using walt disney cartoons to teach critical thinking in the singapore primary english classrooms8

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Using Walt Disney Cartoons to Teach Critical Thinking in the Singapore Primary English Classrooms

Quek Yee Ser, Sharon

National Institute of Education, Singapore

Abstract This chapter discusses how critical thinking can be promoted in the Singapore primary English classrooms. The targeted students in such classrooms range from age 7 to 12 years of age. In this chapter, the use of Walt Disney animated cartoons is highlighted to infuse critical thinking in English literacy lessons. These films can provide a context for engaging and reflective discussions and encourage teachers to teach critical thinking skills to promote a thinking culture in the English primary classrooms in Singapore. 1. Introduction

Ultimately, it is not we who define thinking, it is thinking that defines us. —Carey, Foltz, & Allan (Newsweek, 1983, February 7)

At the 2005 Work Plan Seminar for school leaders and educational practitioners, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, our Minister for Education, called for a re-examination of the fundamentals of teaching and learning. Introducing the theme, “Touching Hearts, Engaging Minds – Preparing Our Learners for Life” under the “Teach Less, Learn More” (TLLM) framework, the central foci is on examining and reflecting on the changing landscape of knowledge construction and the impact of this change on teaching and learning (Shanmugaratnam, 2005). This philosophy re-positions our students as the constructors and owners of knowledge and demands for a more creative curricular that nurtures them to become “intelligent thinkers”, who can self-regulate their own thought processes on top of acquiring appropriate attitude and knowledge for effective learning (Halpern, 2003). As teachers, our challenge in the changing education landscape is to guide the “unschooled mind” of our children (Gardener, 1995) and help them to develop into curious, critical, analytical reflective thinkers – problem solvers who are quick to learn, flexible and able to add value to their employing organizations (Harvey et al, 1997 cited in Pithers, 2000).These dispositions or attitudes associated with critical thinking will also equip them to face the complexities and challenges of the new millennium with confidence (Lim, 1997). In Singapore, two important desired outcomes of education for the primary pupils are the abilities “to distinguish right from wrong” and to “think for and express themselves” (Ministry of Education, 1998). Since critical thinking is a learnable skill (Halpern, 2003), it is feasible to design lessons that will achieve these outcomes that characterize clear, precise, purposeful thinking. In the context of the primary English classrooms, one strategy is to introduce pop culture such as Walt Disney animated cartoons in reflective discussions. In relation to children, the term ‘pop culture’ refers to “those cultural texts, artefacts and practices which are

In Tan, H.P.C. (Ed)(2007). Engaging Films and Music Videos in Critical Thinking. Singapore: McGraw-Hill.

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attractive to large numbers of children and which are often mass produced on global scale” (Kenway and Bullen, 2001 cited in Marsh, 2005:2). In this paper, pop culture in the form of animated cartoons, which are popular among children, can be effectively used to engage pupils in learning as well as to develop their critical and literacy skills. Specifically, six Walt Disney animated cartoons are used to demonstrate the infusion of the critical thinking skills (listed in Figure 1) in the primary English classrooms in Singapore. This list is not exhaustive but it suggests how the contemporary childhoods and literacy lives are shaped by the emergence of pop culture and new technologies, which will in turn shape the pedagogical practices in the modern day classrooms (Marsh, 2005). 2. What is Critical Thinking? Fischer and Spiker (2000) define critical thinking to include reasoning or logic, judgment, metacognition, reflection, questioning, and mental processes. According to Swartz and Parks (1994), the goal of critical thinking is to acquire critical judgement. The core skills embedded within the domain of critical thinking include (1) assessing the reasonableness of ideas through (a) accuracy of observation and (b) reliability of sources and (2) inferencing through (c) the use of evidence in casual explanation, (d) prediction, (e) generalization, (f) reasoning by analogy and (3) deduction through conditional reasoning. This domain of thinking skills is listed in Figure 1 (Swartz and Park, 1994:7):

Figure 1

Critical Thinking

Goal: Critical judgment Skills at assessing the reasonableness of ideas 1. Assessing basic information Accuracy of observation Reliability of sources 2. Inference Use of Evidence Casual explanation Prediction Generalization Reasoning by analogy Deduction Conditional reasoning (if…then) REPRESENTATIVE ATTITUDE We should base judgment on good reasons, we should be open-minded.

