Intellectual Standards and Virtues
Innovative Educators: Part III
The Underlying Principles of Critical Thinking
The Standards
Clarity
Accuracy
Relevance
Logical
Breadth
Precision
Significance
Completeness
Fairness
Depth
Intellectual Traits
Intellectual Humility
Intellectual Perseverance
Intellectual Autonomy
Intellectual Integrity
Confidence in Reasoning
Intellectual Courage
Intellectual Empathy
Fair-mindedness
must be applied to
The Elements
Purpose
Inferences
Questions
Concepts
Points of view
Implications
Information
Assumptions
as we develop
Intellectual Standards
How do these intellectual virtues interrelate?
To what extent should we foster the development of
these virtues in student thinking?
How does the development of these virtues relate to
learning –
or does it?
How can we teach these virtues to students?
Uncovering the Traits
 Write down a vignette illustrating how you personally
witnessed the positive contribution of one of the traits to a
team on which you served.
 Write down a vignette exemplifying how a deficit in one trait
had adversely affected a team on which you served.
Think for Yourself (4-1):
Intellectual Humility
Name a person that you “know” and are interested in. Now
make two lists. In the first list include everything you
know for sure about the person. In the second list include
everything you know you don’t know about them. For
example, I know for sure that my grandmother (father’s
side) loved to cook, but I’m also sure that I never really
understood what her fears and personal desires were. I
knew many superficial things about her, but about her
inner self I knew nothing. Be prepared to back up what
you claim with an explanation of your thinking.
Think for Yourself (4-2):
Recognizing Superficial Learning
Think of a college course you completed in which you received
a high final grade. Take a blank sheet of paper and try to write
out and elaborate, without consulting any sources, answers to
the following questions: What is ……?(put in the name of
subject; history, biology, etc.) What is the main goal of
studying this subject? What are people in this field trying to
accomplish? What kinds of questions do they ask? What kinds
of problems do they solve?
What sort of information or data do they gather? How do
they go about gathering information in ways that are
distinctive to this field? What is the most basic idea,
concept, or theory in this field? How did studying this
field change your view of the world? If you find it difficult
to answer these questions, consider the hypothesis that you
might have gotten your high grade by “cramming” for tests
or by some other means of superficial learning. Do you
think you are able to begin to identify the difference in
your own past learning between what you learned
superficially and what you learned (or might have learned)
deeply?
For every problem under the sun
There is a solution or there is none.
If there be one, seek till you find it
If there be none, then never mind it.
 To me this means…
 In other words…
 To exemplify…
 To illustrate…
Think for Yourself:
Intellectual Courage
Try to think of a circumstance in which either you or someone
you knew defended a view that was very unpopular in a group
to which you belonged. Describe the circumstances and
especially how the group responded. If you can’t think of an
example, what is the significance of that?
Sample Activity
U.S. History
Developing Empathy & Recognizing
Biases in the Text
Directions
 Read the passage alone.
(30 seconds)
 We will discuss the answers to the
questions on the slides following the
passage.
(2 minutes)
“These Native Americans (in the Southeast) believed
that nature was filled with spirits. Each form of life,
such as plants and animals, had a spirit. Earth and air
held spirits too. People were never alone. They
shared their lives with the spirits of nature.”
 What point of view is this statement written
from?
 Do you think that the passage is an accurate
representation of Native American religion?
Why or why not?
How might a Christian react if his/her
beliefs were succinctly summarized in
the following way?
“These Americans believed that one great male god
ruled the world. Sometimes they divided him into
three parts, which they called father, son and holy
ghost. They ate crackers and wine or grape juice,
believing that they were eating the son’s body and
drinking his blood. If they believed strongly enough,
they would live on forever after they died.”
 Do these quotes reflect the depth and breadth of
each religious view?
 How might one reconstruct these statements to
reflect a greater degree of fairmindedness?
 To what extent do you tend to stereotype and
simplify beliefs other than your own?
Personal Forms of Formal Writing
1. Thesis-Seeking Essay (as opposed to a thesis-supporting
essay)
 Students construct a narrative that describes their thinking
process as they think through a problem.
 Easily adaptable to any discipline.
 Often encourages student motivation.
Example next slide.
Write a first-person, chronologically organized account of your
thinking process as you explore possible solutions to a question
or problem related to this course. Begin by describing what the
question is and how and why you became interested in it. Then,
as you contemplate the problem and do research, narrate the
evolving process of your thinking.Your exploratory essay should
include both external details (what you read, how you found it,
who you talked to) and internal mental details (what you were
thinking about, how your ideas were evolving).
For this essay, it doesn’t matter whether you reach a final
position or solve the problem; your reader is interested in
your process, not your final product. Show us, for example,
your frustration when a promising source turned out to be
useless. Show us how new ideas continually led you to
reformulate your problem through expansion, narrowing,
shifting of focus, or whatever. Make your exploratory essay an
interesting intellectual detective story – something your
readers will enjoy.
