Introduction to Critical Thinking
Concepts and Instructional Strategies
Part I
3 Key Questions
 Why do we need critical thinking?
 What is critical thinking?
 How do we design instruction to foster critical thought?
Why do we need critical thinking?
Critical thinking isn’t natural.
Walking vs. Ballet
Just rational enough
3 tendencies
1. Seek evidence that supports our existing belief
and ignore contradicting evidence.
2. Rate evidence as good or bad depending on
whether or not it supports or conflicts with
our belief. (egocentric standards)
3. We stick to our beliefs despite overwhelming
evidence to the contrary.
Diagnosis Bias
Tendency to ignore evidence or make it fit our preconceived
preference or conclusion.
 EMT and Alaskan natives
 How Doctor’s Think the 7 min. diagnosis
 Performance Labels (SWAY)
 When we read! (The House)
“Standards” Typically
Used in Thinking
“It’s true because I believe it” (innate egocentrism)
“It’s true because we believe it” (innate sociocentrism)
“It’s true because I want to believe it” (innate wish fulfillment)
“It’s true because I have always believed it.”
(innate 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. (lacking confidence in reason)
Non-Critical Thinking Standards
 Fun
 Chic
 Exciting
 Spontaneous
 Feels good
 Advantageous
 Attention-getting
 Easy
 Popular
 Beneficial to me
 Patriotic
 Deeply moving/felt
 Free
Belief Preservation
Tendency to make evidence subservient to belief.
“Tendency to use evidence to preserve our opinions rather than guide
them.” (Van Gelder)
Belief Preservation
Francis Bacon – humans tend to see things through an “enchanted
glass, full of superstition and imposture” rather than through a clear,
transparent glass.
 Intrinsic tendency toward illusion, distortion and error.
“Invisibly corrupts our thinking and contaminates our beliefs” (Van
Gelder)
Just as a skilled archer must adjust her
aim for a breeze, so too does a critical
thinker seek to be aware of his/her
biases, blind spots, and assumptions.
Critical Thinking
Why is it Important?
What is It?
How Does it Improve Teaching and Learning?
What is Critical Thinking?
To be clear in writing:
1) state
2) elaborate (In other words…)
3) exemplify and/or illustrate
Write your understanding of critical thinking, in this form:
1)
2)
3)
Critical thinking is …..
In other words…
For example …
Critical Thinking
is a self-directed process
by which we take
deliberate steps
to think at the
highest level of quality.
Overview slide
Thinking that
analyzes thinking
Thinking that
assesses thinking
critical thinking: disciplined,
self-guided thinking
aimed at living a rational life.
thinking that
combats
its native
egocentricity
Thinking that
develops within itself
intellectual habits
Critical Reading Strategy
Work in pairs. Person A, Person B. Critically read the following slide
together, using the following method:
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. Rotate roles after each sentence. Move down page.
d. During this process, do not critique what you are reading, merely
interpret.
Why Critical Thinking?
The Problem: Everyone thinks; it is our nature to do so. But much of
our thinking, left to itself, is biased, distorted, partial, uninformed or
down-right prejudiced.Yet the quality of our life and that of what we
produce, make, or build depends precisely on the quality of our
thought. Shoddy thinking is costly, both in money and in quality of
life. Excellence in thought, however, must be systematically
cultivated.
A Definition: Critical thinking is the art of analyzing and evaluating
thinking with a view to improving it.
A well cultivated critical thinker:
 raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly
and precisely;
 gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to
interpret it effectively;
 comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them
against relevant criteria and standards;
 thinks open-mindedly within alternative systems of thought,
recognizing and assessing, as need be, their assumptions,
implications, and practical consequences;
 and communicates effectively with others in figuring out
solutions to complex problems.
3 Key Questions
Why do we need critical thinking?
What is critical thinking?
How do we design instruction to foster
critical thought?
LOGIC
OF
Student
Thinking
Instruction
Content
Booth Tarkington, author
“He had learned how to pass examinations by ‘cramming’; that is, in
three or four days and nights he could get into his head enough of a
selected fragment of some scientific or philosophical or literary or
linguistic subject to reply plausibly to six questions out of ten. He
could retain the information necessary for such a feat just long
enough to give a successful performance; then it would evaporate
utterly from his brain, and leave him undisturbed.”
