Critical Thinking in Education
Integrating Critical Thinking
Into Learning Activities Across the Curriculum
Eric Rusten & Susan Schuman – USAID/PAEM & MoE
Critical Thinking Activities
• Critical Thinking in Language Learning
• Critical Thinking in Math – Topology
• Critical Thinking in Science – How do planes, birds and insects fly?
Perspectives of Critical Thinking
• Critical Thinking Survey:
Defining Critical Thinking
 Some Attributes of a Critical Thinker:
Asking
pertinent
questions
Curiosity
Seeks new
solutions
Admits a lack of
knowledge &
understanding
Seeks proof
Problem solver
Actively
shares new
knowledge
Distinguishes
between facts
and opinion
Seeks evidence to support
assumptions and beliefs
Seeks clarity and exactness
Careful and active observer
Evaluates statements
& arguments
Willing to examine beliefs,
assumptions & opinions
Sees critical thinking as a lifelong process of self-assessment
Reflective
Accepts others beliefs
and opinions
Actively enjoys
learning
Open to changing
ones mind
Waits till all facts
before making
judgments
Humility
Defining Critical Thinking & Describing
Critical Thinkers
• “Critical thinking is the disciplined mental activity of evaluating
arguments [information] or propositions and making judgments that
can guide the development of beliefs and taking action.” Ennis (1992)
• Critical thinking is both a frame of mind and a set of mental
capabilities.
• “Critical thinkers: distinguish between fact and opinion; ask
questions; make detailed observations; uncover assumptions and
define their terms; and make assertions based on sound logic and
solid evidence. Ellis, D. Becoming a Master Student, 1997
Perspectives on Critical Thinking
• Critical thinking is based on concepts and principles, not
on hard and fast, or step-by-step, procedures.
• Critical thinking does not assure that one will reach
either the truth or correct conclusions.
• Circuital thinking is a continuous process and often
doesn’t lead to a final conclusion.
• Critical thinking is hard intellectual work
• Critical thinking is an intellectual skill that can (must) be
learned and improved
Data >> Wisdom Chain
Data > Information > Knowledge > Wisdom
Perspectives on Learning
All reasoning/thinking/learning:
• starts and progresses with questions and a need to
understand;
• occurs within points of view and frames of reference;
• proceeds from some goals and objectives, has an
informational base;
• uses data/information that must be interpreted and this
interpretation involves concepts, values, assumptions,
past knowledge, inferences, biases, etc.
Critical Thinking, Creative Thinking, Problem Solving,
Scientific Thinking,….
• Critical Thinking
• Creative Thinking
• Scientific Thinking & Process
• Problem Solving
• Decision Making
Map of Thinking Domains
Scientific Thinking
•Understanding/theory
•Hypothesis
•Experiment(s)
•Observations
•Conclusion(s)
Creative Thinking
•Original Product
•Create Possibilities
•Create Metaphors
•Testing
•Refining
Decision Making
•Well-founded decision
•Consider options
•Predict consequences
•Select best option
Critical Thinking
•Critical judgment
•Assessing information
•Inference-using evidence
•Deduction-if…then
•New or refined perspective
Problem Solving
•Best solution
•Consider options
•Evaluate consequences
•Choose best solution
Creative Thinking
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Problem Solving
 Suspend a 500 franc coin over water in a
glass using a 1000 Franc note.
• What is the problem? (Parse into sub-problems)
• What do you know?
• What resources do you have and what can I do with them?
• What constraints do you face?
• What are some possible solutions? (brain storming)
• Evaluating possible solutions.
• Selecting best bets.
• Testing best-bet solutions.
• Assessing results.
• Refining solutions.
• Proposing final solution.
Why is Critical Thinking Important?
• To learn is to think.
• To think poorly is to learn poorly.
• To think well is to learn well.
• All content, to be learned, must be intellectually constructed.
• Memorizing IS NOT learning.
Why Critical Thinking is Important
• Underlies reading, writing, speaking, and listening . . . the basic elements
of communication, learning and education
• Plays an important role in social change
• Helps us uncover bias and prejudice
• Is a path to freedom form half-truths, prejudice and deceptions
• Creates the willingness to change one point of view as we continue to
examine and re-examine ideas that may seem obvious.
• Takes time and the willingness to say three essential words: I don't know.
• Enables us to distinguish between fact and opinion, ask good questions,
make detailed observations, uncover assumptions and define their terms,
and make assertions based on sound logic and solid evidence
Why Critical Thinking is Important
“The future now belongs to societies
that organize themselves for learning...
nations that want high incomes and full
employment must develop policies that
emphasize the acquisition of knowledge
and [thinking] skills by everyone, not
just a select few.”
Ray Marshall & Marc Tucker, Thinking For A Living: Education And The
Wealth of Nations, Basic Books. New York. 1992.
Questions & Critical Thinking
• What do you mean by_______________?
