Higher order thinking and questioning for secondary/middle/elementary teachers:"Who Is To Blame is from Judy Katz, University of Oklahoma, White Racism, 1987

1. Ice Breaker
Desert Island
You have been exiled for one year to a remote
desert island. You can take with you two
pieces of music (songs, arias, etc), two books
and one picture…what will you take?

2. The Power of Critical Thinking
What do we mean by “critical
thinking”? How do we recognize
it?”?

3. Medieval Life
Read the story entitled “Who Is To Blame?” Consider all the
aspects of the story. When you are ready, rank the relative
responsibility of each participant (there are six) for the
outcome of the story. There are no boundaries here: you
can consider whatever you believe to be appropriate to the
story.

4. A Lord and Lady: Who Is To Blame?
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A medieval lord, upon leaving his castle for a two day excursion, including a visit to his
mistress, told his Lady that on no account whatsoever should she leave the castle until he
returned. The penalty for disobedience would, he said, “be very harsh indeed.”
As soon as he left for his trip, the Lady also left the castle to rendezvous with her own lover.
After a night of passion and bliss, she returned to the castle only to find the drawbridge had
been raised. Without any hint of concern, she called out to the Gateman “Please lower the
drawbridge!”.
“My dear Lady, I am forbidden by my Lord to do so: he gave explicit instruction that if you left
the castle I should raise the bridge and not lower it until he came home!”
Not dismayed at all, the Lady went to the rear gate of the castle and called out to the
Boatman “Please row over to this bank and ferry me to the gate!”
“My Lady, I cannot, on pain of death at the hands of my Lord: he has forbidden that I should
help you.!”
Now somewhat irritated, the Lady went to the home of her friend and asked for aid. “My
dearest friend, I am also a dear friend to your husband and I cannot take sides in this. I
cannot help”
The Lady was not frightened and turned in panic to her lover. He replied that, in fact, they
were a mere “fling” and his involvement in helping her would put his own life in danger. He
would not help.
That evening the Lord returned home and, finding his wife sobbing by the castle drawbridge
,he drew his sword and thrust it several times through her quivering body.

5. What Do We Value?
• We don’t really value critical thinking, which means we
don’t really value higher order questioning. For
example, we rarely “give credit” (i.e. grades) for
methodology, for thinking processes, for student
questioning. We also do not like to have our public
conversations be challenging (President Obama on Trayvon
Martin? Race and Class in America? Gun Laws?).
• Our cultural signifiers are increasingly simplistic:
movies, television, newspapers, magazines, radio talk
shows, music.
• Critical thinking requires challenging intellectual
stimulation. Where does that come from?

6. Overview of Critical Thinking
• Characterized by evaluation of data, objective
analysis of argument, perceptive and practical
questioning.
• Produces new and original ideas
• Solves problems

7. Aspects of Critical Thinking
(Inductive and Deductive)
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Determine cause and effect
Analyze open-ended questions
Reason by analogy
Make inferences
Recognize relationships
Determine what is relevant
Use logic
See contradictions
Solve spatial problems
Analyze syllogisms

8. Evaluating Thinking Skills
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Fact versus Opinion
Credible?
Judge reports
Find the central issue/problem
Recognize assumptions
Detect bias/stereotype
Loaded language?
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Evaluate hypothesis
Classify data
Predict consequences
Sequence information
Plan alternative strategies
See inconsistencies
Find hidden assumptions
Similarities/differences
Evaluate argument

9. Creative Thinking (produces new and
original ideas)
• List attributes of objects and situations
• Generate multiple ideas
• Generate competing ideas
• Generate unique ideas
• Generate detailed information
• Synthesize information

10. Problem Solving
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What’s the problem?
How do you find the right questions?
Generate related ideas
Formulate hypothesis
Formulate alternative solutions
Draw conclusions
Select best solution
Test
Clarify!

11. Questioning
How Do We Construct Questions to
Engage Thinking Skills?

12. Questions (2)
• Analyze: how could you break
down….what are the
components/what qualities or
characteristics
• Compare/contrast
• Connecting/associating (what do
you already know?)
• Defining
• Cause and Effect
• Symbolizing (drawing)
• Prioritizing
• Observations
• Drawing Conclusions/Making
Inference (what would happen
if…?)
• Evaluating: opinions/agree or
disagree/better/worse?
• Explain: factors?
• Experiments: what kind of test
could you carry out?
• Generalizing
• Analogies
• Patterns?
• Predicting

13. Questions (3)
• Clarification
• Probe Assumptions
• Probe Reason and
Evidence
• Viewpoints and
Perspectives
• Implications and
Consequences
• Questions about
Questions
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Main issues
Examples
Evidence
Facts
Beliefs
Question Itself
Change the Question?
Alternatives
Analogies
Understand the Query?
Evaluate
Vocabulary?

