THINKING ABOUT THINKING CONSTRUCTING LOGICAL SUPPORT

By Kay M. SagmillerOSU Center for Teaching and Learning

What thinking skills do your students lack and why does this concern you?

Workshop Objectives

1. There are many different types of thinking

2. Each type of thinking must be taught and practiced

3. Students’ development of thinking is within teachers’ locus of control…but will require shifts in practice

What are types of critical thinking?• Socratic questioning• Analysis within any discipline• Ethical reasoning• Inductive Reasoning• Deductive Reasoning• Detecting bias and propaganda• Reading to discover information and ideas • Writing• Self-awareness of motives, bias, assumptions• Problem solving

ComparisonClassificationAbstracting

What influences whether students think critically?

• Attitudes and perceptions about the learning environment

• Habits of Mind

• Content knowledge

• Prior experience with critical thinking• Degree of clarity about what is expected or needed

Students’ Attitudes and Perceptions

1. The classroom climate• Do they have a sense of comfort and order?• Do they feel accepted by teachers and peers?

2. Classroom tasks• Are the tasks valuable and interesting?• Do they believe they have the ability and resources to

complete the task?• Are the task requirements clear?

Habits of Mind

• Is aware of own thinking• Makes effective plans• Is are of, and uses necessary resources• Is sensitive to feedback• Is able to evaluate the effectiveness of personal actions• Is accurate and seeks accuracy• Is clear and seeks clarity• Is open-minded• Restrains impulsivity• Takes a position when the situation warrants it• Is sensitive to the feelings and level of knowledge of others

How do people learn to think?

Model Shape Internalize

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Complex problems require more than one type of thinking…

• Analysis Problem Solving

• Constructing Support

• Comparison Classification

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Teaching Thinking

1. Make thinking explicit by “thinking aloud”

2. Model and demonstrate the steps in the thinking process

3. Scaffold students’ practice

4. Provide specific feedback: reinforce critical steps and identify difficult aspects of the thinking process

Let’s try it!

Constructing Logical Support

1. Identify a claim that requires support (an opinion)

2. Provide sufficient or appropriate evidence (logical reasoning)

3. Elaborate and qualify the evidence

4. Incorporate other appeals of persuasion: personality, tradition and rhetoric

Air travel is the safest mode of transportation. Each day, over 2,000 domestic flights occur in the United States without incident. From a statistical perspective, you could fly every day for 29 years before ever encountering a life-threatening situation during a flight. Each year 50,000 people are killed in automobile accidents, whereas only 250 people are killed in airplane accidents. The percentage of people killed in railway accidents each year is at least five times the percentage of people killed in airplane accidents. Although airplane travel is safe, there are some conditions that must be met to keep it safe: all aircraft older than 20 years must be inspected twice as frequently as those planes less than 20 years old and the frequency of flying cannot exceed its present level at the major airports in five cities: Denver, Newark, Chicago, Atlanta and L.A.

Teaching Students to Construct Support1. Use “think aloud” strategy to illustrate a well-

constructed argument-clearly indicate strategies used to persuade readers: facts, evidence, examples and appeals

2. Create opportunities to practice analyzing and constructing supportive arguments using a variety of tasks

3. Scaffold support. Provide specific feedback on how to improve

To truly reform education, teachers need work environments that allow them to discuss, collaborate, and practice new strategies without fear of professional repercussion. At present, school districts have as many as seven days of inservice education scheduled during the school year. On these days teachers are often held captive listening to a hired consultant whom they will never see again. If we are serious about enhancing the quality of teaching and learning, teachers, administrators and policy makers must become aware of broader conceptions of professional development.

What standards do you use when evaluating thinking?

Workshop Objectives

1. There are many different types of thinking

2. Each type of thinking must be taught and practiced

3. Students’ development of thinking is within teachers’ locus of control…but will require shifts in practice