Critical and Creative Reading and Thinking Strategies

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Critical and Creative Reading and Thinking
Strategies

• Chapter 8

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Perception- How many Fs do you see?

• FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULTS OF YEARS OF
  SCIENTIFIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF
  YEARS.

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Perception

• FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULTS OF YEARS OF
  SCIENTIFIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF
  YEARS.

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Please add aloud as these appear.

• 1000
• 40
• 1000
• 30
• 1000
• 20
• 1000
• 10 ????

• What is the answer?

5

• Answer
• 4,100

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Critical Reading

• Critical Reading is the use of critical thinking
  in the act of reading.
• May take place in pre-, during, or post- reading.
• Most easily taught in discussion and writing
  formats following careful silent reading.

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What are impediments to Critical-Creative
Thinking?

• The printed word cannot be questioned
• Fear of controversial subject matter
• General emphasis on conformity cont.

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What are impediments to Critical-Creative
Thinking?

• Lack of models that epitomize or focus on
  constructive and critical thinking
• Curriculum requirements not addressing critical
  reading/ thinking skills

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Teaching Critical Thinking

• What are the critical thinking abilities that I
  want my students to develop?
• What is the most effective organization for the
  topics and material in this section in order to
  achieve these objectives?

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Teaching Critical Thinking

• What teaching approaches and strategies can I
  employ to best meet these goals?
• What evaluation activities (homework, quizzes,
  papers, exams, projects, oral presentations) will
  stimulate students to display their critical
  reading / thinking abilities?

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Evaluating Critical Thinking

• Emphasize quality of students/ thinking, rather
  than correct answers.
• Use multiple modes of evaluation, not just exams
  quizzes
• Evaluate early and throughout the course

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Evaluating Critical Thinking

• Make evaluation criteria explicit
• Questions and expectations should be specific and
  focused.
• Use previous student projects as models
• Select several exemplary student assignments to
  be shared and analyzed by the class.

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Evaluating Critical Thinking

• Provide adequate preparation for evaluations
• Be sure students have sufficient practice
  developing the abilities required by the
  evaluation activity
• Permit students to revise their work

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Evaluating Critical Thinking

• Refer to Handout
• Reading/Thinking Strategies using Blooms
  Taxonomy

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To promote critical comp

• Provide training in the ability to answer
  questions which are
• Text explicit right there on the page.
• Text implicit--one must think and search the
  page
• Script implicit--derived from thinking on ones
  own.

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To promote critical comp

• Provide training in effective thinking while
  reading
• Digress from the printed page--reflect, regulate
  emotive responses, and return to silent reading
  with little disruption in getting the authors
  message straight

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To promote critical comp

• Provide training in thinking and applying
  knowledge well beyond the immediate context of
  reading
• Argumentative ideas, contradictions,
  problem-solving situations, evaluative situations

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To promote critical comp

• Provide training in social comprehension
• Situations involving law, ethics and social
  structures

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To promote critical comp

• Provide training in how to engage in and benefit
  from critical review

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To promote critical comp

• Provide training in effective inquiry techniques,
  both analytical and investigative
• Investigate sources searching for, evaluating,
  collating viewpoints from several sources

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To promote critical comp

• Provide training in recognizing the authors
  purpose
• Identify authors bias, accuracy, competence, and
  viewpoint as well as his/her purposes in
  presenting this viewpoint

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To promote critical comp

• Distinguish fact from fiction
• Recognize omissions, distortions,
  overgeneralizations, unverified statements, and
  faulty conclusions drawn from inadequate or
  misinterpreted facts

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To promote critical comp

• Detect propaganda devices
• Recognize appeals to emotions, sheer repetition,
  distortions or omissions, and faulty logic.
• Recognize emotionally toned language and appeals
  to prejudice

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Recognizing Propaganda Tech

• Bandwagon
• Everyone is doing it, so jump on the bandwagon
  go with the crowd.
• More people buy than any other soft
  drink.

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Recognizing Propaganda Tech

• Testimonial
• A celebrity endorses a certain product or course
  of action even though he/she is no authority on
  the subject.
• Take it from me, 10-10-321 is the way I save on
  long-distance calls.

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Recognizing Propaganda Tech

• Plain Folks
• People who appear to be just plain folks, or
  just like you and me, suggest that we think or
  act in a certain way.
• My family has been farming for 50 yrs I wont
  forget you farmers when I get to Washington.

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Recognizing Propaganda Tech

• Snob Appeal
• The opposite of plain folks.
• These designer jeans are created for the
  discriminating woman.

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Recognizing Propaganda Tech

• Name Calling
• Applying a currently unpopular epithet to a
  person or movement without examining the
  evidence.
• That college professor is a radical--perhaps
  even a communist.

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Recognizing Propaganda Tech

• Transfer
• A symbol that is used to secure allegiance to a
  program that has no connection with the
  associated agency.
• Buy Red Cross shoes.

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Recognizing Propaganda Tech

• Scientific slant
• Use of scientific terminology to persuade us to
  accept something as being more than what it
  really is.
• Four out of five dentists surveyed recommended
  Crest.

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Recognizing Propaganda Tech

• Glittering generalities
• Words/phrases with favorable connotations that
  lead us to favor a person or movement without
  examining the evidence.
• We need a leader who will guide us to greater
  fiscal responsibility, an improved standard of
  living and a more equitable tax structure.

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Critical Reading Activities

• Refer to handout.
• Strategy 1 Reasoning Guides
• Strategies 2-12

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Critical Reading Activities

• Extended Anticipation-Reaction Guide. See pp
  214-215
• Opinion-Proof pp 216-217

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U/G Journal Read chapter 8

• Write an original Questmagnet you might post in
  your class-room.
• Examine the various Critical reading writing
  strategies introduced in chp 8. Choose one and
  describe how you could adapt it to your course.

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Grad Journal-Teachers

• Try at least one critical reading/ thinking
  activity with your students this week and report
  your findings. If possible, include a copy.

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Grad Journal-Non Teachers

• Include the copies of three critical
  reading/thinking problems or activities
  applicable to your subject area.
• (Think outside the box.)
• Feel free to use the internet to help you.