Critical Thinking Model 1 To Analyze Thinking We Must Identify and Question its Elemental Structures Standard: Clarityunderstandable, the meaning can be grasped Could you elaborate further? Could you give me an example? Standard: Accuracyfree from errors or distortions, true How could we check on that? Standard: Precisionexact to the necessary level of detail Could you be more specific? Standard: Relevancerelating to the matter at hand How does that relate to the problem? Standard: Depthcontaining complexities and multiple interrelationships What factors make this a difficult problem? Standard: Breadthencompassing multiple viewpoints Do we need to look at this from another perspective? Standard: Logicthe parts make sense together, no contradictions Does all this make sense together? Standard: Significancefocusing on the important, not trivial Is this the most important problem to consider? Standard: FairnessJustifiable, not self-serving or one-sided Do I have any vested interest in this issue? Think About... Gather...
How to Teach Critical Thinking Robert H. Ennis, rhennis@illinois.edu The actual teaching of critical thinking is a function of many situation-specific factors: teacher style, teacher interest, teacher knowledge and understanding, class size, cultural and community backgrounds and expectations, student expectations and backgrounds, colleagues’ expectations, recent local events, the amount of time available to teachers after they have done all the other things they have to do, and teacher grasp of critical thinking, to name some major factors. I here suggest some general strategies and tactics gleaned from years of experience, research, and others’ suggestions. They are guidelines and must be adjusted to fit the actual situation. Underlying Strategies (The three underlying strategies are “Reflection, Reasons, Alternatives” (RRA): 1. 2. 3. Fundamental Strategies 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Tactics 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. Mid-level Strategies 21. Be patient, but show that you are interested in their thoughts.
26 Sentence Stems For Higher-Level Discussion In The Classroom 26 Sentence Stems For Higher-Level Conversation In The Classroom by Terry Heick Note: You can purchase a similar, classroom-ready version of these stems on printable cards, if you find that useful. Meaningful conversation can make learning more personal, immediate, and emotional. During meaningful conversations, students are forced to be accountable for their positions, to listen, to analyze opposing perspectives, and to adapt their thinking on the fly. There are many popular strategies for these kinds of conversations, each with slightly unique rules and applications. It is sometimes argued that these kinds of conversations favor students that are confident expressing themselves verbally, and that’s hard to argue. And all can benefit from scaffolding so that students are given different levels of support–maybe unique tiers of index cards with easier to use or more natural stems–so that they can be successful on some level. 26 Sentence Stems For Meaningful Conversation In The Classroom
Argument Mapping Argument mapping is producing "boxes and arrows" diagrams of reasoning, especially complex arguments and debates. Argument mapping improves our ability to articulate, comprehend and communicate reasoning, thereby promoting critical thinking. Argument Mapping Tutorials from AusthinkArgument mapping is using graphical methods to display the structure of reasoning and argumentation. The technique is essential for advanced critical thinking. Can Computers Think? Robert Horn Website of one of the pioneers of argument mapping. Austhink Argument MappingArgument mapping page at the website of the Austhink, leaders in the application of argument mapping in education and in professional contexts. Visualizing Argumentation: Software Tools for Collaborative and Educational Sense-Making by Paul A. Dialog Mapping page of CogNexus InstituteDialog is a close cousin of argument mapping. Essays Discussion of the use of argument maps in teaching philosophy in the online journal Psyche. Software Reason! Online
Thinking about Thinking: The Power of Noticing | To Make a Prairie According to Einstein, “Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.” I completely agree that learning to think should be one of the essential goals of education, but as I wrote in an earlier post, many of the tasks we set for kids and the scaffolds we teach them to use don’t really seem aimed at fostering thinking as much as completing those tasks. In that post, I offered an example of what a lesson focused on actual thinking might look like. And here, I’d like to take a deeper look at what we really mean by thinking and how we actually do it. One of the most common definitions you’ll find online is that “Thinking is a purposeful organized cognitive process that we use to make sense of our world.” So for how to think, I turn to writers, who not only engage in making sense of the world but can express how they do that in ways that, to me, feel more accessible, practical and authentic than the words of reference books or science. Like this:
5 tips to improve your critical thinking - Samantha Agoos History of Critical Thinking “The intellectual roots of critical thinking are as ancient as its etymology, traceable, ultimately, to the teaching practice and vision of Socrates 2,500 years ago who discovered by a method of probing questioning that people could not rationally justify their confident claims to knowledge. Confused meanings, inadequate evidence, or self-contradictory beliefs often lurked beneath smooth but largely empty rhetoric.” “He [Socrates] established the importance of seeking evidence, closely examining reasoning and assumptions, analyzing basic concepts, and tracing out implications not only of what is said but of what is done as well. His method of questioning is now known as "Socratic Questioning" and is the best known critical thinking teaching strategy. In his mode of questioning, Socrates highlighted the need in thinking for clarity and logical consistency.” More on critical thinking through the ages is available here. 1.