14. The Three Little Pigs
Higher Order Thinking Activity
Was the Wolf Framed?
Guilt Versus Innocence: What Does That Mean?
The Prosecutor Addresses The Jury
The Defense Addresses The Jury
What Does The Wolf Say?
What Did The Pigs Say?
What Do News Reports Tell Us?

15. Lateral Thinking
• A man rode into town on Monday, stayed three days, and left
town on Monday. Explain??
• A baby fell out of a window in a twenty-storey building and
yet was able to survive. How?
• The police were searching for a suspected murderer, whose
name they were told, was John. That was their only
information. They received a tip saying he was in a particular
house-they broke in and saw a carpenter, a mechanic, a firefighter and an engineer all playing cards: they immediately
arrested the engineer. Why?

16. Vocabulary
Synthesizing/Analyzing
• Categorize, combine, compose, create, devise,
design, explain, generate, modify, organize, rearrange, reconstruct, relate, reorganize, revise,
rewrite, summarize, tell, write.
• Analyze, break down, compare, contrast, diagram,
deconstruct, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish,
identify, illustrate, infer, outline, relate, select,
separate

17. Wraxing Wortle
Words
“The griney
grollers
grangled in the
granchy grak.”
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What kind of grollers are they?
What did the grollers do?
Where did they do it?
In what kind of grak did they
grangle?
5. Place a line under the subject and
two lines under the verb.
6. Explain why the grollers were
grangling in the park. Justify your
answer.
7. If you had to grangle in a
grak, what two items would you
take with you?

18. Think?
• Identify the kinds of questions
you currently ask. What do they
require from you, from your
students?
• Examine your objectives: what do
you want students to
demonstrate?
• Do you provide wait/think time?
• Review Bloom’s Taxonomy see
the thinking and behavior skills
there.
• What do you do when you get the
“I don’t know” response?
• Do you get one-word answers?
Can your students predict and
speculate?
• What are your rewards, verbal
and otherwise? How do you
encourage students?
• What is the role of opinion and
hypothesis in your classroom?

19. Bloom’s Taxonomy
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The Old Version
Evaluation
Synthesis
Analysis
Application
Comprehension
Knowledge
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The New Version
Creating
Evaluating
Analyzing
Applying
Understanding
Remembering

20. Bloom’s-Based Lesson Plan
• What will students know?
• What will they understand?
• What will they do?
• What benchmarks are
addressed?
• What are my essential questions?
• What are the planned
instructional questions around
lesson content? (Use Bloom’s
categories)
• Materials needed?
• Instructional strategies?
(Technology-assisted/Multisensory/peer/adult/cooperative/
visual aids/Inquiry/keywords and
vocabulary/storytelling/music/vid
eos)
Assessments????

21. Decision Making: Using Historical Exemplars to think
about how to make the right decisions
• Hiroshima
What did the decision makers
have to take into account?
• The Pursuit Of Bin Laden
What were the factors
involved?

22. Decisions, decisions, decisions……
• Do we actually teach students how to make
decisions? How is that done? What content do we
use, what instructional methods?
• Much of this is done through instructional
engagements that take place outside the “norm”.
We use assemblies, circles, one on ones,
• Let’s ask ourselves: what is the format for our own
decision-making? Can we use that as a template for
students?

23. Decisions
We forget how complicated the historical decisions can be. Yet
teaching about decision making through the experience of
real decision makers brings this complexity to life. It also
promotes that we ask deeply critical questions: who will be
affected? What are the possible outcomes? What will
success look like? How will we know when we are finished?
What happens if we fail? What do we need before we take
action? How many people do we need? Do we have the right
tools/supplies/equipment? Should we worry about public
opinions? Who will try to stop us?
Those who make critical decisions always ask the best possible
questions!

24. Planning Lessons
Plan everything around the concept of questions: what
questions would students ask? What questions can they
answer? What are your objectives? What are the assessments
you will use to determine your success? What materials will
stimulate students? What are your standards (CCSS)?