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There are three approaches to teaching thinking in a classroom (Swartz and Parks, 1994). This includes (a) the teaching of thinking where direct instruction in thinking is given in a non-curricular context; (b) the teaching for thinking where methods are used to promote thinking in curricular contexts and (c) infusion where direct instruction in specific thinking skills are integrated in content area lessons. Such ‘infusion’ lessons help to improve student thinking and enhances content learning. In this paper, the third approach is adopted to infuse critical thinking skills in primary English lessons to support our minister’s call to “Teach Less and Learn More”. The main thrust of this paper revolves around the kinds of critical questions teachers can ask during a reflective discussion about the plot, theme and characterization seen in each Walt Disney cartoon used. Such teacher-student interaction is crucial, as it serves as a platform where critical thinking can be best promoted (Raths et al, 1966). Each of these cartoons can be screened before a speaking, listening, reading, writing or grammar lesson to help them to acquire a questioning attitude pertinent in the development of critical thinking skills. According to Goh and Yio (2002:124), critical questions are asked to help students to: reflect on the content of the text and not merely process it attend closely to the text to identify inconsistencies within it justify reactions or comments to the text (not ‘anything goes’) make inferences that are supported by logical deductions

In the context of this paper, the term ‘text’ refers to the digitalized texts or animated cartoons used. 3. Guidelines for the Selection of Animated Cartoons Before we discuss how the Walt Disney cartoons can be used to teach critical thinking, it is important to select good quality cartoons for usage in the language classrooms. The criteria listed below are adapted from the following website http://www.rochesterpubliclibrary.org/info/libpol/selection/selection_childmedia.htm A. Technical Quality should be well engineered and manufactured sound must be high quality spoken recordings should have appropriate background music and sound effects;

good balance of narration and dialogue, music and sound effects video recordings should be well framed and focused; colour should be suited to the mood and type of story.

B. Content Quality respect for children's intelligence and imagination (should not be overly "cute") adaptations acceptable when the mood of the original source is retained content follows a logical development provides insight into human and social needs contribution towards breadth of critical viewpoints on controversial issues relevant to themes and language features highlighted in the English course books

http://www.rochesterpubliclibrary.org/info/libpol/selection/selection_childmedia.htm

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C. Performance highest quality is essential in all types of performances

over-dramatization is avoided narrators' and storytellers' voices should be well-modulated. They should speak

clearly with good diction. Style should be distinctive and entertaining. D. Authenticity

• accurate up-to-date information is provided • facts should be impartially presented

4. Using Walt Disney Animated Cartoons to Infuse Critical Thinking in the Singapore Primary English Classrooms: In the following section, critical questions revolving around the seven critical thinking skills seen in Figure 1 will be listed to suggest how these thinking skills can be infused in the teaching of language features highlighted in the selected English thematic units. Before we look at the questions in detail, let us briefly discuss the respective critical thinking skills listed in Figure 1. 4.1 Critical Thinking Skills: Accuracy Of Observation / Reliability of Sources In any literacy programme, it is important to equip student with information literacy skills. In particular, there is a need to increase students’ awareness in using a variety of factors to make judgment on information credibility (Swartz and Parks, 1994). A possible example taken from the cartoon, The Sleeping Beauty, can include: “How do the king and queen know that their daughter’s, Princess Aurora’s, life will be in danger if they do not send her away from the palace? Is their informant reliable? How do you know?” 4.2 Critical Thinking Skill: Causal Explanation It is important to consider a variety of relevant and available evidence to determine when making casual judgement of an issue (Swartz and Parks, 1994). This will enable one to develop analytical intelligence highlighted in Steinberg’s (1985) Triarchic Theory of Human Intelligence which includes analyzing, judging, memorizing, evaluating, reasoning, comparing and contrasting (Lim, 1997). The ability to reason well is a crucial critical thinking skill to acquire in effective learning (Halpern, 2003). In an English lesson, this critical thinking skill can be infused to enable students to develop good listening skills as they view the cartoon, The Sleeping Beauty, and listen for possible evidence to answer the following question: “How did the evil witch manage to find Princess Aurora after 16 years when the three fairies have hid her so well?”

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4.3 Critical Thinking Skill: Prediction Skillful prediction is an essential thinking skill as it prepares us to take actions for a situation. Our common problems in prediction is we do not raise questions about what might happen as the result of a particular situation, how likely our predictions are and how important it is to take into account of all the relevant evidence so as to determine how likely our predictions are (Swartz and Parks, 1994). An example of a prediction question on the cartoon, The Sleeping Beauty, is: “What might happen to the witch and her evil followers at the end of the story? Do you think they would be killed by the king? Why or why not?” 4.4 Critical Thinking Skill: Generalization Generalization is important skill that will make our thinking more efficient. It helps us to expand our knowledge on a class of objects which have similar traits. However, a common default is that we often generalize based on a sample of individuals without knowing its representativeness. In order to teach this skill well, we need to help students to think about the support a sample provides for the generalization of an object, person or issue (Swartz and Parks, 1994). A possible example of a critical question on The Sleep Beauty will be: “If Prince Philip has not won his fight against the dragon, do you think he would be able to break the spell that is cast on Princess Aurora? What makes you say so?” 4.5 Critical Thinking Skill: Reasoning by Analogy According to Swartz and Parks (1994), the common defaults in our thinking revolve around one’s lack of analysis of how similar or different two things are to support the conclusion we want to draw. It is thus important to teach this critical thinking skill as it helps to sharpen pupils’ inferential skills needed in reading comprehension. At the primary level, we can start by training pupils to identify attributes and components as well as relationship and patterns so that they can extend and refine their new knowledge learnt later in their own productive discourses such as speaking and writing. Therefore, when they view the cartoon, a possible question on The Sleeping Beauty a teacher can ask is: “Why did the illustrator draw the witch and her followers as ugly animals? What can we learn about them from their physical appearance?” 4.6 Critical Thinking Skill: Conditional Reasoning Activities involving conditional reasoning help students to sharpen their deductive logical thinking skills (Swartz and Parks, 1994). It increases their judgment of the validity and reliability of the assumptions by drawing conclusions through combining conditional

