Aug 25 2006
Vocabulary Section 1 – Chapters 1-8 (pp1-47)
Requirements for full credit: Word, Part of Speech, Used in Sentence, Synonym or Other Language, Definition
Vocabulary Section 1 List
Paradox
Oxymoron
Perspective
Critical
Think
Self-Discipline
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Unvanquished
Mainstream
Hunker (Hunkering)
Ornithopter
Bulkhead
Sobriquet
Aug 24 2006
Getting caught outside when a sudden brainstorm hits is the most wonderful place to be
for a critical thinker. I strongly suggest you read this slowly more than once. Truly read it closely and carefully. Read it critically if you will.
You may have realized from your initial blog interaction that critical thinking is more than just accepting things as they are. It is looking under the surface.
Thinking for a critical thinker begins with actively paying attention to exactly where you are when you are there; it begins by living in the moment. The critical thinker begins by recognizing what is real.
Life gains depth for a critical thinker when s/he looks beyond what is evident. The critical thinker asks questions; any and all questions that arise. Critical thinking is allowing new ideas and new perspectives to occur and counting them as valuable.
You are an individual and as a critical thinker your personal perspective is very important. For critical thinking, however, you must be willing to accept that your perspective, your view of the world, can and should change. In fact, critical thinking requires change as often as it can happen. For a critical thinker change equals growth – most of the time.
You must be willing to grow, and growth requires that you be openminded: Openminded to share your thoughts, openminded to accept others’ thoughts, and openminded to change your own when the opportunity presents itself.
While watching the movie excerpt, a critical thinker did not just watch. Here are questions & thoughts that occured for me while I watched the film excerpt, and where those thoguhts went after I began to include them in this blog:
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I asked questions and those questions prompted more and I recorded my thoughts while viewing, and they led to whereever I would allow them to lead:
Gandolfini – the Sopranos – I don’t watch it. Too violent for my taste and too superficial.
What’s an ornithopter? Huh? Sounds like something I’d hear on Stargate – makes me think of space travel and the theory of black holes. . . I remember seeing the Disney movie “The Black Hole” when I was very young. They only thought that black holes could possibly exist back then, now they have evidence of them. My! How the world changes (why would I think that I should not change if the world changes so frequently?)What did Kevin mean when he asked, “What’s the matter? Never seen a robot before?” Robots are real things – when i was young though they weren’t.
Why does Kevin, “Freak”, value the legend of King Arthur so much?
—-NOT ALL OF MY QUESTIONS NEED TO BE ANSWERED NOW. I CAN LEAVE THEM SOME OPEN AND BEGGING FOR ANSWERS TOO. I CAN GET ANSWERS OR EXPLORE QUESTIONS AS I SEE FIT. IN SELECTING WAHT QUESTIONS I WANT TO EXPLORE, I MAKE THE PROCESS OF CRITICAL THINKING PERSONAL AND SELF-DISCIPLINED. I GROW IN THE DIRECTION I WILL ALLOW MYSELF TO GROW IN, AND IN DOING THAT I BECOME TRULY AN INDIVIDUAL.—-
What is Max keeping bottled up inside?
Where is Max’s dad, and how did he get wherever he is?
Where is Max’s mom, and how did she get wherever she is?
Where is Kevin’s dad?
—-AS A CRITICAL THINKER I CAME UP WITH IDEAS – SOMETIMES IDEAS THAT ULTIMATELY HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE BOOK/FILM.—-
seeing eye dog – are they allowed in schools?
LD – learning disabled – Max said, “reading for dummies” – Is Max right about this? Are “LD” kids actually “dummies” like Max said, or is there more to it than that? I think there must more to it…and so I think about this…What can I do to find out more about this?a knife!!!!- how could I defend myself, I could run, I could disarm the kid. I could try to avoid situations like this. Since I’ve been teaching I have caught three kids with weapons. and I know of ten instances of weapons being found on campus. what should be done about kids who bring weapons to school? Is there an appropriate time to use a weapon? Not for me. But that is just for me. I could go on and on with this topic.
—-THE CRITICAL THINKER SEARCHES AND SEARCHES FOR MORE AND MORE INFORMATION . . . . AND THEN MORE!- QUESTION, FIND ANSWERS AND THEN FORM NEW QUESTIONS. REPEAT THIS PROCESS AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE. THAT’S CRITICAL THINKING.—-
AND THAT IS THE END OF MY EXAMPLE
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So the critical thinker wonders, “How do I take the stuff I simply read in a book, see in a film, and use it to grow? What do I think about the world? And why? Yes why? HOW HAVE I BECOME WHO I AM?
