Ice BreakerDesert Island

You have been exiled for one year to a remote desert island. You can take with you two

pieces of music (songs, arias, etc), two books and one picture…what will you take?

The Power of Critical Thinking

What do we mean by “critical thinking”? How do we recognize

it?”?

Medieval Life

Read the story entitled “Who Is To Blame?” Consider all the aspects of the story. When you are ready, rank the relative

responsibility of each participant (there are six) for the outcome of the story. There are no boundaries here: you

can consider whatever you believe to be appropriate to the story.

A Lord and Lady: Who Is To Blame?• A medieval lord, upon leaving his castle for a two day excursion, including a visit to his

mistress, told his Lady that on no account whatsoever should she leave the castle until he returned. The penalty for disobedience would, he said, “be very harsh indeed.”

• As soon as he left for his trip, the Lady also left the castle to rendezvous with her own lover. After a night of passion and bliss, she returned to the castle only to find the drawbridge had been raised. Without any hint of concern, she called out to the Gateman “Please lower the drawbridge!”.

• “My dear Lady, I am forbidden by my Lord to do so: he gave explicit instruction that if you left the castle I should raise the bridge and not lower it until he came home!”

• Not dismayed at all, the Lady went to the rear gate of the castle and called out to the Boatman “Please row over to this bank and ferry me to the gate!”

• “My Lady, I cannot, on pain of death at the hands of my Lord: he has forbidden that I should help you.!”

• Now somewhat irritated, the Lady went to the home of her friend and asked for aid. “My dearest friend, I am also a dear friend to your husband and I cannot take sides in this. I cannot help”

• The Lady was not frightened and turned in panic to her lover. He replied that, in fact, they were a mere “fling” and his involvement in helping her would put his own life in danger. He would not help.

• That evening the Lord returned home and, finding his wife sobbing by the castle drawbridge ,he drew his sword and thrust it several times through her quivering body.

What Do We Value?

• We don’t really value critical thinking, which means we don’t really value higher order questioning. For example, we rarely “give credit” (i.e. grades) for methodology, for

thinking processes, for student questioning. We also do not like to have our public conversations be challenging

(President Obama on Trayvon Martin? Race and Class in America? Gun Laws?).

• Our cultural signifiers are increasingly simplistic: movies, television, newspapers, magazines, radio talk shows, music.• Critical thinking requires challenging intellectual

stimulation. Where does that come from?

Overview of Critical Thinking

• Characterized by evaluation of data, objective analysis of argument, perceptive and practical questioning.

• Produces new and original ideas• Solves problems

Aspects of Critical Thinking(Inductive and Deductive)

• Determine cause and effect• Analyze open-ended questions• Reason by analogy• Make inferences• Recognize relationships• Determine what is relevant• Use logic• See contradictions• Solve spatial problems• Analyze syllogisms

Evaluating Thinking Skills

• Fact versus Opinion• Credible?• Judge reports• Find the central issue/problem• Recognize assumptions• Detect bias/stereotype• Loaded language?

• Evaluate hypothesis• Classify data• Predict consequences• Sequence information• Plan alternative strategies• See inconsistencies• Find hidden assumptions• Similarities/differences• Evaluate argument

Creative Thinking (produces new and original ideas)

• List attributes of objects and situations• Generate multiple ideas• Generate competing ideas• Generate unique ideas

• Generate detailed information• Synthesize information

Problem Solving

• What’s the problem? Clarify!• How do you find the right questions?• Generate related ideas• Formulate hypothesis• Formulate alternative solutions• Draw conclusions• Select best solution• Test

Questioning

How Do We Construct Questions to Engage Thinking Skills?

Questions (2)• Analyze: how could you break

down….what are the components/what qualities or characteristics

• Compare/contrast• Connecting/associating (what do

you already know?)• Defining• Cause and Effect• Symbolizing (drawing)• Prioritizing• Observations

• Drawing Conclusions/Making Inference (what would happen if…?)

• Evaluating: opinions/agree or disagree/better/worse?

