Dear ELT Soldiers!
We welcome you to WEEK 2 ( January 30 - February 3, 2014) of this online course on Critical Thinking.
Read the instructions carefully before you proceed.
Best Wishes
Sunil Shah , Anna Patel
Critical Thinking Self Assessment
Before responding to this prompt, be sure you have read the
article located in Week 2 Articles & Websites
Referring to the information and ideas presented in that article, please respond to the following:
1. What is your sense of your own critical thinking skills? (for ex: strengths and weaknesses). Which stage best describes your thinking? How do you move forward?
2. Have you used other tools for assessing your own reasoning skills? If so, what kind of tools? If not, can you think of possible tools?
3. How is this kind of self-evaluation useful?
The three questions above are suggested starting points for discussion; there may be other aspects you would like to discuss, but please do refer to the article to show that you have read it and thought about it carefully.
Do your best to link your observations/comments to another participant's posting to create more cohesion in the thread.
Referring to the information and ideas presented in that article, please respond to the following:
1. What is your sense of your own critical thinking skills? (for ex: strengths and weaknesses). Which stage best describes your thinking? How do you move forward?
2. Have you used other tools for assessing your own reasoning skills? If so, what kind of tools? If not, can you think of possible tools?
3. How is this kind of self-evaluation useful?
The three questions above are suggested starting points for discussion; there may be other aspects you would like to discuss, but please do refer to the article to show that you have read it and thought about it carefully.
Do your best to link your observations/comments to another participant's posting to create more cohesion in the thread.
Paraphrase and
Respond
A paraphrase is a restatement of the ideas in a passage.
Where possible, it uses synonyms in place of original words and modifies
structure while preserving the original meaning. A paraphrase is different from
a summary, which captures only main ideas. Paraphrasing is excellent critical
thinking practice in that it requires rethinking of words and concepts and
reformulating original ideas as accurately and precisely as possible, without
adding or taking away anything.
This week, you are asked to paraphrase and respond to a short passage related to critical thinking (or some aspect thereof) in order to gain a deeper understanding, a different perspective, or a new insight into this concept.
Instructions for this task:
1. Begin your post by commenting on another participant's paraphrase or response. If you are the first, please comment on my post.
2. Select a passage of interest from the sites/articles 1, 2, 3, or 4 in Week 1 readings. If someone else has already selected the passage you want to paraphrase, please choose a different one. It need not be a lengthy passage: 2 or 3 sentences is sufficient.
3. Copy the original passage into your message. Please include quotes and a citation.
4. Paraphrase the passage. While doing this, ask monitor your thinking by asking questions such as: Am I representing the original meaning accurately and clearly? Am I inferring anything that I shouldn't be? Am I adding anything that isn't there?
5. Relate this passage to a personal experience (as a teacher, as a student, parent, friend, etc.) and state how this passage adds to your understanding of critical thinking.
=====================================================
This week, you are asked to paraphrase and respond to a short passage related to critical thinking (or some aspect thereof) in order to gain a deeper understanding, a different perspective, or a new insight into this concept.
Instructions for this task:
1. Begin your post by commenting on another participant's paraphrase or response. If you are the first, please comment on my post.
2. Select a passage of interest from the sites/articles 1, 2, 3, or 4 in Week 1 readings. If someone else has already selected the passage you want to paraphrase, please choose a different one. It need not be a lengthy passage: 2 or 3 sentences is sufficient.
3. Copy the original passage into your message. Please include quotes and a citation.
4. Paraphrase the passage. While doing this, ask monitor your thinking by asking questions such as: Am I representing the original meaning accurately and clearly? Am I inferring anything that I shouldn't be? Am I adding anything that isn't there?
5. Relate this passage to a personal experience (as a teacher, as a student, parent, friend, etc.) and state how this passage adds to your understanding of critical thinking.
=====================================================
Model
1. At first, comment on another person's choice of passage, his/her paraphrase, or his/her response. For example, if you are the first person to post, please comment on my posting.
2 & 3. My Selected Passage with a Citation:
"Education is good just so far as it produces well-developed critical faculty....A teacher of any subject who insists on accuracy and a rational control of all processes and methods, and who holds everything open to unlimited verification and revision is cultivating that method as a habit in the pupils."
From: Sumner, W. G. (1940). Folkways: A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals, New York: Ginn and Co., pp. 632, 633. Retrieved from http://www.criticalthinking.org/aboutCT/sumnersDefinitionCT.cfm
4. My Paraphrase:
Quality of education is judged by its ability to turn out accomplished critical thinkers. To foster critical thinking patterns in students, an educator demands accuracy as well as reasoned command of thought processes and problem-solving methods and remains open to ongoing inquiry and change resulting from that inquiry.
5. Personal Response and how my understanding of CT is affected:
This passage brings to mind the many times we as teachers do not press for accuracy or clarity. In the interest (and pressure) of moving forward through a certain amount of content each term, semester, or year, we plow ahead, losing precious opportunities to question students and deepen their thinking via elaborating, explaining, or clarifying. Instead of honing the quality of thinking, we encourage the memorizing of a quantity of information. What's interesting here is also the idea that content is somehow different from/other than thinking. We think we must choose: content or thinking. But isn't content made up of ideas/data, i.e. thoughts?
Related to the above point is this one: it is difficult to require accuracy and command over thought processes when the teacher has little awareness of or mastery over his/her thinking. I'm specifically reminded of my first years teaching. Even though I was blessed with some natural teaching talent, my thinking was far from clear or precise; I had very little awareness of my own thought processes. Over the years, it has become obvious that talent isn't everything; that gaining control over the "monkey mind" (jumping from one thing to the next with little mindfulness, no control) translates directly into the ability to help students become better thinkers.
This passage adds to my understanding of critical thinking in that it sheds light on how CT can be transferred or awakened. The discipline and self-knowledge of the educator is tremendously valuable in this process.
