This document discusses various ways of developing and assessing critical thinking skills in university students. It defines critical thinking as purposeful, systematic thinking where the thinker applies criteria like relevance, depth and accuracy. The document outlines strategies for teachers, such as explaining how critical thinking is demonstrated in their discipline and building students' confidence and skills. It also discusses traditional ways of assessing critical thinking through essays, posters, debates, role-plays and simulations. Essays require students to analyze arguments, make judgments based on evidence, and develop a structured account using their research. Overall, the document promotes developing students' ability to think independently and arrive at valid judgments through disciplined thought.

1. Thinking critically and making judgments
The abilityof studentstothinkcriticallyandtoarrive at soundjudgments isakeyoutcome of any
universityeducation.Critical thinkingcanbe definedaspurposeful thinking,inwhichthe thinker
systematicallyappliescriteriaandstandardstothe thinking,suchasrelevance,depth,accuracy,and
sufficiency.The thinkeralsotakesintoaccountissuessuchas pointof view,contextandassumptions.
Importantly,the thinkercanevaluate the strengthsandweaknessesof theirownthinking,andthatof
others.Most disciplinesinhighereducationhave theirownparticularwaysof expressingcritical thinking
(e.g.critical thinkinginthe sciencesisquite differentfromthe humanities),butthe commonchallenge
for teachersisto move studentsfromadependenceuponthe thinkingandjudgmentsotherstoarriving
at theirownvalid judgmentsonthe basisof theirowndisciplinedthought.Strategiesforteachers
include:
• explainingtostudentshowcritical thinkingisevidencedintheirowndisciplineandthe variousforms
and processesittakes
• Activelyaddressingmanystudents’inclinationtoadoptsurface learningapproachesandbuilding
students’confidence andskillsincritical thinking
• helpingstudentstodistinguishbetweendisciplinedcritical thinkingandsubjective opinions
• offeringasmuchformative development andmodellingtostudentsinpreparationfortasksthat
assesscritical thinking
• findingwaystofostera culture of curiosityandrigorousthinkingintheirclasses.
Essays
Essays are traditional anduseful waysof developingandassessingcritical thinking.
The essaygenerallyrequiresstudentsto:
• analyse andevaluate existingargumentsrelevanttothe topic
• make informedjudgementswhichshowsstudentshave weighedthe evidence andmade areasoned
conclusion
• developastructuredandsustainedaccountof theirreasoning,basedupontheirresearchandreading,
usingthe essayform.
Essays alsohelpdevelopandshowcase students’writtencommunicationskills,andalsodemonstrate
the depthof knowledge andunderstandingof a topic.Theyalsoshowcase students’abilitytoaccessand
manage information.
Typicallyessaystake the formof:
• discussa quotation
• write an essayona giventopic
• compare,contrast,explainatopic

2. • assess,analyse orevaluate atopic
• choose fromthe followingtopics
• studentsdeveloptheirowntopicinconsultationwithlecturer.
Posters
Postersare anotheralternative wayof assessingstudents’knowledge andunderstanding.Postersallow
studentstoencapsulate theirideasandexpressknowledgeandunderstandingincreative orsuccinct
ways.Postersmaybe done individuallyorinteams,intopicsof choice,orfrom a givenrange of relevant
topics.Like conceptmapping,postersare anexcellentwayof clarifyingthinkingaboutrelevantconcepts
and theirrelationships;representingandcommunicatingcomplex ideas,processesandrelationships;
and helpingstudentstodiagnose gapsintheirownunderstandingof atopic.A postersessionisan
assessmenteventwhere all postersare displayed,discussedand assessed.Criteriausuallyincludethe
depthof knowledge andunderstanding,anditsvisual representationinasuccinctwaythat
communicateswithanaudience.
Role-plays and simulations / Drama
Role-playsandsimulationsprovideopportunitiesforthe analysisof complex problems,withstudents
adoptingrolesinthe problemorconflict.Role-playsandsimulationsmaybe undertakeninthe
classroom,overthe Web,or usingcomputer-basedsimulation.
A typical role-playrequiresthatstudentsworkinsmall groupstoresearchtheirallocatedrole (for
example,fourstudentstogetherdevelopone role whichcouldbe anindividual,agovernmentagency,a
lobbygroup,a client,etc.).Studentsresearchthe perspectivesandassumptionsof theirrole and
prepare themselvesforthe ensuinginteractions.A scenarioisintroducedthatrequiresthemtorespond
‘inrole’througha seriesof escalatingevents.Use of informationandcommunicationstechnologysuch
as discussionforumsandchatrooms allowsthe processtooccur overan extendedperiod.A concluding
debrief sessionisusuallyessential toanalyze andreflectonoutcomes.
Role-playsandsimulationsgive studentsadeeperunderstandingof the varietyof perspectivesthatare
oftenbroughtto conflictsinprofessionallife,andhow these mightbe competentlyresolved.Role-plays
may alsobe usedto enable studentstodemonstrateproceduresandtechniquesandthe underpinning
rationale.
Debates
Debates,whichmaybe facilitatedeitherinthe classroomorthe online environment,are excellent
meansof developingandassessingstudents’communicationskills,teamwork,andcritical thinking.
Debatesusuallyfocusuponcontestedareasof the curriculum, where studentsare encouragedto
engage withandunderstandbothsidesof aproposition.
Debatesrequire studentsto:
1. work collaborativelytoanalyse acontestedissue fromall perspective.

