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Critical_thinking.pptx
1. Critical thinking is seen as central to higher education but is often implicit rather than explicitly taught. 2. Critical thinking develops in stages from absolute knowing to contextual knowing. Students may be at different stages for different contexts. 3. Fostering critical thinking requires teaching it explicitly, providing practice and feedback, and assessing it through the curriculum. Bloom's taxonomy provides a framework for classifying thinking skills into remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating.
Critical_thinking.pptx
- 1. Musarrat ul Hasnain CriticalThinking
- 2. Why critical thinking? • Seenas central to higher education • Required in Masters level programmes • Claimed as the cornerstone of science and development BUT • Often implicit rather than explained in programmes
- 3. Outline • Development – Stagesmodel – Takes: time, practice, maturity, inclination • Valuing – Teach, Practice, Assess (Curriculum) • Understanding – Definitions – Bloom’s model • Activities – Review, evaluate, apply
- 4. CT as stagesof development • Students (all of us) develop through stages – We may be at different stages in different contexts – Same for students e.g. in ‘real life’ and in new academic situations 1 Absolute knowing 2 Transitional stage 3 Independent knowing 4 Contextual knowing Unreasonable to expect them to have fully reached contextual thinking • Moon (2005) adapted from Baxter Magnolia & Perry
- 5. Stages of knowing 1Absolute knowing Knowledge is certain – experts have the answers. Task is to absorb knowledge 2 Transitional stage There is some uncertainty – authorities differ. Need to understand in order to make judgements and apply 3 Independent knowing Learning is uncertain, everyone has own beliefs. Expected to have an opinion, peers can be valuable. Discriminating different perspectives overlooked 4 Contextual knowing Knowledge is constructed & often contextual, judgement requires evidence. Opinions must be evidenced
- 6. Valuing CT or –if we don’t, they won’t!! • Teach it – Powerful signal – Involves content prioritising • Practice* – In class/tutorials – Feedback • Assessment – Drives behaviour • Curriculum – What does it say/ require? – Can it be changed? – Consistent across modules? – Link to QAA statements? • What are our levels of ability to influence? • What are the levers for change? • Where would changes make the most powerful impact? * notes next slide
- 7. Deliberate Practice Research onachieving excellence reveals commonalities van Gelder 2005 p7 • Focussed practice aimed to generate improvement • Exercises to improve the skill (of CT) • Graduated and with repetition • Guidance, timely accurate feedback • Ongoing – takes time
- 8. Fostering CT –in general • Teach philosophy!! – Be explicit about epistemology and CT • Challenge just beyond comfort zone – Vygotsky • Recognise as a developmental process – Will be different stages in the class • Encourage student interaction • Set thinking activities – Reflection, PDP • Give examples of CT • Assessment – Remains a key issue Moon 2005 What do you do? What could you do?
- 9. Fostering CT –some more! • Create risk-taking atmosphere in class – Exploring ideas OK (rather than knowledge transmission) • Model CT – Think out loud • Provide thinking time • Assessment – There it is again! • Use questions purposefully • Support placements & out of class activities – Volunteering – International exchange • Oral activities* • Written*+ What do you do? What could you do? * see handout later Moon 2005 + see Thinking Writing project
- 10. Understanding CT • Definitions •Models – Bloom’s Taxonomy – Developmental (Baxter Magolda /Perry) • Universal Standards
- 11. Critical thinking Is not:automatic response or intuition etc whatever their value or lack of value! Critical thinking is reasonable reflective thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe or do (R. Ennis) The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them. A. Einstein
- 12. Critical & Criticalthinking • Critical position: personally derived evidenced based judgement Jude Carroll • Critical thinking: thinking that helps you figure out whether you should believe some claim, and how strongly you should believe it – i.e. is it true or the art of being right! Tim van Gelder • Critical thinking: capacity to work with complex ideas…. Provide effective evidence to justify a reasonable judgement…. Attending to context Jenny Moon
- 13. Each prisoner knowsthat there are 2 red hats and 2 blue hats, but no one knows the colour of his own hat
- 14. Six Levels ofThinking 1. Remembering 2. Understanding 3. Applying 4. Analysing 5. Evaluating 6. Synthesising – creating Researchers need the language of research Thinkers need the language of thinking! Bloom et al - a classic model
- 15. 1. Remembering Information list,name, identify, define, label, describe • Mnemonic – system for improving memory • Acronyms, Acrostics • Use baroque music – Might not ’like’ it – but it works! List: - ooops Liszt Music accesses memory
- 16. 2. Understanding Information •Mind maps (webs) • Key words • Single word summarise, discuss, distinguish, predict, generalise, categorise Thinking is the hardest work there is – That’s why so few people do it – Henry Ford
- 17. ‘Mind Mapping’ usingMind Genius Available on network
- 18. 3. Applying Information •Problem solving • Testing learning in the ‘real world’ or in class activities apply, demonstrate, examine, solve What we have to learn to do, we learn by doing - Aristotle (this includes CT!!)