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statements with other relevant information (Swartz and Parks, 1994; Pithers, 2000; Cederblom & Paulsen, 2001; Fisher, 2001). An example of a critical question on The Sleeping Beauty would be:

“What must Prince Philip do in order to save Princess Aurora?” In the following sections, six Walt Disney animated cartoons are recommended to teach the different critical thinking skills at each grade level in the Singapore Primary English classrooms. Specific language features from selected units are taken from several local English primary textbooks to suggest how these critical thinking skills can be infused in the teaching of English. A summary list can be seen in Appendix 1. It is to be noted that at each grade level, a second cartoon title is suggested for further use.

Cartoon 1: “Wishing Upon a Starfish” in Princess Stories: A Gift From the Heart

Grade level Primary 1

Duration 20 minutes

Synopsis

Princess Ariel found a ballerina figure in the sea and wanted to have two tails to dance like the figure. She met a fellow mermaid, Gabrielle, who wished for a voice to sing. Together, they were told that if they found a giant starfish and made a wish to him, their wishes would come true. However, it did not happen the way they have expected. At the end of the story, they learnt that their greatest gift is to accept who they are and be happy with themselves.

Title of Primary English Course book

Celebrate English 1A Unit 3: Animals Big and Small

Language Features Critical Questions Critical Thinking Skill (Reasoning by Analogy)

Simile

What kind of animal does Princess Ariel look like? How do you know? Can you describe how she looks in detail to me?

Simile Comparison of adjectives

Why can’t Princess Ariel dance like the ballerina figure she is holding? Does she look like the figure? Which part of her body is the same and which part is different?

Comparison of adjectives

In the fighting scene between Sebastian, the hermit crab, and the cat, who do you think will win the fight? Why do you say so?

Asking and answering questions

Why do you think Gabrielle use sign language to speak with Ariel? Do you know what she is saying to Ariel? How do you know?

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Critical Thinking Skill (Accuracy Of Observation)


How does Princess Ariel know that she is in danger of being attacked by giant turtle? What do Princess Ariel and Gabrielle wish for when they later meet the giant starfish? How do you know? Do you think Princess Ariel and Gabrielle are given the correct information that if they present their wish to a gigantic magical starfish, their dreams will come true? Why do you say so?

Critical Thinking Skill (Conditional Reasoning)


Princess Ariel and Gabrielle are told that if they wish upon a magical starfish, their wish would come true. However, when they follow their dreams, they must overcome obstacles. Do you think that magic can help us to fulfil our wishes and dreams? What makes you say so? The magic starfish tells Ariel and Gabrielle that one will always face problems when he/she follows their dreams. What do you think about this sentence? Will we always face problems when we follow our dreams? How do you know?

Cartoon 2: The Jungle Book


Duration 85 minutes

Synopsis

Mowgli is a boy who was raised by panthers in the jungle as a man cub. When his wise old foster father, Bagheera the panther, knew that the menacing tiger, Shere Khan, who hated the man hunters, was returning to the forest, he tried to get Mowgli to leave the jungle. Mowgli resisted his good intention and refused to leave the jungle. Throughout the story, Bagheera, the panther, and Baloo, the bear, protected Mowgli from harm. Baloo was even injured by Shere Khan in his fight to protect the boy. Mowgli eventually met a young girl and followed her into a man village and left the jungle permanently.

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Celebrate English 2B Unit 4: Fun with Stories

Language Features Critical Questions Critical Thinking Skill (Causal Explanation)

Past tense Beginning

At the beginning of the story, how did Mowgli end up at the jungle? Why did Mowgli refuse to leave the jungle when he was advised to do so?

Critical Thinking Skill (Conditional reasoning)

Past tense Present tense

If Bagheera and Baloo did not protect Mowgli, do you think Mowgli would be able to survive on his own? What made you say so? Do you think it is better for Mowgli to stay in the jungle on his own or to leave for the man village? Why or why not?

