Transcript conference bag workshop teachers ideas university

conference
bag
workshop
teachers
ideas
university
Critical Thinking
in Action
by Nick Sheard
Novosibirsk
January 2012
What is critical thinking?
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Critical thinking in
education
Higher and lower level
skills
Critical thinking in ELT
Critical thinking vs.
Critical literacy
Critical thinking taxonomies
Higher order and lower order
thinking skills
Lower order thinking:
receive
Higher order
thinking:
recite
manipulate
direct medium
transform meaning
trasmit knowledge
solve problems
reproduce knowledge
construction
uncertainty
environments &
opportunities
Critical thinking in ELT
Distinguishing fact from opinion
Challenging assumptions
Keeping an open mind to
different possibilities and
solutions. (Day, 2003)
Critical literacy
Sees education as a social
and political act.
Imagines other possibilities
and realities.
Examines origins and
implications of worldviews.
Questions what is presented
as universally true.
Learn about others and
about ourselves.
Critical thinking – practical
applications
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Text and topic selection
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Text exploitation
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Facts vs. Opinions exercise
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Looking critically at
language
Using Images
Text exploitation
It is a truth universally
acknowledged that a single
man in possession of a
good fortune must be in
want of a wife.
Jane Austen, Pride and
Prejudice
Facts vs Opinions
It is the 49th state of the USA.
The capital is Juneau.
It is a great place.
The name Alaska means “great
land”.
The people are the friendliest in
the world.
The coldest temperature
recorded was -62ºC.
Cold weather in Alaska is nicer
than in other places.
Facts vs Opinions 2
The concept of a lottery goes back
to ancient times. There were
lotteries in ancient China, Greece
and Roman societies.
Lotteries exploit poor people.
Families with low incomes spend
more on lotteries than families with
high incomes.
Lottery projects have funded major
projects in health, arts and
education.
Critical thinking and language work:
Conditionals
Looking critically at language:
The passive
Critical thinking in Images
Critical thinking in Global
· Texts, topics and image selection · critical analysis of texts ·
critical analysis of language · critical look at English as an
international language · use of literary texts · study skills
syllabus