3. 2. plan a divisionof labourandallocate roles
3. researchand developargumentsforadesignatedposition
4. deliverpersuasive argumentsandpersuasive critique of opposingposition
POETRY
Both science and poetry can be, and usually are, creative and imaginative as well as a
representation of knowledge through study. They are subjects linked in the common goal of
understanding the world.
When thinking of the nature of children, it would seem that children's poetry would be easy for
them to love, because they love playing with language.
Children are at the unique stage of life when they are just discovering the many uses of language.
Rhymes and patterns are very obvious and exciting to them, and can be used by parents and
teachers to begin a love for poetry.
The way poetry is presented to children is critical. Simply handed a poetry book, children may
not understand or know what to do with it. Children need guidance, and it is up to parents to
provide this.
Poetry is one genre of children’s literature that both adults and children can receive equal benefit
from. Poems for children may not be interpreted the same by both children and adults, but the
enjoyment can be equal.
When reading a poem with a child it is important for adults to ask children what they are seeing
on the pages and encourage children to think about how the illustrations are connected to the
text.
Having students read — and create — poems inspired by biology, chemistry and astronomy might
sound odd, but it can be successful in two important ways:
 Students are challenged to deeply understand scientific concepts in order to apply them as
metaphors or convey them in verse
 It’s a great way to push past writer’s block or engage reluctant writers who may be more
scientifically-focused
Yet poetry enables teachers to teach their students how to write, read, and
understand any text. Poetry can give students a healthy outlet for surging
emotions. Reading original poetry aloud in class can foster trust and empathy
in the classroom community, while also emphasizing speaking and listening
skills that are often neglected in high school literature classes.

4. Evaporation Poem
I poured some water,

5. It was fun,
Stuck the jar,
In the sun...
Checked the water,
The next day,
Now listen close,
To what I say...
Water gone!
Disappeared!!
It was strange,
It was weird...
Called my mom,
Called my dad,
Where's my water?
This is bad!
Parents looked,
No surprise,
With a twinkle,
In their eyes,
Parents taught me,
Gave me aid,
Water vapor's,
What I made!
Yes your water,
Changed its state,
Turned to vapor,
Evaporate...
Evaporation:
The process in which a liquid becomes a vapor without reaching its boiling point.

