Monthly Newsletters

March 2010

<table style="border: 1px solid black;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="720" bgcolor="#ffffff"> <tbody> <tr> <td width="110" align="left"><a href="http://www.criticalthinking.org"><img src="../images/Critical_Thinking_Seal100.gif" border="0" alt="Foundation for Critical Thinking" hspace="10" vspace="10" width="100" height="100" align="left" /></a></td> <td style="font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" width="450" align="center"><strong style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 28px; color: #000000; font-family: Broadway,Wide Latin,Rockwell,Times,Serif;">NEWSLETTER</strong><br /> <strong style="font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;">Foundation for Critical Thinking</strong><br /> <a style="font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.criticalthinking.org">www.criticalthinking.org</a></td> <td align="center"><br /> <br /> <strong style="font-size: 19px; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; font-style: italic;">March<br /> 2010 <br /> </strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3" align="center"> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="12" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr valign="top"> <td style="font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" colspan="2"> <p><span><em><span style="font-family: lucida sans unicode,lucida grande,sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: #0000ff;">Join us at the... </span></strong></span><br /> </em></span></p> <p><span><span style="font-family: lucida sans unicode,lucida grande,sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: #0000ff;">       World's Longest Running Annual Conference on Critical Thinking</span></strong></span><br /> <br /> </span></p> <img style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; float: right;" src="http://www.criticalthinking.org/image/pimage/30THCONFad-web2.gif" alt="" /><strong>2010 CONFERENCE THEME:<br /> </strong> <span style="font-family: Verdana;"><strong><span style="color: #000099;">How To Teach Students<br /> To Master Content By Developing A Questioning Mind </span></strong></span><br /> <br /> <strong>July 19 - 22, 2010<br /> Preconference:  July 17-18</strong><br /> Near U.C. Berkeley<br /> <br /> The Center and Foundation for Critical Thinking have together hosted critical thinking academies and conferences for three decades. During that time, we have played a key role in defining, structuring, assessing, improving and advancing the principles and best practices of fair-minded critical thought in education and in society. We invite you to join us for the 30th International Conference on Critical Thinking. Our annual conference provides a unique opportunity for you to improve your understanding of critical thinking, as well as your ability to more substantively foster it in the classroom and in all aspects of your work and life.<br /> <a style="font-weight: normal; color: #0000ff; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2010_Conference.cfm">Early Discount Registration is Now Open</a>. <hr /> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" colspan="2"><span style="color: #000080;"><span><strong>SPRING 2010 Workshop Series</strong></span></span><br /> It’s not too late to sign up for our spring workshops to be held March 20-21 in Berkeley, CA.  <br /> Please note that our <span style="text-decoration: underline;">hotel room block rate expires on MARCH 8.</span><br /> Choose one of the following three workshops:<br /> <ul> <li> <strong>Integrating a Comprehensive Understanding of Critical Thinking into Effective Design for Teaching and Learning Academic Content… </strong>Richard Paul</li> <li> <strong>Placing a Robust Framework for Critical Thinking At the Heart Of Your Institution’s Mission, Accreditation or Reaccreditation Process… </strong>Linda Elder</li> <li> <strong>Approaching Students as Thinkers; Cultivating the Intellect…</strong> Enoch Hale</li> </ul> To find out more, please check our conference page: <a style="font-weight: normal; color: #0000ff; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/page.cfm?CategoryID=105&endnav=1">Spring Workshop information</a> <hr /> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" colspan="2"><span style="color: #000080;"><strong><span>In Current News</span></strong></span>...<br /> You may be interested in reading an article by Dr. Linda Elder entitled "Reason to Live" and published in <em>Times Higher Education</em>, A UK higher education publication. The article focuses on how faculty can use Socratic methods to develop rational thought..and to move closer to the realization of cultures which value  critical thinking. <a style="font-weight: normal; color: #0000ff; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=410393&c=1">Click here to read the full article</a> <hr /> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" colspan="2"><span style="color: #000099;"><strong>News from the Archives</strong></span>…by Linda Elder<br /> <br /> <img style="margin: 5px; width: 300px; height: 342px; float: right;" src="http://www.criticalthinking.org/image/pimage/Archive-Mar2010-1.jpg" alt="" />In 1985, many educators and critical thinking theoreticians began to use the phrase “critical thinking movement” in reference to what appeared to be real progress in the direction of infusing critical thinking across the curriculum, across the various levels of education (K-12 and beyond), and across the country.  