Study and Critical Thinking Skills in College

Do you know… • What thought patterns are? • How recognition of thought patterns can help you master your courses? • What seven common academic thought patterns are? • How these thought patterns can improve your memory and learning? © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Longman

Thought Patterns: Guides to Learning • Help you anticipate thought development • Provide strategy or framework for comprehension • Facilitate storage and retrieval of information in memory • Provide means of understanding and analyzing assignments © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Longman

Academic Thought Patterns • Order or sequence • Comparison and contrast • Cause and effect • Classification • Problem-solution • Definition • Listing © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Longman

Order or Sequence • Chronology • Sequence of events in time • Used in disciplines interpreting events or works of the past • History • Anthropology • Literature © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Longman

Order or Sequence • Chronology and Process • In-sentence clues • in ancient times • at the start of the battle • on September 12 • the first homo sapiens • later efforts • Between sentence clues • then, later, first, before, by the time, while, afterward, as, after, meanwhile, at that point © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Longman

Order or Sequence • Order of Importance • Preference or priority • Organized two ways: • Most important to least important • Least important to most important © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Longman

Order or Sequence • Order of Importance • In-sentence clues • is less essential than • more revealing is • of primary interest • Between sentence clues • first, next, last, most important, primarily, secondarily © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Longman

Order or Sequence • Spatial Order • In-sentence clues • the center • the lower portion • the outside area • Between sentence clues • next to, beside, to the left, in the center, externally © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Longman

Question 1 • Which of the following is an example of chronological order? • World War II battles listed in the order they occurred • World War II battles listed in the order of importance to the outcome of the war • World War II battles listed according to who won them • World War II battles listed with the generals who fought them © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Longman

Comparison and Contrast • Comparison – Similarities • Contrast – Differences • Organization patterns • Compare A and B; contrast A and B • Discuss A; discuss B; summarize similarities and differences • Discuss first characteristic of A and B, then second, then third, etc. © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Longman

Comparison and Contrast • Contrast • In-sentence clues • unlike Bush, Clinton • lessrigid than • contrasted with • differs from • Between sentence clues • in contrast, however, on the other hand, as opposed to © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Longman

Comparison and Contrast • Comparison • In-sentence clues • similarities between • is as powerful as • like Bush, Clinton • Clinton resembles Bush in that • Between sentence clues • in a like manner, similarly, likewise, correspondingly, in the same way © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Longman

Question 2 • Which of these sentences shows a comparison or contrast? • Operant conditioning is a natural progression from classical conditioning. • Operant conditioning is also known as behavior modification. • Classical conditioning changes the stimulus, however operant conditioning changes the behavior. • Pavlov’s dogs is an example of classical conditioning. © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Longman

Cause and Effect • Relationship between two or more events connected in time • One event causes the other • Organizational patterns • Explain causes, sources, reasons, motives, and actions • Explain the effects, results, or consequences of a particular action • Explain both causes and effects © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Longman

Cause and Effect • In-sentence clues • causes, creates, leads to, stems from, produces, results in • Between sentence clues • therefore, consequently, hence, for this reason, since © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Longman

Question 3 • “A reinforcer always leads to an increase in behavior.” In this sentence, what is the cause and what is the effect? • Increase in behavior is the cause and reinforcement is the effect • Reinforcement is the cause and increase in behavior is the effect • Reinforcement is the cause, but there is no effect • This is not a cause and effect sentence. © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Longman

Classification • In-sentence clues • There are several kinds of • There are numerous types of • can be classified as • is composed of • comprises • Between sentence clues • finally, another, one type of © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Longman

Question 4 • “There are four consequences to a behavior.” What would you expect next in this classification pattern? • A description of each consequence • An example of each consequence • Nothing, that’s enough for classification • This isn’t a classification pattern © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Longman

Problem-Solution • Define a problem and offer solutions • Combines other thought patterns • Cause and effect • Process • Organizational patterns • Several solutions offered for one problem • Several related problems presented with several solutions © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Longman

Problem-Solution • In-sentence clues • since • why • would • if…then • why does • Between sentence clues • since, whereas, consequently, as a result © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Longman

Question 5 • The problem-solution pattern is similar to what other two patterns? • Classification and comparison/contrast • Classification and cause/effect • Cause/effect and process • Process and comparison/contrast © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Longman

Definition • Commonly used in introductory texts • Identifies general class or group to which term belongs • Identifies what distinguishes term from others in same class or category • Includes further explanation, characteristics, examples, or applications © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Longman

Listing • Giving details on a topic by stating them one after another • Details listed in no particular order • Details have no specific relation to each other © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Longman

Listing • In-sentence clues • the second • and • also • there are several • (1)…(2)…(3)… • (a)…(b)…(c)… • Between sentence clues • In addition, first, second, third, finally, another © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Longman

Mixed patterns • Combines one or more patterns • Process combined with reason steps must be followed in order • Definition combined with comparison-contrast © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Longman

Thought Patterns of Academic Disciplines • Chapter Review • Order or sequence • Comparison and contrast • Cause and effect • Classification • Problem-solution • Definition • Listing • Mixed Patterns © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Longman

Study and Critical Thinking Skills in College