• How did you come to that conclusion?
• What was said in the text?
• What is the source of your information?
• What is the source of information in the document?
• What assumption led you to that conclusion?
• Suppose you are wrong. What are the implications?
• Why did you make that inference? Is another one more consistent
with the data?
• Why is this issue significant?
• How do I know that what you are saying is true?
• What is an alternate explanation for this phenomenon?
Enabling Learners to Become Quality Critical
Thinkers
• CATS (Classroom Assessment Techniques): use of
ongoing classroom assessment and reflection to
monitor and facilitate students' critical thinking.
• Ask students to write a "Minute Paper" responding to specific
questions such as:
• What was the most important thing you learned in today's
class?
• What one question related to this lesson remains uppermost in
your mind?
• How is what you learned today relevant to other classes or life
outside of school?
Enabling Learners to Become Quality Critical
Thinkers
• Cooperative Learning: putting students in structured group learning
situations (2 or more learners) is an excellent way to foster critical
thinking.
• In cooperative learning environments, learners engage in active, critical thinking
with continuous support and feedback from peers and the learning facilitator
Enabling Learners to Become Quality Critical
Thinkers
• Use Questions: Learning to formulate a series of quality questions is
key to critical thinking and becoming a good critical thinker:
• Reciprocal Peer Questioning: Following a lesson, present a list of
question stems to guide students in writing responses in small groups.
Then, the whole class discusses some of the questions from some or
all of the small groups.
• Reader's Questions: Require learners to write questions on assigned
reading and turn them in at the beginning of class. Select a few of the
questions as the impetus for class discussion.
• Blue Sky Questions:
• Extended Learning Questions:
• Learners’ exam questions:
• Blooms taxonomy questions:
Enabling Learners to Become Quality Critical
Thinkers
• Writing Assignments: writing for others demands that
learners think clearly to communicate clearly.
• can be based on questions
• can be done in small groups or individually
• can use different structures: compare & contrast, cause & effect,
explanation, argument, persuasion, etc.
• Letter to the editors (teams of learners become editors at different
news papers and readers)
• Lab / experimental reports
Enabling Learners to Become Quality Critical
Thinkers
• Dialogues/Debates: stimulates useful discussions in the classroom:
• Written dialogues: Small groups of learners analyze written dialogues (plays,
news paper articles, etc.) and identify different viewpoints in the dialogue,
look for biases, presence or exclusion of important evidence, alternative
interpretations, misstatement of facts, and errors in reasoning. Each group
decides which view is the most reasonable and must defend this position.
After coming to a conclusion, each group acts out their dialogue and explains
their analysis of it.
• Spontaneous Group Dialogue/Debate: Students in one group are assigned
roles (often what they don’t believe in) to play in a discussion (such as leader,
information giver, opinion seeker, and disagreer). Observer groups must
determine what roles are being played by whom, identifying biases and errors
in thinking, evaluating reasoning skills, and examining ethical implications of
the content.
Enabling Learners to Become Quality Critical
Thinkers
• Experiments and Collecting Data (critical thinking in science & math)
• Discovering relationships in math and science – pie ∏; prime numbers; area
and volume calculations; geometry; temperature and color; height, arm span
and head size; genetics; flight and air pressure; etc.
• Statistics and presenting information
Enabling Learners to Become Quality Critical
Thinkers
• Ambiguity: Rather than provide all the information as fact, produce
as much ambiguity in the classroom as possible.
• Don't give students clear cut material.
• Give them conflicting information that they must think their way through.
• Present content as a detective story that they must solve by answering a set
of questions.
Enabling Learners to Become Quality Critical
Thinkers
IDEALS -- Six Steps to Effective Thinking
• Identify the problem. — “What’s the real question we’re facing here?”
• Define the context. — “What are the facts and circumstances that
frame this problem?”
• Enumerate choices. — “What are our most plausible three or four
options?”
• Analyze options. — “What is our best course of action, all things
considered?”
• List reasons explicitly. — “Let’s be clear: Why we are making this
particular choice?”
• Self-correct. — “Okay, let’s look at it again. What did we miss?”
Critical Thinking In The Curriculum
• Earth & Life Sciences
• Physics/Chemistry
• Math
• Geography/History
• How does rainfall influence agriculture, history, settlements, economics,
education, politics
• French (grammar & literature)
• Second languages
Participant Activities:
• Teams of two
• Prepare a 20 min. micro-learning activity that integrates elements of
critical thinking
Suggested Planning Template
A thinking activity plan would include:
• Activity title and summary statement
• Discipline/subject(s); Grade level(s)
• Goals, objectives & learning outcomes
• Methods and Materials
• Resource needs (including time)
• Thinking skills emphasized
• Learning strategies
• Critical questions
• Activity/Lesson
• Assessing learners (teacher, peer & self)
• Extending activity beyond the classroom