EMBEDDING CRITICAL THINKING IN PRACTICE Lebanese American University

EMBEDDING CRITICAL THINKING IN PRACTICE Lebanese American University Stephen Brookfield University of St. Thomas (Minneapolis-St. Paul, USA) www. stephenbrookfield. com

WEBSITE: www. stephenbrookfield. com • My home page is open access so if you want to find out more about any of the exercises or activities I mention go to the page and click on the ‘Resources’ link. • There you will find multiple PDF files of workshop packets stuffed with activities or power point files. • You don’t need to ask my permission to use any of these resources. If they’re useful then try them out and adapt them to your context. • www. stephenbrookfield. com

www. todaysmeet. com/crit • Please go to: www. todaysmeet. com/crit • Sign in by creating a nickname for yourself (random numbers, sports team, birthdate etc. ) DON’T USE YOUR REAL NAME! • Post a greeting so we know the system is working

RECAP: How Students Display Critical Thinking (Knowing the Epistemological Grammar of their Subject) • Provide evidence for their assertions, arguments, hypotheses • Give reasons for considering an argument, theory or statement to be valid and accurate • Demonstrate the ability to build arguments by showing inferential ladders & chains of reasoning • Develop the intellectual flexibility to seek out alternative perspectives and viewpoints • Practice continuous self-appraisal & welcome critique • Continuously raise valid questions about the material

RECAP: What Students Say Helps them Learn to Think Critically • WHEN IT’S MODELLED EXPLICITLY & PUBLICLY BY TEACHERS • WHEN ACTIVITIES ARE SEQUENCED SO STUDENTS ARE GRADUALLY INITIATED INTO PACTICING THIS • WHEN IT’S PRACTICED IN SMALL, PEERLEARNING GROUPS

How do we embed critical thinking in ways that help students? • Lots of explicit public modeling • Clear opening syllabus statement, explanation, definition of critical thinking • Write course & unit objectives that demonstrate the application of critical thinking • Translate critical thinking into specific student indicators – behaviors & actions they recognize • Construct formats to evaluate students’ progress • Design classroom exercises to foster critical thinking

Syllabus Explanation or Definition of Critical Thinking • This course asks you to apply critical thinking to the ideas / practices we will be studying. • “By critical thinking I mean …. . ” • “Critical thinking involves…. . ” • “Critical thinking is defined as. . . ” • “Critical thinking happens when…. . ”

Please: • Complete one or more of these sentences in a way that communicates as simply & clearly to students what you mean when you say you want them to undertake ‘critical thinking’ or ‘to think critically’ • Find someone from your own or an allied discipline & compare notes • When you’re ready, the two of you post your explanation or definition of critical thinking for students on: www. todaysmeet. com/crit

Writing Unit, Topic or Module Objectives • Find someone from your own or an allied discipline & choose a discrete topic or unit that one or both teach • Write as many possible objectives for students that implement critical thinking processes • Avoid general terms like ‘understand’, ‘explore’ or ‘study’ • Write these objectives in terms of ACTIONS that students will take, something they demonstrate that they can do • “By successfully completing this unit you will be able to

Let’s Share… • I’d like each group to describe briefly the content, skill or topic they’re trying to encourage students to think critically about • Then share some of the different objectives you came up with – the things students will be able to do at the end of the unit that they are unable to do at the beginning

Translate critical thinking into specific student indicators, behaviors & actions they recognize • Find someone from your own or an allied discipline & choose a specific chunk of content that 1 of you teaches • Describe as many possible actions or behaviors you can identify that you could tell students is evidence of thinking critically… • “You will be demonstrating critical thinking when you…. . ” • “I will know you are thinking critically if you…. . ” • “Whenever you ……, that’s evidence you’re thinking critically”

Let’s Share! • I’d like each group to describe briefly the chunk of content they’re trying to get students to think critically about • What are some of the possible actions or behaviors you identified that you’d tell students was evidence of them thinking critically?

A Basic Rubric to Assess Critical Thinking • Find someone from your own or an allied discipline & choose a student indicator of critical thinking one of you have just identified • Brainstorm together as many specific actions or behaviors that demonstrate students are exemplifying this facet of critical thinking • At the highest level • Very well • Sufficiently • Poorly • Inadequately

Let’s Share… • I’d like each group to describe briefly the content, skill or topic they’re trying to encourage students to think critically about • Then tell us the different ways you’d recognize that students were demonstrating critical thinking… • At the highest level • Very well • Sufficiently • Poorly • Inadequately

Beginning with Scenario Analysis • A brief fictional vignette – 1 to 2 paragraphs – in which a scholar or practitioner in the field, discipline or topic being investigated is making a decision or choice, or taking an action • Students read this scenario & answer 3 questions: • What assumptions is the scholar or practitioner operating under? • Of the assumptions identified, which could the scholar or practitioner check by simple research & inquiry ? How? • What’s an alternate interpretation of this scenario? A version of what's happening that’s consistent with the events described but that the scholar/practitioner would disagree with

Designing a Scenario Analysis • Find someone from your own or an allied discipline & choose a discrete topic or unit that one or both of you teaches. It should be one where you’re trying to get students to be aware of the procedures & processes people in the discipline use to construct knowledge or practice, or the ways a topic or piece of info. could be analyzed. • Construct a 1 -2 paragraph scenario where a fictional scholar, researcher or practitioner is making a choice or taking an action related to the topic being studied (see the handout for examples). • Remember, choose only one person to be the focus of the scenario & make it an action or situation that’s open to different interpretations. • You can use the same three questions as outlined on the previous slide • When ready, post a brief summary on: www. todaysmeet. com/crit

Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher nd (2017, 2. Ed. ) Teaching for Critical Thinking (2012) The Skillful Teacher (2015 3 rd. Ed. ) The Discussion Book (2016) with Stephen Preskill All published by Jossey-Bass/Wiley www. stephenbrookfield. com