The Underlying Principles of Critical Thinking
The Standards
Clarity
Accuracy
Relevance
Logical
Breadth
Precision
Significance
Completeness
Fairness
Depth
Intellectual Traits
Intellectual Humility
Intellectual Perseverance
Intellectual Autonomy
Intellectual Integrity
Confidence in Reasoning
Intellectual Courage
Intellectual Empathy
Fair-mindedness
must be applied to
The Elements
Purpose
Inferences
Questions
Concepts
Points of view
Implications
Information
Assumptions
as we develop
Standards of Reasoning
Clarity: Understandable, the meaning can be grasped
Accuracy: Free from errors or distortions, true
Precision: Exact to the necessary level of detail
Relevance:
Depth:
Relating to the matter at hand
Containing complexities and interrelationships
Breadth: Involving multiple viewpoints
Logic: The parts make sense together, no contradictions
Significance:
Fairness:
Standards of Reasoning
Focusing on the important, not trivial
Justifiable, not self-serving (or egocentric)
Intellectual Standards
In each item below, a reason is given then a conclusion is
drawn.
In each case explain why the reason is not enough to draw the
conclusion.
Do not disagree with the reason; focus instead on why it is not
sufficient.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
My 80-year-old grandfather smoked a pack of cigarettes a day his
whole life. - Cigarettes are not harmful.
I’ve studied every night for a week. – I’ll do well on the exam.
You have lied to me. – Now I can never trust you.
“I cried b/c I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet.” – I
shouldn’t cry about my own suffering.
The Bible says “Thou shalt not kill.” – Capital punishment is
forbidden by the Bible.
Making the Standards Intuitive
For X in the questions below, substitute the name of your discipline
(course). Then answer them.
 In what ways is it necessary to be clear in X?
 What are the areas where people are most likely to be inaccurate in
X? What are the most important aspects of X to master?
 What are the dangers of giving insufficient responses in X?
 In what ways are depth and breadth central to X?
 How is precision most important in X?
Intellectual Standards and Teaching
Make a list of the standards that are used in your discipline.
Then make a list of ways in which you can better bring the
intellectual standards into instruction.
What is Your Philosophy of Education?
 B Questions C
A observes
 C Questions A
B observes
 A Questions B
C observes
What is the difference/relationship
between education and the concepts of
socialization, indoctrination, and
training?
 C questions A
B observes
Focus questions on depth and clarity.
Focusing on a key concept in your
course
Explain in writing the most fundamental concept in one course
you teach.
State, elaborate, exemplify
Focus on a key concept in your course.
 A Questions B
C observes
Instead of Intellectual
Standards, what are the
standards people most
often use in their
thinking?
Standards Typically
Used in Thinking
“It’s true because I believe it”
(innate egocentrism)
“It’s true because we believe it” (socio-centrism))
“It’s true because I want to believe it”
(innate wish fulfillment)
“It’s true because I have always believed it.”
(self-validation))
“It’s true because it is in my selfish interest to
believe it.” (innate selfishness)
More Non-intellectual Standards
 It’s true because someone in a position of perceived power




(or authority) said it is true.
It’s true because it’s beyond my (our) ability to fully
understand it.
It’s true because I already do it that way.
It doesn’t confirm my experiences, therefore it isn’t true.
It makes sense to me, so it must be true.
Non-Critical Thinking Standards
 Fun
 Chic
 Exciting
 Spontaneous
 Feels good
 Advantageous
 Attention-getting
 Easy
 Popular
 Beneficial to me
 Patriotic
 Deeply moving/felt
 free
Typical student beliefs.
 Learning should be fun.
 Learning should be easy.
 If I do what the teacher says, that’s all that matters.
 Learning means doing what the teacher says.
 All I need to do is the absolute minimum to get the grade.
 I shouldn’t have to waste my time learning anything I can’t use.
 I believe that learning biology is a waste of my time.
 Cheating to get by is fine because all I need is the piece of paper (the
college degree) to get a job anyway.
 Choose four of the non-critical thinking standards.
 Describe how each opens the mind to distortion and
misguided application.
Intellectual Standards:
 Make our thinking transparent
 Invite critique and accountability
 Provide a common language for evaluation
Common Problem
 Student thinking is easily confused.
 We want to guide student thinking, or model for them the
process of asking background and follow-up questions.
 Too many questions can confuse students.
 Make prompts succinct: give one question instead of many
questions.
Confusing
Example 1
In the graveyard scene of Hamlet, Shakespeare alters his sources
by adding the clownish gravediggers. How does the presence
of the gravediggers influence your interpretation of the scene?
Do you think they are funny? Absurd? Blasphemous? How
does Hamlet’s attitude toward the gravediggers affect the
scene? Do you think it is appropriate to sing while digging a
grave? What about the jokes they tell? Is the scene really
lighthearted? Etc…
Clearer
Example 1 Continued
In the graveyard scene of Hamlet, Shakespeare alters his
sources by adding the clownish gravediggers. How does the
presence of the gravediggers influence your interpretation of
the scene?
(Phrased as a single question forces students to frame a single
answer as a thesis: focuses their thinking)
Confusing
Example 2
Possible Traditional Assignment
“As a group, discuss your reaction to Plato’s Crito.”
