Chapter Two: Characterizing
Critical Thinking
=Applications=
I. Introduction
I begin the theoretical part of this chapter by examining the meanings of
'critical' and 'thinking'. After a systematic review of various definitions of
'critical thinking', I serve up the definition that will underpin the remainder
of the handbook. I close by supplying an organized list of skills that figure
into the process of critical thinking. In the applications part to follow,
I offer teaching points and instructional tips related to an understanding of
critical thinking and its attendant skills, along with an annotated bibliography
of various books that concern critical thinking and critical thinking
pedagogy.
II. Teaching Points
- Introduce and use the technical terms. Critical thinking, like most subjects,
has its own technical terminology. Dont shy away from using it in the classroom. It
serves a number of valuable purposes. First, terms like "argument",
"conclusion", and "valid" are introduced to mark distinct conceptual
boundaries that you must respect if you are to do a competent job of assessing pieces of
reasoning. Second, they fit together into a coherent fabric that should be delivered as
one complete bolt and not as a collection of random swatches. Finally, when you use the
terminology, you signal to the students that you are talking about critical thinking
again. The more they hear these terms, the more ingrained the concepts become, and the
more likely it is that they will emerge from your classroom with skills that can be taken
and used in other classes.
- Clearly state the goals of critical thinking instruction. It is crucial to
state the goal of this exercise in terms that appeal to the students, and to do this
early. For instance, indicate that critical thinkersi.e., those who can spot
arguments, assess them, and respond with understandingare in control of their own
belief systems; they are not (often) victims of big advertising budgets and fallacious
appeals, and so are not at great risk from false beliefs. Related to this is the fact that
they should walk away from the experience with what amounts to a BS detector, i.e., a set
of concepts and skills that will enable them to spot bad arguments when they are
confronted by them or are considering them. It is a cognitive tool that they can use to
great effect in most of their classes in their lives outside the classroom. It isn't
often that one has a chance to acquire such a tool.
- Don't go overboard. Of course, critical thinking is not a silver bulletit
has not cured cancer (yet), it will not eliminate falsehood, and it will not enable all of our
students to get a 4.0 GPA. Dont overstate the value of it, as students will see
through this as if it were glass. Further, it is the sort of thing that should be used
wisely. There are situations when deep criticism might be nice, but is not possible
because of limits on time or energy. Further, there are times when you should wait to
assess arguments, or perhaps knuckle under for the greater good. Nevertheless, on balance,
the ability to think for yourself is a good thingit empowers people, returning
control over the life to the one who lives it.
- Spend time describing and defending your definition of "critical
thinking." Be open about how you choose to define critical thinking.
Definitions can be constraining, but they can also be useful as a touchstone for the
students. It also helps to use the definition to create a framework for instruction that
informs the pedagogical moves you make in class; that is, use the definition to motivate a
conceptual framework, and then use the framework to set up the way in which you introduce
the critical thinking skills over the course of the year.
- Critical thinkers aren't (necessarily) jerks. Emphasize the fact that you can
be a critical thinker without being a critical person. Many students do not like the
thought that their education might transform them into their parents, i.e., hypercritical
people who cant take it easy about anything. (Or so Im told.) Criticism of the
relevant sort is criticism of an argument relative to a standard. It is not of
people or their ways. Critical thinking is about building oneself
upstrengthening the hold one has on ones own beliefsand not about
running other people down.
- Be mindful of opportunities to mention critical thinking. You
may set aside class meetings to focus on critical thinking, but you should not restrict your
discussion of it to those days. There are many skills that count as critical
thinking skills---see the Theory section of this chapter for a short list---and they are
often employed by students and instructors in exercises, discussions, and other contexts
where the focus is not on critical thinking. Mentioning the connection between the
work done in these contexts and critical thinking is crucial to the goal of creating
critical thinkers, i.e., people who can intuitively launch into argument analysis when the
need arises. It is also worthwhile to note when critical thinking is not
particularly helpful. Reinforcement, both positive and negative, is a necessary part
of enabling students to internalize these skills and then apply them efficiently both in
your class and outside of it. (Unfortunately, they may not be reinforced much
outside of your class, so there is a burden available, should you choose to shoulder it.)
- Study the skills list and emphasize them when and where appropriate.
This is a development of (F). Read the list of skills in the theory
section, and supplement it with other skills you regard as important.