In January 14, 1985, The US News and World Report featured an article entitled: <em>Think:  Now Schools are Teaching How:  A variety of efforts…are being used to spur more critical thought</em>.  This article states:  “In classrooms across the country, teachers have launched an urgent effort to make young people think rather than memorize masses of facts.  Many educators say nurturing of the ability to reason has been neglected in the campaign to teach basic subjects in recent years, and a catch-up is necessary to provide young people with the proper tools to prosper in an increasingly complex society.”  A number of initiatives are listed and discussed in the article, all presumably aimed at critical thinking.<br /> <br /> The winter 1985 edition of Phi Kappa Phi Journal, <em>National Forum</em>, also focused on the topic of critical thinking and featured articles by important theoreticians of the day, including Neil Postman, Mathew Lipman, Edward Glaser, Robert Ennis, Michael Scriven and Richard Paul.  An introductory article by Richard Paul was entitled <em>The Critical-Thinking Movement: A Historical Perspective</em>.  In this article, Paul says: <br /> <blockquote>“The ‘critical thinking’ movement is just now beginning to have a palpable effect on the day-to-day life of American schooling.  California is a bellwether in this regard.  Four years ago, the massive nineteen-campus California State University system instituted a graduation requirement in critical thinking intended to achieve: ‘…an understanding of the relationship of language to logic, leading to the ability to analyze, criticize, and advocate ideas, to reason inductively and deductively, and to reach factual or judgmental conclusions, based on sound inferences drawn from unambiguous statements of knowledge or belief.’  Within two years the even larger community college system established a parallel requirement. And now, two years further down the line, the California State Department of education is preparing to test all eighth grade pupils in three areas…Remarkable, and representing a striking new testing emphasis, approximately one-third of the items have been designed to test critical-thinking skills (p. 2).”</blockquote> Paul optimistically goes on to say “If I read the signs correctly..then finally and at long last the time has come [for critical thinking] (p. 32).<br /> <br /> <img style="width: 300px; height: 425px; float: right; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px;" src="http://www.criticalthinking.org/image/pimage/Archive-Mar2010-2.jpg" alt="" />Sadly, and I think Paul would agree, he was wrong.  California’s K-12 schools, on average, are very far from embracing critical thinking (similar to schools across the nation).  Though the California State University system and the California community college system both still require students to take critical thinking courses, there is no guarantee that these courses will not be courses in formal logic, informal logic, rhetoric, communications, or any number of other subjects disguised as critical thinking. In the state of California, departments of philosophy tend to have a stranglehold on critical thinking courses, usually requiring faculty who teach such courses to hold degrees in philosophy.  Because critical thinking is not yet a discipline of its own, it tends to be “defined” in accordance with the subjects or courses faculty already teach, especially when FTE is part of the equation.  The argument would go something like this: “I teach formal logic, therefore critical thinking is formal logic.” Or informal logic or anything else the instructor already teaches and can argue is “critical thinking.” <br /> <br /> <img style="width: 300px; height: 250px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; float: left;" src="http://www.criticalthinking.org/image/pimage/Archive-Mar2010-RP.jpg" alt="" />At present we are experiencing what might be considered another critical thinking “movement.”  More institutions are using critical thinking as the keystone of their accreditation and reaccreditation processes.  The phrase “critical thinking” has never been used more often than it is today, historically speaking. But the challenge of bringing about change through critical thinking in the long-run so as to transform the way we think of education, and indeed life itself, remains.</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"> <div style="border: 1px dashed navy; padding: 10px; font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;"> “<span>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.</span>”                                                                                        William Graham Sumner, 1906</div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p><br style="clear: both;" /></p>

