Critical Thinking

1. Critical Thinking

2. Acknowledgement Acknowledgment is made to: the Foundation for Critical Thinking; the Academy for Training for Trainers; English 102 students whose work made this presentation possible

3. Basic Assumptions Our lives are lived in our minds. �Garbage thinking� (unconscious) gets in the way of critical thinking �Powerful thinking� (conscious) can replace garbage thinking

4. Garbage thinking didactic teaching - a seductive, illusory method of instruction smothers thinking - assumes learning is passive reinforces itself - �parroting� of prescribed information from student back to instructor

5. Beneath the Garbage: Egocentric thinking - it�s true because I say it is Sociocentric thinking - it�s true because we say it is Political thinking - it�s true because we can make anything we like to be so

6. Critical Thinking a way to convert information into meaning thinking that regulates itself a method to monitor one�s thinking continuously a way to expose one�s thinking to universal intellectual standards bridges disciplines or domains

7. Critical Thinking Thinking = Content Content = Thinking

8. Critical Thinking Must be practiced over extended time Results will not be immediate but long-term Critical thinking can become intuitive

9. Critical Thinking: Outline From Garbage to Power Basic Concept of Critical Thinking Critical Thinking Basics Meeting the Enemy Moving Bravely Forward

10. From Garbage to Power

14. Red keeps Green in Check

18. �Garbage� ideas vs.

26. The Basic Concept of Critical Thinking In pairs, discuss what critical thinking means to you right now. Then explain it in terms of actual situations in your life in one or more domains (as a student, friend, life partner, consumer, etc.) What happens when you think critically in those situations? What happens when you do not?

27. Central Questions 1. What does critical thinking mean to me right now? 2. How would I define it? 3. When do I use it? 4. What exactly do I do when I am using it? 5. Do I ever seriously fail to use it? 6. Can I give examples from my life?

29. As a Critical Thinker: I recognize that the quality of my life is a function of the quality of my thinking. I am learning how to identify the thinking I am engaging in, especially when I see some problems in my behavior or when I am experiencing unwanted or unproductive emotions. I am coming to recognize that I have internalized a number of �garbage� ideas. I am working to replace them with �powerful� ideas.

30. As a Critical Thinker: I increasingly draw a clear distinction between what I can�t control & what I can control (so as to maximize the effectiveness of my behavior & the fulfillment I experience I monitor my strengths & weaknesses regularly, looking for opportunities to build on my strengths & minimize or eliminate my weaknesses.

31. As a Critical Thinker: I recognize that I am capable of better & better thinking & I recognize that there is very much more that I have not yet learned about thinking (in general) and my thinking (in particular). I am strongly motivated to learn more & more about my mind & how it operates.

33. Critical Thinking Basics

37. Elements of Reasoning Purpose Question at Issue Assumptions Point of View Information Concepts Interpretation Implications

38. Purpose All reasoning has a PURPOSE. Take time to state your purpose clearly. Distinguish your purpose from related purposes. Check periodically to be sure you are still on target. Choose significant and realistic purposes.

39. Question at Issue All reasoning is an attempt to settle some QUESTION, solve some PROBLEM. Take time to clearly and precisely state the question at issue. Express the question in several ways to clarify its meaning and scope. Break the question into sub-questions. Identify the type of question (1-2-3).

40. Assumptions All reasoning is based on ASSUMPTIONS. Clearly identify your assumptions and determine whether they are justifiable. Consider how your assumptions are shaping your point of view.

41. Point of View All reasoning is done from some POINT OF VIEW. Identify your point of view. Seek other points of view and identify their strengths as well as weaknesses. Strive to be fair-minded in evaluating all points of view.

42. Information All reasoning is based on DATA, INFORMATION & EVIDENCE. Restrict claims to those supported by data. Search for information that opposes your position as well as that supporting it. Make sure that all information used is clear, accurate, and relevant to question at issue. Make sure you have gathered sufficient information.