Whenever you find yourself and your class in one of the three critical
thinking stages, have your teaching involve those skills that are
relevant. You should mention them, model them, and walk the students
through application of them. The more explicit emphasis you give to
these skills, the more ingrained they will become in the minds of your
students. (For more on this, see the discussion of rubrics in
the Application section of Ch. 8.)
II. Instructional Ideas
- Work on the big picture. Students need to learn the value of critical thinking
first hand. Most have done it from time to time, but they likely have not done it
systematically or put much thought into when they should do it. Put students in positions
to determine where critical thinking is necessary. Work on assessing problems and asking
questions. Here are some ideas for how this might be done:
- Have students come to class with two or three questions about the readings. If the
reading is one that contains reasoning and a conclusionthis could be a fictional
piece, of coursethen have them identify the conclusion and ask questions about the
reasons offered for that conclusion. Have them submit the questions, evaluate them, and
return them.
- Have the students provide one or two sentence summaries of the point of readings written
to press a point. This could be done in a free write at the beginning of class, or it
could be handed in when they arrive in class. Work on identifying the conclusion first,
and then work on identifying the conclusion and the reasons.
- Have the students tell you if a reading contains critical thinking, or if they feel the
need to think critically about a reading. Once they are familiar with what it is, through
your presentation of the definition, lead a discussion devoted to identifying contexts in
which (i) producers of text or speech engage in critical thinking (e.g., columns, op/ed
pages, editorial cartoons, speeches, debates, etc.), or (ii) consumers of text or speech
should engage in critical thinking (e.g., watching television, watching or reading
advertising, reading newspapers or magazines, etc.).
- Work on your own collective definition of 'critical thinking'.
You should work out the definition of this term that you find most helpful,
either by becoming comfortable with one of the definitions in the
theoretical part of this chapter or by working up your own. This could
be done collectively in the context of a class discussion.
- Have the students develop their own definitions, in a 10 minute free
write before this discussion. Ask them to muse on the meaning of
the term and work toward expressing what they understand by it. In
discussion after this exercise, work with what they have developed by
asking for illustration and defense. Be sure to do this in light
of the meanings of the specific terms. (This is perhaps best done
in classes where critical thinking as a topic is part of the stated
content of the course, e.g., Core Discovery courses.)
- This could be done as a before/after exercise---early in the first
part of the course and late in the latter part. Alternatively, it
might be done early if the students are familiar with the term, or late
as a way of checking to make sure that the goals associated with
critical thinking skills instruction have been achieved.
- Ask your students occasionally if and how critical thinking is
appropriate in non-obvious contexts. If you have made a commitment
to teaching critical thinking skills, you will select texts for the purpose
and set aside class time to accommodate lecture and discussion.
However, if critical thinking instruction is only a part of your pedagogical
efforts, there will be other course modules that are not designed with it in
mind. However, it is not a good idea to hermetically seal critical
thinking instruction inside independent modules. One way to avoid this
is to bring it up from time to time when you are working with different
texts and doing different things. You might make a point of working
this into your lectures or into the discussions that you facilitate.
This can be done when the lecture or discussion is evaluative or because the
text you're studying can be read in an evaluative way. Alternatively,
you might try to locate the text you are studying in a different context for
the purpose of motivating a bit of critical thinking. (E.g.,
"What sort of life does this novel recommend as the good life, and does
it defend that recommendation?")
- Prepare a handout that introduces the principal critical thinking
skills. Early in teaching critical thinking, you should introduce
your students to the principal skills that will be involved in the
process. Consider an analogy with soccer---in order to learn how to
play, you must learn to dribble, pass, trap, shoot, etc.; however, before
learning the nuances of each of these, you must first learn what they are,
how they are related to one another, etc. The same is true of critical
thinking, and a handout can help your students make progress toward
awareness of the skills that figure into the process. If one is to
work on these skills, one must know what they are; further, knowledge of
them can help a student new to the study of critical thinking know
when they are engaged in the process or when it is appropriate.
- Use the Socratic method when teaching the skills. You will
likely want to model critical thinking in class, calling attention to the
process while you do it. Once the students are familiar with the
skills and their employment, you can work through a critical thinking
example by asking the students to identify the necessary skills and indicate
how they are to be employed. You might prefer to have the students do
this themselves in groups.
- Develop goal formulation skills. What are the goals of those who engage in
critical thinking? Often text or speech, containing the output of critical thinking, is
produced as a means of achieving these. Ask students to take essays or readings and
contextualize them; that is, ask them to determine what purpose they might have been
produced to serve. This can be done through short essays, or through group work. It is
often done to positive effect in synthetic circumstances, that is, circumstances in which
students are asked to bring together a number of different writings.