-Now, take out the sheet of paper you used in class while viewing the first part of “The
Mighty“.
-Look at what you wrote down.
-Remember, do not read other’s comments until you have posted your own. This is very important if you are to grow in your own direction.
-Open the comments and begin to enter your comment.
AFTER you have posted your own comments you may go ahead and respond/discuss with others their thoughts.
You are welcome to comment on my own example.
Remember to be polite and respectful.
Do not think of yourself as better than anybody.
You are not the spell checker (I am).
Share your thoughts.
Do not judge one another!
Aug 22 2006
In 1906, William Graham Sumner said, “The critical habit of thought, if usual in society, will pervade all its mores, because it is a way of taking up the problems of life.”
What is meant by this?
You may want to have a dictionary on hand. . .
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(A statement by Michael Scriven & Richard Paul for the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking Instruction)
Summary
Critical thinking is 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, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness
It entails the examination of those structures or elements of thought implicit in all reasoning: purpose, problem, or question-at-issue; assumptions; concepts; empirical grounding; reasoning leading to conclusions; implications and consequences; objections from alternative viewpoints; and frame of reference. Critical thinking – in being responsive to variable subject matter, issues, and purposes – is incorporated in a family of interwoven modes of thinking, among them: scientific thinking, mathematical thinking, historical thinking, anthropological thinking, economic thinking, moral thinking, and philosophical thinking.
Critical thinking can be seen as having two components: 1) a set of information and belief generating and processing skills, and 2) the habit, based on intellectual commitment, of using those skills to guide behavior.
It is thus to be contrasted with: 1) the mere acquisition and retention of information alone, because it involves a particular way in which information is sought and treated; 2) the mere possession of a set of skills, because it involves the continual use of them; and 3) the mere use of those skills (”as an exercise”) without acceptance of their results.
Critical thinking varies according to the motivation underlying it. When grounded in selfish motives, it is often manifested in the skillful manipulation of ideas in service of one’s own, or one’s groups’, vested interest. As such it is typically intellectually flawed, however pragmatically successful it might be. When grounded in fairmindedness and intellectual integrity, it is typically of a higher order intellectually, though subject to the charge of “idealism” by those habituated to its selfish use.
Critical thinking of any kind is never universal in any individual; everyone is subject to episodes of undisciplined or irrational thought. Its quality is therefore typically a matter of degree and dependent on , among other things, the quality and depth of experience in a given domain of thinking or with respect to a particular class of questions. No one is a critical thinker through-and-through, but only to such-and-such a degree, with such-and-such insights and blind spots, subject to such-and-such tendencies towards self-delusion. For this reason, the development of critical thinking skills and dispositions is a life-long endeavor.
Why Critical Thinking?
The Problem:
Everyone thinks; it is our nature to do so. But much of our thinking, left to itself, is biased, distorted, partial, uninformed or down-right prejudiced. Yet the quality of our life and that of what we produce, make, or build depends precisely on the quality of our thought. Shoddy thinking is costly, both in money and in quality of life. Excellence in thought, however, must be systematically cultivated.
A Definition:
Critical thinking is that mode of thinking – about any subject, content, or
problem – in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking
by skillfully taking charge of the structures inherent in thinking and
imposing intellectual standards upon them.
The Result:
A well cultivated critical thinker:
· raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely;
· gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret it effectively comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against relevant criteria and standards;
· thinks openmindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognizing and assessing, as need be, their assumptions, implications, and practical consequences; and
· communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems.
Critical thinking is, in short, self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking. It presupposes assent to rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use. It entails effective communication and problem solving abilities and a commitment to overcome our native egocentrism and sociocentrism.
This information is taken from:
http://www.criticalthinking.org/
&
http://www.criticalthinking.org/aboutCT/definingCT.shtml
Aug 22 2006
Please check out the following websites:
The Critical Thinking Community
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills
Mr. Moshe’s Useful Sites to help you along the way. Follow this link to get to a list of sites that have resources you will be required to use for your assignments.
This is just the beginning. The real critical thinker will go to these sites and search out more information about critical thinking.
