1. Critical Thinking
What does it mean to be a critical thinker?

2. AGENDA
•Understand the complexity of thinking
critically
•Improve critical thinking skills
•Learn to apply critical thinking in
everyday life
•Questions? (Stop me and ask throughout)

3. A THINKING METAPHOR
The performance of a car does not depend on the horsepower of the
car, but upon the skill with which the car is driven by the driver.
So, if intelligence is the horsepower of the car, then “thinking” is
the skill with which that horsepower is used.
Intelligence is a potential. Thinking is an operating skill.
Thinking is the operating skill through which intelligence acts upon
experience
- Edward DeBono Thinking Course, p. 2

4. Characteristics of Strong Critical Thinkers
(from Vincent Ruggiero, Beyond Feelings, A Guide to Critical Thinking):
• Critical Thinkers... "Are honest with • Critical Thinkers... "Are interested in
themselves, acknowledging what they other people's ideas, so are willing to
don't know, recognizing their limitations, read and listen attentively, even when
and being watchful of their own errors." they tend to disagree with the other
• Critical Thinkers... "Regard problems and person."
controversial issues as exciting • Critical Thinkers... "Recognize that
challenges." extreme views (whether conservative or
• Critical Thinkers... "Strive for liberal) are seldom correct, so they avoid
understanding, keep curiosity alive, them, practice fair-mindedness, and seek
remain patient with complexity and ready a balanced view."
to invest time to overcome confusion." • Critical Thinkers... "Practice restraint,
• Critical Thinkers... "Set aside personal controlling their feelings rather than
preferences and base judgments on being controlled by them, and thinking
evidence, deferring judgment whenever before acting."
evidence is insufficient. They revise
judgments when new evidence reveals
error."

5. Critical thinking is about understanding, analyzing
and evaluating “texts” in order to comprehend,
judge accuracy, & relevancy.
UNDERSTANDING
ANALYZING
EVALUATING

6. What
Do
You
See
???

7. How Old Is this Woman?

8. EYE
NOSE

9. EAR
CHIN

10. Processing INFORMATION - Ink Blot
Picture

11. Pablo Picasso's black on
white drawing of Don
Quixote
DON QUIXOTE

12. DALMATION

13. GEORGE
WASHINGTON

14. SNOWMAN

15. ARCHIPELAGO - ISLANDS
The Dahlak Archipelago is an
island group located in the Red
Sea near Massawa, Eritrea.
The Archipelago of Albion

16. Bloom’s Taxonomy
EVALUATION - Student appraises, assesses, or critiques
on a basis of specific standards and criteria.
SYNTHESIS - Student originates, integrates, and combines
ideas into a product, plan or proposal that is new to him or her.
ANALYSIS - Student distinguishes, classifies, and relates
the assumptions, hypotheses, evidence, or structure of a
statement or question.
APPLICATION - Student selects, transfers, and uses
data and principles to complete a problem or task with a
minimum of direction.
COMPREHENSION - Student translates, comprehends, or
interprets information based on prior learning.
KNOWLEDGE - Student recalls or recognizes information,
ideas, and principles in the approximate form in which they
were learned.

17. Real Life Example – A Drum
• Knowledge – What is it?
• Comprehension – Classification
• Application – What does it do?
• Analysis – How does it work?
• Synthesis – What happens when
you…
• Evaluation – What was the quality?

18. INPUT
The Text
• “The Assignment”
• “The Reading”
• “The Lecture”
• “The Movie”
The actual “text”
• “The Conversation” and purpose for “reading”
Personal Characteristics &
• Your Learning Style What you bring to the
• Your Experience
• Your Attitude critical thinking process
• Your Filter
• Your Schema/Prior Knowledge

19. UNDERSTANDING
What is “understanding”?
• Knowing what needs to be known
and why/what will be done with the
information
• Activated Schema
• “Thinking”
• Comprehending – Key Issues/ The meaning you gain/make
Main Points
as you “read” the “text”
• Summarizing in your own words
Strategies for how to get it Your comprehension
Activating Schema
SQ3R -of the “text”
Says/Does
Summarizing
Note Taking
Graphic Organizing

20. ANALYSIS
What is “analysis”
• Identify the Elements, Relationships and
Organization of the “text”
• Know the Parts of the “text”
• Look for the relationships between ideas
• Interpretation
Strategies for how to do it How you piece together the
Context Clues significance and organization
Association with Schema of the parts of the text
Says/Does
Outlining
Graphic Organizing/Mindmapping
PTR2
Interpretation of Intent/Facts

21. EVALUATION
What it is
• Assess merits of the argument
• EFFECTIVENESS
• Draw conclusions
• Critique the structure, content,
or implications
• Generate possible solutions
• Look for logical fallacies
How you judge the quality
Strategies for how to do it and make decisions based
Outlining
Graphic Organizing
on the evidence, structure,
PTR2 and logic of the reading
Interpretation of Intent/Facts

22. EXAMPLES of Ways to Read and Discuss Text
From: www.criticalreading.com/ways_to_read.htm
Consider the following nursery rhyme...
Mary had a little lamb,
Its fleece was white as snow,
and everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go.
What A Text Says talks about the topic of the original text, Mary and the lamb.
Mary had a lamb that followed her everywhere.
What A Text Does talks about the story.
The nursery rhyme describes a pet that followed its mistress everywhere.
What a Text Means talks about meaning within the story, here the idea of innocent devotion.
An image of innocent devotion is conveyed by the story of a lamb's close connection to
its mistress. The devotion is emphasized by repetition that emphasizes the constancy of
the lamb's actions ("everywhere"…"sure to go.") The notion of innocence is conveyed by
the image of a young lamb, "white as snow." By making it seem that this connection
between pet and mistress is natural and good, the nursery rhyme asserts innocent
devotion as a positive relationship.

23. Using Critical Thinking Skills in Your Writing
• Approach the assignment with an “open mind”
• Be prepared to ask many questions/seek answers
during your prewriting exercises
• Tap into your prior learning (your schema)
• Relate theory to practice
• Attempt to draw your own conclusions and
theories
• Make a claim and support it

24. PTR 2
P =
roblem
INTRO
T hesis
R =
easons BODY
R =esults Conclusion

25. Summary of Critical Thinking
• It’s a process
• You can improve it Input
• Embrace the challenge
Evalutation Understanding
Analysis
Evaluation
Synthesis
Analysis 1. Consider the problem
2. Evaluate your options
Application
3. Gather more information
Comprehension 4. Determine your answer
Knowledge

26. Fun Websites to Boost your Brain Power
• http://queendom.com/
• http://www.braingle.com/
• http://www.brainbashers.com/
• http://www.khanacademy.org brain teasers