Critical Thinking Skill (Accuracy of observation)

Past tense

Mowgli claimed that the snake betrayed him. What did the snake do?

Critical Thinking Skill (Prediction)

Past tense Ending

Shere Khan, the tiger, was chased out of the jungle by Bagheera and Baloo. Do you think he would come back and harm Mowgli in the man village? Why or why not?

Critical Thinking Skill (Generalization)

Present tense Ending

What value can you learn from this story?

Cartoon 3: Mulan


Duration 85 minutes

Synopsis

Mulan’s father was recalled into the army to fight the Hun leader, Shan Yu and his army. As he was old and stricken with illness, he would not perform his duty. Mulan, his only child, secretly replaced him by disguising herself as a man. With the help of her guardian dragon, Mushu, she survived her basic military training. Her bravery and determination helped her to rescue the emperor from Shan Yu’s captivity and she was awarded honour and love for her role as the heroine of the story.

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My Pals Are Here! 3B Unit 9: Tales to Tell

Language Features Critical Questions Critical Thinking Skill (Generalization)

Action verbs At the beginning of the story, Mulan was trained to be a quiet, demure, gracious, delicate, refined, poised and gentle lady. Do you think these descriptions fit her mannerism? Why or why not?

Critical Thinking Skill (Causal Explanation)

Thinking verbs Why do you think Mulan had o disguise herself as a man and join the army? Why couldn’t she join the army as a woman? Do you know of any country in the world that allows women to join the army?

Critical Thinking Skill (Reasoning by Analogy)

Saying verbs Thinking verbs

How would you describe the Mulan that is seen at the battlefield? What makes you think so?


Saying verbs Thinking verbs

If Mushu had not been by her side to help Mulan, do you think Mulan would have won the battles against Shan Yu? Why or why not?

Critical Thinking Skill (prediction)

Thinking verbs Saying verbs

Do you think Mulan and her army general would get married in the end? What makes you say so?

Cartoon 4: Shark Tale


Duration 60 minutes

Synopsis

Oscar, the protagonist, works as a lowly tongue scrubber in the coral reef city. He dreams of being rich and famous so that he can get out of poverty and dates the sexy Lola whom he meets during a horse-racing game. One day, he was near Lenny, the vegetarian shark and a fellow shark friend when Lenny’s friend was killed by a human being. He claims credit for Lenny’s friend’s death and calls himself a ‘Shark Slayer’. He soon becomes famous and is awarded wealth for his new role as the community in reef city wants to be protected from shark attacks. He even teams up with Lenny to deceive his community. Later in the story, Oscar is touched by the sincerity of Angie’s love and decides to turn over a new leaf. He continues his decent living as a tongue scrubber but found true love and friendship at the end of the story.

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My Pals Are Here! 4B Unit 9: What Do You Think of it?

Language Features Critical Questions

Critical Thinking Skill (Causal Explanation)

Collective noun (Singular and plural noun) used in subject-verb agreement Quantifiers: “Either… /Neither” Collective noun (Singular and plural noun) used in subject-verb agreement

The population at the coral reef city is afraid of one group of sea creatures. What is it? How do you know? Why does Oscar lie to his friends that he is the ‘Shark Slayer’? What makes him resort to this means? Do you think it is right for Oscar to do that? Can Oscar achieve wealth and fame without resorting to deceptive ways? What else can you suggest for him to do in order to achieve fame and wealth? Why does Lenny escape from his home and disguise himself as a dolphin? Why do you think Lenny’s father forces him to hunt for fish? What moral values can you learn from this story?

Critical Thinking Skill (Prediction)

Collective noun (Singular and plural noun) used in subject-verb agreement Quantifiers: “Either… /Neither”

Do you think Oscar will choose Lola or Angie to be his girlfriend at the end? What makes you say so? Do you think Lenny will reconcile with his father by the end of the story? If you were his father, what would you have done to help Lenny to achieve life skills?


Quantifiers: “Either… /Neither”

Why is Oscar ashamed of his job as a whale tongue scrubber? Do you think Oscar is a hero? Why or why not? In what ways is Lenny an atypical shark? How so?

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Cartoon 5: The Road to El Dorado


Duration 85 minutes

Synopsis

Two Spanish friends, Tulio and Miguel and their dream horse Altivo stumbled upon a route map in 1519 which led them through adventurous journey to El Dorado, a fabled city full of gold. By chance, Tulio and Miguel were mistaken as gods and were worshipped and lavished with gold. Filled with greed, both of them wanted to deceive the El Dorado people and leave the land with their gold. But a turn of event saw them giving up their gold, defeating a villainous high priest at El Dorado and saving the city from discovery (and plundering) by the Spanish conquistadors.