48 Critical Thinking Questions For Any Content Area - 48 Critical Thinking Questions For Any Content Area by TeachThought Staff Critical thinking is the heart and soul of learning, and–in our estimation anyway–ultimately more important than any one specific content area or subject matter. It’s also an over-used and rather nebulous phrase — how do you teach someone to think? Of course that’s the purpose of education, but how do you effectively optimize that concept into lasting knowledge and the ability to apply it broadly? Looking for more resources to teach critical thinking? What Is Critical Thinking? This question is what inspires the creation of seemingly endless learning taxonomies and teaching methods: our desire to pin down a clear definition of what it means to think critically and how to introduce that skill in the classroom. This makes critical thinking questions–well, critical. A Cheat Sheet For Critical Thinking It’s a willingness and ability to question everything. See Also: 28 Critical Thinking Question Stems & Response Cards
Mindware: Critical Thinking for the Information Age - University of Michigan Most professions these days require more than general intelligence. They require in addition the ability to collect, analyze and think about data. Personal life is enriched when these same skills are applied to problems in everyday life involving judgment and choice. This course presents basic concepts from statistics, probability, scientific methodology, cognitive psychology and cost-benefit theory and shows how they can be applied to everything from picking one product over another to critiquing media accounts of scientific research. What kinds of things will you learn? Critical thinking On The Web Top Ten Argument Mapping Tutorials. Six online tutorials in argument mapping, a core requirement for advanced critical thinking.The Skeptic's Dictionary - over 400 definitions and essays. The Fallacy Files by Gary Curtis. Best website on fallacies. What is critical thinking? Nobody said it better than Francis Bacon, back in 1605: For myself, I found that I was fitted for nothing so well as for the study of Truth; as having a mind nimble and versatile enough to catch the resemblances of things … and at the same time steady enough to fix and distinguish their subtler differences; as being gifted by nature with desire to seek, patience to doubt, fondness to meditate, slowness to assert, readiness to consider, carefulness to dispose and set in order; and as being a man that neither affects what is new nor admires what is old, and that hates every kind of imposture. A shorter version is the art of being right. More definitions... Program for Critical Thinking Program for better decision making
How to get Smarter: A guide to critical thinking, cognitive biases, and logical fallacies | Life Lessons Welcome to the first of a ten part series: How to get smarter: A guide to critical thinking, cognitive biases, and logical fallacies. In this series we’ll be going deep into critical thinking, cognitive biases, logical fallacies, and so much more. In this article I’ll introduce you to five of the most important core principles (and biggest hindrances) to critical thinking and higher intelligence: Intellectual lazinessIntellectual honestyIntellectual dishonestyWillful ignoranceSelf-deception What is Critical Thinking and why is it so important? “The beginning of wisdom is the definition of terms.” – Socrates Before we begin: What is critical thinking, cognitive biases, and logical fallacies? Let’s start with some definitions: Critical thinking: “Critical thinking is the objective analysis of facts to form a judgment.” en.wikipedia.org Logical fallacy: “A logical fallacy is an error in reasoning that renders an argument invalid.” www.thoughtco.com In other words we’re learning: Here’s why: 50. 49.
de Bono thinking for Education “We all hang on to assumptions of the past to make conclusions about the future......de Bono teaches us to challenge such assumptions and develop new creative solutions to problems.” - Philip L Smith, President, General Foods Corporation Dr. Edward de Bono has worked with Students and educators from around the world for decades. His material has been used and is still used by millions of students worldwide. If you are involved in educational training at any level, and you believe in our method of teaching thinking, we would be happy to hear from you. We are fully aware of the tremendous work being done around the world at this current time by individuals like you, who are helping others to discover their true potential. Resources to for Teachers and Students can be found at the Dendrite Platform for Schools The material has been used with students over the age of 8. One very successful teacher calls the lessons “Thinking Groups”.