Teaching Critical Thinking skills

What is Critical Thinking?

When examining the vast literature on critical thinking, various definitions of critical thinking emerge. Here are some samples:

When

students are asked to address a purpose

and come up with a solution, they truly begin to identify, analyze, and solve problems through

critical thinking. (Schneider, 2002)

Higher-Order Perhaps

Thinking

the simplest definition is offered by Beyer

(1995): "Critical thinking... means making reasoned judgments"

The New Blooms

Lorin

Anderson and David Krathwohl - 2000

Remember Understand

Apply
Analyze Evaluate Create

The New Blooms

Why is Critical Thinking so Critical?

The

ability to solve problems is a necessary life skill Efficient problem solving is a key to success Technological and informational advances demand an increased ability to obtain, understand, analyze and share information (Schneider, 2002)

How can Elementary Teachers Encourage Critical Thinking?

Provide

problems that do not have obvious solutions Frequent brainstorming Compare and contrast every chance you get Categorize everything Student-centered instruction Integrate problem solving in all curriculum areas

More Ideas for Integrating Higher Order Thinking

Analysis:

Compare/contrast the settings of two stories

Synthesis:

Modify a story by changing the setting (How would that affect the characters? The plot? The outcome of the story?)

Evaluation:

Rate the effectiveness of an author at achieving the purpose of a story. (Identify the purpose, evaluate the effectiveness, and provide evidence from the story for your opinion)

What Ideas Do You Have?

Teaching Strategies to Help Promote Critical Thinking

CATS (Classroom Assessment Techniques):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. Cooperative Learning Strategies: Cooper (1995) argues 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" (p. 8).

 Case Study /Discussion Method: McDade (1995) describes 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. Using Questions: King (1995) identifies 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 some of the questions from each small group. - 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.