Clearer
Example 2 Continued
An assignment that fosters critical thought may ask instead:
 “In a group of three, propose a list of significant questions you would
like to have the teacher address or the class discuss regarding Plato’s
Crito.Your initial list (which you will hand in to the instructor)
should include a dozen or so questions…. (next slide)
Then reach consensus on what you consider your three
best questions.Your recorder will write these
questions on the board and will explain to the class
why your group considers them pertinent, interesting,
and significant questions raised by Crito. Time: 15
minutes.”
Source: Bean, p. 152
Ask students to follow an organizational structure
that requires a problem-thesis pattern and explicate
specific standards to focus their thinking.
 Open-ended thesis-governed assignment: students choose their
topic/problem/question to answer or address.
1. Permits free choice of topics while guiding students toward a thesisgoverned paper outlined in the introduction.
2. Focus on questions encourages/models process of inquiry w/in a
discipline.
3. Easy to coach. (prospectus, shorter assessment)
Example
Write an essay of X pages on any topic related to
this course. Use the introduction of your essay to
engage your reader’s interest in a problem or
question that you would like to address in your
essay. Show your reader what makes the question
both significant and problematic.
(continued next page)
Example Cont’d
The body of your essay should be your own response to this
question made as persuasive as possible through appropriate
analysis and argumentation, including effective use of
evidence. Midway through the course, you will submit to the
instructor a prospectus that describes the problem or
question that you plan to address and shows why the question
is (1) problematic and (2) significant.
Personal Forms of Formal Writing
2. Reflection Papers.
(a.k.a. “reader-response paper” or “personal reaction paper”)
 Purpose is to explore connections between course material
and a student’s individual life or psyche.
 Assigned to elicit students’ responses to complex, difficult, or
troubling readings.
 Invites the writer to “speak back” to the reading in a probing
and questioning way.
Example: Philosophy
In a two- to three-page reflection essay, consider the following statement
by Aristotle (Ethics II, 2) with respect to your own life:
We are not studying in order to know what excellence is, but to become
good, for otherwise there would be no profit in it…[We must
therefore] consider the question of how we ought to act.
Are you studying in order to become good? Explain what you think
Aristotle is getting at by SEEI his argument. Then explore your own
response clarifying with examples.
SEEI
 STATE in your own words what someone else has said or written
or the key concept, problem or question at issue.
 ELABORATE on your statement. In other words…
 EXEMPLIFY: give an example of the concept from your life and
from the content.
 ILLUSTRATE: create an analogy, metaphor, simile, graph, chart,
cartoon, etc.
Critical Reading (1)
Work in pairs.
a. Person B reads one sentence aloud, then states in his/her own words
what has been read. In other words, person B interprets the
sentence.
b. Person A then either agrees with the interpretation or offers a
different interpretation, adds to the interpretation, etc.
c. Do not critique, merely interpret.
d. Move on to next sentence.
Instructional Strategies Review
Reciprocal Teaching (2)
 Groups of 3
 ‘A’ answers ‘B’s questions
 ‘B’ questions ‘A’ on defined topic or
concept
 ‘C’ observes
 Rotate when prompted (3 min to teach, 1
minute for feedback)
Reciprocal Teaching (3)
 Partners
 ‘A’ teaches ‘B’ the main points of what was recently




discussed/covered/analyzed/ etc.
‘B’ questions ‘A’s explanation focusing on standards such as
clarity, accuracy, relevance, depth.
Switch roles (and focus if desired) when directed.
This activity works well since both students have been exposed to
the same content.
Motto: If you can’t teach it, you don’t own it.
Role Play (2)
 Partners
 Purpose: Address two differing interpretations to an issue or
problem.
 ‘A’ takes a pro side.
 ‘B’ argues con side.
 Switch when prompted.
 Usually after 2-3 minutes.
 Develops intellectual depth and empathy.
Logic Of…
1. What is the main purpose of the reasoning?
2. What are the key issues, problems, and questions being
addressed?
3. What is the most important information being used?
4. What main inferences are embedded in the reasoning?
5. What are the key concepts guiding the reasoning?
6. What assumptions are being used?
7. What are the positive and negative implications?
Formulating Questions
 Periodically stop class and have students write down a
question they have as they think through the content.
 If they do not have a question, write: “I am not thinking well
enough to have a question.”
 Periodically stop class and have students write down the
question at issue (under discussion)
Engaged Lecture: 10/3
 Lecture for no more than 10 minutes.
 Have students process for at least 3 minutes
Top 10
 List ten of the most significant things we have learned today.
The Underlying Principles of Critical Thinking
The Standards
Clarity
Accuracy
Relevance
Logical
Breadth
Precision
Significance
Completeness
Fairness
Depth
Intellectual Traits
Intellectual Humility
Intellectual Perseverance
Intellectual Autonomy
Intellectual Integrity
Confidence in Reasoning
Intellectual Courage
Intellectual Empathy
Fair-mindedness
must be applied to
The Elements
Purpose
Inferences
Questions
Concepts
Points of view
Implications
Information
Assumptions
as we develop