Critical Thinking Skills

21st Century Neuroscience for Educators: Maximising Critical Thinking Development with Student-Centered Teaching Approaches

Mr. Romel T. Gumobao
Master of Arts in Elementary Education

Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking (CT) has been recognized as one of the most important thinking skills and one of the most important indicators of student learning quality. In order to develop successful critical thinkers, CT must be incorporated into the curriculum content and teaching approaches and sequenced at all grade levels (Alsaleh, 2020).

Alsaleh, N. J. (2020, January). Teaching Critical Thinking Skills: Literature Review. Retrieved July 2024,.

Multiple Choice

Which statement reflects this definition:

Paul (1992) states that CT is "the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skilfully conceptualizing, applying, analysing, synthesising, and or evaluating information gathered or generated by observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication as a rubric to belief and action.

• CT involves meaningful context

• CT involves cognitive process

• CT involves teaching and learning

• CT involves teacher and students

Halpren (1997) the use of cognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome.

The thinking that is purposeful, reasoned, and goal-oriented.

People evaluate the outcomes of their thought processes, calculate how good a decision is, or identify how effectively a problem has been solved.

Multiple Choice

Which statement reflects this definition:

Gelder (2005) explained that Critical Thinking can be taught the same way other cognitive skills are taught. He claimed that knowing the theory of CT and its related concepts, practicing these skills in real situations, and transferring these CT skills to different situations shall make students critical thinkers.

• CT involves meaningful context

• CT involves cognitive process

• CT involves teaching and learning

• CT involves teacher and students

Kurfiss (1988) defined CT as "an investigation whose purpose is to explore a situation, phenomenon, question, or problem to arrive at a hypothesis or conclusion about it that integrates all available information and that can therefore be convincingly justified"

How should CT skills be taught and assessed?

Objective 2

Where should CT skills be taught?

Objective 1

Today's Objectives
By the end of this seminar, I will be able to:

Multiple Choice

Which of the following most accurately encapsulates the components of Critical Thinking (CT) as described by Pithers and Soden (2000)?

• CT is primarily about memorizing facts and applying them to real-life situations.

• CT involves identifying significant questions, self-directed knowledge exploration, understanding the contestability of knowledge, and presenting evidence-based arguments.

• CT focuses on the acceptance of established knowledge and using it to solve problems with guidance from experts.

• CT emphasizes collaborative learning, relying on group consensus for validating knowledge, and using anecdotal evidence to support arguments.

Alsaleh (2020) interpreted Pithers and Soden that Critical Thinking can be defined as an individual thought process that begins with the intent to solve a problem or to answer a question, by examining different options and choosing the most suitable and logical one.

Fill in the Blanks

Critical Thinking refers to the use of

skills or strategies and through teaching and coaching students to master critical thinking (Fisher, 1998; Halpren, 1999; Pithers & Soden, 2000).

Gelder (2005) explained that Critical Thinking can be taught the same way other cognitive skills are taught. He claimed that knowing the theory of CT and its related concepts, practicing these skills in real situations, and transferring these CT skills to different situations shall make students critical thinkers.

Reorder

Duron, Limbach, and Waugh (2006) stated that all disciplines need to design and manage courses to ensure that students effectively develop critical thinking skills.

Reorder the 5-step framework below:

• Determining learning objectives

• Teach through questioning

• Practices before assess

• Review, refine, and improve

• Provide feedback and assess learning

1

2

3

4

5

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

The five-step framework is based on existing theories, practices in cognitive development, effective learning environments, and outcomes-based assessments.

Match

In Facione’s taxonomy (1990), Critical Thinking is composed of six main skills, each containing sub-skills. Match the following skills below with their corresponding sub-skills.

• Interpretation

• Analysis

• Evaluation

• Inference

• Explanation

Categorization; Clarifying meaning

Examining ideas; Identifying arguments

Assessing claims and arguments

Querying evidence; Drawing conclusions

Stating results; • Presenting arguments

• Categorization; Clarifying meaning

• Examining ideas; Identifying arguments

• Assessing claims and arguments

• Querying evidence; Drawing conclusions

• Stating results; • Presenting arguments

Facione (1990) asserts that critical thinking is a deliberate process of self-judgment that includes interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and inference, as well as explaining the evidential, conceptual, methodological, or contextual foundations of these judgments.

Open Ended

How can critical thinking skills be taught and assessed?