Supporting Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking in the Ontario Curriculum

Our achievement charts identify thinking as one of the components that must be assessed. This means that we need opportunities beyond "Knowledge and Understanding"

_____What is critical thinking?

The three Cs

Garfield Gini-Newman discusses the 3 Cs—critical, creative and collaborative thinking—with the host of CTV’s Ottawa Morning Live. (5:23 minutes)

In Ontario the "Thinking" segment of our achievement chart includes: use of planning skills, use of processing skills and the use of critical/creative thinking processes.

In Social Studies Geography and History this includes applying the concepts of disciplinary thinking, using inquiry skills and engaging in problem-solving and decision making processes.

In English this includes drawing inferences, interpreting,analysing, synthesizing, evaluating, oral discourse, research, critical analysis, critical literacy,metacognition,
and creative process

Understanding critical thinking Critical thinking involves thinking through

problematic situations about what to believe or how to act where the thinker makes

reasoned judgments that embody the qualities of a competent thinker.

Read the following document to gain a deeper understanding about thinking critically,which really refers to the quality of our thinking.

Introduction to critical thinking

Embedded skill development (Thinking Skills) across the curriculum

This video explains with interesting visuals and specific examples how to systematically integrate the skill and content dimensions of the curriculum to enhance students' understanding and increase their ability to think and learn more effectively. Prepared with the support of the Learning Network and the Council of Atlantic Ministers of Education and Training, the video explores (6:32 min)

_____Which questions are critical thinking questions? 

Who lives farthest away from here? 
What is your favorite beverage? 
Was John A MacDonald a good leader? 

The CT2 has emphasized three types of questions that are asked in classrooms

1. Questions that focus on a literal response
2. Questions that ask for an opinion
3. Questions that require a judgement using some form of criteria

Our goal is to provide opportunities and instruction to enable students to make decisions while gathering evidence, or interpreting and analyzing information and data. This requires questions that go beyond literal information and opportunities for students to develop criteria for their decisions. 


How can you lead the develop of Critical Thinking Approaches in your learning community?


See the presentation listed below. This outlines a presentation delivered in Alberta with embedded video clips.

See a series of videos showing teachers activiely working on implementing practices that promote higher level thinking.
http://www.scsk12.org/uf/TalentManagement/vlp/?page_id=192

• How can asking questions at different levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy develop higher-level thinking?
• What evidence was seen of higher-level thinking?
• Why is it essential to provide scaffolding and guidance for students?

Critical Thinking Professional Learning Session
https://education.alberta.ca/media/6852461/psd-big-bang-presentation.pdf
 
________ Using Blooms Taxonomy to promote thinking

See Details

There are  six levels of bloom's taxonomy, in order (lowest to highest), are knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. The stages reflect different aspects of the cognitive domain, which relate to how the brain processes information and thoughts.

The tools associated with Blooms Taxonomy can help us to facilitate questions that demand reasoned decisions. This tool emphasizes the importance of remembering information, but it also shows other aspects of thinking.

What does Bloom's Taxonomy look like? (variety of posters)

http://www.teachthought.com/learning/14-brilliant-blooms-taxonomy-posters-for-teachers/

What kind of questions can we create to promote different types of thinking?

http://www.bloomstaxonomy.org/Blooms%20Taxonomy%20questions.pdf

Reflection

How do these questions relate to the curriculum you teach?
What opportunities (scaffolding) do you need to provide so students can succeed with these types of questions?

_____How can I move forward in my classroom?

-creating frequent opportunities to develop skills

-teaching specific thinking tools to build competence

-supporting independent student use of the thinking tools


Listen to Lucy West as she talks about the discourse that occurs in many classrooms. 

How can changes in this discourse promote student thinking opportunities?
Can we model and practice the skills that lead to critical thinking?

 See the Language of Inquiry page to explore ideas relating to accountable talk. 

Tweaks to improve your questions

https://drive.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=http://tc2.ca/uploads/PDFs/TIpsForTeachers/ten_tweaks_for_questions.pdf

Invite students to go beyond providing a casual answer and to think more deeply 
about the topics they are studying. In other words we can change our questions to invite more reasoning (critical thinking). To be successful teachers need to model this in class and begin to create a success criteria for good answers.


Tools for thoughts
http://tc2.ca/teaching-resources/online-resource-collections/tools-for-thought.php

This modular-based collection (available free online) helps embed critical thinking tools into every lesson. The focus is on the use of images which relates very well to geography, history and language/English classrooms. 


Tools and Tips for Specific tasks
https://drive.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=http://tc2.ca/uploads/PDFs/TIpsForTeachers/T4T_tools_for_specific_tasks.pdf

When planning an activity or project,  identify a task that you’d 
like students to get good at (related to higher level thinking skills), check out this list and systematically embed the tool into your lessons.

Tools for thought - Eight Great Tools
https://drive.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=http://tc2.ca/uploads/PDFs/TIpsForTeachers/T4T_eight_great_tools.pdf

If you are looking for powerful tools to enhance your students’ thinking, 
here are eight suggestions that are useful curriculum.


