1. Critical Thinking through Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking Lake County Public Schools November 13, 2010 Presented by: Maggie Pagan 1

3. To explore what critical thinking is…

4. To practice critical thinking activities…

5. To share strategies to increase students’ critical thinking skills…

6. To review the levels of critical thinking…2

7. Quick Write How do we use critical thinking in our lives and work? 3

9. 58% cannot determine the differences between two medical benefit options.

10. 78% of adults in the United States cannot figure out how much interest is paid on a loan.

11. 71% cannot figure how many miles per gallon their vehicle gets.

12. 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

14. Context

15. Transfer

16. Parts to Whole Relationships

17. Inferential Thinking

18. Why?

19. Our brains are shaped by the world around us

20. This is the media generation

21. Thinking by “remote control” builds a different set of skills5

22. Learning Activity Retention 6

24. Application of knowledge

25. Collaboration among teachers and students7

27. Critical thinking should be integrated into every aspect of the educational process.

28. Students should be made aware of the thinking process.

29. Critical thinking must be taught explicitly.

30. Process is as important as content.

31. Teachers often confuse physical attention for mental attention8

32. 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. 9

34. Answering questions with good reasoning (skills)

35. Believing the results of your own good reasoning and acting accordingly (dispositions)10

36. What can you infer from this map? What is your proof? 11

38. Critical thinking skills are necessary for success in many fields.

39. Critical thinkers are less likely to just go along with the crowd12

41. Motivate and get student’s interest with the use of technology, real world documents and authentic and engaging tasks.

42. Remember…The 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

44. Belief in one’s ability to think critically

45. Safe environment in which to express thoughts

46. Rewards for thinking critically

47. Others?14

49. Identifying ambiguity

50. Identifying variables

51. Formulating questions

52. Defining issue or problem

53. Classifying information

54. Sequencing information

55. Recognizing patterns

56. Determining credibility

57. Distinguishing fact from opinion

58. Identifying assumptions

59. Identifying values

60. Noting missing evidence

61. Identifying relationships

62. Comparing & contrasting

63. Cause and effect

64. Summarizing information

65. Using analogies15

67. Use of visuals – video, use the classroom walls, graphic organizers, etc.

68. Adding relevance – found materials, real world application of content

69. Use of inquiry and experimentation

70. Teaching with critical questions

71. Use of grouping strategies tied to desired level of thinking

72. Increase Writing – it is a whole brain activity

73. Student questioning and self-evaluation

74. Graphic Organizers

75. Analogical Reasoning

76. Great vocabulary/concept strategies16

78. It takes time and effort to climb the ladder of understanding.17

79. Teach Students to Look at the Question Words and Identify What is Asked 18

80. 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. Bloom’s 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

81. 20 20

83. Promote interaction among students

84. Ask open-ended questions

85. Allow sufficient time for reflection

86. Teach students to apply knowledge to other domains

87. Use real-life problems

88. Allow for thinking practice21

90. Thinking and Problem Solving skills

91. Interpersonal and Self-Directional skills

92. Collaboration skills22

94. Teaching for critical thinking will reduce the amount of “material” covered

95. Teaching for critical thinking is not popular with students in the beginning

96. BUT…23

97. 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

99. Design lessons so that students internalize and analyze concepts they are learning.

100. Routinely ask questions.

101. Make the lessons “work intensive” for the student, not you.

102. Be a model for your students.

103. Use tactics that encourage active learning.25

105. What are two strategies you learned today?

106. One thing you’re going to implement with your students, or share with a peer is...26

107. May Your Moments be Many! “Educators are addicted to the moment when a student’s eyes light up, when the teaching becomes learning. May your days be filled with such moments.” -Philip Patrick Horenstein 27