{"id":2825,"title":"March 2010","author":"","content":"<table style=\"border: 1px solid black;\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"720\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"110\" align=\"left\"><a href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org\"><img src=\"../images/Critical_Thinking_Seal100.gif\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Foundation for Critical Thinking\" hspace=\"10\" vspace=\"10\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" align=\"left\" /></a></td>\r\n<td style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" width=\"450\" align=\"center\"><strong style=\"font-weight: normal; font-size: 28px; color: #000000; font-family: Broadway,Wide Latin,Rockwell,Times,Serif;\">NEWSLETTER</strong><br /> <strong style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\">Foundation for Critical Thinking</strong><br /> <a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org\">www.criticalthinking.org</a></td>\r\n<td align=\"center\"><br /> <br /> <strong style=\"font-size: 19px; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; font-style: italic;\">March<br /> 2010&nbsp;<br /> </strong></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td colspan=\"3\" align=\"center\">\r\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"12\" width=\"100%\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr valign=\"top\">\r\n<td style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" colspan=\"2\">\r\n<p><span><em><span style=\"font-family: lucida sans unicode,lucida grande,sans-serif;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Join us at the... </span></strong></span><br /> </em></span></p>\r\n<p><span><span style=\"font-family: lucida sans unicode,lucida grande,sans-serif;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; World's Longest Running Annual Conference on Critical Thinking</span></strong></span><br /> <br /> </span></p>\r\n<img style=\"margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; float: right;\" src=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/image/pimage/30THCONFad-web2.gif\" alt=\"\" /><strong>2010 CONFERENCE THEME:<br /> </strong> <span style=\"font-family: Verdana;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000099;\">How To Teach Students<br /> To Master Content By Developing A Questioning Mind </span></strong></span><br /> <br /> <strong>July 19 - 22, 2010<br /> Preconference:&nbsp; July 17-18</strong><br /> Near U.C.&nbsp;Berkeley<br /> <br /> The Center and Foundation for Critical Thinking have together hosted critical thinking academies and conferences for three decades. During that time, we have played a key role in defining, structuring, assessing, improving and advancing the principles and best practices of fair-minded critical thought in education and in society. We invite you to join us for the 30th International Conference on Critical Thinking. Our annual conference provides a unique opportunity for you to improve your understanding of critical thinking, as well as your ability to more substantively foster it in the classroom and in all aspects of your work and life.<br /> <a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #0000ff; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2010_Conference.cfm\">Early Discount Registration is Now Open</a>. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n<hr />\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" colspan=\"2\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><span><strong>SPRING 2010 Workshop Series</strong></span></span><br /> It&rsquo;s not too late to sign up for our spring workshops to be held March 20-21 in Berkeley, CA. &nbsp;<br /> Please note that our <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">hotel room block rate expires on MARCH 8.</span><br /> Choose one of the following three workshops:<br /> \r\n<ul>\r\n<li> <strong>Integrating a Comprehensive Understanding of Critical Thinking into Effective Design for Teaching and Learning Academic Content&hellip; </strong>Richard Paul</li>\r\n<li> <strong>Placing a Robust Framework for Critical Thinking At the Heart Of Your Institution&rsquo;s Mission, Accreditation or Reaccreditation Process&hellip; </strong>Linda Elder</li>\r\n<li> <strong>Approaching Students as Thinkers; Cultivating the Intellect&hellip;</strong> Enoch Hale</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nTo find out more, please check our conference page: <a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #0000ff; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/page.cfm?CategoryID=105&amp;endnav=1\">Spring Workshop information</a> \r\n<hr />\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" colspan=\"2\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong><span>In Current News</span></strong></span>...