Adding Critical Thinking to the
Curriculum at the Elementary Level
Presented by:
Is this topic a problem or an issue?
How would you express it?
What methods could you use to produce
ideas to resolve this problem or issue?
 Meetings involving:
 Administrators
 Teachers
 Parents
 Students
 Committee
 Research other schools
 Literature review
 Outsourced Expert
What habits and perceptual blocks that hinder
your thinking did you have to overcome with this
topic?
 Teaching a child critical thinking can be fun, but
many times people may think that a child is not
old enough for critical thinking or just it is easier
to do things for them.
How did you detect bias in your
research?
What types of questions should you
ask to think about this topic critically?
 Diagnostic questions
 Is a change even needed?
 Evaluation questions
 What are we currently doing about critical thinking?
 What is being done with critical thinking in other
elementary schools?
 How will this be put into place here?
 Challenge questions
 Are there any problems in the research?
 Has there been any bias or logic errors?
How did you evaluate arguments in
your research?
 Clearly read what has been written in the
argument.
 Find the conclusion.
 Identify the premise.
 Identify any assumptions.
 Support for the conclusion.
 Only use resources that have a supported
conclusion that are valid.
What assumptions or errors in
reasoning did you encounter?
Which techniques should you use to present your
ideas and to persuade your audience effectively?
Which approaches should you use to
communicate your ideas effectively, both written
and in speech?
 Be clear and on-topic of what is being covered.
 Provide examples to help illustrate what is being
discussed.
 Use both visual and verbal portions to add more
depth to a presentation.
 Use a read-able font.
 Use a loud, clear voice.
 Do not go too fast through the material.
 Allow for questions at the end of the
presentation.
Solutions Proposal
 Re-working current lessons to include
critical thinking.
 Teaching a separate class on critical thinking.
 A combination of both.
References
 References
 Elder, L., & Paul, R. (n.d.). Becoming a Critic Of Your Thinking. Critical
Thinking Index Page. Retrieved August 10, 2013, from
http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/becoming-a-critic-of-yourthinking/478
 Holt, M. (n.d.). Effective Communication Methods in an Organization.
Chron.com. Retrieved August 10, 2013, from
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/effective-communication-methodsorganization-2.html
 Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2005). A guide for educators to critical thinking competency
standards: standards, principles, performance indicators, and outcomes with a critical
thinking master rubric. Dillon, Calif.: Foundation for Critical Thinking.
 Schneider, V. (2002, September 1). Critical Thinking in the Elementary
Classroom: Problems and Solutions. EPS Update. Retrieved August 10, 2013,
from eps.schoolspecialty.com/downloads/articles/Critical_ThinkingSchneider.pdf