Transcript Introduction to Critical Thinking Concepts and Strategies

Introduction to Critical
Thinking
Concepts and Strategies
3 Key Questions
Why do we need critical thinking?
What is critical thinking?
How do we design instruction to
foster critical thought?
Why do we need critical thinking?
Critical thinking isn’t natural.
 Walking
vs. Ballet
 Just rational enough
Diagnosis Bias
Tendency to ignore evidence or make it fit our
preconceived preference or conclusion.
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EMT and Alaskan natives
How Doctor’s Think the 7 min. diagnosis
Performance Labels (SWAY)
When we read! (The House)
Belief Preservation
Tendency to make evidence subservient to belief.
“Tendency to use evidence to preserve our opinions
rather than guide them.” (Van Gelder)
Belief Preservation
Francis Bacon – humans tend to see things through
an “enchanted glass, full of superstition and
imposture” rather than through a clear, transparent
glass.
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Intrinsic tendency toward illusion, distortion and error.
“Invisibly corrupts our thinking and contaminates
our beliefs” (Van Gelder)
3 tendencies
1.
2.
3.
Seek evidence that supports our existing belief and
ignore contradicting evidence.
Rate evidence as good or bad depending on
whether or not it supports or conflicts with our
belief. (egocentric standards)
We stick to our beliefs despite overwhelming
evidence to the contrary.
“Standards” Typically
Used in Thinking
“It’s true because I believe it”
(innate egocentrism)
“It’s true because we believe it”
(innate sociocentrism)
“It’s true because I want to believe it”
(innate wish fulfillment)
“It’s true because I have always believed it.”
(innate self-validation)
“It’s true because it is in my selfish interest to
believe it.” (innate selfishness)
More Non-intellectual
“Standards”
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It’s true because someone in a position of
perceived power (or authority) said it is true.
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It’s true because it’s beyond my (our) ability to
fully understand it. (lacking confidence in reason)
Non-Critical Thinking Standards
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Fun
Exciting
Feels good
Attention-getting
Popular
Patriotic
Free
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Chic
Spontaneous
Advantageous
Easy
Beneficial to me
Deeply moving/felt
Just as a skilled archer must adjust
her aim for a breeze, so too does a
critical thinker seek to be aware of
his/her biases, blind spots, and
assumptions.
Critical Thinking
Why is it Important?
What is It?
How Does it Improve
Teaching and Learning?
What is Critical Thinking?
To be clear in writing:
1) state
2) elaborate (In other words…)
3) exemplify and/or illustrate
Write your understanding of critical thinking, in this
form:
1)
2)
3)
Critical thinking is …..
In other words…
For example …
Critical Thinking
is a self-directed process
by which we take
deliberate steps
to think at the
highest level of quality.
Overview slide
Thinking that
analyzes thinking
Thinking that
assesses thinking
critical thinking: disciplined,
self-guided thinking
aimed at living a rational life.
thinking that
combats
its native
egocentricity
Thinking that
develops within itself
intellectual habits
Critical Reading Strategy
Work in pairs. Person A, Person B. Critically read the
following slide together, using the following method:
a. Person B reads one sentence aloud, then states in
his/her own words what has been read. In other
words, person B interprets the sentence.
b. Person A then either agrees with the interpretation
or offers a different interpretation, adds to the
interpretation, etc.
c. Rotate roles after each sentence. Move down page.
d. During this process, do not critique what you are
reading, merely interpret.
Why Critical Thinking?
The Problem: Everyone thinks; it is our nature to do
so. But much of our thinking, left to itself, is
biased, distorted, partial, uninformed or down-right
prejudiced. Yet the quality of our life and that of
what we produce, make, or build depends precisely
on the quality of our thought. Shoddy thinking is
costly, both in money and in quality of life.
Excellence in thought, however, must be
systematically cultivated.
A Definition: Critical thinking is the art of analyzing
and evaluating thinking with a view to improving it.
A well cultivated critical thinker:
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raises vital questions and problems, formulating them
clearly and precisely;
gathers and assesses relevant information, using
abstract ideas to interpret it effectively;
comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions,
testing them against relevant criteria and standards;
thinks open-mindedly within alternative systems of
thought, recognizing and assessing, as need be, their
assumptions, implications, and practical consequences;
and communicates effectively with others in figuring
out solutions to complex problems.
3 Key Questions
Why do we need critical thinking?
What is critical thinking?
How do we design instruction to
foster critical thought?
LOGIC
OF
Student
Thinking
Instruction
Content
Booth Tarkington, author
“He had learned how to pass examinations by
‘cramming’; that is, in three or four days and nights he
could get into his head enough of a selected fragment
of some scientific or philosophical or literary or
linguistic subject to reply plausibly to six questions out
of ten. He could retain the information necessary for
such a feat just long enough to give a successful
performance; then it would evaporate utterly from his
brain, and leave him undisturbed.”
On what George Amberson had learned in college, from the Magnificant Ambersons (1918)}
Circle –
Dots
Typical student beliefs.
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Learning should be fun.
Learning should be easy.
If I do what the teacher says, that’s all that matters.
 Learning means doing what the teacher says.
All I need to do is the absolute minimum to get an A.
I shouldn’t have to waste my time learning anything I can’t
use.
 I believe that learning biology is a waste of my time.
Cheating to get by is fine because all I need is the piece of
paper (the degree/diploma) to get a job anyway.