<br /> You may be interested in reading an article by Dr. Linda Elder entitled \"Reason to Live\" and published in <em>Times Higher Education</em>, A UK higher education publication. The article focuses on how faculty can use Socratic methods to develop rational thought..and to move closer to the realization of cultures which value&nbsp; critical thinking. <a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #0000ff; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&amp;storycode=410393&amp;c=1\">Click here to read the full article</a> \r\n<hr />\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" colspan=\"2\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><strong>News from the Archives</strong></span>&hellip;by Linda Elder<br /> <br /> <img style=\"margin: 5px; width: 300px; height: 342px; float: right;\" src=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/image/pimage/Archive-Mar2010-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" />In 1985, many educators and critical thinking theoreticians began to use the phrase &ldquo;critical thinking movement&rdquo; in reference to what appeared to be real progress in the direction of infusing critical thinking across the curriculum, across the various levels of education (K-12 and beyond), and across the country.&nbsp; In January 14, 1985, The US News and World Report featured an article entitled: <em>Think:&nbsp; Now Schools are Teaching How:&nbsp; A variety of efforts&hellip;are being used to spur more critical thought</em>.&nbsp; This article states:&nbsp; &ldquo;In classrooms across the country, teachers have launched an urgent effort to make young people think rather than memorize masses of facts.&nbsp; Many educators say nurturing of the ability to reason has been neglected in the campaign to teach basic subjects in recent years, and a catch-up is necessary to provide young people with the proper tools to prosper in an increasingly complex society.&rdquo;&nbsp; A number of initiatives are listed and discussed in the article, all presumably aimed at critical thinking.<br /> <br /> The winter 1985 edition of Phi Kappa Phi Journal, <em>National Forum</em>, also focused on the topic of critical thinking and featured articles by important theoreticians of the day, including Neil Postman, Mathew Lipman, Edward Glaser, Robert Ennis, Michael Scriven and Richard Paul.&nbsp; An introductory article by Richard Paul was entitled <em>The Critical-Thinking Movement: A Historical Perspective</em>.&nbsp; In this article, Paul says:&nbsp;<br />\r\n<blockquote>&ldquo;The &lsquo;critical thinking&rsquo; movement is just now beginning to have a palpable effect on the day-to-day life of American schooling.&nbsp; California is a bellwether in this regard.&nbsp; Four years ago, the massive nineteen-campus California State University system instituted a graduation requirement in critical thinking intended to achieve: &lsquo;&hellip;an understanding of the relationship of language to logic, leading to the ability to analyze, criticize, and advocate ideas, to reason inductively and deductively, and to reach factual or judgmental conclusions, based on sound inferences drawn from unambiguous statements of knowledge or belief.&rsquo;&nbsp; Within two years the even larger community college system established a parallel requirement. And now, two years further down the line, the California State Department of education is preparing to test all eighth grade pupils in three areas&hellip;Remarkable, and representing a striking new testing emphasis, approximately one-third of the items have been designed to test critical-thinking skills (p. 2).&rdquo;</blockquote>\r\nPaul optimistically goes on to say &ldquo;If I read the signs correctly..then finally and at long last the time has come [for critical thinking] (p. 32).<br /> <br /> <img style=\"width: 300px; height: 425px; float: right; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px;\" src=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/image/pimage/Archive-Mar2010-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" />Sadly, and I think Paul would agree, he was wrong. &nbsp;California&rsquo;s K-12 schools, on average, are very far from embracing critical thinking (similar to schools across the nation). &nbsp;Though the California State University system and the California community college system both still require students to take critical thinking courses, there is no guarantee that these courses will not be courses in formal logic, informal logic, rhetoric, communications, or any number of other subjects disguised as critical thinking. In the state of California, departments of philosophy tend to have a stranglehold on critical thinking courses, usually requiring faculty who teach such courses to hold degrees in philosophy.&nbsp; Because critical thinking is not yet a discipline of its own, it tends to be &ldquo;defined&rdquo; in accordance with the subjects or courses faculty already teach, especially when FTE is part of the equation.&nbsp; The argument would go something like this: &ldquo;I teach formal logic, therefore critical thinking is formal logic.&rdquo; Or informal logic or anything else the instructor already teaches and can argue is &ldquo;critical thinking.&rdquo;&nbsp;<br /> <br /> <img style=\"width: 300px; height: 250px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; float: left;\" src=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/image/pimage/Archive-Mar2010-RP.jpg\" alt=\"\" />At present we are experiencing what might be considered another critical thinking &ldquo;movement.&rdquo;&nbsp; More institutions are using critical thinking as the keystone of their accreditation and reaccreditation processes.&nbsp; The phrase &ldquo;critical thinking&rdquo; has never been used more often than it is today, historically speaking. But the challenge of bringing about change through critical thinking in the long-run so as to transform the way we think of education, and indeed life itself, remains.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td colspan=\"2\">\r\n<div style=\"border: 1px dashed navy; padding: 10px; font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\">&nbsp;&ldquo;<span>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.</span>&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; William Graham Sumner, 1906</div>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n<p><br style=\"clear: both;\" /></p>","public_access":"1","public_downloads":"1","sku":"","files":{},"images":{}}