On what George Amberson had learned in college, from the Magnificant Ambersons (1918)}
Circle –
Dots
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 an A.
 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 degree/diploma) to get a job anyway.
Three Types of “Knowledge”
 Inert Information
 Activated Ignorance
 Activated Knowledge
Poincare
“Science is built of facts the way a house is
built of bricks, but an accumulation of facts
is no more science than a pile of bricks is a
house!”
Content is:
 Understood by thinking
 Constructed by thinking
 Modified by thinking
 Applied by thinking
 Questioned by thinking
 Assessed by thinking
Therefore, to learn content
students have to think it into
their thinking using their
thinking.
Critical thinking provides the
tools students need to think
through content.
Critical thinking is a system of
thinking that opens up all other
systems of thinking.
Critical Thinking
≠
Something you add onto everything else
Rather
=
The Way You Do
Everything You Do
The critical thinking mind is the educated
mind
The Critical Thinking Mind
=
The Educated Mind
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
CLARITY
1. State:
give a brief explanation
2. Elaborate:
expand on your explanation
3. Exemplify: give a concrete example
4. Illustrate:
use metaphor, analogy, picture
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.
Original Bloom’s Taxonomy
Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy
Create
Evaluate
Analyze
Apply
Understand
Remember
Bloom’s Re-conceptualized
Create
Evaluate
Analyze
Remember
Understand
Apply
Illustration Based on St. Edward’s University, Center for Teaching Excellence, 2001
Comparing Approaches
 Teacher-directed
 Traditional mode of instruction in the USA
 Student-centered
 Students are engaged in the process of actively figuring
something out / reasoning through a significant problem.
Teacher-directed (confusing)
 There are 12 Christmas trees and five are cut down. How
many are left standing?
What intellectual moves does this assignment initiate?
What intellectual skills are targeted?
Teacher-directed (clearer)
 There are 12 Christmas trees standing. Of those, five are cut
down. How many are left standing?
What intellectual moves does this assignment initiate?
What intellectual skills are targeted?
Student-centered
 Susan says that if there are 12 Christmas trees standing and of
those five are cut down, then seven are left standing. But
George says that is incorrect.
Who is correct and why?
How did you arrive at your answer?

Jim Braly, The Oregonian, Jan. 11, 2009
Philosophy Example
Possible Traditional Assignment
“As a group, discuss your reaction to Plato’s Crito.”
Philosophy Example cont’d
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
Eight Questions Students Can Ask to Figure
out the Logic of a Subject or Discipline:
1. What is the main purpose of the subject?
2. What are the key issues, problems, and questions addressed within
the subject?
3. What kinds of information are pursued within the discipline?
4. What types of inferences or judgments are made?
5. What key concepts inform the discipline?
6. What key assumptions underlie the discipline?
7. What are some important implications of studying the discipline?
8. What points of view are fostered within the discipline?
To what extent do you see any of the following acting as obstacles to
substantive learning in your context?
 Intellectual arrogance
 Intellectual conformity
 Intellectual laziness
 Intellectual hypocrisy
 Competition
 Little confidence in reasoning
How do you help students learn the
skills needed to form clear, probing
questions?
Instructional Strategies
What did we do today?
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. Switch roles and move on to next sentence.
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.
Engaged Lecture: 10/3
 Lecture for no more than 10 minutes.
 Have students process for at least 3 minutes
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)
Challenge Inert Knowledge
 Take any fact in the course content.
 Have students think of the fact as a hypothesis.
 Challenge students to explain the background logic that
informs the fact.
What are your students’
intellectual needs?
What can be done within our instruction to
help students become:
 Agents for change?
 Life long learners?
 Intellectually and culturally flexible?
Trap or free
Your Thinking
can either
Trap
You
Free
You
Hold you
Hostage within
uncritically
held
beliefs
Open your
mind
to new ways
of thinking
Part II:
Wednesday, April 6
3:00-4:30pm EDT
(You will receive new login
instructions via email.)