- Have students consciously reflect on the criteria and standards they
select and apply. During the criteria identification and option
evaluation stages, encourage students to reflect consciously on the
standards they identify and how they use them. Are the standards
context-specific? Are they drawn from the specific subject matter
used? Again, this should be a point of emphasis during discussion, but
it can also be part of a written exercise. For instance, you might
make an argument, or pull one from a text, and then ask them to write a
two-part reaction. In the first part, they are to evaluate it, and in
the second, they are to comment on the standards they used in the first part
and why. This will help students develop an explicit understanding of
the stages of the critical thinking process, an understanding that will
support them as they apply these skills on their own in other circumstances.
- Create "self-reflective" groups. Break the students
up into groups to solve a problem or analyze and evaluate an argument.
Designate one person the "reporter" for the group, but instead of
having this person report results, have them comment on the way that the
group worked. For example, how did they identify possible
solutions? By consensus? How did they evaluate these? How
did they test these? Etc. Thus, these are process
reporters and not product reporters.
- Call attention to places where critical thinking is not in
evidence and explain why. Have the discussion mentioned in A.3 include some mention of
contexts in which critical thinking is not generally found, and why not?
III. Annotated Bibliography of Readings Available at the UI
Library or via ILL
What follows is a bibliography of various books on critical thinking. A good many of
these are located in the library, but some are only available via ILL. (The ILL books are
marked as such.) The materials are listed alphabetically by author's name.
- Learning Through Problem Solving, Daniel Apple, et al. (Eds.). This
book contains many examples and problems in mathematics that could be used for
teaching a variety of critical thinking skills. (Or, alternatively, it could teach
problem solving skills that will come in handy as a part of the suite of critical thinking
skills you might want your students to acquire.) It is pitched mainly at college
instructors, but still worth a look if you teach math.
- Teaching for Thinking, T.G. Aylesworth. An older book, from 1969. It is similar
to Hullfish & Smith, although with more examples. Thee are several "Helping
Learners to ..." chapters devoted to topics like identifying problems, formulating
hypotheses, testing hypotheses, and drawing conclusions.
- (ILL) Metaphors and Symbols: Forays Into Language, Roland Bartel. A book-length
study of the role of metaphor in society and literature. Consideration of metaphor at a
number of levels, including the semiotic and semantic. This book would be useful for one
interested in a project on critical thinking in literature studies or, more specifically,
a project that involved investigation of conversational implicature.
- (ILL) Developing a Thinking Skills Program, Barry Beyer. A very good reference
volume for this class. If this were still in print, I would consider using it as a book
for this class. This includes model programs, curriculum suggestions, strategies, grade
level keys, consideration of thinking skills that could be taught, etc. Definitely worth a
look whatever your project.
- (ILL) Improving Student Thinking, Barry Beyer. Now this could have
been a textbook for this class---indeed, I will use this when I teach the class again. The
book is organized into four parts: "Providing a Thoughtful Classroom,"
"Making Thinking Visible and Explicit," "Guiding and Supporting Student
Thinking," and "Integrating Instruction in Thinking and Subject Matter."
There are several chapter in here that you should look at, e.g., Chs. 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9,
& 10. Definitely look at this book.
- Inquiry in the Social Studies Classroom, B.K. Beyer. This is a must see
for social science teachers. It includes a very nice introductory chapter, "The
Nature of Inquiry", which is worthwhile for anyone. It includes a lot of examples.
Furthermore, the theory and practical applications are well integrated.
- (ILL) Practical Strategies for the Teaching of Thinking, Barry Beyer. Another
excellent reference volume. This isn't as focused on the practical issues of course design
as Developing a Thinking Skills Program, but it is still useful. The focus here
is more theoretical, and so dovetails nicely with the work we'll do during the first two
week. This contains a number of sections that are relevant to the goal of introducing
critical thinking skills in the classroom; Chapter One is especially good. Definitely
worth a look, perhaps during the first couple of weeks.
- (ILL) Teaching Thinking Skills: A Handbook, Barry Beyer. This dovetails nicely
with the other Beyer books. There are chapters on identifying thinking skills and
designing and teaching them. There are also sample materials and reports from teachers who
have implemented the teaching of thinking skills into their classrooms. Highly
recommended.