My Pals Are Here! 5A Unit 3: My Amazing Adventure

Language Features Critical Questions Critical Thinking Skill (Accuracy of observation)

First-person narrative Saying verbs

How did Tulio and Miguel win the route map from Cortes? Pretend as a member of the crowd and describe what you saw at the gambling scene. Who discovered that Tulio and Miguel are not gods later in the story? How did the person discover the truth?


Saying verbs

How would you describe the horse, Altivo, who freed Tulio and Miguel from the captivity of Cortes and his men on the ship?


Saying verbs Is Altivo a typical horse? Why do you say so? Tulio and Miguel gave up their gold to save the fabled city of El Dorado from being discovered and plundered by the Spanish conquistadors. Do you think all protagonists like them would act in the same way? What made you say so?


Saying verbs When Tulio and Miguel met the local tribe at El Dorado, why did they describe themselves as tourists? What would happen to them if they did not say that?

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Language Features Critical Questions Critical Thinking Skill (Casual Explanation)

Saying verbs Why did the people of El Dorado treat Tulio and Miguel with so much reverence and lavish them with gold?


Saying verbs Do you think El Dorado would never be discovered after Tulio and Miguel’s departure? What made you say so?

Cartoon 6: Shrek


Duration 85 minutes

Synopsis

Shrek is an ugly ogre with a good heart. One day, his neighbourhood by the swamp was populated with many fairy tale creatures seen from stories such as the Three Little Pig, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio and The Ginger breadman. In order to get rid of them, he promised Lord Farquaad to rescue Princess Fiona from captivity at the castle for him to marry with the help of his loudmouthed friend, Donkey. Lord Farquaad would in return remove the fairytale creatures from his land. However, he fell in love with Princess Fiona who was cast a spell to be beautiful by day and ugly by night. His true love later touched Princess Fiona. Although Princess Fiona did not resume her beautiful at the end of the story, they got married and lived happily ever after.


My Pals Are Here! 6A Unit 5: A Twist in the Tale

Language Features Critical Questions Critical Thinking Skill (Generalization)

Past tense

At the beginning of the story, Shrek was helped by a donkey in his daring quest to save Princess Fiona? What made this donkey so special? Do all donkeys have traits like him? The story also depicts fairytale figures such as the three little pigs, snow white and the seven dwarfs and Pinocchio. Why do you think the writer wants to include all these characters in this story?

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Language Features Critical Questions Critical Thinking Skill (Causal Explanation)

Past tense What caused Princess Fiona to be beautiful by day and ugly by night? Why do you think Princess Fiona could not return to her old beautiful self even though she had found true love in Shrek? What life values can you learn from this story?


Conditional sentences ‘if’ and ‘unless’

What must Princess Fiona do in order to be always beautiful?


Conditional sentences ‘if’

If you were asked to describe the physical appearance of Shrek, how would you describe him and what would compare him with? If you were a fairy godmother or godfather, what condition would you state to Princess Fiona and Shrek before you would turn them into beautiful creatures again? What makes you think so?


Conditional sentences ‘if’ and ‘unless’

Do you think Princess Fiona and Shrek would become beautiful and handsome after they have married? What makes you say so?

5. Implications for Teaching: 5.1 Adopt Three Guiding Principles in Curriculum Planning The soundness and ‘fit’ of a critical thinking programme depends on the programme goals and content (Pithers, 2000). Swarts and Parks (1994:3) suggest three principles who can guide the curriculum development of such a programme: (1) The more explicit the teaching of thinking is, the greater impact it will have on students; (2) the more classroom instruction incorporates an atmosphere of thoughtfulness, the more open students will be to valuing good thinking; (3) the more teaching of thinking is integrated into content instruction, the more students will think about what they are learning. Students will benefit from explicit instruction on metacognitive skills, that is, how they think about their own thinking; how they process information cognitively and which mental operations are needed for a particular task. Goh and Yio (2002:123) suggest that metacognitive awareness-raising can be integrated as a post-skill activity through pair reflection and sharing (What kind of questions did I ask? Why was I quiet? What problems did I experience when trying to participate? Why was the listening/writing task difficult?) This will help students to reflect on their own knowledge and thought processes as language learners, the nature and demands of language learning tasks and the strategies used for achieving their learning or lesson goals.

