思維傾向包括靈活而開放、愿意自我糾正的策略,意識到在現實面前要作出妥協的準備[8]。可視化思維策略“Circle of Viewpoints”運用頭腦風暴的方式展開討論,有助于培養學生的開放思想和認知成熟度。下面以第三單元“Bicycle Revolution?”為例進行闡述。
“Bicycle Revolution?”講述的是巴黎市政府為了改善交通和環境問題,推出共享單車項目的事件。在讀后討論環節,教師提出問題“To what extend can the bicycle program benefit the city?”,引導學生對共享單車項目進行頭腦風暴。部分學生的觀點展示如下:
S1:The bicycle program is very helpful especially when there are lots of traffic jams.We can take a bicycle, use it for as long as we want.(益處)
S2: You know, travelling by bicycle can reduce air pollution in the atmosphere.(益處)
S3: I notice that people sometimes park bicycles in a disorganized way, and some shared bikes are even thrown into rivers. It looks annoying.(弊端)
S4: Even though there’s a notice on each shared bike that kids below 12 are not allowed to ride bikes. What if they ride them on the side street? It can be very risky.(弊端)
學生從交通、環境、市貌、安全等角度對共享單車項目進行頭腦風暴。可視化思維策略“Circle of Viewpoints”的核心在于引導學生從多角度看待問題。由于不同學生的成長背景、生活環境、個人經歷不同,他們對同一事物的認知會有所不同。基于此,針對上述兩個問題,教師提供語言支架“I’m thinking of the bicycle program from the point of view of ... (不同的角色立場). I think ... (觀點)because ... (闡述理由)”,引導學生四人一組(分別扮演市長、市民、共享單車運營商、某自行車生產商)展開討論,形成一致的觀點并闡述理由。部分小組的觀點如下:
S1:I’m thinking of the bicycle program from the point of view of the mayor of Hangzhou. I think the bicycle program brings more advantages than disadvantages to our city because biking is great for the environment. It cuts down the emission of exhaust fumes, and the global warming problem will not be more and more serious. Also, the traffic problem can be relieved, because some people may ride bikes for short journeys.
S2:I’m thinking of the bicycle program from the point of view of the Hangzhou citizen. I think the bicycle program brings both advantages and disadvantages. On one hand, the shared bicycles are convenient for us. You can take a bicycle, use it for as long as you want, and then leave it at any bicycle station. On the other hand, some shared bicycles are placed randomly on sidewalks, and it sometimes causes inconvenience to the pedestrians.
可視化思維策略“Circle of Viewpoints”的使用可以使學生養成以開放的思想分析問題、形成觀點和策略以及進行自我糾正的能力,提高學生的認知成熟度。此外,教師應鼓勵學生在討論和匯報時運用文本中的目標詞匯,如traffic jams、as long as、 exhaust fumes、short journey、atmosphere等,以使學生遷移運用所學知識。
總之,“See - Think - Wonder”“Connect -Extend - Challenge”和“Circle of Viewpoints”等可視化思維策略不僅可以呈現學生思考的過程與路徑,而且也有助于培養學生的推理、解讀、評價等批判性思維技能,以及開放思想、認知成熟度等批判性思維傾向。初中英語閱讀教學是培養學生批判性思維能力的重要渠道,教師應探究不同可視化思維策略對培養學生批判性思維技能與批判性思維傾向的意義。在英語閱讀教學中,教師應將閱讀教學的重點從單純的語言知識傳授轉移到思維品質的培養上來,以實現培養學生學科核心素養的目的。
參考文獻:
[1]中華人民共和國教育部.普通高中英語課程標準(2017年版2020年修訂)[S].北京:人民教育出版社,2020:5.
[2][3]法喬恩.批判性思維:思考讓你永遠年輕[M].李亦敏,譯. 北京:中國人民大學出版社,2013:18,29.
[4][8]陳則航.批判性閱讀與批判性思維培養[J].中國外語教育,2015(8):4-11.
[5][7]陳瑤.閱讀教學中使用可視化工具培養學生批判性思維的實踐[J].中小學英語教學與研究,2021(9):34-38.
[6]RITCHHART R, PERKINS D. Making thinking visible[J]. Educational Leadership, 2018(5): 57-61.