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Critical Thinking

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Mr. Rice / Question Types in Socratic Seminar. Retrieved and adapted April 26, 2009 Four Basic Types To begin, consider these four basic types of question. The first three encourage others to continue providing ideas, whereas the fourth does not open possibilities - there is a short (usually one) possibility. 1. World Connection: Ex: Would you be willing break laws in order to gain the attention and affection of someone you love (like Gatsby did to “earn” Daisy’s attention)? 2. Ex: What might Boo’s intentions be with regard to the way he is reaching out to the children? 3. Ex: To what extent are the wealthy more “empty” than the lower classes (as in Gatsby)? 4. Ex: The girls in “The Crucible” charge the women in town with what crime? Opening Questions To open a Socratic Seminar, try to follow these guidelines: A quality question should... Criteria Sustaining Questions Agree / Disagree Has anyone else had a similar . . .?

Clarification Support Questions Counterexample. Ch7think. Teaching Thinking: The Taba Model of Concept Development | Learning & Courage. Using the TABA Model for Concept Development Sample Discussion Plan Based on Hilda Taba’s (1962) work adapted by Joyce Van Tassel Basks, College of William and Mary; further adapted by Simons Valley Elementary and Nellie McClung Elementary Use the following process to guide a discussion about ______________________. Discuss the questions and record the ideas on large sheets of paper for sharing with the class.

Each section of this process should include small group work, followed by a class discussion. 1. What words come to mind when you think about ______________________? 2. How could you categorize these ideas into groups? 3. What are some things that are not ______________________? 4. How are the groups of things that are ______________________, similar or different from the groups of things that are not ______________________? 5. A generalization is something that is always or almost always true. 6. 7. 8. Sample Discussion Plan: Concept of Harmony 1. A. B. E.g. Reference Taba, H. (1962). Braingle: Brain Teasers, Puzzles, Riddles, Trivia and Games. 10 Team-Building Games That Promote Collaborative Critical Thinking. 10 Team-Building Games That Promote Critical Thinking by TeachThought Staff One of education’s primary goals is to groom the next generation of little humans to succeed in the ‘real world.’

Yes, there are mounds of curricula they must master in a wide breadth of subjects, but education does not begin and end with a textbook or test. Other skills must be honed, too, not the least of which is how to get along with their peers and work well with others. Students must be engaged and cooperation must be practiced, and often. 10 Team-Building Games That Promote Collaborative Critical Thinking You can purchase a classroom-ready version of team-building games that promote critical thinking here. 1. This team-building game is flexible. Then, give them something to construct. Skills: Communication; problem-solving 2. This activity can get messy and may be suitable for older children who can follow safety guidelines when working with raw eggs. Let their creativity work here. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 10.

35 Top Psychology-Based Critical Thinking Strategies - TeachThought. 35 Psychology-Based Critical Thinking Strategies by Sara Briggs, opencolleges.edu.au Have you ever considered letting your students listen to hardcore punk while they take their mid-term exam? Decided to do away with PowerPoint presentations during your lectures? Urged your students to memorize more in order to remember more?

If the answer is no, you may want to rethink your notions of psychology and its place in the learning environment. In pursuit, here are 35 psychology-based critical thinking strategies for use in your classroom. 35 Psychology-Based Critical Thinking Strategies 1. Definition: It is easiest to recall information when you are in a state similar to the one in which you initially learned the material.

Application: Urge your students to sit in the same room they studied in when they complete their take-home quiz. 2. Application: Sometimes students need your help distinguishing between internal and external factors that affect academic performance. 3. 4. Application: F. 5. 6. When Kids Have Structure for Thinking, Better Learning Emerges. By sixth grade a few students are starting to include some strategies for thinking in their maps, such as “concentrate” or “don’t get caught up in things that aren’t relevant.”

But by ninth grade many students include specific strategies for thinking on their concept maps, including “making connections,” “comparing” and “breaking things down.” Ritchhart studied 400 students at a school focusing on cultivating a culture of thinking. The study had no control group, but Ritchhart could chart development of metacognition from 4th-11th grades. “Students basically made a two-and-a-half year gain from what would be expected just from teachers trying to create that culture of thinking,” Ritchhart said. He admits that the study isn’t definitive, but to him it’s proof that when teachers focus on these ideas they do see improvement. To help make these ideas more concrete, Ritchhart and his colleagues have been working to hone in on a short list of “thinking moves” related to understanding.

