1. Judy Cotton Critical Thinking Workshop: The Conundrum of Critical Thinking

2. Questions Drive Thinking Write down the most important question you have right now.

3. The mind is its own place. In itself, it can make a hell of a heaven or a heaven of a hell. -John Milton

4. My Students … do only what they are required to do. tend to put off work on a project until they have a pressing deadline. are poor listeners. are poor readers. are poor writers. are poor oral communicators. do not use language with care and precision.

5. My Students … have no intellectual standards. don’t know how to assess: –their own work –their own thinking –their own emotions –their own life

6. A Definition: Critical thinking is the art of analyzing and evaluating thinking with a view to improving it.

7. The Spirit of Critical Thinking _ Recognizing my weaknesses is a strength

8. The Spirit of Critical Thinking _ There is a logic to this & I can figure it out

9. The Spirit of Critical Thinking _ There’s always a better way & I can find it

10. The Spirit of Critical Thinking _

11. How I think makes a difference

12. Why is critical thinking not the dominant mode of thinking in our society?

13. Why is it Hard to Explain Critical Thinking? because it represents a new way to think about … A Vision learningbehavior emotionsour lives teachingeducating

14. What are the three most popular standards for determining what to believe and what not to believe?

15. Most Popular Standards 1)It’s true because I believe it. 2)It’s true because we believe it. 3)It’s true because I want to believe it.

16. The quality of my life is given in the thinking that is guiding my life. Get with a partner. Discuss this statement and its variations. State whether you think the statement is true or false. What are you basing your thinking on?

17. Activity: Egocentric Thinking 1)Identify someone you know whose ego is fundamentally dominating or submissive. 2)Describe the behavior they engage in which would support this. ____________________________ When you have finished, stand up and find a partner to share with.

18. Think of an example in your life where you think egocentrically. Answer these questions: 1)What is the irrational thinking? 2)What is the related feeling? 3)What is the related feeling? 4)What are you driven to do (or away from doing)? 5)What would be non- egocentric thinking about this situation? ______________________________ Work quietly at your tables until you hear the tone sound.

19. Resistance is the key barrier to the growth of the rational mind. Resistance to the development of the mind is a drive against change and growth and, as such, is a product of irrational thinking. egocentric thinking

20. Feelings which accompany egocentric resistance include: Defensiveness Irritability Arrogance Anger Apathy Indifference Alienation Resentment Depression

21. Becoming more rational means gaining control of the ego Which is done through developing critical thinking skills

22. What is the single most significant obstacle to bringing critical thinking into the classroom?

23. If you want to change a Behavior or Feeling Change the thinking that is underlying the behavior or feeling

24. Educators who think Critically …  Want their “content” to TAKE ROOT in the thinking of the students.  To LIVE in the minds of the students.  To TRANSFORM the way they think.  To put them into possession of a new MODE OF THINKING.  To become a perpetual GENERATOR of NEW THOUGHTS, understandings, & beliefs

25. Educators who think Critically …  To become an INSTRUMENT of INSIGHT. And therefore they design instruction with these ends continually in view So that students TAKE CHARGE of their THINKING & continually upgrade it.

26. DIDACTIC TEACHING Coverage that SMOTHERS thinking, a kind of death instinct in teaching Students are taught content in a form that renders them unlikely to think it through The mind retreats into ROTE MEMORIZATION. Abandons any attempt to grasp the logic of the content.

27. Content as a mode of thinking driven by questions the content is regenerated in the mind of the student through thinking the content is understood as moments or dimensions of a thinking process As something that is alive only in minds Critical Teaching

28. Content (cont.) The content cannot be completed because it “lives” in thinking The thinking that underlies content continually generates further conent its purposesfurther purposes its questionsfurther questions its conceptsfurther concepts

29. What I Can’t Change -I can’t control how people will respond to me -I can’t please everyone -I can’t stop people from whining and complaining -I can’t avoid problems -I can’t stop my children from making silly mistakes that cause them pain What I Can Change -but I can control how I respond to them -but I can please myself and those I care most about -but I can avoid it myself and focus my action -but I can avoid being dominated by the problems -but I can make sure that I don’t worry about the mistakes they make

30. What is one way you can “connect” your content with student thinking? 1)Write down your idea. 2)Stand up when finished, find a partner, and discuss your ideas. 3)Remember the code of silence at the tables so people still working can concentrate.

