1. Critical Thinking through Reading, Writing, Listening and
Speaking Lake County Public Schools November 13, 2010 Presented by:
Maggie Pagan 1
2. Session Objectives To review the connections of critical
thinking and the real world To explore what critical thinking is To
practice critical thinking activities To share strategies to
increase students critical thinking skills To review the levels of
critical thinking 2
3. Quick Write How do we use critical thinking in our lives and
work? 3
4. Startling Facts 25% of adults in the United States cannot
understand their pay stub. 58% cannot determine the differences
between two medical benefit options. 78% of adults in the United
States cannot figure out how much interest is paid on a loan. 71%
cannot figure how many miles per gallon their vehicle gets. 55% of
adults in the United States cannot determine the correct dosage of
liquid aspirin substitute to administer to their child, given a
label with ages and weights. 4
5. Current Brain Research This generation struggles with:
Context Transfer Parts to Whole Relationships Inferential Thinking
Why? Our brains are shaped by the world around us This is the media
generation Thinking by remote control builds a different set of
skills 5
6. Learning Activity Retention 6
7. Changing the Paradigm of Teaching and Learning Engagement in
learning Application of knowledge Collaboration among teachers and
students 7
8. Working Assumptions Active learning is necessary for the
teaching of critical thinking. Critical thinking should be
integrated into every aspect of the educational process. Students
should be made aware of the thinking process. Critical thinking
must be taught explicitly. Process is as important as content.
Teachers often confuse physical attention for mental attention
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9. What is Critical Thinking? The object of education is to
prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives.
-Robert M. Hutchins Critical thinking is the process of analyzing
the arguments of others. It means examining the logic of such
arguments. It enables people to do more than just repeat knowledge.
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10. Critical thinking is Asking thoughtful questions
(knowledge) Answering questions with good reasoning (skills)
Believing the results of your own good reasoning and acting
accordingly (dispositions) 10
11. What can you infer from this map? What is your proof?
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12. Why is Critical Thinking Important? Critical thinking
prepares students to educate themselves for the rest of their
lives. Critical thinking skills are necessary for success in many
fields. Critical thinkers are less likely to just go along with the
crowd 12
13. Ways to increase students critical thinking skills Use of
real world documents, media and technology in classroom instruction
to increase rigor, relevance and critical thinking. Motivate and
get students interest with the use of technology, real world
documents and authentic and engaging tasks. RememberThe more
engaged the student and the more thinking and relevance in the
learning, the more parts of the brain work to form lasting and
retrievable memories. 13
14. Prerequisites for critical thinking Substantial knowledge
of facts, concepts, ideas Belief in ones ability to think
critically Safe environment in which to express thoughts Rewards
for thinking critically Others? 14
15. Procedures of Critical Thinking Identifying key definitions
Identifying ambiguity Identifying variables Formulating questions
Defining issue or problem Classifying information Sequencing
information Recognizing patterns Determining credibility
Distinguishing fact from opinion Identifying assumptions
Identifying values Noting missing evidence Identifying
relationships Comparing & contrasting Cause and effect
Summarizing information Using analogies 15
16. Key Learning Strategies to Increase Memory and Critical
Thinking in Any Content Area Use of technology Use of visuals
video, use the classroom walls, graphic organizers, etc. Adding
relevance found materials, real world application of content Use of
inquiry and experimentation Teaching with critical questions Use of
grouping strategies tied to desired level of thinking Increase
Writing it is a whole brain activity Student questioning and
self-evaluation Graphic Organizers Analogical Reasoning Great
vocabulary/concept strategies 16
17. Keys to Developing Critical Thinking Skills There is a
hierarchy of learning levels. It takes time and effort to climb the
ladder of understanding. 17
18. Teach Students to Look at the Question Words and Identify
What is Asked 18
19. This pyramid depicts the different levels of thinking we
use when learning. Notice how each level builds on the foundation
that precedes it. It is required that we learn the lower levels
before we can effectively use the skills above. Blooms Taxonomy
Evaluation Making decisions and supporting views; requires
understanding of values. Combining information to form a unique
product; requires creativity and originality. Synthesis Identifying
components; determining arrangement, logic, and semantics. Analysis
Using information to solve problems; transferring abstract or
theoretical ideas to practical situations. Identifying connections
and relationships and how they apply. Application Restating in your
own words; paraphrasing, summarizing, translating. Comprehension
Memorizing verbatim information. Being able to remember, but not
necessarily fully understanding the material. Knowledge 19
20. 20 20
21. How to Teach Critical Thinking Use analogies Promote
interaction among students Ask open-ended questions Allow
sufficient time for reflection Teach students to apply knowledge to
other domains Use real-life problems Allow for thinking practice
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22. 21st Century Skills Communication and Information skills
Thinking and Problem Solving skills Interpersonal and
Self-Directional skills Collaboration skills 22
23. Pitfalls of Developing Critical Thinkers Teaching for
critical thinking takes more time to prepare Teaching for critical
thinking will reduce the amount of material covered Teaching for
critical thinking is not popular with students in the beginning BUT
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24. One destination, many roads One match, many strokes One
painting, many colors Said Other Ways, Critical Thinking is . . .
One question, many answers One song, many voices One topic, many
interpretations 24
25. Remember Relate content to practical situations. Design
lessons so that students internalize and analyze concepts they are
learning. Routinely ask questions. Make the lessons work intensive
for the student, not you. Be a model for your students. Use tactics
that encourage active learning. 25
26. Next Steps and Closing What is one fact, strategy , or data
youre walking away with today? What are two strategies you learned
today? One thing youre going to implement with your students, or
share with a peer is... 26
27. May Your Moments be Many! Educators are addicted to the
moment when a students eyes light up, when the teaching becomes
learning. May your days be filled with such moments. -Philip
Patrick Horenstein 27