CRITICAL

THINKING
Bonnie Wetherbee 2010
For every problem under the sun,
there is a solution or there is
none. If there be one, think til
you find it. If there be none, then
never mind it.”
 A Brain Puzzle
 You're in a room with two doors. There's a
guard at each door. One door is the exit,
but behind the other door is something
that will kill you. You're told that one guard
always tells the truth and the other guard
always lies. You don't know which guard
is which. You are allowed to ask one
question to either of the guards to
determine which door is the exit. What
question should you ask?
Ready for the answer?

Ask either guard what door the other guard
would say is the exit, then choose the opposite
door.
If you ask the guard who always tells the truth,
he knows the other guard would lie, so he'll
point you to the door leading to death. If you ask
the guard who always lies, he knows the other
guard would truthfully show you the exit, so he'll
lie and point you to the door leading to death.
IS THIS CRITICAL THINKING?
 WHAT IS CRITICAL
THINKING?
 A set of skills?
 A headache?
 Problem solving?
 A desirable trait?
 A way to think?
 A way to live?
 Indefinable?
 An educational mandate?
DEFINE IT IF YOU CAN!
 “Critical Thinking is not a skill set especially as one of the group
knowledge, skill, attitude¨... ” (Bailin,Case, Coombs, and Daniels)
 “ ...Knowledge of the methods of logical inquiry and reasoning”
(Glaser 1941, cited in Fisher 2001; 6)
 “Not a mental process such things as classifying, inferring,
observing, evaluating, synthesizing and
hypothesizing. (Kirby and Kuykendall (1991)
 “the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully
conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating
information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience,
reflection, reasoning, or communication (Scriven & Paul, 2006),
WHAT IS CRITICAL
THINKING?
 A set of skills?
 A headache?
 Problem solving?
 A desirable trait?
 A way to think?
 A way to live?
 Indefinable?
 An educational mandate?
Educational Mandate
 Yes.
 Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Colombia,
Brazil, Uruguay
 The United States, The European
Commonwealth, Australia
 As educators we are being asked
to teach it...Whatever it is!
How do we teach it if
we can´t agree on a
definition?
 Use your head!
 Think critically and find truth
wherever you can.
CAN IT BE TAUGHT?

 NO . . AND YES!

 To teach thinking skills outside of a context is to

teach about thinking…

 To encourage questioning, model open-mindedness,

challenge ideas and exhibit curiosity based on
context is to set the stage for good thinking.
 A SIMPLE PLAN
 SET THE CLIMATE for learning
as well as for questioning
 QUESTION
 REFLECT
 QUESTION
 REFLECT.....
 SET THE CLIMATE
 “It really boils down to whether teachers
are creating an environment that
stimulates critical inquiry.” McMillen
(1986) MODEL
 Intellectual & emotional safety
 Encouragement of curiosity
 Listening skills
 Respect
 Time for response & reflection
 QUESTIONING:
THE HEART OF
CRITICAL THINKING

 Within the subject context, teach and

practice Bloom´s Levels of Thinking and
Questions
Lower levels
 Remembering: who what where when
why how *describe

 Understanding: *retell

 Applying: How is...an example of...?

How is...related to...? Why
is...significant?
Higher order
questioning
 Analyzing
Classify...according to... Outline/diagram...
Compare/contrast with...?What evidence

 Evaluating *
What do you think about...? What is the most
important...? Place the following in order of
priority... How would you decide about...?
A Product?
 Creating
 * What would you predict/infer from...?
 * What ideas can you add to...?
 * How would you create/design a new...?
 * What might happen if you combined...?
 * What solutions would you suggest for...?
Are you asking the right
question?
 Every day, a cyclist crosses the border
between Spain and France carrying a
bag. No matter how much custom officials
investigate him, they do not know what he
is smuggling. Do you?
Possible answers

 Bicycles or bags!
Point of View?
 There is a man on an island prison, he
cannot swim. One day he escapes using
nothing but himself. There is no bridge.
How does he do it?
An answer

 He escapes in the winter

when the body of water
surrounding the island is
frozen. He simply walks
away.
 Do you have underlying
assumptions?
 A boy was rushed to the hospital
emergency room. The ER doctor
saw the boy and said, "I cannot
operate on this boy. He is my
son." But the doctor was not the
boy's father. How could that be?
An answer

 The doctor was his mother.

 THE SIMPLE PLAN
 SET THE CLIMATE for learning
as well as for questioning
 QUESTION
 REFLECT
 QUESTION
 REFLECT.....
REFLECT

 TIME TO
THINK,
TALK,
ANNOTATATE,
WRITE
THEN. . .

Question again

Think again

Reflect again
AND FROM HERE?
 "...not merely logic, not merely
problem-solving, not merely
everyday reasoning, decision
makirig, probabilistic reasoning, it
must also include to feel deep, to
empathize and to care" (McCarthy,
1996; 231).
 THE DEBATE CONTINUES!
QUESTIONS?. . .


 . . . ALWAYS!!!