What is Critical Thinking? by Rachel Mentink-Ferraro https://padlet.com/rmentinkferraro/bxajdvs4oryc How can we help students develop and utilize critical thinking... en-us 2019-01-06 17:12:37 UTC 2023-03-28 16:58:19 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Lightdecrease.png What is critical thinking? rmentinkferraro https://padlet.com/rmentinkferraro/bxajdvs4oryc/wish/317675985 "Critical thinking is not just being critical."]]> 2019-01-06 17:17:24 UTC https://padlet.com/rmentinkferraro/bxajdvs4oryc/wish/317675985 Have your students evaluate the evidence in this article - It's amazing! rmentinkferraro https://padlet.com/rmentinkferraro/bxajdvs4oryc/wish/317698424 or is it...read the article and then see if you agree with the comment below. Feel free to add!]]> 2019-01-06 21:04:32 UTC https://padlet.com/rmentinkferraro/bxajdvs4oryc/wish/317698424 rmentinkferraro https://padlet.com/rmentinkferraro/bxajdvs4oryc/wish/317698570 2019-01-06 21:06:19 UTC https://padlet.com/rmentinkferraro/bxajdvs4oryc/wish/317698570 Understanding Critical Thinking is important when working with gifted learners. rmentinkferraro https://padlet.com/rmentinkferraro/bxajdvs4oryc/wish/317699950 I agree - but all students should be challenged and allowed to come up with their own questions within the defined parameters of the content - gifted students may fulfill what you are looking for and should be allowed to challenge themselves with a related topic.

Critical thinking should peek interest in a topic and create questions from answers. Gifted students should be allowed to take critical thinking to their level and run with it – but so should all students. Answers should have substance. If it doesn’t, students may be bored with topic and need to move on to something else. For instance, a close examination into why something happened or how the result influenced changes in society allow all students, not just gifted ones, to really connect prior learning with current content. In my US History class (8thgrade), we often ask questions such as: What effect did Manifest Destiny have on all levels of society? How did the telegraph influence future inventions? How was taxation by the British Parliament similar to Alexander Hamilton’s financial plan? These questions often lead to more questions – students create flow charts from the answers.

What do you think? Please post below. 
            
]]> 2019-01-06 21:20:55 UTC https://padlet.com/rmentinkferraro/bxajdvs4oryc/wish/317699950 Critical Thinking from the beginning rmentinkferraro https://padlet.com/rmentinkferraro/bxajdvs4oryc/wish/317700289 I begin my classes each day with a warm up question from the previous day's material that forces students to analyze the information they were given. Some examples:
1. Why were the Pennsylvania farmers so upset over the Whisky Tax from Alexander Hamilton's Financial Plan?
2. How does geography lead to sectionalism?

What other possible warm ups could be useful to students critically thinking about material?]]> 2019-01-06 21:24:38 UTC https://padlet.com/rmentinkferraro/bxajdvs4oryc/wish/317700289 Include the whole class! rmentinkferraro https://padlet.com/rmentinkferraro/bxajdvs4oryc/wish/317700493 I usually pose a question once material is presented to get student's gut reactions. For instance, as a closure debate, I asked if students believed Andrew Jackson should stay on the $20 bill. 

How do you keep students reflecting on the material?]]> 2019-01-06 21:27:26 UTC https://padlet.com/rmentinkferraro/bxajdvs4oryc/wish/317700493 Extension learning opportunities rmentinkferraro https://padlet.com/rmentinkferraro/bxajdvs4oryc/wish/317700897 Often, I use primary sources for students to evaluate critically to bring them deeper into a topic and feel closer to the people involved. Since I'm an 8th grade teacher, we focus on US history so I have given letters from Jamestown, George Washington, excerpts from the Federalist Papers, and Abraham Lincoln's first and second Innagural Addresses. 

In your content, how can you engage your students to think critically about a topic?]]> 2019-01-06 21:33:16 UTC https://padlet.com/rmentinkferraro/bxajdvs4oryc/wish/317700897 And let them go... rmentinkferraro https://padlet.com/rmentinkferraro/bxajdvs4oryc/wish/317701320 At the end of class, I always check for understanding of the material presented that day. Often, I give an excerpt of an article about the topic and let the students compare the information with their notes. It allows them to evaluate the source, develop an opinion of who the writing was for, find the thesis statement, and critically look at the evidence. Sometimes they develop further questions by the content of the article. 

How do you check for understanding?]]> 2019-01-06 21:38:04 UTC https://padlet.com/rmentinkferraro/bxajdvs4oryc/wish/317701320