evaluating
information gathered from, or generated by, observation,
experience,
reflection, reasoning, or communication as a guide .
Critical thinking skills
1-Analyzing.
2-Reasoning.
3-Evaluating.
4-Problem solving.
5-Decision making.
Critical thinking Activities
1-Note-taking pairs.
2-Quiz or test questions.
3-Round Robin response.
4-Summarizing peers' answers.
5-Active review sessions.
6-Debates.
7-Interviewing.
8-Exchanging Evaluation.
9-Puzzles and paradoxes.
10-Quotations.
11-Role-playing.
12-Jigsaw group projects.
13-Send a problem.
14-Relating concepts.
15-Analyzing and composing.
16-Comparing and evaluating.
Why critical thinking?
Critical Thinking is a domain-general thinking skill.
Being able to
think well and solve problems systematically is an asset for any career.
Critical Thinking is very important in the new knowledge economy.
The new
economy places increasing demands on flexible intellectual skills, and
the ability to analyze information and integrate diverse sources of
knowledge in solving problems. Good critical thinking promotes such thinking skills, and is very important in the fast-changing workplace.
Critical Thinking enhances language and presentation skills.
Thinking clearly and systematically can improve the way we express our
ideas. In learning how to analyze the logical structure of texts,
critical thinking also improves comprehension abilities.
Critical Thinking promotes creativity.
To come up with a creative solution to a problem involves not just
having new ideas. It must also be the case that the new ideas being
generated are useful and relevant to the task at hand. Critical thinking plays a crucial role in evaluating new ideas, selecting the best ones and modifying them if necessary
Critical Thinking is crucial for self-reflection.
In order to live a meaningful life and to structure our lives
accordingly, we need to justify and reflect on our values and decisions.
Critical thinking provides the tools for this process of self-evaluation.
It is the foundation of science and a liberal democratic society.
Science requires the critical use of reason in experimentation and
theory confirmation. The proper functioning of a liberal democracy
requires citizens who can think critically about social issues to inform
their judgments about proper governance and to overcome biases and
prejudice.
Critical Thinking is important in life.
It helps you to think creatively – ‘outside the box’. It keeps you from becoming narrow. Critical Thinking is expected of you in higher education. It can lead to developing your judgement, evaluation and problem solving abilities.
Learning Critical Thinking enhances your academic performance.
students who know how to analyze and critique ideas are able to make
connections across disciplines, see knowledge as useful and applicable
to daily life and understand content on a deeper, more lasting level.
Teaching strategies:
(Classroom Assessment Techniques):
stresses the use of ongoing classroom assessment as a way to monitor
and facilitate students' critical thinking. An example of
a CAT is to
ask students to write a "Minute Paper" responding to questions such as
"What was the most important thing you
learned in today's class?
What
question related to this session remains uppermost in your
mind?" The
teacher selects some of the papers and prepares
responses for the next
class meeting.
Using Questions:
Experts identify ways of using questions in the classroom:
Reciprocal Peer Questioning:
Following lecture, the teacher
displays a list of question stems (such
as, "What are the strengths
and weaknesses of...). Students must write
questions about the
lecture material. In small groups, the students ask
each other the questions. Then, the whole class discusses questions from each
small group.
Teaching strategies:
(Classroom Assessment Techniques):
stresses the use of ongoing classroom assessment as a way to monitor
and facilitate students' critical thinking. An example of a CAT is to
ask students to write a "Minute Paper" responding to questions such as
"What was the most important thing you learned in today's class?
What
question related to this session remains uppermost in your mind?" The
teacher selects some of the papers and prepares
responses for the next
class meeting.
Using Questions:
Experts identify ways of using questions in the classroom:
Reciprocal Peer Questioning:
Following lecture, the teacher displays a list of question stems (such
as, "What are the strengths and weaknesses of...). Students must write
questions about the lecture material. In small groups, the students ask
each other the questions. Then, the whole class discusses questions from each small group.
Cooperative Learning Strategies :
Expertsargue
that putting students in group learning situations is the best way to
foster critical thinking. "In properly structured cooperative learning
environments, students perform more of the active, critical thinking
with continuous support and feedback from other
students and the
teacher"
Case Study /Discussion Method:
Expertsdescribe
this method as the teacher presenting a case
(or story) to the class
without a conclusion. Using prepared
questions, the teacher then leads
students through a discussion, allowing students to construct a
conclusion for the case.
Reader's Questions:
Require
students to write questions on assigned reading and turn them in at the
beginning of class. Select a few of the
questions as the impetus for
class discussion.
Cooperative Learning Strategies :
Expertsargue
that putting students in group learning situations is the best way to
foster critical thinking. "In properly structured cooperative learning
environments, students perform more of the active, critical thinking
with continuous support and feedback from other
students and the
teacher"
Case Study /Discussion Method:
Expertsdescribe
this method as the teacher presenting a case
(or story) to the class
without a conclusion. Using prepared
questions, the teacher then leads
students through a discussion, allowing students to construct a
conclusion for the case.
Reader's Questions:
Require
students to write questions on assigned reading and turn them in at the
beginning of class. Select a few of the
questions as the impetus for
class discussion.
Cooperative Learning Strategies :
Expertsargue
that putting students in group learning situations is the best way to
foster critical thinking. "In properly structured cooperative learning
environments, students perform more of the active, critical thinking
with continuous support and feedback from other
students and the
teacher"
Case Study /Discussion Method:
Expertsdescribe
this method as the teacher presenting a case
(or story) to the class
without a conclusion. Using prepared
questions, the teacher then leads
students through a discussion, allowing students to construct a
conclusion for the case.
Reader's Questions:
Require
students to write questions on assigned reading and
turn them in at the
beginning of class. Select a few of the
questions as the impetus for
class discussion.
Written dialogues:
Give
students written dialogues to analyze. In small groups, students must
identify the different viewpoints of each participant in the dialogue.
Must look for biases, presence or exclusion of important evidence,
alternative interpretations, misstatement of facts, and errors in
reasoning.
Each group must decide which view is the most reasonable.
After coming to a conclusion, each group acts out their dialogue
and
explains their analysis of it.
Spontaneous Group Dialogue:
One
group of students are assigned roles to play in a
discussion (such as
leader, information giver, opinion seeker.
Four observer
groups are formed with the functions of
determining what roles are
being played by whom, identifying
biases and errors in thinking,
evaluating reasoning skills,
and examining ethical implications of the
content.