- Asking the Right Questions, M. Neil Browne & Stuart M. Keeley. This book
outlines a question-based approach to critical thinking instruction. This treatment seems
to dovetail nicely with the approach I've recommended in our class -- see Chs. 3, 4, 5, 7,
and 11. There is good discussion of issues relevant to non-deductive arguments, with
science applications -- see Chs. 8, 9, and 10. Well worth a look.
- Education for Effective Thinking, W.H. Burton, et al. This is an introductory
text in critical thinking skills from 1960. It includes the following parts:
"Reflective Thinking: Definition, Description, and Attitudes Necessary",
"The Thinking Process", and "The Teaching Process & Learning to
Think." It includes exercises and examples for teachers in a wide variety of
areas: general mathematics, elementary education, language arts, social science,
mathematics, natural science, etc. It is worth a look, although perhaps you would want to
look at it after you have put your own framework in place.
- Thinking in the Classroom, P. Chance.(1986) A survey of the various thinking
education movements out there: Philosophy for Children (see "Links"),
Odyssey, Productive Thinking Program, etc. Chance discusses each in detail, remarking on
the upside and downside of each. The book opens with a good introductory essay on the
Thinking Movement.
- (ILL) Questioning: A Path to Critical Thinking, Leila Christenbury and Patricia
Kelly. This short pamphlet contains a discussion of Socratic technique, i.e., use of
well-designed questions to encourage students to think on their own. Contains tips on
methods of effective questioning.
- Patterns of Thinking, J.H. Clarke. This is a relatively new (1990) discussion
of critical thinking for the teacher. It is also relatively theoretical. The
sections are: "Teaching Thinking", "Frames for Inductive
Thinking", "Frames for Deductive Thinking", and "Beyond Graphic
Organizers." There are several chapters in each section, and there are examples
in each chapter.
- Writing to Learn Mathematics and Science, P. Connolly, et al. (Eds.). This is a
collection of essays. It includes the following parts: "Defining Problems,
Seeing Possibilities", "Writing as Problem Solving", "Classroom
Applications: What Works and How", "Programmatic Policies & Practices",
and "The Context of Learning". If you are a teacher of math or science, look at
this book.
- Imagine That, David Considine, Gail Haley, & Lyn Lacy. This is a book
designed for use in the teaching of literature, especially at the elementary level. There
are many suggestions for specific lessons. This is worth a look if you plan to teach art
or literature to younger kids.
- Building Social Problem Solving Skills, M.J. Elias, et al. (Eds.). This book
has to do with "areas of self-control, social awareness, group participation, and
interpersonal decision making." It includes the following parts: "Conceptual
Foundations of Social Problem-Solving", "The Social Problem-Solving Approach in
Action", "Key Elements of Program Implementation", "Guidelines for the
Practitioner", and "Adapting the Social Problem-Solving Approach to Diverse and
Changing Settings." If you teach a social science course, this might be worth a look.
It is focused on the classroom.
- Understanding Arguments, by Robert Fogelin & Walter Sinnott-Armstrong. This
is a lengthy, philosophical introduction to argument analysis. It includes sections
on rhetoric, logic (propositional, categorical, and quantificational), inductive
reasoning, analysis, and the fallacies. I use this as the text in my Critical
Thinking class, and I am very pleased with it. Much of what you read in the Handbook
is influenced by the material in this book.
- (ILL) Activities to Promote Critical Thinking, Ed. by Jeff Golub. A definite
must-see. The essays are short, but many are relevant to the work we'll do in here. Here
is a list of essays that you might want to skim (at least): 1.6, 1.7, 1.8; 2.1, 2.3, 2.4;
3.1, 3.4, 3.5, 3.8; 4.2, 4.3, 4.4; 5.3, 5.4. Among other things, there are ideas for using
debate, mock trials, math writing, and philosophy in teaching critical thinking to
students at a variety of levels.
- Thinking Skills Instruction: Concepts and Techniques, Marcia Heiman and Joshua
Slomianko (Eds.). This is a collection of essays that cover a wide range of topics. They
also cover the spectrum from theoretical to practical. All the big names of the critical
movement are in here. You might want to take a look and see if any of the titles relate to
the work you're doing.
- (ILL) Critical Thinking Skills, M. Heiman & J. Slomianko. This is a long (~
43 page) pamphlet on the nature of critical thinking. It includes three parts:
"What Is Critical Thinking?", "Efforts to Improve Students' Thinking
Skills", and "Improving Students' Critical Thinking Skills: Some
Exercises". There are 20 pages or so of exercises. It's worth a look.
