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Critical Thinking Question Patterns!
For Critical Thinking Examples Go to Critical Thinking Tests page
Critical Thinking Skills
The following are Critical Thinking Skills included in the
Day 4 Training material for Developed Curricula, MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, 2006:
The response may follow the general pattern of:
Stating the hypothesis/ issue
Providing Criteria
Supporting your position with evidence/ details/ examples
Conclusion
1. Analyzing
Separating or breaking a whole into parts to discover their
nature, functional and relationships.
"I studied it piece by piece"
"I sorted things out"
2. Applying Standards
Judging according to established personal, professional,
or social rules or criteria.
"I judged it according to.."
3. Discriminating
Recognizing differences and similarities among things or
situations and distinguishing carefully as to category or rank.
"I rank ordered the various_________"
"I grouped things together"
4. Information Seeking
Searching for evidence, facts, or knowledge by identifying
relevant sources and gathering objective, subjective, historical,
and current data from those sources
"I knew I needed to lookup/study..."
"I kept searching for data."
5. Logical Reasoning
Drawing inferences or conclusions that are supported in
or justified by evidence
"I deduced from the information that..."
"My rationale for the conclusion was..."
6. Predicting
Envisioning a plan and its consequences
"1 envisioned the outcome would be..."
"I was prepared for..."
7. Transforming Knowledge
Changing or converting the condition, nature, form,
or function of concepts among contexts
"I improved on the basics by------"
"I wondered if that would fit the situation of..."
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Some Critical Thinking Strategies of Critical Readers
1-Prediction: Good readers make predictions about thoughts,
events, outcomes and conclusions. This constant process helps
you become involved with the author's thinking.
2-Picture Form Images : Good readers make use of words and
ideas to build mental images that relate to the material. Images in
their heads are like movies to them and this increases understanding.
3-Relate /Connect Background Knowledge with new information :
by doing this you are synthesizing the material and making it part of
your knowledge .A phrase in a situation may remind you of
a personal experience.
4-Monitor / Control : Check understanding
Try always to monitor your ongoing comprehension to test
your understanding, keep an internal summary of the
or synthesis of the information.
5-Correct Gaps in understanding
Do not accept gaps in your RC, if there are gaps, stop reading
and resolve the problem. This may mean rereading a sentence,
looking back at a previous page. Try to re-analyze the task
to achieve better understanding.
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Critical thinkers have the following skills:
1. RATIONALITY ( REASONING) BEING RATIONAL
We are thinking critically when we
- Rely on reason rather than emotion
- Require evidence, ignore unknown evidence, and follow
evidence where it leads, and
- Are concerned more with finding the best explanation than
being right analyzing apparent confusion and asking questions.
2. SELF AWARENESS / BEING SELF-AWARE
We are thinking critically when we
- Weigh the influences of motives and bias, and
- Recognize our own assumptions, prejudices, biases,
or point of view.
3. HONESTY / BEING HONEST
We are thinking critically when we recognize emotional
impulses, selfish motives, immoral
( wicked) purposes, or other modes of self-deception .
4. OPEN -MINDEDNESS/ BEING OPEN -MINDED
We are thinking critically when we
- Evaluate all reasonable inferences
- Consider a variety of possible viewpoints or perspectives,
- Remain open to alternative interpretations
- Accept a new explanation, model , or paradigm because
it explains the evidence better, is simpler, or has fewer
inconsistencies or covers more data.
- Accept new priorities in response to a re- evaluation of
the evidence or reassessment of our real interests, and
- Do not reject unpopular views out of hand.
5. DISCIPLINE/ HAVING DISCIPLINE
We are thinking critically when we
- Are precise, meticulous, comprehensive, and exhaustive
- Resist manipulation and irrational appeals, and
- Avoid snap judgments .
6. JUDGMENT/BEING GOOD JUDGES
We are thinking critically when we
- Recognize the relevance and /or merit of alternative
assumptions and perspectives
- Recognize the extent and weight of evidence.