Top TED Ed Lessons on Critical Thinking. Overcoming Obstacles to Critical Thinking. The ability to think critically is one skill separating innovators from followers. It combats the power of advertisers, unmasks the unscrupulous and pretentious, and exposes unsupported arguments. Students enjoy learning the skill because they immediately see how it gives them more control. Yet critical thinking is simple: It is merely the ability to understand why things are they way they are and to understand the potential consequences of actions. Devastating Consequences, Tremendous Opportunities Young people—without significant life experience and anxious to fit in—are especially vulnerable to surface appeal. Every educator is in a position to teach students how to gather information, evaluate it, screen out distractions, and think for themselves. A World of Illusions Seeing beyond superficial appearances is especially important today because we are surrounded by illusions, many of them deliberately created.

Making a Start in Teaching Critical Thinking. 16 Strategies For Integrating The Habits of Mind In The Classroom. 16 Strategies For Integrating The Habits of Mind In The Classroom by Terry Heick How do you use the Habits of Mind in the classroom? In outcomes-based learning environments, we generally see three elements in play: 1) learning objectives or targets are created from given standards; 2) instruction of some kind is given; and then 3) learning results are assessed. These assessments offer data to inform the revision of further planned instruction. Rinse and repeat. But lost in this clinical sequence are the Habits of Mind that (often predictably) lead to success or failure in the mastery of given standards. See also What Are The Habits Of Mind? The habits themselves aren’t new at all, and significant work has already been done in the areas of these ‘thinking habits.’ And a renewed urgency for their integration. The Habits of Mind (by Art Costa and Bena Kallick) don’t simply represent fragments of practice to ‘add on’ to what you already do, but rather new ways to think about how people learn. 1.

Einstein's Secret to Amazing Problem Solving (and 10 Specific Ways You Can Use It) Einstein is quoted as having said that if he had one hour to save the world he would spend fifty-five minutes defining the problem and only five minutes finding the solution. This quote does illustrate an important point: before jumping right into solving a problem, we should step back and invest time and effort to improve our understanding of it. Here are 10 strategies you can use to see problems from many different perspectives and master what is the most important step in problem solving: clearly defining the problem in the first place!

The Problem Is To Know What the Problem Is The definition of the problem will be the focal point of all your problem-solving efforts. As such, it makes sense to devote as much attention and dedication to problem definition as possible. Problem Definition Tools and Strategies The good news is that getting different perspectives and angles in order to clearly define a problem is a skill that can be learned and developed. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Edutopia. Articles, Research and Blogs - The Institute for Habits of Mind. “Executive Function Infused with the Habits of Mind” by Daniel Vollrath, Ed.D. “Developing Self-Directed Teacher Leaders“ by Thomas R. Feller, Jr., Seth Brown, Ph.D., and Lauren Bowers “Setting the Record Straight on Growth Mindset – Part 2” by James Anderson “Habits of Mind and Performance Tasks – Research Study” by Philip Gregory Muscott “Setting the Record Straight on Growth Mindset” by James Anderson “Teachers’ narratives: A source for exploring the influences of teachers’ significant life experiences on their dispositions and teaching practices” by Servet Altan and Jennie Farber Lane “Adding Personalized Learning to Our Annual Writing Project” by George Yeager and Sarah Evans “Using Habits of Mind, Intelligent Behaviors, and Educational Theories to Create a Conceptual Framework for Developing Effective Teaching Dispositions.” by Servet Altan, Jennie F.

“Using Animation to Teach Habits like ‘Persisting’” by Bena Kallick “The Power of Reflection Metacognitive Awareness” by Daniel Vollrath. Edutopia. Study: Too Many Structured Activities May Hinder Children's Executive Functioning - Teaching Now. Edutopia. 8 Subconscious Mistakes Our Brains Make Every Day–And How To Avoid The. Get ready to have your mind blown. I was seriously shocked at some of these mistakes in thinking that I subconsciously make all the time. Obviously, none of them are huge, life-threatening mistakes, but they are really surprising and avoiding them could help us make more rational, sensible decisions. Especially since we strive for self-improvement at Buffer, if we look at our values, being aware of the mistakes we naturally have in our thinking can make a big difference in avoiding them. Unfortunately, most of these occur subconsciously, so it will also take time and effort to avoid them–if you want to.

Regardless, I think it’s fascinating to learn more about how we think and make decisions every day, so let’s take a look at some of these habits of thinking that we didn’t know we had. 1. We tend to like people who think like us. This is called confirmation bias. It’s similar to how improving our body language can also actually change who we are as people. 2. 3. Or 4. Well, no. 5. 6. 7. 8. Innovative strategies for getting students to think more deeply | Mentoring Minds. Helping students develop critical thinking skills can sometimes be hindered by their reluctance to delve deeply into traditional subjects.

