CRITICAL THINKING the ability to analyze facts generate

CRITICAL THINKING: ü ü ü . . . the ability to analyze facts, generate and organize ideas, defend opinions, make comparisons, draw inferences, evaluate arguments and solve problems (Chance, 1986); . . . a conscious and deliberate process which is used to interpret or evaluate information and experiences with a set of reflective attitudes and abilities that guide thoughtful beliefs and actions (Mertes, 1991); . . . active, systematic process of understanding and evaluating arguments. Critical thinkers acknowledge that there is no single correct way to understand evaluate arguments and that all attempts are not necessarily successful (Mayer & Goodchild, 1990); . . . the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skilfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action (Scriven & Paul); . . . reasonable reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or what to do (Ennis, 1992, Picture 1).

ANALYTICAL THINKING INVOLVES: ü ü ü ü ü standing back from the information given examining it in the detail from many angles checking closely whether it is completely accurate checking whether each statement follows logically from what went before looking for the possible flaws in the reasoning the evidence, or the way that conclusions are drawn comparing the same issue from the point of view of other theorists or writers being able to see and explain why different people arrived at different conclusion being able to argue why set of opinions, results or conclusions is preferable to another checking for hidden assumptions checking for attempts to lure the reader into agreements

IN GENERAL EDUCATION CONTEXT, CRITICAL THINKING IS BASED ON LITERATURE AND PEDAGOGY FROM: BLOOM’S TAXONOMY ü SOCRATIC QUESTIONING ü INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING ü

BLOOM’S TAXONOMY

BLOOM’S TAXONOMY FOR THINKING

A TAXONOMY OF SOCRATIC QUESTIONS Learners learn from Socratic discussion a sense of intellectual discipline and thoroughness. They learn to appreciate the power of logical thinking. They learn that all thought can be pursued in at least four directions:

A TAXONOMY OF SOCRATIC QUESTIONS üTheir origin: How did you come to think this? Can you remember the circumstances in which you formed this belief?

A TAXONOMY OF SOCRATIC QUESTIONS ü Their support: Why do you believe this? Do you have any evidence for this? What are some of the reasons why people believe this? In believing this aren't you assuming that such and so is true? Is that a sound assumption do you think?

A TAXONOMY OF SOCRATIC QUESTIONS ü Their conflicts with other thoughts: Some people might object to your position by saying …. How would you answer them? What do you think of this contrasting view? How would you answer the objection that …?

A TAXONOMY OF SOCRATIC QUESTIONS ü Their implications and consequences: What are the practical consequences of believing this? What would we have to do to put it into action? What follows from the view that …? Wouldn't we also have to believe that … in order to be consistent? Are you implying that …?

A TAXONOMY OF SOCRATIC QUESTIONS Questions of clarification ü ü ü ü What do you mean by ____? Could you give me an example? What is your main point? Would this be an example: ____? How does ____ relate to ____? Would you say more about that? Could you put that another way? ü Would you say more about that? ü Is your basic point ____ or _ _______? ü Why do you say that? üWhat do you think is the main issue here? ü Let me see if I understand you; do you mean ____ or ____? ü How does this relate to our discussion (problem, issue)? ü What do you think Samat meant by his remark? ü What did you take Samat to mean?

A TAXONOMY OF SOCRATIC QUESTIONS Questions that probe Assumptions ü ü ü ü ü What are you assuming? What is Arman assuming? What could we assume instead? You seem to be assuming ____. Do I understand you correctly? All of your reasoning depends on the idea that ____. Why have you based your reasoning on ____ rather than ____? You seem to be assuming. How would you justify taking this for granted? Is it always the case? Why do you think the assumption holds here? Why would someone make this assumption?

TO PARTICIPATE EFFECTIVELY IN SOCRATIC QUESTIONING, ONE MUST: ü ü ü ü ü Listen carefully to what others say Take what they say seriously Look for reasons and evidence Recognize and reflect upon assumption Discover implications and consequences Seek examples, analogies and objections Seek to distinguish what one know from what one merely believes Seek to enter empathetically into others’ perspectives or point of view Be on alert for inconsistencies, vagueness and other possible problems in thought

INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING AN APPROACH IN WHICH STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT SOMETHING OR EXPLORE AN ISSUE THROUGH A SERIES OF OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS

QUESTIONS THAT PROBE REASON AND EVIDENCE ü ü ü ü What would be an example? Are these reasons adequate? How do you know? Why do you think that is true? What led you to that belief? Do you have any evidence for that? How does that apply to this case? What would change your mind? What are your reasons for saying that? What other information do we need? Could you explain your reasons to us? Is there reason to doubt that evidence? Who is in a position to know if that is so? What would you say to someone who said ____? By what reasoning did you come to that conclusion? How could we find out whether that is true?

QUESTIONS ABOUT VIEW POINTS AND PERSPECTIVES ü ü ü ü You seem to be approaching this issue from perspective. Why have you chosen this rather than that perspective? How would other groups/types of people respond? Why? What would influence them? How could you answer the objection that would make? What might someone who believed ____ think? Can/did anyone see this another way? What would someone who disagrees say? What is an alternative? How are Arman's and Azhar's ideas alike? Different?

QUESTIONS THAT PROBE IMPLICATIONS AND CONSEQUENCES ü ü ü ü What are you implying by that? When you say ____, are you implying ____? But if that happened, what else would happen as a result? Why? What effect would that have? Would that necessarily happen or only probably happen? What is an alternative? If this and this are the case, then what else must also be true? If we say that this is unethical, how about that?

QUESTIONS ABOUT QUESTIONS ü ü ü How can we find out? Is this the same issue as…? What does this question assume? How would…. put the issue? Would…put the question differently? Why is this question important? How could someone settle this question? Can we break this question down at all? Is the question clear? Do we understand it? Is this question easy or hard to answer? Why? Does this question ask us to evaluate some thing? Do we all agree that this is the question?

CONCLUSION: The critical thinking is a development of independent thinking, aimed at processing of the information for creation and decision of new ideas and problems. ü Critical thing means the ability to treat the surrounding world to find and estimate objective way of receiving information to compare and analyze various point of view, to understand complexity and discrepancy of the public believes. ü

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSIONS ü What methods, technologies, tasks dealing with developing learners’ critical thinking skills do you know?