Critical Thinking Instructional & Evaluation Techniques

Critical Thinking Instructional & Evaluation Techniques Richard Cain Department of Public Health Curriculum Innovation Program March 16, 2011

objectives • Apply a technique called the SEE-I approach to writing a short paragraph. • Locate on an internet site, the eight Elements of Thought1 that support reasoning using the SEE-I approach. • Locate on an internet site, the nine Standards of Thought1 helpful in evaluating the quality of written work. 1Foundation for Critical Thinking

sources of learning Blended ApproachWhere did these ideas come from? • Foundation for Critical Thinking. (2010). 30th International conference on critical thinking: How to teach students to master content by developing a questioning mind. Berkeley, CA. Foundation for Critical Thinking, Berkeley, California. • Nosich, G. (2009). Learning to think things through: A guide to critical thinking in the curriculum. Columbus, OH: Pearson. • Elder, L., & Paul, R. (2010). The thinker’s guide to analytical thinking: How to take thinking apart and what to look for when you do. Dillon Beach, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking. • Pink, D. H. (2009). Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. New York: Riverhead. • Barnet, S., & Bedau, H. (2008). Critical thinking, reading, and writing: A brief guide to argument (6th ed.). Boston: Bedford’s/St. Martins.

SEE-I activity Write down on a piece of paper a thought or idea about anything you would like to tell someone

SEE-I principles SEE-I Principles1 • State (S) • Brief, clear, and precise topic sentence or spoken thought • Elaborate (E) • Provide more depth, greater detail • Exemplify (E) • Clarify using an example of what is meant • Illustrate (I) • Paint a picture in your readers or listener’s mind using words, a simile, metaphors, or analogy 1Learning to Think Things Through

SEE-I in detail State (S)1 • The initial written or spoken thought capturing the initial essence of meaning • Reflects in the student’s own words the purpose, point of view, or question of self-thought or that of another • Brief, clear, and precise • It is usually the topic sentence in a paragraph • If written, it can be linked with a coordinating conjunction or semicolon 1Learning to Think things Through From the Foundation on Critical Thinking, Elements and Standards of Thought, bold underline is an element of thought and non-bold underline is a standard of thought

SEE-I in detail Elaborate (E)1 • Provides meaning in depth and precision • Can begin written or spoken statement using phrases such as: • “What I am saying…” • “In other words…,” • “To elaborate…” • “What the author means…” • “To expand…” • Accurate, fair, no assumptions without supporting information • Supporting information may come from (Example – E) 1Learning to Think things Through From the Foundation on Critical Thinking, Elements and Standards of Thought, bold underline is an element of thought and non-bold underline is a standard of thought

SEE-I in detail Exemplify (E)1 • Clarifies by providing an example of the initial thought or reading • Can be from student’s own experiences (or as I add in class, from the reading or something the student heard) • May express multiple viewpoints (Breadth) • At this point, I introduce the importance of in-text citations and references • If written, this is an excellent place for the student to paraphrase a reading or provide a quotation in written work of another with proper citation • Literature review synthesis • May be an application, a comparison or contrast, the argument that is for or against the topic, a hypothesis about how something could be changed, or the question about the assumptions or values of the author. • Accurate, relevant, and no assumptions without supporting information 1Learning to Think things Through From the Foundation on Critical Thinking, Elements and Standards of Thought, bold underline is an element of thought and non-bold underline is a standard of thought

SEE-I in detail Illustrate (I)1 • Clarifies by providing a vivid example • Allows the student contextualize what is meant by allowing the reader or listener visualize something • Illustrates student’s point of view and from own experience, or observation • Paints a picture in the reader or listener’s mind using words that brings the idea into focus • It could be: • An analogy • A simile • A metaphor • Relevant, significant, and fair 1Learning to Think things Through From the Foundation on Critical Thinking, Elements and Standards of Thought, bold underline is an element of thought and non-bold underline is a standard of thought

SEE-I course intro Course Description (Used on first page of course syllabus) • State (S): Brief, clear topic sentence PCH 359 – Environmental Health is an “overview of the interdependency and interrelationship of the major environmental stressors and their impact on the health and well-being of human populations.” 1 1Southern Connecticut State University (n.d.). 2009 – 2011 undergraduate catalog. New Haven, CT: Author

SEE-I course intro Course Description (Used on first page of course syllabus) • Elaborate (E): Provide depth, greater detail To expand the catalog description, the field of environmental health is broad and affects nearly every aspect of our daily lives.

