Foundational Workshop for Critical Thinking

1. Foundational Workshop for Critical Thinking • Brian Barnes • Visiting Scholar, Foundation for Critical Thinking • barnes@criticalthinking.org • 502-338-1338

2. Who is Brian Barnes? • BA and MA in Philosophy • ABD in Interdisciplinary Humanities • US Army, MI, TS//SCI • Visiting Scholar at FCT • Lecturer at U of L, IUS, Bellarmine, JCTC, Northwood • NSA, Wild Oats, 1L, jujutsu, grants • Sustainability and Composting

3. For these exercises, we are exploring 5 learning modalities. • Students will read the material. • Students will think deeply about the material. • Students will write about the material. • Students will speak about the material to others. • Students will listen to others speak about the material.

4. Preliminary Principles • Self-reflection • Self-discipline • Self-direction • Self-monitoring • Self-correction • Interdisciplinary Thinking • Roleplaying

5. The Processes • Analyze thinking with The Elements of Thought • Assess thinking with The Intellectual Standards • Improve thinking with The Intellectual Traits • Avoid Barriers to Reasoned Thinking • The Coaching Analogy

7. Peer Review • Divide yourselves into groups of two or three. • Read pages 5-7 in The Analytic Thinking Guide and pages 4-5 in The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools silently, taking notes as you go. Work until prompted to stop. • When prompted, compare your understanding of the text with your partners’without using your books. • Note differences of interpretation.

8. Combine Groups • No books, please. • Combine your two- or three-person group with another group. • Deepen your understanding of the Elements by discussing them with the other group, using only your notes.

9. Significant Review • Review your own writing on The Elements silently in light of the peer review you’ve completed. (Use the Thinking modality! Do not make notes.) • 3 minutes

10. Updating Your Writing • Update your writing regarding any Elements of Thought. • 5 minutes

11. Intellectual Standards

12. Close Reading • More or less evenly divide your group into two roles, A and B. • Read in The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools. Person A reads the four standards on page 8 and person B reads the four standards on page 9. • Take notes with the intention of abandoning the text.

13. Jigsaw, part 1 • All As will join together in groups. • All Bs will join together in groups. • Each group will share their understandings of their four standards. • The intention is to gain a working understanding of each standard without using the text.

14. Jigsaw, part 2 • Return to your original pairs. • Teach your partner your standards. • Take turns teaching one standard at a time. • Ask the speaker questions derived from the Standards in The Miniature Guide on page 10 to gain more insight.

15. Assess Your Elements • Now that you have a familiarity with the Standards, use them to assess your understanding of the Elements. • Update each of your explanations of the Elements by applying the Standards. Keep track of which Standards you use.

16. Check Yourself! • Compare your updated, assessed Elements with the Elements in the Miniature Guide and The Analytic Thinking Guide. • Discuss with your partner.

17. Intellectual Traits • Intellectual Humility • Intellectual Courage • Intellectual Empathy • Intellectual Autonomy • Intellectual Integrity • Intellectual Perseverance • Confidence in Reason • Fairmindedness

18. Peer Teaching • Person A reads the first four Traits, and Person B reads the second four from The Miniature Guide on pages 14 and 15. • Read in order to be able to teach. In this exercise, we have limited time to prepare. • Exemplify each Trait you are teaching with an example from your discipline. • When prompted, take turns teaching the Traits to your partners. In each case, partners should question according to The Mini. Guide, page 10.

19. Barriers • Read Egocentric Bias in The Miniature Guide on page 19. Write your reaction in two to three sentences. • Are you able to identify at least one egocentric bias in your own teaching? If so, try to think about how it would change your teaching to eliminate this bias.

20. Barriers • Read about Sociocentric Bias in The Miniature Guide on page 20. Connect two examples of this bias directly with your discipline. • Explain to others at your table how barriers to critical thinking can be exemplified in your discipline.

21. SEE-I • State the concept: “The concept is...” • Elaborate upon the concept: “In other words...” • Exemplify the concept: “For example...” • Illustrate the concept: “It’s like...”