- 19. 4. Analysing Information •Breaking it down • Fact v. opinion • Reasoned judgement • Logical thinking • Activity - PMI analyse, explain, compare, classify See Alec Fisher Lots of activities to build arguments and reasoning
- 21. 5. Evaluating or criticisinginformation • Objective • Open-minded, flexible • Check assumptions • Check bias assess, recommend, compare/contrast, conclude, justify, Questions are the active acts of intelligence - Frank Kingdom
- 22. 6. Synthesising or creatinginformation • New ideas-Creativity • New applications of ‘old’ ideas • Lateral thinking design, invent, rewrite, rearrange Nothing can happen unless you first dream -Carl Sandburgh See de Bono Countless ideas: lateral thinking
- 23. Snake swallowing itsown tail “Creative scientists are ones with access to their dreams” – Albert Einstein Let us learn to dream, gentlemen, and then perhaps we shall learn the truth. August Kekulé
- 25. Creative brainstorming ‘Synectics’ - veryuseful for problem solving 1. Remove negative stimuli (things that filter ideas out). 2. Separate ‘judgment’ from ‘idea getting’. a) Divergent mode. Create lots of ideas, irrespective of quality or relevance. There are no bad ideas! b) Convergent mode. Narrow down the ideas using various criteria. Task statement Final idea(s) a b
- 26. Universal Intellectual Standards •Clarity • Accuracy • Precision • Relevance • Depth • Breadth • Logic Check thinking and writing against these universal standards http://set.lanl.gov/programs/cif/Resource/Han douts/intlStan.ht Critical thinking: involves improving the quality of thinking… by imposing intellectual standards - R. Paul
- 27. Knowledge dimension 1 Remem ber 2 Under stand 3 Apply 4 Analyse 5* Evaluate 6* Create A: Factual Terminology, details, facts B:Conceptual Theories, generalisations, classifications C: Procedural How to do… Methods Subject skills D: Metacognitive Strategic Contextual Self- knowledge Krathwohl, D. (2002) A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy * Changed and reordered from original list Bloom’s taxonomy revised: analyse level of programme Locate learning outcomes in the grid; gives a ‘picture’ of the programme
- 28. Argument Mapping • Buildreasoning skills • Produce well organised arguments • Communicate reasoning • Evaluate reasoning • Make better decisions www.austhink.org
- 29. Takeaways • CT isdevelopmental – Variety in class and over time • Levels of thinking – a key model – Allows analysis of your teaching focus – Allows analysis of module/programme • Lots of activities – Plenty on the web (subject centre, SNAS, Learn Higher, CT.org)
- 30. Summarising! • Try somethinking skills activities – at any level • Be explicit – think out loud • Do it! Personal practical knowledge comes from putting ideas into practice A twit on the move may be worth ten seated philosophers - Unknown Harkat Main Barakat Hai
- 31. Sources Langreher J. (1992).Teach thinking strategies: Ideas for teachers Carr K. (2001) How can we teach critical thinking? Claxton G. (1997). Hare brain, tortoise mind Fisher A. (2001). Critical thinking: An introduction. Halpern, D. (1989). Thought and knowledge Krathwohl, D. (2002) A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy Paul, R. & Elder, L (2002). Critical thinking And more - including de Bono We think of the mind as a storehouse to be filled, when we should be thinking of it as an instrument to be used - Reed & Graeme
- 32. Useful Sites • Articlesby Tim Van Gelder – http://www.arts.unimelb.edu.au/~tgelder • van Gelder, T. J. (2005). Teaching critical thinking: some lessons from cognitive science. College Teaching, 45, 1-6. • Argument mapping – www.austhink.org • Universal Intellectual Standards – http://set.lanl.gov/programs/cif/Resource/Handouts/Handouts.htm – http://criticalthinking.org/Posters.html • Bloom’s Taxonomy – Skills and questions – http://www.coun.uvic.ca/learn/program/hndouts/bloom.html • Thinking Writing – http://www.thinkingwriting.qmul.ac.uk/srb.htm – Jenny Moon (2005) We seek it here...a new perspective on the elusive activity of critical thinking. HEA Escalate – http://escalate.ac.uk/2041
- 33. Useful Sites • DanKurland – http://www.criticalreading.com/ • Pierce handbook of CT – http://academic.pgcc.edu/~wpeirce/MCCCTR/handbook.pdf • Critical Thinking Community – http://www.criticalthinking.org/ABOUT/index.cfm • SNAS (HEA) – http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/ourwork/professional/snas/snasdatabase • Learn Higher – http://www.learnhigher.ac.uk/pages/critical_thinking_and_reflection. html