Tools for Thought: Summary of tools
https://drive.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=http://tc2.ca/uploads/PDFs/TIpsForTeachers/TipsforTeachers-T4TSumary.pdf

Use this summary during your planning to help you embed critical thinking

into every lesson. This guide is useful without becoming a member):

_____Critical Thinking Challenges

See the samples of critical challenges primarily produced through the Critical Thinking Consortium. These samples reflect primary, junior and intermediate classrooms. 

_____What about Assessment?

Thinking is part of our Achievement Chart in Ontario so it is integral to learning. The achievement chart provides a rubric and teachers can develop success criteria with their classes and departments to ensure that students are evaluated fairly. The assessment process (As and For) provides students with opportunities to receive feedback to improve their learning.


Reflection

How does the achievement chart help us to focus on Thinking in our assessment and evaluation?

What aspects of thinking are focused on in the current units/course outline you are teaching?

How are you using assessment for/as learning to develop reasoning skills?

How can your grade team/department focus on developing "thinking skills" so students can  use content to make reasoned decisions?

_____How do I learn more?

One source is http://tc2.ca/
See some samples from their site or the series of critical challenges for SSHG.

Critical Challenge Examples

What makes you, you?
http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/ssoc5/html/whatmakesyouyou_cc.html


In this critical challenge, students develop and use criteria to select artifacts that represent their personal identities. Students share their artifacts with a partner and discuss their significance, before selecting the three most powerful artifacts that represent their most unique and important features.

The stories pictures tell
http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/ssoc4/html/storiespicturestell_cc.html

In this critical challenge, students examine historical images depicting key groups (e.g., Francophone, First Nations, Metis, Inuit, European immigrants) in urban and rural settings in Alberta. Students then tell a story about life in Albertas past, based on the evidence found in the visuals.
Creating a Commemorative Box
http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/ssoc5/html/creatingacommemorativebox_cc.html

Decorate the inside and outside of a commemorative box to show both the influence of a specific person on a community and the impact of that community on the person's identity.

A Land of Riches

http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/ssoc5/html/landofriches_cc.html

Determine the three most valuable natural resources in a region according to personal, economic and environmental contributions.

Appreciating the Legacies

http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/ssoc4/html/appreciatingthelegacies_cc.html

Identify especially notable contributions made by one of the groups living in Alberta during the 19th and early 20th centuries and express your appreciation, in a letter, to an appropriate cultural organization connected to the group.

Artifact Stories
http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/ssoc4/html/artifactstories_cc.html

Determine the stories that artifacts tell about life for early Albertans.
Write a persuasive letter to a curator explaining why a particular artifact deserves to be added to the museum's

Before and after Confederation

Was Confederation an extreme makeover or merely a paper change?
collection. http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/ssoc5/html/beforeandafterconfederation_cc.html

Students explore the implications of Confederation by determining whether three key decisions represented an extreme makeover or merely a paper change to life in Canada in the 20 years before and after 1867.

Contributors to Canada
http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/ssoc7/html/contributorstocanada_cc.html

In this two-part critical challenge, students research and assess the most significant contribution made to pre-Confederation British North America by assigned historical figures, then write brief epitaphs that praise the involvement and contributions of three of these figures. 

Rewriting historical events
http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/ssoc7/html/rewritinghistoricalevents_cc.html

In this critical challenge, students rewrite a pre-Confederation Canadian event, based on a specific perspective, using relevant and available evidence.

Relations during the fur trade
http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/ssoc7/html/relationsduringthefurtrade_cc.html

In this two-part critical challenge, students gather evidence to rate the extent to which four conditions for peaceful co-existence were present for an assigned group - First Nations, Metis, French or British - during the fur trade of the 1700s. Students then write a recipe for peaceful co-existence among the four groups, based on the perspective of their assigned group.

Where to put the people?
http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/ssoc5/html/wheretoputthepeople_cc.html

In this critical challenge, students consider criteria, based on such factors as transportation, natural resources, geography and climate, to determine the best location for a new community in an assigned region of Canada.

Perspectives on early contact
http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/ssoc7/html/perspectivesonearlycontact_cc.html

In this two-part critical challenge, students identify the perspective and message depicted in drawings of early contact between Europeans and First Nations people in pre-Confederation Canada. Students then redraw or describe the drawing, based on an alternative perspective.

Money, fashion and power
http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/ssoc7/html/moneyfashionpower_cc.html
In this critical challenge, students assess the degree to which money, fashion and power were motivating factors in the North American fur trade in the late 16th century.

    
Uprisings in the West
http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/ssoc7/html/uprisingsinthewest_cc.html

In this critical challenge, students research the events and results of the Red River resistance of 1869 and the second Metis uprising of 1885. Students then write and perform a monologue that reflects the experiences and perceived reactions of an individual who played a key role in these conflicts.