The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be ignited The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be ignited. (Plutarch)

DEVELOPING YOUR CHILD’S CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS What is critical thinking? Why is critical thinking important to address in school? What are the goals of critical thinking? How can parents help students improve their critical thinking abilities? Suggestions… Thank you all for coming tonight. I know by your presence that your are interested in helping equip your children with the tools they need to be better critical thinkers. So, let’s get started… READ

DEVELOPING YOUR CHILD’S CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS CRITICAL THINKING IS…… basically one’s ability and tendency to gather, evaluate, and use information effectively and take charge of one’s own thinking. "Critical thinking is thinking that attempts to arrive at a judgment only after honestly evaluating alternatives with respect to available evidence and arguments" (Hatcher and Spencer) There are numerous definitions of critical thinking. But for the purposes of our presentation tonight, I will focus on two basic thoughts in regard to critical thinking. READ

DEVELOPING YOUR CHILD’S CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS Why is critical thinking important to address in school? Many educators believe that specific knowledge will not be as important to tomorrow's workers and citizens as the ability to learn and make sense of new information. (D. Gough, 1991 ) I feel passionate, as do the faculty and staff at Rosa Lee Carter, that critical thinking is an integral part of learning. But why? READ

DEVELOPING YOUR CHILD’S CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS “The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” Albert Einstein Einstein quote shows flexibility of thinking and ability to problem solve by changing perspective…

DEVELOPING YOUR CHILD’S CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS “One of the largest and most neglected responsibilities in school is to develop in each child the ability to think well. Materials used in schools must be worthwhile, but their main function is to furnish the means for practice in thinking.” Lee, J.M., 1950 Interesting quote…some 60 plus years ago…I would argue is still vital to discuss today.

DEVELOPING YOUR CHILD’S CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS What are the goals of critical thinking? Decision making Solving problems Making connections Understanding issues Evaluating evidence Discovering new information Finding meaning Seeking logic Searching for reason Developing facts and opinions Appreciating different points of view Going beyond memorization to LEARNING

Higher-order thinking In 1956, Benjamin Bloom headed a group of educational psychologists who developed a classification of levels of intellectual behavior important in learning. During the 1990's a new group of cognitive psychologists, lead by Lorin Anderson (a former student of Bloom), updated the taxonomy to reflect relevance to 21st century work. REVIEW BLOOM’S REVISED TAXONOMY Creating Generating new ideas, products, or ways of viewing things Designing, constructing, planning, producing, inventing.   Evaluating Justifying a decision or course of action Checking, hypothesising, critiquing, experimenting, judging    Analyzing Breaking information into parts to explore understandings and relationships Comparing, organizing, deconstructing, interrogating, finding   Applying Using information in another familiar situation Implementing, carrying out, using, executing   Understanding Explaining ideas or concepts Interpreting, summarizing, paraphrasing, classifying, explaining   Remembering Recalling information Recognizing, listing, describing, retrieving, naming, finding  

Low-Level vs. High-Level Thinking: Lower level questions are those at the remembering, understanding and lower level application levels of the taxonomy. Questions at the lower levels are appropriate for evaluating students’ preparation and comprehension, diagnosing students’ strengths and weaknesses, reviewing and summarizing content. Higher level questions are those requiring complex application, analysis, evaluation or creation skills. Questions at higher levels of the taxonomy are usually most appropriate for: Encouraging students to think more deeply and critically Problem solving Encouraging discussions Stimulating students to seek information on their own Our focus is to help students master the lower level thinking skills and give them opportunities to use those skills as they are challenged to think even deeper. READ

Understanding that "taxonomy" and "classification" are synonymous helps dispel uneasiness with the term. Bloom's Taxonomy is a multi-tiered model of classifying thinking according to six cognitive levels of complexity. Throughout the years, the levels have often been depicted as a stairway, leading many teachers to encourage their students to "climb to a higher (level of) thought." The lowest three levels are: remembering, understanding and applying. The highest three levels are: analyzing, evaluating and creating. "The taxonomy is hierarchical; [in that] each level is subsumed by the higher levels. In other words, a student functioning at the 'applying' level has also mastered the material at the ‘remembering‘ and ‘understanding’ levels." (UW Teaching Academy, 2003). One can easily see how this arrangement led to natural divisions of lower and higher level thinking.

Example Using Blooms Taxonomy: Here is a lesson objective based upon the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears focused on all six cognitive levels. Remember: Describe where Goldilocks lived. Understand: Summarize what the Goldilocks story was about. Apply: Construct a theory as to why Goldilocks went into the house. Analyze: Differentiate between how Goldilocks reacted and how you would react in each story event. Evaluate: Assess whether or not you think this really happened to Goldilocks. Create: Compose a song, skit, poem, or rap to convey the Goldilocks story in a new form. Here is a very basic example of how Bloom’s taxonomy can be used focusing on a familiar fairytale. Although this is a very simple example of the application of Bloom's taxonomy, it can demonstrate both the ease and the usefulness of targeting higher level thinking skills.

Another graphic that vividly shows the steps to higher level thinking…

DEVELOPING YOUR CHILD’S CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS How can parents help students improve their critical thinking abilities? Have faith that all children can think. They need to see thinking as a goal. Share with children how to solve different kinds of everyday problems. Provide opportunities for challenging problem solving. Create a safe, risk-taking environment. It is OK to make mistakes; we learn from them! Give thinking time. We all develop at our own rate—physically, mentally, emotionally and socially. Model lifelong learning; be aware of your own growth and enjoyment of learning. Get excited about life…make each day count! Most importantly, you want to know how you can assist your child in becoming a better critical thinker… Here are some ideas that can do just that… READ

DEVELOPING YOUR CHILD’S CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS Suggestions for Strengthening Thinking Skills Persistence Decreasing impulsivity Listening to others Flexibility in thinking Awareness of our own thinking Checking for accuracy and precision Questioning and problem solving Drawing on past knowledge and applying to new situation Precision of language and thought Using all the senses Ingenuity, originality, insightfulness, creativity Wonderment, inquisitiveness, curiosity, and the enjoyment of problem solving More suggestions…. READ

Critical Thinking Quiz How many birthdays does the average man have? Divide 30 by ½ and add 10. What is the answer? Some months have 31 days, how many have 28? There are 3 apples and you take away 2. How many do you have? How many outs are there in an inning? What is 3/7 chicken, 2/3 cat, and ½ goat? If you only have one match and you walked into a room where there was an oil burner, a kerosene lamp, and a wood burning stove, what would you light first? I have two U.S. coins totaling 55 cents. One is not a nickel. What are the coins? Why can’t a man living in the USA be buried in Canada? Do they have a 4th of July in England?

He who learns but does not think is lost (Chinese Proverb)

Sources Critical and Creative Thinking - Bloom's Taxonomy  http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic69.htm Gough, D. THINKING ABOUT THINKING. Alexandria, VA: National Association of Elementary School Principals, 1991. (ED 327 980) Hatcher, Donald and L. Anne Spencer. 2000. Reasoning and Writing: From Critical Thinking to Composition. Boston: American Press. Pohl, Michael. (2000). Learning to Think, Thinking to Learn: Models and Strategies to Develop a Classroom Culture of Thinking. Cheltenham, Vic.: Hawker Brownlow.