1. Thinkers Alchemy Using The Alchemist to Stimulate Critical
Thinking
2. Hello Everyone! Monique Simpson English & Writing
Instructor Yachay University for Experimental Technology &
Research Yachay, Ecuador [email protected]
3. My C.T. Research 2008: Began teaching literature in EFL/ESL
class because native teachers were doing this as supplement work at
my university in Costa Rica. 2009: Deeply alarmed feeling while
teaching in Ecuador. My students were neither unintelligent nor
unmotivated; they simply lacked the skills to critically think.
2010: Living Globally: Thinking Critically in the Universal
Language workshop at 18th PeruTESOL Convention & III English
Seminar (Ecuador) 2012: While teaching in South Korea, I reflected
on how I taught The Alchemist in class. 2013: Published A Thinkers
Alchemy: Using The Alchemist to Stimulate Critical Thinking.
4. Today We Will: Talk about critical thinking Discuss
literature in ESL classroom Explore the novel, The Alchemist Look
reading activities to stimulate critical thinking Have a raffle for
a new copy of The Alchemist Enjoy life a little bit more
5. Lets talk about C.T. What can the strong critical thinkers
do (what mental abilities do they have), that the weak critical
thinkers have trouble doing? -Peter A. Facione
6. Critical Thinkers? What can they do well?
7. Critical Thinking & Humor in EFL Monik Vinueza 3rd EFL
Convention Uni. Tcnica del Norte Ibarra, Ecuador June 2015
8. Beyer (1985) ability to gather, evaluate and use information
effectively. It involves thinking skills: judging, posing and
solving problems Smith (1990) reflecting , arguing, and proposing
different alternatives of solution It means not taking everything
for granted Open your eyes Develop skills Activate your curiosity,
motivation and mental skills
9. 6 Critical Thinking Skills Peter A. Facione 1.
Interpretation - ability to comprehend and express the meaning or
significance of a wide variety of material. 2. Analysis -
identifying the intended and actual inferential relationships among
forms of representation intended to express some type of
information. 3. Evaluation - assessing the credibility of
statements or other representations; and assessing the logical
strength of the actual or intended inferential relationships among
forms of representation.
10. 6 Critical Thinking Skills Peter A. Facione 4. Inference -
identifying and securing elements needed to draw reasonable
conclusions; forming conjectures and hypotheses; and to considering
relevant information and educing the consequences flowing from
various materials. 5. Explanation - ability to present in a cogent
and coherent way the results of ones reasoning. 6. Self-regulation
(open-minded) - consciously monitoring ones cognitive activities
and the results educed; and evaluating ones own inferential
judgments with a skeptical eye in order to alter ones reasoning if
necessary.
11. These six skills provide a practical framework in which to
shape literature study.
12. C.T. + Reading Books are our friends
13. Lets talk about reading What reading material is the most
beneficial for ESL/EFL students?
14. Thinkers Alchemy Using The Alchemist to Stimulate Critical
Thinking
15. The Alchemist Author: Pablo Coelho (Brazil) Year Published:
1988 Genre: Quest Adventure Drama Fantasy Major Themes: Self
Discovery Purpose in life Coming of Age
16. Graphic Novel Trailer
17. 6 C.T. Skills + The Alchemist Practical activities that you
can use in class on Monday morning
18. #1 Interpretation: Using Idioms People from all over the
world have passed through this village, son," said his father.
"They come in search of new things, but when they leave they are
basically the same people they were when they arrived. They climb
the mountain to see the castle, and they wind up thinking that the
past was better than what we have now. They have blond hair, or
dark skin, but basically they're the same as the people who live
right here. "But I'd like to see the castles in the towns where
they live," the boy explained. "Those people, when they see our
land, say that they would like to live here forever," his father
continued. "Well, I'd like to see their land, and see how they
live," said his son. The Alchemist, p. 9
19. How does this picture relate to the previous passage?
20. #1 Interpretation: Using Idioms activity 1. After reading
the entire passage, the teacher writes the idiom on the classroom
board and asks student to interpret the idiom. 2. If this is not
possible, draw a picture of two houses with a fence separating them
and then asks the students to interpret the passage in the
framework of the idiom. 3. Lastly, students decide which character
is correct, the father or the son. Students should be encouraged to
use personal experiences to justify their decisions.
21. #2 Analysis: Recapping Events What has happened so far?
(pgs 3-11) Number the events in the proper order in which they
occurred in the story. __He is envious of his sheep because their
only concerns are food and water. __Santiago arrives at an
abandoned church at dusk. __He remembers the merchants daughter
being surprised that he could read. __He realizes his heavy jacket
has a purpose, and so does he have a purpose in life. __He
remembers a conversation with his father about the grass being
22. #3 Evaluation: In-class Group Work Students work in small
groups, in class or in another area of the university campus. They
are given an hour to read a section and complete questions. In
answering the comprehension questions, students must assess
specific ideas presented in the novel.
23. Evaluation questions (pgs 11-21) Do you agree that dreams
are the language of God? Why or why not? Whats your opinion of the
Gypsys interpretation of the dream? Is the following statement true
or false? Its the simple things in life that are the most
extraordinary; only wise men are able to understand them. Why?
???????? What could be another question?
24. #4 Inference: Pre-Reading Task Pre-Reading Questions What
does an alchemist do? Does the word have anything to do with
chemistry? If the word refers to a person, is the person the main
character Coutant and Perchemlides (2005)
25. #5 Explanation: Open-ended Questions What? To get students
to intereact with the text, have them compare themselves with
characters in the novel. Why? Because students must present a
logical reasoning for their similarities and differences. How? Give
questions about students personality/behavior in comparison to
Santiago. Also, ask if the student would recommend the novel. 1.
Are you similar to or different from Santiago? How? 2. Would you
recommend this novel to a friend? Why or why not?
26. #6 Self-regulation: Building Skepticism Who is the old man
in the plaza? Of all the critical thinking factors, this provided
the biggest challenge. The teacher must present a character or
piece of information in a manner that causes students to be
skeptical. Students need to think about their overall opinion of
the character and the characters credibility, thereby using clear
reasoning. **This can be applied to any new character that is
introduced. **
27. Who is the old man in the plaza? 1st appearance: Students
guess the true identity of the old man. After reading: The old man
identifies himself, so students must evaluate the validate of the
mans claim and reanalyze their initial impressions of the character
Final appearance: Students think about their overall opinion of the
character and the characters credibility, thereby using clear
reasoning.
28. New activity? In a group think of another activity that
could be applied using these six C.T. principles
29. What other novels/books can be used? World Literature
30. PPT available at SlideShare Monique Senseii
31. Raffle!! Who will win The Alchemist? Write your name and
one (1) sentence about what you learned during this
presentation.
32. Thanks! Monique Simpson English & Writing Instructor
Yachay University for Experimental Technology & Research
Yachay, Ecuador [email protected]