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5.2 Adopt Attributes of a ‘Thinking’ Teacher: To be effective in delivering a curriculum that focuses on critical thinking, the ‘thinking’ teacher should use a range of appropriate teaching styles that enhance students’ critical thinking skills (Pithers, 2000). Strong et al (1980) proposes four such teaching styles which include (1) mastery (2) understanding (3) synthesis and (4) involvement styles. The ‘Mastery’ style (Sense-thinking) is one which combines the concrete characteristics of sensing with the procedural correctness of thinking. The mastery teacher demonstrates and presents essential information in a curriculum which require the learner to engage in intellectual operations such as to observe, recall, follow directions, categorize, sequence, list and name in order to acquire and apply practical skills in the discipline concerned. The ‘Understanding’ style (intuitive thinking) blends the abstraction of intuition with the precision of logical thought. The understanding teacher is one who probes for student explanation on ideas, concepts, generalizations, principles, abstractions and debates. Students will be encouraged to engage in thinking operations such as analyzing, summarizing, evaluating, comparing and contrasting, deducing, inducing, inferring, hypothesizing, explaining and extrapolating in order to predict and interpret patterns, problems, issues and ideas. The ‘Synthesis’ style (intuition-feeling) connects the open wonders of intuition with the spontaneity of feeling. The synthesizing teacher provides challenges for students to explore and to engage in creating, innovating, imagining, synthesizing, applying, imaging and thinking metaphorically. This demands a curriculum that focuses in the development of creative expression, the application of old skills to new contexts and the production of original work. The ‘Involvement’ style (sense-feeling) requires the teacher to personalize her teaching strategies. This can include planning for collaborations, personal discussions and small group tutorials to develop the personal and social maturity of students. Such curriculum allows the students to engage in the concreteness of sensing and experiential depth of feeling by sharing and empathizing interpersonally. The learner can experience and respond to other people’s points of views and show depth and insight when working with others. These teaching styles mentioned above encourage thinking operations that characterize good thinking (Lim, 1997). Teachers should therefore encourage students to consciously reflect and analyse their thinking processes so as to help them to transfer learning across different subject disciplines (Pithers, 2000). 5.3 Learn to Mediate Student Thinking in the Teacher-Student Discourse Edwards and Mercer (1987) inform us that it is common for a teacher to dominate at least two-third of the classroom discourse time by their reference to Flanders’ (1970) ‘two-third’ rule. Goh (2002) also reiterated that as much as 50% of classroom time involves oral interactions. Since teacher-student discourse has an impact on teaching and

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learning (Lim, 1997), the teacher must consciously avoid behavioural patterns that will inhibit students’ critical thinking. With reference to a social constructivist approach, we can firstly re-look at the teacher’s pattern of talk in the classroom. Cazden (2001) informs us that a traditional lesson is often dominated by the IRE (Initiate-Rely-Evaluate) or IRF (Initiate-Reply-Feedback) structure where “the teacher asks only display questions to which she already knows the answer” (p 146); “simply agrees or disagrees, just demonstrates and explains, cuts off student responses, uses reproof rather than praise, shakes the learners’ confidence in the value of new ideas” (Pithers, 2000:242). Such kind of discourse pattern has limited usefulness as it seems to assess the pupils’ knowledge of the subject matter (Mercer, 1995). It may result in inauthentic talk and discourage students from exploring answers that are beyond the teacher’s frame of reference (Dillon, 1988, 1994; Wood & Wood, 1984, 1988; Edwards & Westgate, 1994; Cazden, 2001). Instead, the teacher can promote the authentic discourse pattern seen in a non-traditional lesson, where exploratory talk is seen as the predominant feature (Corden, 2000; Cazden, 2001). This kind of talk allows for the teacher to scaffold and guide her students towards conjecturing, inventing and problem solving as they engage in reciprocal, open-ended discussion to negotiate meanings and co-construct joint understanding of the texts (Mercer, 1995; Corden, 2000; Cazden, 2001). Therefore, to enculturate a thinking culture, the teacher can start by consciously use a language of thinking in their lessons to help students to concretize their reasoning and articulate their opinions (Tishan, Perkins & Jay, 1995 cited in Lim, 1997). This can be done by: asking questions using thinking words (refer to Appendix 2) elaborating on explanations and statements probing for clarification providing feedback on students’ responses

Secondly, from the sociocultural perspective, the teacher can provide temporary cognitive support (Hammond et al, 2001) by ‘scaffolding’ a reflective discussion with the following questions (Cleghorn, 2002:48): Can you say more about that? What makes you say that? Do you have any evidence for that view? How do you know that? Why? Why? Why? Is it possible to know if that is true? Does anyone else support that view? If…then what do you think about…?

If the students cannot make any reasonable response to the questions posed, the teacher as the ‘scaffolder’ should point out the assumption(s) underlying the issue(s) and use a series of questions to lead students to make critical judgment of the issues (Pither, 2000).