SEE-I course intro Course Description (Used on first page of course syllabus) • Exemplify (E): Clarify using an example of what you mean. This is best exemplified by Moeller (2005, p. 1) when he states “many aspects of human well-being are influenced by the environment, and many diseases are initiated, promoted, sustained, or stimulated by environmental factors; for this reason, the interactions that people have with their environment are an important component of public health.”1 1 Moeller, D. W. (2005). Environmental health (3rd ed.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

SEE-I course intro Course Description (Used on first page of course syllabus) • Illustrate (I): Paint a picture in your reader’s mind using words, using a simile, metaphor, or an analogy. To illustrate the catalog description and Moeller’s point, we use the ecological model in this class as a framework to think about and reason through determinants of health due to our interactions with the environment and relevant approaches to achieve desired outcomes.

SEE-I course intro Course Description (Used on first page of course syllabus) • Elaborate (E) • Provide more depth, greater detail. To expand the catalog description, the field of environmental health is broad and affects nearly every aspect of our daily lives.

SEE-I assignment Students were provided with a handout containing a description of the SEE-I approach and asked to identify each component on the course syllabus.

SEE-I assignment • State (S) - Student • “The author’s purpose is to inform students of the description of the environmental health course and give students some idea of what they will be learning about throughout the semester.” State (S) - Teacher PCH 359 – Environmental Health is an “overview of the interdependency and interrelationship of the major environmental stressors and their impact on the health and well-being of human populations.” 1 1Southern Connecticut State University (n.d.). 2009 – 2011 undergraduate catalog. New Haven, CT: Author

SEE-I assignment • Elaborate (E)- Student • “The catalog description of the course is given and is also compared to D. W Moeller, the author of Environmental Health. Moeller’s point of view is used to further describe how environmental health affects people.” Elaborate (E)- Teacher To expand the catalog description, the field of environmental health is broad and affects nearly every aspect of our daily lives.

SEE-I assignment • Exemplify (E)- Student • “Moeller brings to light the fact that diseases start and continue on in the different environmental conditions we have all around the world and that by studying these conditions and diseases in a particular area we can try to understand the affect they have on people (or a group of people) and their overall health.” • Exemplify (E)- Teacher • This is best exemplified by Moeller (2005, p. 1) when he states “many aspects of human well-being are influenced by the environment, and many diseases are initiated, promoted, sustained, or stimulated by environmental factors; for this reason, the interactions that people have with their environment are an important component of public health.”2 2 Moeller, D. W. (2005). Environmental health (3rd ed.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

SEE-I assignment • Illustrate (I)– Teacher • To illustrate the catalog description and Moeller’s point, we use the ecological model in this class as a framework to think about and reason through determinants of health due to our interactions with the environment and relevant approaches to achieve desired outcomes. • Illustrate (I)- Student • “Moeller’s quote gives a much more visualized idea on how the course is going to go. I can picture myself learning about the lifecycle of a certain disease or virus. I would [sic] learn about how this disease starts by how it is contracted, then it’s [sic]affect it would have on the human body or certain populations of people exposed to this disease, and how people would overcome this disease through different medication or treatments.”

