This paper helps in identifying two teaching strategies that would facilitate critical thinking and reflective, evidence based practice. Gives a practical example of each strategy; describes how you would apply the strategy in the learning environment, and how you would evaluate the learning outcomes. Supports the argument with at least one article from a professional journal.
Teaching Critical Thinking
Critical thinking has been explained as the capability to evaluate and assess information and facts. Critical thinkers establish important issues and concerns, construct them clearly, collect and examine pertinent data, make use of abstract concepts, contemplate open-mindedly, and also communicate efficiently with other individuals (Duron et al., 2006).
I recommend the following 4 teaching strategies to be the most relevant to critical thinking. (We will only discuss two in detail here):
Utilize higher order thinking questions during instruction and assessment
Teach the process
Adapt tasks and assessments
Incorporate games into lessons
Teaching Strategy 1: Utilize higher order thinking questions during instruction and assessment
"Teachers who have been great questioners inspire their learners, promote higher level thinking, support creativeness, as well as improve self-concept in their learners and also themselves." (Johnson, 1990)
Teaching that encourages critical thinking utilizes questioning methods that demand students to evaluate, synthesize, and also assess information and facts to resolve issues and make judgements as opposed to simply repeat details. (Hemming, 2000)
Use Questions
Bloom's Taxonomy:
Categorizes the kinds of thinking learners do straight into six intellectual domains.
This had been based on Duron and colleagues (2006) who stated that there had been 6 levels in the intellectual domain; each one is linked to a totally different level of intellectual capability. Practical knowledge centred on recalling as well as reciting information and facts. Comprehension centred on relating and then organizing recently discovered facts. Application centred on implementing information based on a guideline or theory in a precise circumstance. Assessment had been described as critical thinking centred on elements as well as their functionality within the whole. Synthesis had been described as critical thinking centred on placing elements together with each other to form a brand new and unique whole. Evaluation had been described as critical thinking centred upon valuing as well as developing conclusions based on information. Within the context of the paper, critical thinking has been presumed to transpire in the event that students have been asked to perform within the Assessment, Synthesis, along with Evaluation levels of Bloom's taxonomy (Duron et al., 2006).
Knowledge and also comprehension queries and thinking have been probably the simplest forms.
Evaluation as well as synthesis has been by far the most complicated forms of thinking and also questioning.
For instance, Evaluating demands in-depth reflectivity, criticism as well as assessment. Example questions consist of: Which could be much better... How will you prove... How does one prioritize... Would you agree with this conclusion... Precisely what has been most significant... What are usually the implications if... How efficient have been... What have been the benefits and drawbacks of... What information and facts could you use to support your perspective? What have been the constraints of... (Wyatt and O'Malley, 2011)
Teaching Strategy 2: Adapt tasks and assessments
A few of the simple strategies to undertake this particular teaching strategy consist of:
Adjust true/false items to ensure that learners need to express how they can make false statements correct.
Compose multiple-choice statements that demand critical thinking. For instance, a question which asks learners to determine the example that best relates a particular theory requires additional critical thinking and evaluation than the usual query that asks learners to determine the right term for a specified meaning.
Regularly make use of constructed reaction items (e.g., brief answer, composition, and fill in the blanks).
Have learners evaluate one another's work (Wyatt and O'Malley, 2011).
Concrete-Representational-Abstract Instructional Strategy:
Concrete Phase - the "doing" phase. Utilizes concrete items to design issues or ideas (e.g., yellow and red chips, fraction bars, pattern blocks, base-ten blocks, cubes, as well as geometric figures).
Representational Phase - the "seeing" phase. Utilizes representations associated with items to design issues to change the concrete right into a representational (semi-concrete) stage, which might include drawing photos; utilizing circles, dots, as well as tallies; or perhaps utilizing signs to mark photos for counting.
Abstract Phase - the "symbolic" phase. Designs the idea at the symbolic level, utilizing just numbers, notations, as well as symbols to signify the amount of circles or sets of circles. For instance: utilizes operation signs (-, +,) to point subtraction, addition, multiplication, or even division (Wyatt and O'Malley, 2011).
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