Teaching Critical Thinking through
Active Learning Strategies
Maha Bali,
Senior Instructional
Technologist
Dr. Aziza Ellozy,
Director
The American University in Cairo

 The goal of this workshop is to provide participants with an overview of how to explicitly teach critical thinking in the classroom using active learning strategies
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We will develop a working definition of critical thinking
We will model several strategies for teaching critical thinking skills
We will discuss approaches for assessing critical thinking

 Write your own definition of Critical Thinking
 Write down one of the recent assignments you gave your students and explicitly name one or two CT skill (s) you wanted to promote and how you did it.
 Pair up with one of the other participants, share and compare your notes

 Difficult to define because it differs in relation to context and materials to which it is applied.
 "Interpreting, analyzing or evaluating information, arguments or experiences with a set of reflective attitudes, skills, and abilities to guide our thoughts, beliefs and actions." (Walsh and Paul)

Please refer to handout

Please refer to handout

Sample Technique for Teaching
Critical Thinking Skills
A. Explicitly teaching a specific skill or skills

Sample Technique for Teaching
Critical Thinking Skills
Case Study: Art Forgery?
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Course: “Scientific Thinking”
 In-class group exercise
 Context: Uncertainty in Science

Untitled, Paul Cezanne? (circa
1880)

Case highlights
Untitled, Paul Cezanne? (circa 1880)
Collins, billionaire, wealthy art collector. Keenly interested in finding undiscovered artwork.
Discovered a Van Gogh 1992
Unearths what appears to be a
Cezanne. Will donate it to
Metropolitan Museum
Friend tells him:
“It’s risky to keep buying these paintings from these shady dealers”.
Has purchased it from dealer known for passing counterfeits
(unknowingly he claims)

Case highlights
 Museum curator needs to make decision. Will be fired if it turns out to be fake. Brings in consultants
 Art historian : ”I will stake my reputation that this is a previously unknown
Cezanne, probably painted in the late
1880’s”. “Under low magnification in the microscope, fine structure of brushwork is indistinguishable from other paintings of his…”

Case highlights
Scientists’ Findings
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A. UV spectrum shows substantial absorption of a polyene (a substance present in oil paint material). Polyenes should oxidize over time causing absorption to decrease. This suggests painting is not likely to be 100 years old.
BUT, polyenes could also be contaminants caused by soot, cigarette smoke…etc

Case highlights
Scientists’ Findings
B. IR spectroscopy: might not be a
Cezanne
 Analysis of yellow areas shows indirectly they could be cadmium based (a mix of cadmium sulfide and barium sulfate)
This mix not widely used before 1927.
C. dead by then.
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There is an indication of an underdrawing, probably charcoal.
Cezanne known not to have any underdrawings. Not likely to be a
Cezanne
Binder is an animal glue binder. This binder widely used in late 19 th century till
1940’s.

Case highlights
= Blue, yellow and green samples
Scientists’ Findings
C. X-ray Fluorescence
 Analysis of pigments shows no cadmium or barium. Other elements present confirm pigments widely used before and during C. life span.
D. UV Fluorescence
 Orange in rooftop and dark green in tree show brighter fluorescence than rest of painting. Their emission spectra are very similar to those found in the Brooklyn MOA’
Cezanne in the same visual elements.

Case highlights
Scientists’ Findings
D. UV Fluorescence (cont’d)
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“…strong support that the pigments were made in the same studio and even by the same artist because of the variability in hand groundground pigments.”
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“No evidence from fluorescence for polyene emission,…even though fluorescence is more sensitive than
UV absorption” !!!

 Refer to your handout
 Identify which CT skills are promoted in this exercise

A. Some Basics
Please refer to handout

Please refer to your handout
 Analyzing an issue
 Questioning strategy

C .
Please refer to your handout

 Less emphasis is placed on transmitting information and more on developing students' higher order thinking skills
 Greater emphasis is placed on students' exploration of attitudes and values
*E.C. Bonwell and J. A. Eison

Please refer to your handout

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Interaction with peers
Self-assessment
Using a variety of strategies

 In plain language and in less than five minutes, paraphrase what you know about Bird Flu for a high official in the
Ministry of Agriculture. Your aim is to convince him to spend time and money in vaccinating healthy domestic birds.

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Questions/activities that encourage critical thinking
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Bloom’s taxonomy (refer to handout)
 Use the set of skills as a guide
Share rubrics (assessment criteria) with your students

 Robert H. Ennis. "A Taxonomy of Critical Thinking Dispositions and Abilities" in
T eaching Thinking Skills: Theory and Practice ; eds. Joan Boykoff Baron and
Robert J. Sternberg. Freeman, 1987.