That’s why having them use some of their favorite hobbies or entertainment activities as a platform for those lessons can pave the way to a greater understanding of critical thinking and other skills. Debating pop culture Pop culture – from television shows to celebrity news – can be an excellent classroom topic for getting students to think more deeply. Entertainment and pop culture are ubiquitous in today’s world, so they can serve as an entry point to get students more interested in using their critical thinking skills. One way to go about this is to set up a debate activity where students develop arguments for or against popular TV programs. You can have one student debate with another, or organize groups of students to work together to develop their arguments. Why do you believe that? Truth meter You can even use Politifact as a jumping-off point.

How To Solve Problems Like Sherlock Holmes. Costa's Levels of Inquiry. Critical Thinking: Identifying the Targets. Episode 3 With four quintels aboard, we were now ready to leave. The skipper saw mares’ tails in the north. Stephen I wonder what quintels are? Colleen They were finished with their shopping and were ready to go home. Commentary Stephen is successful in his efforts to incorporate the new information into an evolving interpretation. Colleen maintains her original interpretation but does not incorporate all the new textual information into it. Interestingly, each student believes that he or she has read the passage.

However, consider how vulnerable she will be outside school, when much more than grades or teacher approval is riding on her ability to think effectively in other systems, such as health care, parenting, upgrading job skills or becoming a proficient consumer. On the other hand, Stephen has “read” the passage by means of critical reasoning, effectively decoding not only the words but the writer’s thoughts. Most reading is performed at the lower end of the spectrum in school today. Glossary of Critical Thinking Terms. Glossary: A-B accurate: Free from errors, mistakes, or distortion. Correct connotes little more than absence of error; accurate implies a positive exercise of one to obtain conformity with fact or truth; exact stresses perfect conformity to fact, truth, or some standard; precise suggests minute accuracy of detail. Accuracy is an important goal in critical thinking, though it is almost always a matter of degree. It is also important to recognize that making mistakes is an essential part of learning and that it is far better that students make their own mistakes, than that they parrot the thinking of the text or teacher.

It should also be recognized that some distortion usually results whenever we think within a point of view or frame of reference. Students should think with this awareness in mind, with some sense of the limitations of their own, the text's, the teacher's, the subject's perspective. See perfections of thought. ambiguous: A sentence having two or more possible meanings. The State of Critical Thinking Today. “Too many facts, too little conceptualizing, too much memorizing, and too little thinking. . ” ~ Paul Hurd, the Organizer in Developing Blueprints for Institutional Change Introduction The question at issue in this paper is: What is the current state of critical thinking in higher education?

Sadly, studies of higher education demonstrate three disturbing, but hardly novel, facts: Most college faculty at all levels lack a substantive concept of critical thinking. These three facts, taken together, represent serious obstacles to essential, long-term institutional change, for only when administrative and faculty leaders grasp the nature, implications, and power of a robust concept of critical thinking — as well as gain insight into the negative implications of its absence — are they able to orchestrate effective professional development. Part One:An Initial Look at the Difference Between a Substantive and Non-Substantive Concept of Critical Thinking A critical thinker does not say: Acknowledging uncertainty | tolerance for ambiguity. The magical theory of relativity by Petra Marjai on Prezi. Copy of 6 Hats & The Pledge by DawnTheresa GoodmanRodriguez on Prezi. Reasoning Training Increases Brain Connectivity Associated with High-Level Cognition.

How to Fuel Students' Learning Through Their Interests. Teaching Kids to Think for Themselves. Problem Solving Techniques. Facts, Concepts, and Generalizations - Explanations and examples. The Importance of Generalizations in Social Studies | Bridging the Gap. Arianna Huffington's Rule for Success: Dare to Fail. Universal Intellectual Standards. Deeper Learning. 50 activities for developing critical thinking skills. Critical thinking workbook. 81 Fun critical Thinking activities. The Analysis & Assessment of Thinking. The Role of Socratic Questioning in Thinking, Teac. What is Critical Thinking? - Lucid Philosophy. Want to understand the media better? | Media Theorised | Al Jazeera English. Media Literacy Project | Access. Analyze. Create. Edward de Bono - Inventor of Lateral Thinking and Strategic Brain Training.

Lateral thinking and creative thinking training techniques. De Bono thinking for Education. The de Bono Group - Six Thinking Hats. Episode 1.1: What is Critical Thinking? Critical Thinking Model 1. Critical Thinking: Where to Begin. 26 Sentence Stems For Higher-Level Discussion In The Classroom. 48 Critical Thinking Questions For Any Content Area -

Thought Experiment: How Einstein Solved Difficult Problems. The Big List of Class Discussion Strategies. Top TED Ed Lessons on Critical Thinking. Critical Thinking. Demo: HMH Collections. 10 Reasons Why You Are Not So Smart. Home | The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented (1990-2013) Kathryn Schulz: On being wrong. Paul-Elder Critical Thinking Framework — University of Louisville Ideas To Action. Critical Thinking Development: A Stage Theory.