6. Evaporation only occurs from the surface of a liquid, as opposed to boiling which affects
the entire mass of the liquid.
Evaporation is an important part of the water cycle. This cycle describes how Earth's
surface water evaporates into the air, condenses, and then returns toEarth in different
forms of precipitation.
RIDDLES
Riddles are the perfect medium for learning how to manipulate language. Shade (1991) pointed
out that the source of humor in riddles and jokes includes understanding multiple meanings,
metaphors, and idioms; detecting ambiguity; and understanding perspective shifts. In other
words, to understand and generate verbal humor, a student must exercise metalinguistic skill.
Riddles offer especially engaging instructional content for teaching language manipulation for
many reasons: Most children are familiar and comfortable with riddles. They have heard riddles
before, whether or not they understood the ambiguity in them. In addition, riddles are especially
suited for young readers because they are whole texts. As short as they are, they are discrete
units with meaning (Kazemek, 1999). Finally, riddles are fun! Motivation is a critical element in
how successful a lesson will be. Teaching with riddles ensures students will be laughing and
engaged.
You are served a hot cup of coffee and room-temperature cream at a restaurant.
You want to wait a few minutes before you drink the coffee, and you want it to
be as hot as possible when you drink it. Should you pour the cream in the coffee:
a) Immediately
b) Just before you drink it
c) It doesn't matter
Solution:
a) Immediately
Explanation:
"Temperature difference" is the driving force for the heat transfer.
Since the coffee is initially very hot and hence it will be cool down at a very fast rate.
If we add cream immediately : The temperature will initially go down for sure but then will cool down
at the slower rate as coffees mixed with cream is cooler than coffee alone and therefore heat cool
down rate is less. Also, the cream will increase the mass of the content in the cup and hence larger
mass will take more time to cool down.
Hence cream should be added immediately
QUE: It is the son of the water but when the son returns to parent, it dies.
What is it?
Solution:

7. It's Ice.
QUE: What is
black when you buy it,
red when you use it,
and gray when you throw it away ?
Solution:
Charcoal
QUE: What science deficiency does this text rebus means ?
VIT_MIN
SOLUTION:
Vitamin A deficiency
QUE: Cindy throws a ball from a 90 feet building. The ball is quite bouncy and
when it hits the ground, it bounces back half way up. It keeps bouncing back to
half way up.
How many bounces will the ball take before it comes to a permanent halt?
Solution:
The ball will take infinite bounces before it is stopped. As per the question it will keep on bouncing
half way up every time it hits the ground. But gravity will play its part at certain point of time which
will make it stop.
Six Benefits of Riddles for Children
In a world where children's lives are becoming increasingly more invested in social networks, it is
becoming very important to find ways to bond with children and help them learn outside of these
networks. A very good way of doing this is sharing riddles with children and teaching them the logic
behind them. Riddles are more beneficial and can improve children's mental state in more ways than
you may expect.
1. Introduce them to intellectual humor: Laughter is important to happiness and health. In
addition, laughter is a very good way to motivate peopl1e to continue working after a long
monotonous day. It can relax the brain and body, helps us release stress, and makes us feel
great. Boredom and keeping children's attention is one of the largest problems associated
with education today, so riddles can be a great way to break up the day and relax the brain,
while keeping the brain working.

8. 2. Work their brains: Problem solving and critical thinking skills are two of the most important
and sought after abilities in society today1. This is demonstrated by the importance of
standardized testing when getting into college and graduate school. Both the ACT and SAT
are heavily based on critical thinking and problem solving skills. Riddles have been shown to
improve children's comprehension and creativity, making them the perfect prep for children.
3. Reading comprehension: In the United States literacy rates are at 99 percent, but
comprehension is very different and falls on a spectrum. Everybody can read to some extent,
but this doesn't mean that they can read quickly enough or understand difficult content that
will enable them to be useful in the workforce. Riddles can help out with this by expanding
vocabulary and increasing the ability to understand context.
4. Expand their vocabulary: When children (and really everyone) encounter words that they
don't understand they figure them out through context. Riddles give words a great deal of
context which makes it easier for children to learn, remember and use these words. In
another way, riddles force kids to ask more questions about words they don't understand.
5. Giving them the opportunity to teach: Teaching kids riddles allows them to know and
understand something that most other people do not, giving them an opportunity to repeat
them and teach them to others. When children learn riddles it's very different from most of
what they learn, they can teach these riddles to their peers, parents, and teachers. This
reinforces their understanding of the riddle and it also allows them to interact with people in a
constructive social way.
6. To bond with children: Telling and teaching riddles to children is a great way to form
relationships with them and break through any social issues the child may have, making it
easier for them to form social relationships in the future.
This is why children should all be exposed to a good number of riddles.