Promoting Critical Thinking in the English classroom

José Manuel VillafuerteOffice of English Language Programs, U.S. Embassy

IPN, July 29, 2011

What is Critical Thinking?• Assessing the authenticity, accuracy and worth

of knowledge claims, beliefs, or arguments. Barry Beyer

• Critical thinking is the art of analyzing and evaluating thinking with a view to improving it.

Richard Paul & Linda Elder

• It helps students to apply everthing they alreadyknow and feel, to evaluate their own thinking, and especially to change their behavior.

Stephen Norris

Importance of Critical Thinking• Makes learning meaningful, thus fostering

academic performance and achievement• Enables us to adapt to a rapidly changing,

technologically oriented world• Allows us to solve problems in creative,

innovative ways• Develops conscience, character

and stance• Can be developed throughout life

EvaluationKnowledge

Bloom’s taxonomy

AffectiveRealm

Bloom’s TaxonomyPsychomotor

Realm

Comprehension

Application

Synthesis

Analysis

CognitiveRealmRemembering

Understanding

Applying Analyzing

Creating

Evaluating

Action words related to CT skillsRemembering

• Count• Define • Draw• Read

Understanding

• Associate• Compute • Give examples• Paraphrase

Applying

• Calculate• Classify• Graph• Use

Analyzing

• Break down• Combine • Detect• Infer

Evaluating

• Appraise• Compare • Justify• Rank

Creating

• Categorize• Design• Plan • Summarize

An inventory of CT skills• Analyzing• Applying• Augmenting /

Elaborating• Categorizing /

Classifying / Organizing

• Comparing / Contrasting

• Connecting / Associating

• Decisionmaking

• Defining

• Describing / Summarizing

• Determiningcause-effect

• Drawingconclusions / Inferringconsequences

• Eliminating• Evaluating /

Assessing• Explaining• Experimenting• Generalizing

• Interpreting• Inventing• Investigating• Making

analogies• Observing• Patterning• Planning• Predicting /

Hypothesizing• Prioritizing• Problem

solving

• Questioning• Reducing /

Simplifying• Reflecting /

Metacognition• Relating• Reversing /

Inversing• Role-taking /

Empathizing• Sequencing• Substituting• Symbolizing• Synthesizing

Categorizing / Classifying / Organizing

Group these!

By size...

By shape...

By color...

An inventory of CT skills• Analyzing• Applying• Augmenting /

Elaborating• Categorizing /

Classifying / Organizing

• Comparing / Contrasting

• Connecting / Associating

• Decisionmaking

• Defining

• Describing / Summarizing

• Determiningcause-effect

• Drawingconclusions / Inferringconsequences

• Eliminating• Evaluating /

Assessing• Explaining• Experimenting• Generalizing

• Interpreting• Inventing• Investigating• Making

analogies• Observing• Patterning• Planning• Predicting /

Hypothesizing• Prioritizing• Problem

solving

• Questioning• Reducing /

Simplifying• Reflecting /

Metacognition• Relating• Reversing /

Inversing• Role-taking /

Empathizing• Sequencing• Substituting• Symbolizing• Synthesizing

Categorizing / Classifying / Organizing

Analyzing

Comparing / ContrastingConnecting / AssociatingDecisionmaking

Evaluating / Assessing

Generalizing

Observing

Problemsolving

Questioning

Explaining

Another exercise… • What’s your name? • What’s your last name? • How old are you? • Where do you live? • What’s your address? • What’s your telephone number?

… and yet another one!

Ideas for more CT activities• Categorizing, classifying,

organizing: • Building blocks, crayons,

puppets, school supplies• Comparing, contrasting:

• Find the differences• Venn diagrams

• Connecting, associating• Matching, establishing

relations

• Describing• Pictures, toys, black box

• Determining cause-effect• Conditionals• Connectors (so, because)

• Eliminating• Odd one out

• Observing• Jigsaw puzzles

• Decision making

Tactics that encourage active learning

• Summarize / put into their own words what someone else said

• Elaborate on what they said • Relate the issue or content to

their own knowledge and experience

• Give examples to clarify or support what they have said

• Make connections between related concepts

• Restate the instructions / assignment in their own words

• State the question at issue • Compare / contrast their point

of view on the issue with someone else’s

• Take a few minutes to write down any of the above

• Write down the most pressing question on their mind at this point. Then use the above tactics to help ss reason through questions

Source: http://www.criticalthinking.org/resources/k12/TRK12-tactics-encourage-learning.cfm

Keep in mind... • There are many ways to integrate critical

thinking to your class activities• Go from easy to difficult and from simple to

complex• Find all the different skills involved in a single

activity• Encourage reflection and metacognition• Praise!

Keep in mind... • “Critical thinking has two important dimensions:

It is both a frame of mind and a number of specific mental operations” (Beyer, 1985)

• Students can learn to think better if we teachthem how to do so

Support withDATA

Identify yourPOINT OF

VIEW

Identifyyour

ASSUMPTIONS

Precise your

QUESTION

The process of Critical ThinkingStateyour

PURPOSE

Trace IMPLICATIONS &CONSEQUENCES

INFER, INTERPRET, CONCLUDE

Define KEY

CONCEPTS

Contact information

Office of English Language ProgramsU.S. Embassy

RELOMexico@state.gov

José Manuel VillafuerteVillafuerteJM@state.gov