A presentation I gave to Mongolian high school teachers of English in Ulaan Baatar in March of 2014 on the topic of "Critical thinking and practice." The foldable was used to create a small dictionary of the definition of critical thinking and the four aspects presented. The pictures show how it is made. On the outside flap, you write the term. Then, inside, you draw a picture of what that concept means to you. Then, on the uncut portion under the flap, you write the definition of the term. You can download and edit out the bits on Mongolia to make it more suitable for your particular contexts.

1. Critical Thinking

2. Goals for today's presentation
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By the end of the presentation, teachers will be able to...
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1. Define critical thinking.
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2. Identify and explain four components of critical thinking.
•
3. Apply critical thinking concepts to their English language
classrooms.

3. Foldable

4. Foldable: Critical Thinking and its
components
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What is critical thinking?
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Critical thinking is a dynamic, purposeful, analytic process
that results in reasoned decisions and judgements.

5. Foldable: Critical Thinking and its
components
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Here are four components of critical thinking:
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Interpretation
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Analysis
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Inference
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Explanation
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Interpretation is identifying and understanding problems.
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Inference is making an informed decision.
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Explanation is the ability to answer “how” and “why.”
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Analysis is organizing data or ideas.

6. Critical thinking in ESL/EFL classes
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What critical thinking activities do Mongolian students do in
their NON-ENGLISH classes?
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What critical thinking activities do Mongolian students do in
their ENGLISH classes?

7. Critical thinking in ESL/EFL classes
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Each group will have 4 members.
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One person will be the writer. This person writes down ideas
from the group.
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One person will be the facilitator. This person will lead the
group discussion.
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One person will be the speaker. This person will present their
group's ideas to the other groups.
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One person will be the checker. They will keep track of time
and make sure each critical thinking component is used in an
activity.
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Each group will take one skill: READING, WRITING,
LISTENING, or SPEAKING. Make a short list of activities you
can do that include critical thinking.

8. Writing and Critical Thinking
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SUGGESTION: Use rubrics with
your students.
Show students rubrics that show
criteria for different scores. Have
one or two essays on hand to use as
examples for students to grade. Ask
them why they gave the scores they
did. Have them compare with other
groups. Then, have them write an
essay on the same topic.

9. Reading and Critical Thinking
•
SUGGESTION: Do a pattern
recognition activity.
Give students a text or group of
sentences with the grammar for the
lesson, but do not explain the
meaning of the grammar or how to
use it. Ask them, in groups, to read
the sentences and look for
similarities among the sentences.
Have them create their own
explanation for the pattern they
have found.

10. Listening and Critical Thinking
•
SUGGESTION: Have students
create a summary.
Have students listen to a sentence
or small group of sentences
that contain a clear main idea.
Then, using their own words,
students will have to create a
summary that contains the
main ideas and examples
spoken by the audio
file/teacher.

11. Speaking and Critical Thinking
•
SUGGESTION: Engage students
with modern issues.
Have students, in groups, discuss an
issue that the Mongolian
government faces (mining,
immigration, poverty, public health,
etc.). Each group will make a list of
pros and cons, and will have to
reference that list when giving the
whole class what their “parliament”
has decided (they must explain why
they made their choice, and how
they came to that decision). Other
groups and the teacher can ask
follow-up questions about their
decisions.

12. Sources
California State University, Fullerton. 2014. The
Critical Thinking Process. Retrieved from
http://www.fullerton.edu/deanofstudents/Judicial/Critical%20Thinking%20Process.pdf
on March 23, 2014.

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