<table style="border: 1px solid black;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="720" bgcolor="#ffffff"> <tbody> <tr> <td width="110" align="left"><a href="http://www.criticalthinking.org"><img src="http://www.criticalthinking.org/images/Critical_Thinking_Seal100.gif" border="0" alt="Foundation for Critical Thinking" hspace="10" vspace="10" width="100" height="100" align="left" /></a></td> <td style="font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" width="450" align="center"><strong style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 28px; color: #000000; font-family: Broadway,Wide Latin,Rockwell,Times,Serif;">NEWSLETTER</strong><br /> <strong style="font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;">Foundation for Critical Thinking</strong><br /> <a style="font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.criticalthinking.org">www.criticalthinking.org</a></td> <td align="right"><br /> <br /> <strong style="font-style: italic; font-family: helvetica,arial,sans-serif;">MAY 2009  </strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3" align="center"> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="12" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr valign="top"> <td style="font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" width="360"> <div><strong>The 29<sup>th</sup> Annual Conference on Critical Thinking and Educational Reform</strong><img src="http://www.criticalthinking.org/image/pimage/219_TH_29th_Conference.gif" border="0" alt="29th International Conference on Critical Thinking" hspace="2" vspace="10" align="right" /></div> <div><em> </em></div> <div><strong>July 20-23</strong></div> <div><em>Preconference… July 19-20</em></div> <div><em> </em></div> <div>We invite you to join us for the 29th International Conference on Critical Thinking. Our annual conference provides a unique opportunity for you to improve your understanding of critical thinking, as well as your ability to more substantively foster it in the classroom and in all aspects of your work and life.</div> <div>This year’s theme focuses on <em>Fostering Intellectual Discipline</em>. The conference will be held in beautiful Berkeley, CA.</div> <div> </div> <div><strong>NOTE</strong>: In light of the financial challenges educational institutions in this country and abroad are facing, we are now offering further group rate reductions. Please visit our website for more information or phone us at 800-833-3645.</div> <div> </div> <div>Visit the following link for more information including session titles and dates: <a href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2009_Conference.cfm">www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2009_Conference.cfm</a></div> </td> <td style="font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;"> <div><strong><em>Professional Development Workshops<br /> <br /> </em></strong></div> <div>President Obama recently explicated the importance of integrating critical thinking into education. As you know, this has been the Foundation’s goal for the last 29 years. To work toward this end, we offer professional development workshops for faculty in primary, secondary and university settings. Each workshop is designed according to the needs of individual institutions. Below is an abbreviated list of topics covered in past workshops.</div> <ul> <li>Foundational: introduction to critical thinking fundamentals</li> <li>Critical thinking and assessment</li> <li>Socratic questioning</li> <li>Critical thinking, reading and writing</li> <li>Teaching students to think theoretically and empirically</li> <li>Teaching students to ask good questions and follow out the implications of thought</li> <li>Reasoning across the curriculum</li> <li>Critical thinking and the role of administration</li> <li>Embodying valuable critical thinking dispositions</li> <li>Analytic reasoning</li> <li>Critical thinking and emotional intelligence</li> </ul> <div>To read more or to inquire about professional development opportunities, please visit us on the web at: <br /> <a href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/professionalDev/index.cfm">www.criticalthinking.org/professionalDev/</a></div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" colspan="2"> <div><strong>Fostering Critical Thinking in the Classroom…<em><br /> <br /> Test for Students to Repeat in Every Course</em></strong></div> <div>Every academic field has its own logic or system of meanings. To learn the field is to learn the system. Whether we are designing a new screwdriver or working out a perspective on religion, we must create a system of meanings that make sense to us. To learn the system underlying a discipline is to create it in our mind. This requires that our thinking be re-shaped and modified. As you study a subject, periodically ask yourself:</div> <ul> <li>Can I explain the underlying system of ideas that defines this subject? (like writing an encyclopedia entry)</li> <li>Can I explain the most basic ideas in it to someone who doesn’t understand? (answering their questions about it)</li> <li>Could I write a glossary of its most basic vocabulary?