31. 3 Forms of Criticality Please see green handout

32. Could you elaborate further? Could you illustrate what you mean? Could you give me an example? Clarity How could we check on that? How could we find out if that is true? How could we verify or test that? Accuracy Could you be more specific? Could you give me more details? Could you be more exact? Precision

33. How does that relate to the problem? How does that bear on the question? How does that help us with the issue? Relevance What factors make this a difficult problem? What are some of the complexities of this question? What are some of the difficulties we need to deal with? Depth Do we need to look at this from another perspective? Do we need to consider another point of view? Do we need to look at this in other ways? Breadth

34. Does all this make sense together? Does your first paragraph fit in with your last? Does what you say follow from the evidence? Logic Is this the most important problem to consider? Is this the central idea to focus on? Which of these facts are most important? Significance

35. Egocentrism See handouts for the following: The Logic of Egocentrism The Logic of Submissive Ego The Logic of Dominating Ego The Logic of Non- egocentric Mind

36. Logic See Handouts for the following: Analytic Thinking Evaluative Reasoning

37. 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 is none, then never mind it. Mother Goose What does this mean? What would my behavior be like if I lived in accordance with this? What would the thinking underlying this behavior be like? What would my behavior be like if I didn’t live in accordance with this? What would the thinking underlying this behavior be like?

38. Questions of Fact or One System Questions Did it rain here yesterday? Is the sun shining? Is this a chair? How many eyes does an owl have? How does the motherboard on a computer operate? Is this red? Does this chair recline? Do we have any milk? Did you turn the light on? Is that a cow or a dog? What is an animal?

39. Questions of Preference Would you rather have short hair or long hair? Or would you prefer that your head be shaved, either completely or in some segments? Do you like to go to the opera? Do you like to watch football on TV? Do you prefer a flat pillow or a fluffy pillow? Do you want a ring or a necklace? Do you want to go outside now?

40. Questions Calling for Reasoned Judgment How can I best design this house so that I minimize costs while meeting the major needs and desires of all my family members? Since I know that the road that I usually travel to work is having major repairs done, should I take another route or take a chance that the repair work won’t impede my progress?

41. Questions Calling for Reasoned Judgment (cont.) Who is the best person to hire for this job out of these three candidates, each of whom seem highly capable of performing the job well? Should I keep my job, which I enjoy, or should I take this offer which may be even more satisfying? Should I agree to move with my husband, who wants to accept a job offer out of state, or should I try to convince him to stay since I really enjoy my job here?

42. DOMAINS OF THINKING Q1: What does it take to be a good parent? Psychological: How do variables such as stress, personality, & childhood traumas influence parenting ability? Social What social structures and social practices support differing parenting abilities? What are socially accepted parenting practices? Biological What is the role of genetics in parenting? Religion How do our religious views influence parenting practices?

43. DOMAINS OF THINKING (cont.) Q1: What does it take to be a good parent? Economic: How do economic forces such as income influence parenting? Educational: How does the educational achievement of a parent influence his/her parenting ability? What parenting practices are taught in schools? Should parenting practices be taught in schools? What educational tools can be developed to help people parent differently?

44. DOMAINS OF THINKING Q2: What can be done to reduce the number of people who abuse illegal drugs? Economic: What can be done to minimize the influence of money involved in drug sales? (bribes, vested interest) Political: What possible solutions to drug abuse are politically unacceptable? Are there any realistic solutions that the power structure would accept? Social: What social structures and practices support drug abuse? How does gang membership contribute to drug abuse? Psychological: How do factors such as stress, individual differences, childhood traumas, genetics, support drug abuse?

45. DOMAINS OF THINKING(cont.) Q2: What can be done to reduce the number of people who abuse illegal drugs? Educational: What can educational institutions do to reduce the incidents of drug abuse? What role are they now playing in regard to the problem? Religious: What can religious institutions do to reduce the incidents of drug abuse? What role are they now playing in regard to the problem? Cultural: What cultural beliefs support the drug abuse problem?

46. Designing a Unit for a Course Review in your mind an introductory chapter to a textbook you use and make: 1.List of topics included 2.List of basic concepts covered Then make a list of central questions one can answer if one understands the information there. Then see if you can formulate an umbrella question which covers the chapter as a whole Design a critical thinking approach to teaching the chapter content so that students are reasoning about the umbrella question and sub- questions.

47. Designing a Unit for a Course (cont.) Try to design a sequence of activities which will comprehensively cover the logic of the chapter content and enable you to use this unit as a teaching template for the other chapters, or units, in the course. Work alone for ____ minutes. Share in groups of three for ____ minutes.

48. Elementary Example Category 3: What are the best ways to treat my classmates? Category 1: What are some good ways to treat my classmates? What ways should clearly be avoided? What rights does each student have in relationship to other students? What basic responsibilities does each student have to other students? Are there some times when I should help my classmates? Are there some times when I should not help them?

49. As a critical thinker, I am committed to: 1)_________________________ _________________________ _________________________ 2)_________________________ _________________________ _________________________ 3)_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

50. Q & A