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5.4 Encourage Student Questioning Students should also be encouraged to ask good questions and formulate good answers to these questions in their development of their thinking processes (Lim, 1997). However, students’ ability to ask good questions largely depends on teachers’ responses to their questioning. Steinberg (1994) proposed a seven-level teacher response, which is hierarchically arranged, with the highest level best enhancing the development of student’s thinking skills. Teachers are encouraged to be mindful of these levels in order to manage the mental operations of their students: Level 1: Reject Questions At this level, an inappropriate teacher response would be to get students to “stop asking stupid questions”. This type of response deters students from questioning and hinders their thinking and learning processes. Teachers should try to invite questions from students. Level 2: Restate Questions Teachers should not insist on getting students to give answers to questions in the form of a rephrase or restatement of the original questions. An example of such student response would be “Cinderella is overjoyed because the prince wants to marry her”. Approaches like this discourage students from responding to the story. Level 3: Respond Directly Teachers should refrain from giving direct answers to student questions or simply reply with “I don’t know”. These types of responses do not help students to foster thinking and learning skills. Level 4: Refer to Other Sources At this level, if answers to student questions are not known to the teachers, teachers’ responses are likely to be “I’ll check it out for you later”. Students’ learning and thinking processes are best fostered if they are encouraged to seek information independently on their own. In this way, students will become acquainted with the responsibility for learning and the necessary means to extend their knowledge towards the scope of the textbook. Level 5: Re-examine Alternative Explanations Teachers can demonstrate to students how to explain an idea, concept or issue. Students are encouraged to formulate alternative explanations on their own to further develop their own thought processes. Level 6: Re-examine and Evaluate Explanations Teacher responses at this stage are to guide them to generating and assessing their own hypotheses about an idea, issue or concept. Students will now learn to examine and evaluate their own alternative explanations. Level 7: Re-examine, Evaluate and Follow-up Explanations At this stage, the teacher facilitates students’ thinking by using higher-level responses in the classroom. This includes encouraging students to question assumption; teaching them

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to investigate into basic hypotheses with a suspicious and curious mind; giving examples to support why we need to question some assumptions; doing simple exercises with students to illustrate this point and teaching the application of facts rather than the emphasis of acquiring facts and knowledge and be a model for questioning the assumptions. Conclusion In this paper, critical questions about the content of six Walt Disney animated cartoons are suggested to encourage constructive critical thinking behaviours amongst pupils. To encourage students to think well, they must be recognized as ‘thinking individuals’ (Goh & Yio, 2002) who have the capability to acquire good thinking skills. With the right kind of stimulus such as the use of the Walt Disney cartoons as well as teacher dispositions and encouragement, we will see the learning of English as an engaging and rewarding experience for our primary school pupils in Singapore.

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Appendix 1

Using Walt Disney Cartoons to Promote Critical Thinking in Singapore Primary English Classrooms

Grade Level Textbook chapter Language features Title of Walt Disney Cartoons Primary 1 Celebrate English 1A

Unit 3: Animals Big and Small

Collective nouns Comparison of adjectives Question marks Commas Asking and answering questions Similes

Princess Stories: A Gift From The Heart

Celebrate English 1B Unit 6: Monsters

Singular and plural nouns Gender Verbs Adjectives Exclamation marks Prepositions

The Sleeping Beauty

Primary 2 Celebrate English 2B Unit 4: Fun with Stories

Past tense, present tense Beginning and endings

The Jungle Book

Celebrate English 2B Unit 5: Witches and Magic Spell

Adjectives Singular and plural nouns Generic structure of narrative text

Aladdin

Primary 3 My Pals Are Here! 3A Unit 3: Stories That Teach

Adjectives Comparison of adjectives Quotation marks, commas, end punctuation, capital letters

Pinocchio

My Pals Are Here! 3B Unit 9: Tales to Tell

Action verbs Thinking verbs Saying verbs / folk tales

Mulan

Primary 4 My Pals Are Here! 4A Unit 4: Poems Tell Stories Too!

Phrasal verbs – get up Ways to show possession – “of” and Inverted commas Prefix of numbers and quantity – uni/bi/Tri/quad/octo/semi/multi

Lion King II

My Pals Are Here! 4B Unit 9: What Do You Think of It?

Collective noun- singular and plural eg “My squad is…” and “The squad want to make sure they…” Quantifiers: “Either one of these Books belongs to my brother” Neither of these books is interesting Another/other/Book reviews

Shark Tale

Primary 5 My Pals Are Here! 5A Unit 2: What a Character!

Clause and subordinate clause Homophones Play script

Antz

My Pals Are Here! 5A Unit 3: My Amazing Adventure

Saying verbs First-person narrative

The Road to EL Dorado

Primary 6 My Pals Are Here! 6A Unit 5: A Twist in the Tale

Conditional Sentences ‘If’ and “Unless” Shrek

Celebrate English 6A Unit 2: Tales from the Past

Learn to use ‘ing’ nouns made from verbs Learn to write reporting questions from direct speech Learn to use intransitive verbs