• Explain: factors?• Experiments: what kind of test

could you carry out?• Generalizing• Analogies• Patterns?• Predicting

Questions (3)

• Clarification• Probe Assumptions• Probe Reason and

Evidence• Viewpoints and

Perspectives• Implications and

Consequences• Questions about

Questions

• Main issues• Examples• Evidence• Facts• Beliefs• Question Itself• Change the Question?• Alternatives• Analogies• Understand the Query?• Evaluate• Vocabulary?

The Three Little Pigs

Higher Order Thinking Activity

Was the Wolf Framed?Guilt Versus Innocence: What Does That Mean?

The Prosecutor Addresses The JuryThe Defense Addresses The Jury

What Does The Wolf Say? What Did The Pigs Say?

What Do News Reports Tell Us?

Lateral Thinking

• A man rode into town on Monday, stayed three days, and left town on Monday. Explain??

• A baby fell out of a window in a twenty-storey building and yet was able to survive. How?

• The police were searching for a suspected murderer, whose name they were told, was John. That was their only information. They received a tip saying he was in a particular house-they broke in and saw a carpenter, a mechanic, a fire-fighter and an engineer all playing cards: they immediately arrested the engineer. Why?

VocabularySynthesizing/Analyzing

• Categorize, combine, compose, create, devise, design, explain, generate, modify, organize, re-arrange, reconstruct, relate, reorganize, revise, rewrite, summarize, tell, write.

• Analyze, break down, compare, contrast, diagram, deconstruct, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, identify, illustrate, infer, outline, relate, select, separate

Wraxing Wortle Words

1. What kind of grollers are they?2. What did the grollers do?3. Where did they do it?4. In what kind of grak did they

grangle?5. Place a line under the subject and

two lines under the verb.6. Explain why the grollers were

grangling in the park. Justify your answer.

7. If you had to grangle in a grak, what two items would you take with you?

“The griney grollers grangled in the granchy grak.”

Think?• Identify the kinds of questions

you currently ask. What do they require from you, from your students?

• Examine your objectives: what do you want students to demonstrate?

• Do you provide wait/think time?• Review Bloom’s Taxonomy see

the thinking and behavior skills there.

• What do you do when you get the “I don’t know” response?

• Do you get one-word answers? Can your students predict and speculate?

• What are your rewards, verbal and otherwise? How do you encourage students?

• What is the role of opinion and hypothesis in your classroom?

Bloom’s Taxonomy

The Old Version• Evaluation• Synthesis• Analysis• Application• Comprehension• Knowledge

The New Version• Creating• Evaluating• Analyzing• Applying• Understanding• Remembering

Bloom’s-Based Lesson Plan• What will students know?• What will they understand?• What will they do?

• What benchmarks are addressed?

• What are my essential questions?• What are the planned

instructional questions around lesson content? (Use Bloom’s categories)

• Materials needed?• Instructional strategies?

(Technology-assisted/Multi-sensory/peer/adult/cooperative/visual aids/Inquiry/keywords and vocabulary/storytelling/music/videos)

Assessments????

Decision Making: Using Historical Exemplars to think about how to make the right decisions

• HiroshimaWhat did the decision makers

have to take into account?• The Pursuit Of Bin Laden

What were the factors involved?

Decisions, decisions, decisions……

• Do we actually teach students how to make decisions? How is that done? What content do we use, what instructional methods?

• Much of this is done through instructional engagements that take place outside the “norm”. We use assemblies, circles, one on ones,

• Let’s ask ourselves: what is the format for our own decision-making? Can we use that as a template for students?

Decisions

We forget how complicated the historical decisions can be. Yet teaching about decision making through the experience of real decision makers brings this complexity to life. It also promotes that we ask deeply critical questions: who will be affected? What are the possible outcomes? What will success look like? How will we know when we are finished? What happens if we fail? What do we need before we take action? How many people do we need? Do we have the right tools/supplies/equipment? Should we worry about public opinions? Who will try to stop us?

Those who make critical decisions always ask the best possible questions!

Planning Lessons

Plan everything around the concept of questions: what questions would students ask? What questions can they answer? What are your objectives? What are the assessments you will use to determine your success? What materials will stimulate students? What are your standards (CCSS)?