Critical Thinking
Critical thinking skills, often called higher-order thinking skills, require students to analyze, synthesize and evaluate the work they are doing. In today’s schools “the focus on ensuring that no child is left behind in developing basic skills, combined with an emphasis on preparing for tests that activate lower levels of thinking, has led to serious concern about whether high-ability learners are being provided with opportunities to make progress in their learning across those areas in which they are already functioning beyond “proficient” levels, as well as whether the students are being prepared for the demands of higher education” (VanTassel-Baska, 2011, p. 72).
If high-ability students are to be challenged in the classroom, teachers need to provide activities; experiences and/or tasks where they are give the opportunity to use these skills.
Critical Thinking Skills
In order for teachers to effectively incorporate critical (higher-order) thinking skills into their curriculum, they must first have a clear idea about what they are and about how they differ from lower level thinking skills.
One of the first models to define the difference between “higher” thinking skills and “lower” thinking skills was that developed by Dr. Benjamin Bloom in 1956. Most educators are familiar with Bloom’s Taxonomy of Cognitive Objectives (Bloom, 1956). He identified the following six levels, which were originally designed to classify instructional objectives and test items from a lower level to a higher level:
The levels begin with knowledge, comprehension and application, which are termed the “lower skills” and analysis, synthesis and evaluation, which are the “higher skills”. In recent years, Bloom’s original work has been refined. Anderson, Krathwohl and their colleagues (2000) created a revised taxonomy that uses verbs instead of nouns and is designed to reflect the active process of thinking. In addition, this new version is also designed to show the metacognitive elements involved in the task of “evaluating”.
A T-chart can be formed indicating the Knowledge Dimension (Factual, Conceptual, Procedural and Metacognitive) on one axis and the Cognitive Process Dimension on another. http://www.scribd.com/doc/933640/Bloom-Revised
Blooms Taxonomy, whether the original version or the new version, can be a tool to help educators plan activities for all students and to look for ways to use the “higher-order” or critical thinking in their lesson design for high-ability students.
Sample Activities Using Higher Level Thinking Skills (PDF)
Paul's Critical Thinking Model
The eight elements (skills) of Paul’s Critical Thinking Model are:
1. Purpose or goal
The end we hope to achieve
2. Question or issue
The problem or area of concern we are thinking and reasoning about
3. Points of view
The point of view we hold when we begin our reasoning
The various points of view held by stakeholders (those involved or influenced by the question or issue)
4. Evidence or data
The facts, opinions, information related to the question or issue
5. Concepts
The concepts, ideas, theories, principles rules involved in the question or issue or the methods the student uses in the reasoning process
6. Assumptions
The starting points of the reasoning, those ideas and opinions assumed by the student
7. Inferences
The ideas created through the step by step of reasoning. A common step is because this is so, it follows that this is probably so.
8. Implications and consequences
The inferences made in reasoning take the student to an end, which is described as inferences or consequences.
Critical thinking skills are vital in each of the disciplines. Of note, are the Integrated Curriculum Models from the College of William and Mary. The various disciplines and the models used in the disciplines include:
Language Arts:
- Taba Concept Model
- Literature Web Model,
- Vocabulary Web Model,
- Hamburger Model for Persuasive Writing.
Science:
- Taba Concept Model
- Research Model.
Social studies:
- Reasoning Web (based on Paul’s Reasoning Model),
- Reasoning About a Situation or Event
- Primary Sources
For more information and specific ideas see: http://cfge.wm.edu/curriculum.htm#models
Questioning Techniques:
“Questions are perhaps a teacher’s strongest tool for engaging students in any kind of cognitive processes, as well as for promoting metacognition and personal connections with the learning experience. Questioning provides the prompt to initiate processing of information, and it can inspire dialogues, discussion, and further questioning, both in an oral discussion and internally.” (VanTassel-Baska, 2011, p.87)
Costa (2001), suggested that powerful questions include those that:
- are invitational
- engage specific cognitive operations at various levels of complexity, and
- address internal or external content that is relevant to the learner
It is imperative that teachers monitor the level of the questions they ask students during active discussions. If teachers ask questions that are on a higher-level and that also follow Costa’s suggestions, students will be more engaged and the responses they give will likely also be at a higher level.
Higher-Level vs. Lower-Level Questions (PDF)
Essential Questions
Question Mind Map (PDF)
References:
Anderson, L.W., & Krathwohl, D.R. (Eds.), (2000). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Bloom, B.S. (Ed.). (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Handbook 1: Cognitive Domain. New York, NY: McKay.
Costa, A.L. (2001). Teacher behaviors that enable student thinking. In A.L. Costa (Ed.), Developing minds: A resource book for teaching thinking (3rd ed.). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Paul, R. (1992). Critical thinking: What every person needs to survive in a rapidly changing world. Rohnert Park, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking.
VanTassel-Baska, J. and Little, C.A., (2011). Content Based Curriculum for high-ability learners. (pp. 72, 87). Waco, Texas: Prufrock Press Inc.