- Varieties of Thinking, V.A. Howard. This is a collection of essays. It
includes papers such as "Understanding Critical Thinking" and "Thinking on
Paper: A Philosopher's Look at Writing". It is pretty theoretical and written
primarily for scholars in the field, although there may be some things in here for your
theory section.
- Reflective Thinking, H.G. Hullfish & P.G. Smith. This is an older critical
thinking textbook written for the teacher. The book includes chapters entitled, "A
Theory of Learning for Teachers", "The Classroom as Reflective Continuity",
and "Each Classroom May Be Reflective".
- (ILL) Teaching Thinking Through Effective Questioning, Francis Hunkins. A
book-length discussion of question-based approaches to the teaching of thinking. This
volume contains information on the use of questions to lead, direct, and help students
learn to think for themselves. Both this volume and the Christenbury pamphlet would be
worth a look if you consider question-based approaches in the course modules you design.
- Teaching Thinking Skills: English/Language Arts, B.F. Jones, et al.This is very
useful if you are a teacher of literature, writing, grammar, etc. There is a bit of
theoretical stage setting, but this is followed by exercises and worked examples, focusing
on content and skills.
- Teaching for Thinking, Keefe & Walberg (Eds.). This is a recent collection
of essays, with pieces by many of the big names in the critical thinking movement. The
sections are "Curriculum Development", "Teaching and Assessment", and
"Perspectives". In the first of these, you will find the following essays:
"Thinking Skills in the Curriculum", "Nurturing Thoughtfulness", and
"A Rationale and Framework for Teaching Thinking Tactics". Well worth a
look. (There is also a very helpful essay by Beyer in the last section.
- Developing Decision-Making Skills, Dana Kurfman (Ed.). This is a collection of
essays with a social studies slant. There are essays on thinking skills (1 & 2),
decision-making skills at the elementary level (6), decision-making skills at the
secondary level (7), and a model for the introduction of thinking skills instruction into
the classroom (8). This is worth reviewing, particularly (1) and (2).
- Thinking, Reasoning, and Writing, Elaine Maimon, Barbara Nodine, & Finbarr
O'Connor (Eds.). This is a collection of essays, collected into three broad groups:
thinking, reasoning, and writing (go figure). Within these, there are useful essays: a
model of a mature thinker, a discussion of informal logic, and the use of fallacies to
criticize arguments. The essays are more theoretical than practical, but it might be worth
a look as you think about what skills to implement.
- The Future of Thinking, J. Mason & P. Washington. The subtitle is
"Rhetoric and Liberal Arts Teaching." It is mainly theoretical and should be of
interest to teachers of composition. The last chapter, "The Future of Thinking",
is a nice summary of the work in the book as a whole. It is mainly pitched at college
instructors.
- (ILL) Cultivating Thinking in English and the Language Arts, Robert Marzano. A
short book that concerns four types of thinking and the role that the language arts can
play in conveying them to students. These types include: contextual thinking, thinking
that aids meaning construction, thinking that builds knowledge, and thinking that spurs
higher-order learning. The discussions of cognitive structures and contextual thinking are
worth a look. A more theoretical account, but one that could be useful in bridging the gap
between some of the more theoretical discussions during the first two weeks and the
practical concerns of the third.
- Dimensions of Thinking, Ed. by Robert Marzano, et al. A good book on thinking
in general that could serve as a companion volume to the Fogelin text. It addresses a
variety of types of thinking in addition to critical thinking. The chapters on
critical and creative thinking, thinking processes, and core thinking skills are
particularly useful. Look at this during the first two weeks if you get the chance. The
last chapter (Ch. 7) would be worth a look early in the third week for everyone.
- Critical Thinking and Education, John McPeck. This could have been a textbook
for this class. It includes chapters on the meaning of "critical thinking",
informal logic and critical thinking (representing a view that is in some tension with my
own), and also reading, testing, and the relation between these and critical thinking.
This is primarily a theoretical treatment of these issues, but Ch. 6 does provide a few
instructional models.
- (ILL) Teaching Students to Think Critically, C. Meyers. This is subtitled,
"A Guide For Faculty in All Disciplines." It is geared to the college
teacher, but would be very useful for the high school teacher. The parts are:
"Understanding Critical Thinking", "Steps in Teaching Critical
Thinking", and "Building Commitment to Critical Thinking in College." The
second part should prove especially helpful. It includes chapters such as
"Structuring Classes to Promote Critical Thinking" and "Designing Effective
Written Assignments". A must see.