Three Types of “Knowledge”
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Inert Information
Activated Ignorance
Activated Knowledge
Poincare
“Science is built of facts the way a house is
built of bricks, but an accumulation of
facts is no more science than a pile of
bricks is a house!”
Content is:
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Understood by thinking
Constructed by thinking
Modified by thinking
Applied by thinking
Questioned by thinking
Assessed by thinking
Therefore, to learn content
students have to think it into
their thinking using their
thinking.
Critical thinking provides the
tools students need to think
through content.
Critical thinking is a system of
thinking that opens up all
other systems of thinking.
Critical thinking is the way you
do everything you do
The critical thinking mind is the educated
mind
The Critical Thinking Mind
=
The Educated Mind
StandardsElementsTraits
CLARITY
1. State:
give a brief explanation
2. Elaborate:
expand on your explanation
3. Exemplify: give a concrete example
4. Illustrate:
use metaphor, analogy, picture
SEEI
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STATE in your own words what someone else
has said or written or the key concept, problem
or question at issue.
ELABORATE on your statement. In other
words…
EXEMPLIFY: give an example of the concept
from your life and from the content.
ILLUSTRATE: create an analogy, metaphor,
simile, graph, chart, cartoon, etc.
Original Bloom’s Taxonomy
Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy
Create
Evaluate
Analyze
Apply
Understand
Remember
Bloom’s Re-conceptualized
Create
Evaluate
Analyze
Remember
Understand
Apply
Illustration Based on St. Edward’s University, Center for Teaching Excellence, 2001
Comparing Approaches
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Teacher-directed
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Traditional mode of instruction in the USA
Student-centered
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Students are engaged in the process of actively
figuring something out / reasoning through a
significant problem.
Teacher-directed (confusing)
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There are 12 Christmas trees and five are cut
down. How many are left standing?
What intellectual moves does this assignment initiate?
What intellectual skills are targeted?
Teacher-directed (clearer)
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There are 12 Christmas trees standing. Of those,
five are cut down. How many are left standing?
What intellectual moves does this assignment initiate?
What intellectual skills are targeted?
Student-centered
Susan says that if there are 12 Christmas trees
standing and of those five are cut down, then
seven are left standing. But George says that is
incorrect.
Who is correct and why?
How did you arrive at your answer?
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Jim Braly, The Oregonian, Jan. 11, 2009
Philosophy Example 2
Possible Traditional Assignment
“As a group, discuss your reaction to Plato’s
Crito.”
Philosophy Example 2 cont’d
An assignment that fosters critical thought may
ask instead:
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“In a group of three, propose a list of significant
questions you would like to have the teacher
address or the class discuss regarding Plato’s Crito.
Your initial list (which you will hand in to the
instructor) should include a dozen or so
questions…. (next slide)
Then reach consensus on what you consider your three
best questions. Your recorder will write these
questions on the board and will explain to the class
why your group considers them pertinent, interesting,
and significant questions raised by Crito. Time: 15
minutes.”
Source: Bean, p. 152
Eight Questions Students Can Ask to
Figure out the Logic of a Subject or
Discipline:
1.
What is the main purpose of the subject?
2.
What are the key issues, problems, and questions addressed
within the subject?
3.
What kinds of information are pursued within the discipline?
4.
What types of inferences or judgments are made?
5.
What key concepts inform the discipline?
6.
What key assumptions underlie the discipline?
7.
What are some important implications of studying the
discipline?
8.
What points of view are fostered within the discipline?
To what extent do you see any of the following acting
as obstacles to substantive learning in your context?
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Intellectual arrogance
Intellectual conformity
Intellectual laziness
Intellectual hypocrisy
Competition
Little confidence in reasoning
How do you help students learn
the skills needed to form clear,
probing questions?
Instructional Strategies
What did we do today?
SEEI
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STATE in your own words what someone else
has said or written or the key concept, problem
or question at issue.
ELABORATE on your statement. In other
words…
EXEMPLIFY: give an example of the concept
from your life and from the content.
ILLUSTRATE: create an analogy, metaphor,
simile, graph, chart, cartoon, etc.
Critical Reading (1)
Work in pairs.
a. Person B reads one sentence aloud, then states in
his/her own words what has been read. In other
words, person B interprets the sentence.
b. Person A then either agrees with the interpretation
or offers a different interpretation, adds to the
interpretation, etc.
c. Do not critique, merely interpret.
d. Switch roles and move on to next sentence.
Role Play (2)
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Partners
Purpose: Address two differing interpretations to
an issue or problem.
‘A’ takes a pro side.
‘B’ argues con side.
Switch when prompted.
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Usually after 2-3 minutes.
Develops intellectual depth and empathy.
Formulating Questions
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Periodically stop class and have students write
down a question they have as they think through
the content.
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If they do not have a question, write: “I am not
thinking well enough to have a question.”
Periodically stop class and have students write
down the question at issue (under discussion)
Engaged Lecture: 10/3
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Lecture for no more than 10 minutes.
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Have students process for at least 3 minutes
Challenge Inert Knowledge
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Take any fact in the course content.
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Have students think of the fact as a hypothesis.
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Challenge students to explain the background
logic that informs the fact.
What are your students
intellectual needs?
What can be done within our
instruction to help students become:
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Agents for change?
Interdisciplinary thinking
 Make informed judgments
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Life long learners?
Intellectually and culturally flexible?
Trap or free
Your Thinking
can either
Trap
You
Free
You
Hold you
Hostage within
uncritically
held
beliefs
Open your
mind
to new ways
of thinking