Pocahontas

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Appendix 2

A Language of Thinking Vocabulary (from Tishman, Perkins & Jay, 1995 cited in Lim, 1997:18) advance concede deny evidence affirm allege analyze appraise appreciate apprehend ascertain assert assess assume attest aver believe calculate cerebrate claim cognize comprehend know maintain mediate muse observe opine perceive ponder posit postulate presume probe

conclude confirm conjecture consider construe contemplate contend contradict contravene convince corroborate criticize decide declare deduce define deliberate demonstrate process profess propose propound prove question rate realize reason rebut reckon recognize

derive detect determine disbelieve discern disclaim discover discredit discriminate dispute dissect dissent divine doubt elucidate entertain establish estimate recollect reflect remember research resolve review ruminate scrutinize solve speculate state study

examine explain explore fathom glean grasp grope guess hypothesize imply infer inquire inspect interpret intuit investigate judge justify submit suggest suppose surmise survey suspect theorize think understand verify warrant weigh

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References Cazden, C. B. (2001). Classroom Discourse: The Language of Teaching and Learning Portsmouth: Heinemann, Cederbloom, J. and Paulsen, D.W. (1991). Critical Reasoning. Belmont, Calif: Wadsworth. Corden, R. (2000). Literacy and Learning through Talk: Strategies for the Primary Classroom. Buckingham: Open University Press. Dillion, J. T. (1988). Questioning and Teaching: A Manual of Practice. London: Croom Helm. Dillion, J. T. (1994). Using Discussion in Classrooms. Buckingham: Open University Press. Edwards, A. D. and Mercer, N. (1987). Common Knowledge: The Development of Understanding in the Classroom. London: Methuen & Co. Ltd. Edwards, A.D. and Westgate, D.P.G. (1994). Investigating Classroom Talk. London: The Falmer Press. Fischer, S. C., & Spiker, V. A. (2000). A Framework for Critical Thinking Research and Training. (Report Prepared for the U. S. Army Research Institute). Fisher, R. (2001). ‘Philosophy in primary schools: fostering thinking skills and literacy’ in Reading Literacy and Language, July 2001: 67-73. Gardener, H. (1995). The Unschooled Mind: How Children Think, and How Schools Should Teach. New York: BasicBooks. Goh, C.M.C. (2002). Teaching Listening in the Language Classroom. Singapore: SEAMEO Regional Language Centre. Goh, C.M.C. and Yio, S.K. (2002). Developing Thinking Skills through Language Practice Activities. In Chang, S.C.A., Cheah, Y.M. (Eds). Teachers’ Handbook on Teaching Thinking Skills across Disciplines. Singapore: Prentice Hall. Harvey, L. , Moon, S., Geally, V. and Bower, R. (1997). Graduates’ Work: Organisational Change and Students’ Attributes. Birmingham: Centre for Research into Quality, University of Central English. Halpern, D.F. (2003). Thought and Knowledge: An Introduction to Critical Thinking. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, 2003. Kenway, J. and Bullen, E. (2001). Consuming Children: Education-Entertainment-Advertising. Buckingham: Open University Press.

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Lim, S. (1997). Quality Education: Thinking Classrooms, Learning Schools. Singapore: Research Communication. Marsh, J. (2005). ‘Children of the digital age’ In Popular Culture, New Media and Digital Literacy in Early Childhood. London: RoutledgeFalmer. Mercer, N. (1995). The Guided Construction of Knowledge: Talk Amongst Teachers and Learners. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters Ltd. Ministry of Education (1998). Learning to Think, Thinking to Learn: Towards Thinking Schools and Learning Nation. Singapore: Ministry of Education. Shanmugaratnam, T. (2005). “Achieving Quality: Bottom up Initiative, Top down Support”. Speech By Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister For Education, at The MOE Work Plan Seminar 2005, 22 September 2005. http://www.moe.gov.sg/speeches/2005/sp20050922.htm Pithers, R.T. (2000). ‘Critical Thinking in education’. In Educational Research, 42(3): 237-249. http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals Raths, L.E., Wasserman, S., Jonas, A. and Rothstein,A. (1966). Teaching for Critical Thinking: Theory and Application. Columbus, Ohio: Charles-Merrill. Steinberg, R.J. (1985). Beyond IQ: A Triarchic Theory of Human Intelligence. New York: Cambridge University Press. Steinberg, R.J. (1994). “Answering Questions and Questioning Answers: Guiding Children to Intellectual Excellence”. Phi Delta Kappan, 76 (2): 136-138. Swartz, R.J. and Parks, S (1994). Infusing the Teaching of Critical and Creative Thinking into Content Instruction. CA: Critical Thinking Press & Software. Wood, D. and Wood, H. (1984). An experimental evaluation of five styles of teacher conversation on the language of hearing impaired children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 25(1), 45-62. Wood, D. and Wood, H. (1988). Questioning versus student initiatives, in J.T. Dillon Questioning and Discussion: A Multidisciplinary Study. Norwood: Ablex.

http://www.moe.gov.sg/speeches/2005/sp20050922.htm

http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals

using walt disney cartoons to teach critical thinking in the singapore primary english classrooms8

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