Critical+Thiking+Strategies

In the book, //A Practical Guide to Critical Thinking,// Hunter describes many examples of critical thinking strategies. I have selected four critical thinking strategies from the book to focus on. The first critical thinking strategy is questioning. Questioning is used in every content area. When students use deductive reasoning to determine an outcome, questions are always asked. The next strategy is making connections or activating prior knowledge. In order for students to deepen their understanding in a content, they need to be able to make connections to the skills being taught. If this prior knowledge is activated, students will be more interested in learning the new concept. Debating is another strategy from the book. Debates are most commonly used in social studies classes, but can be used in any content where problems are being solved or students are asked to give an opinion or take a side. Participating in a debate requires students to critically think about their opinion and discover ways to persuade others to support their view. The final critical thinking strategy is the SEEC Method. The S(slogan), E (elaborate), E (examples), C (contrast) method is used to express views. Students state their view by writing a slogan, elaborating on their view, showing a couple of examples to support their view, and then writing a contrast to the view. This is used to illustrate student opinions. These strategies are embedded in the thematic unit.

Hunter, D.A., (2009). //A practical guide to critical thinking: Deciding what to do and believe//. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.