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Keith Hamon

Can We Teach Creative and Critical Thinking? - Education - GOOD - 1 views

www.good.is/...creative-and-critical-thinking

Zoe Burgess critical thinking writing

shared by Keith Hamon on 05 Oct 10 - No Cached
  • Critical thinking is, among many things, the ability to understand and apply the abstract, the ability to infer and to meaningfully investigate. It’s the skills needed to see parallels, comprehend intersections, identify problems, and develop sustainable solutions.
    • Keith Hamon
      Keith Hamon on 05 Oct 10
       
      We have not adequately accounted for abstraction in our discussions of CT or investigation. I wonder if CT is such a large, amorphous category as to be almost meaningless? Perhaps not, but it is clear to me that almost every discussion of CT must begin with a clear delineation of just what we mean when we say critical thinking.
  • sound critical thinking is imperative to social progress.
    • Keith Hamon
      Keith Hamon on 05 Oct 10
       
      This social imperative is somewhat troubling to me. Is not good critical thinking its own reward?
  • Cultivating critical thinking may be accomplished with modeling
    • Keith Hamon
      Keith Hamon on 05 Oct 10
       
      Modeling is a promising technique, but how often do teachers expose their own thinking processes to students? Don't we usually let them see only the polished final product of our thought, and not the messy critical thinking we went through prior to our polished position?
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • School trips, service learning requirements, and various other kinds of hands-on situations allow students to make connections at their own pace
    • Keith Hamon
      Keith Hamon on 05 Oct 10
       
      Nice methods that change the complexion of the typical classroom from one of content-delivery to content application.
  • teachers suggest, and insist, that students investigate further, making—but more importantly, justifying—inferences and conclusions.
    • Keith Hamon
      Keith Hamon on 05 Oct 10
       
      Is it not obvious how the focus on the "right answer" undermines this willingness to explore? Why would most students expend any energy on an issue when they already have the answer that will be on the test, the "correct answer"?
  • It’s hard to design test questions that effectively measure a child’s ability think creatively.
    • Keith Hamon
      Keith Hamon on 05 Oct 10
       
      Note the writer's confusion of critical thinking and creative thinking. Are they usually confused? Should they be? Is there any advantage to distinguishing between them?
  • At the heart of teaching critical and creative thought is the ability to ask the right questions to students. In turn, they need to be able answer in a way that demonstrates their ability to see the parallels and intersections;
    • Keith Hamon
      Keith Hamon on 05 Oct 10
       
      This kind of open-ended discussion and work in class is key to the QEP classroom.
  • Keith Hamon on 05 Oct 10
     
    But how is creative or critical thought defined and taught? And by what assessment can we measure it, if at all?
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