- Critical Thinking, Richard Paul. A big book that contains two large parts:
"What is Critical Thinking?" and "How to Teach Critical Thinking".
Some of this stuff is found in the handbook above and in the other stuff of which Paul is
a part. There is a section entitled "The Contribution of Philosophy to Critical
Thinking" that might be of some interest to people. Also, there is an appendix that
includes the views of teachers on critical thinking, a glossary of terms, and sections on
the relation of CT to science and to the language arts. This is primarily a theoretical
treatment, but worth a look.
- (ILL) Thinking Skills, B. Presseisen. A short (~ 26 page) pamphlet that is
mainly theoretical, but aimed at someone who will be taking on the challenge of teaching
critical thinking. After the introduction, which includes a historical perspective, the
parts are: "The Various Kinds of Thinking", "Influences on Thinking and
Learning", and "The Teaching of Thinking".
- Teaching for Thinking, Louis Raths, et al. This is subtitled, "Theory,
Strategies, and Activities for the Classroom," which gives you an idea about its
focus. A good book for applications. It leads with a theoretical chapter that discusses
the various thinking operations and follows that up with applications. It also includes a
chapter on applications at the elementary and a chapter on applications at the secondary
level. This includes many examples. Definitely recommended.
- (ILL) Education and Learning to Think, L.B. Resnick. This is a longer pamphlet
(~ 50 pages) that is primarily theoretical. The parts are: "Higher Order Skills: A
Working Definition and a Historical Perspective", "The Nature of Thinking and
Learning: Going Beyond the Routine", "General Reasoning: Improving
Intelligence", "Thinking in the Curriculum", "Cultivating the
Disposition to Higher Order Thinking", and then a summary.
- Toward the Thinking Curriculum, Lauren Resnick & Leopold Klopfer (Eds.).
This is a collection of essays. There are discussions of mathematical thinking (4 &
5), science (7 & 8), as well as reading and writing. If you plan a project on math or
science, look at this.
- Mathematical Thinking and Problem Solving, A. Schoenfeld. This is a collection
of essays, pitched mainly at college instructors. The book is set up in sections, with
each section consisting of an article followed by a comment and then a group discussion.
Each section focuses on the teaching or learning of mathematics or mathematical
techniques. One particularly useful section is entitled: "Classroom Instruction
That Fosters Mathematical Thinking and Problem Solving." The discussions in
particular are of value for secondary mathematics teachers.
- Educating Reason, Harvey Siegel. This is a theoretical book that could be of
use to you as you work on the first section of your project. It contains chapters
entitled, "Three Conceptions of Critical Thinking," "The Justification of
Critical Thinking as an Educational Ideal," and "Science Education". The
first and second of these chapters is particularly relevant to all of us, and the third
would be if you plan to develop a science curriculum.
- (ILL) Thinking Through Language, vols. I & II, Barbara Stanford and
Gene Stanford. These are textbook/workbook combinations. They are for use in the classroom
at the advanced elementary/middle school levels. The include units on art, problem
solving, science, the future, perception, analysis, analogies, etc. These look like what a
critical thinking book would need to look like for that level of student. Definitely worth
a look for ideas on specific tasks you might want to design for students.
- Teaching for Thinking, R.J. Sternberg, et al. This is new (1996) and is
relatively short. It is built around goals that you might want to set for students. It
describes teaching strategies to enhance thinking. Among other things, it discusses
"teaching for the test" and creative thinking. Worth a look.
- Measuring Thinking Skills in the Classroom, R.J. Stiggins, et al. This is a
27-page pamphlet on assessment. This contains many charts and tables that you could
copy and use in the classroom. Worth a look.
- (ILL) Analytical Reading and Reasoning, Arthur Whimbey. This reads like a study
book for the SAT or the GRE. Contains verbal exercises, including those for vocabulary and
for reading comprehension. Contains a unit on reasoning that includes premise/conclusion
exercises. Designed for use at the secondary level. Contains many exercises that you might
look to as models.
- Socratic Method and Writing Instruction, R. Whipple. This book is mainly
theoretical, as opposed to "how-to". Still, there are some useful tips on how to
use the Socratic method in the classroom. It is particularly of value to teachers of
writing.
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