SEE-I assignment Students were asked to find a newspaper article from the New Haven Register (or another source), to identify each component of the SEE-I approach, and to use in-text citations and references according to the style manual of the American Psychological Association Snow Day Assignment (Introduced Selected Elements of Thought)

SEE-I assignment Snow Day Assignment Look for an article about the snow storm. Using that article: State (S) what you think is the author’s purpose for writing the assignment. Follow this with another sentence that you think is the author’s point of viewof this snow storm. Is the author referring only to this snow storm or in relation to the many we have had since December 26, 2010. Now, elaborate (E) what you think are the key concepts the author wants you to understand (take away) from reading the article. Provide an example (E) of some information the author uses to help you understand the key concepts. Finally, illustrate (I) the main inferences by a painting picture in your reader’s mind using your own words (think that you are explaining the author’s point of view to someone sitting on the beach in the Bahamas). Note: All links take you to the same site

SEE-I assignment Snow Day Assignment (Introduced Selected Elements of Thought) State Author’s Purpose: “To inform and explain to the public how intense these last few snow storms have been.” State Author’s Point of View: “These storms seems to be that they have been the worst we have seen in a long time.” Elaborate (E) Author’s Key Concepts: “The key concept that the author wants the reader to understand is that this month has been the snowiest ever in Connecticut’s history. Another key concept is that no one predicted the snow would get this bad.” Provide an Example (E): “The author describes how bad this weather has gotten. He mentions the fact that a foot of snow used to be a surprise and that February is known as the snowy month.” Illustrate (I) the Main Inferences: “In Bridgeport snow has reached 28.3 inches. The previous record was 28.1 inches in January of 1978. When standing in this much snow, the snow goes way above your kneecaps and makes walking through it very difficult. A picture of a large inflatable snowman is featured in the article with it’s lower half completely buried in snow.”

SEE-I assignment Plagiarism Tutorial Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to help you to: Learn about and explain what plagiarism is; Critically think through times and situations when people may resort to using plagiarism in their writing; Understand the risk associated with plagiarism as a student in this course and as a professional. • Instructions: Using the SEE-I approach: • Define plagiarism. For this question, be sure to provide your reference. Remember to quote any phrase or sequence of three or more words and cite the page or paragraph number. Correctly list your reference according to APA style. • What fault lies in the following logic: Plagiarism is bad and I plagiarized; therefore, I am a bad person. • Provide one example of plagiarism a student may resort to when under distress to complete an assignment on time Back your answer up with a solution to this problem using the SEE-I approach. • Provide one example of plagiarism a student may resort to when not interested in an assignment. Back your answer up with a solution to this problem using the SEE-I approach. • Provide one example of plagiarism a student may resort to when confused about the requirements of assignment. Back your answer up with a solution to this problem using the SEE-I approach. • Consider the professional implications of plagiarism as applied to the field of environmental health.

SEE-I assignment Plagiarism Tutorial Application SEE-I with Critical Thinking Skills [STATE] “While borrowing ideas from multiple sources may seem like it could lead to new thoughts or insights, one has to be careful how they group sources and theories.” [ELABORATE] “Especially in a professional setting, combining work and data for research purposes needs to be done with care and attention to detail. Not all studies have the same purpose and not all topics or theories are tested the same. Just because two different studies deal with similar questions doesn’t mean they lead to common results and can be combined . . . . as a professional, taking results from studies . . . and applying it to your own field of study can lead to inconsistent, unfounded, or even incorrect findings.” [EXEMPLIFY] A journal article, entitled “Effectiveness of intensive autism programmes,” is a perfect example of this occurring (Dawson & Gernsbacher, 2010). Not all of the data collected had to do with the specific research of Susan Levy and this led her and her colleagues to a result that had no [unfounded] basis.” [ILLUSTRATE] “Ethics come into play when this result is seen and utilized . . . . it is one’s duty to conduct meaningful and testable research that leads to findings that can be understood and applied with confidence . . . . borrowing the ideas of others and combining them to produce your own new idea can have harmful consequences when your new idea is wrong.” Dawson, M., & Gernsbacher, M. (2010). Effectiveness of intensive autism programmes. The Lancet, 375(9716), 722-723.

evaluation • Elements of Reasoning and Standards of Thought Check • Nosich (pp. 166 – 167) provides a checklist for students with permission copy and perform a self-evaluation. • Using Intellectual Standards to Assess Student Reasoning • Critical Thinking: Teaching Students How to Study and Learn (Part Three) – How To Analyze The Logic of An Article, Essay, or Chapter • College-Wide Grading Standards

evaluation

Critical Thinking Instructional & Evaluation Techniques