43. Concepts All reasoning is expressed through, and shaped by, CONCEPTS AND IDEAS. Identify key concepts and explain them clearly. Consider alternative concepts or alternative definitions to concepts. Make sure you are using concepts with care and precision.

44. Inferences All reasoning contains INFERENCES or INTERPRETATIONS by which we draw CONCLUSIONS and give meaning to data. Infer only what the evidence implies. Check inferences for their consistency with each other. Identify assumptions which lead you to your inferences.

45. Implications All reasoning leads somewhere or has IMPLICATIONS and CONSEQUENCES. Trace the implications and consequences that follow from your reasoning. Search for negative as well as positive implications. Consider all possible consequences.

49. Domains Historical Geographical Economic Literary Biological Psychological Philosophical Mathematical

58. Questions Calling for Reasoned Judgment How can I best design this house so that I minimize costs while meeting the major needs and desires of all my family members? Who is the best person for this job out of 3 candidates, each seeming capable of performing the job well? Should I keep my job, which I enjoy, or should I take this other job offer which may be even more satisfying?

65. The Enemy

67. Didactic Instruction Does it work to teach content? If so, how does it work? If not, why doesn�t it work? What are the problems with it?

69. Didactic Teaching Coverage that smothers thinking, a kind of death instinct in teaching and learning. Students are taught content in a form that renders them unlikely to think it through. The mind retreats into rote memorization. Abandons any attempt to grasp the logic of the content.

70. 3 Acid Tests(for evaluating instruction) What intellectual standards are being used? How are the students engaged in self assessment? What kind of thinking is the instructor focused on & how is it being modeled?

72. Create an Idea Talk the idea in your group Write the idea - freewrite, brainstorm, cluster, draft Think the idea - reflect about it, discuss it in your group, rewrite it yourself Test the idea in front of another audience Rewrite it as a question from a point of view

73. Develop an Idea Identify your system using the CT wheel Place your question in it Label your assumptions, concepts, etc. Rephrase your question as your writing unfolds Through the entire thinking and writing and criticism process, refine the wheel

74. Planning My Research Paper My purpose in writing this paper is _______ The main question I will be focused one is _ Sub questions I will be focused on are ____ I will gather information to address my questions from these sources ___________ The main idea in my paper is ___________ The point of view I take is ______________

75. Research Paper Checklist I have gathered accurate information. My paper is clearly written. I have considered various ways to interpret the information. I am clear about my purpose for writing the paper and my key questions. I have considered all points of view relevant to the questions. I have followed out the implications which relate to the question.

76. Evaluation Grid Question well stated? Clear, unbiased? Shows complexity? Cites relevant evidence? Clarifies key concepts when necessary? Sensitive to assumptions? Develops line of reasoning, with explanations? Reasoning well supported? Shows sensitivity to alternative points of view? Shows sensitivity to implications and consequences of position taken?

81. Moving Bravely Forward

82. To Gain Maximum Valueof Critical Thinking Follow directions closely and exactingly. Actively give yourself to the process. Expect confusions to arise. This is normal and to be expected. Set your sights on the long term goal. Expect to �test� this model in your learning over an extended period of time.

83. Powerful ideas to foster in your thinking I am responsible for the contents of my mind. I am responsible for fundamental change. I am not my beliefs. I am not my ego. I am not my fears. I am not my prejudices. I am not everything that is in me. I am only what is rational in me.

84. I hereby disown my ego . . . and all its pomp and all its games and all its counterfeits and all its insecurities and all its tricks!

93. On to Power Find one idea you have learned that you consider �POWERFUL� i.e., you want to embody this idea in your thinking and behavior Be prepared to explain what the idea is, why you think it is powerful, and what you can do to begin to work it into your thinking and behavior

94. Powerful Ideas for Students To learn this I must think it through and work it into my thinking In my history class I am learning to think historically. I can see how important this is to my life To learn well I have to take responsibility for my own learning I am capable of learning; I am capable of changing