</li> <li><span><span> </span></span>Do I understand the extent to which the subject involves a great deal of expert disagreement or very little expert disagreement?</li> <li>Have I written out the most basic logic of the subject? (its purposes, key questions, information, assumptions, inferences, points of view, concepts, implications)</li> <li>Can I compare and contrast the logic of the subject I am learning with that of other subjects I have learned?</li> <li>To what extent can I relate this subject to significant problems in the world?</li> <li>To what extent has thinking in this field helped me to become more intellectually humble, perseverant, autonomous…?</li> </ul> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"> <div style="border: 1px dashed navy; padding: 10px; font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;"><br /> <div style="padding: 8px;"><span>“Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it.”</span><br /> <div> <br /> -Marian Wright Edelman, <em><span>founder of the Children's Defense Fund and first African-American woman to be admitted to the Mississippi Bar</span></em></div> </div> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p> </p> <p><br style="clear: both;" /></p>

{"id":2826,"title":"","author":"","content":"<table style=\"border: 1px solid black;\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"720\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"110\" align=\"left\"><a href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org\"><img src=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/images/Critical_Thinking_Seal100.gif\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Foundation for Critical Thinking\" hspace=\"10\" vspace=\"10\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" align=\"left\" /></a></td>\r\n<td style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" width=\"450\" align=\"center\"><strong style=\"font-weight: normal; font-size: 28px; color: #000000; font-family: Broadway,Wide Latin,Rockwell,Times,Serif;\">NEWSLETTER</strong><br /> <strong style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\">Foundation for Critical Thinking</strong><br /> <a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org\">www.criticalthinking.org</a></td>\r\n<td align=\"right\"><br /> <br /> <strong style=\"font-style: italic; font-family: helvetica,arial,sans-serif;\">MAY 2009 &nbsp;</strong></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td colspan=\"3\" align=\"center\">\r\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"12\" width=\"100%\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr valign=\"top\">\r\n<td style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" width=\"360\">\r\n<div><strong>The 29<sup>th</sup> Annual Conference on Critical Thinking and Educational Reform</strong><img src=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/image/pimage/219_TH_29th_Conference.gif\" border=\"0\" alt=\"29th International Conference on Critical Thinking\" hspace=\"2\" vspace=\"10\" align=\"right\" /></div>\r\n<div><em>&nbsp;</em></div>\r\n<div><strong>July 20-23</strong></div>\r\n<div><em>Preconference&hellip; July 19-20</em></div>\r\n<div><em>&nbsp;</em></div>\r\n<div>We invite you to join us for the 29th International Conference on Critical Thinking. Our annual conference provides a unique opportunity for you to improve your understanding of critical thinking, as well as your ability to more substantively foster it in the classroom and in all aspects of your work and life.</div>\r\n<div>This year&rsquo;s theme focuses on <em>Fostering Intellectual Discipline</em>.&nbsp;The conference will be held in beautiful Berkeley, CA.</div>\r\n<div>&nbsp;</div>\r\n<div><strong>NOTE</strong>: In light of the financial challenges educational institutions in this country and abroad are facing, we are now offering further group rate reductions. Please visit our website for more information or phone us at 800-833-3645.</div>\r\n<div>&nbsp;</div>\r\n<div>Visit the following link for more information including session titles and dates: <a href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2009_Conference.cfm\">www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2009_Conference.cfm</a></div>\r\n</td>\r\n<td style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\">\r\n<div><strong><em>Professional Development Workshops<br /> <br /> </em></strong></div>\r\n<div>President Obama recently explicated the importance of integrating critical thinking into education. As you know, this has been the Foundation&rsquo;s goal for the last 29 years. To work toward this end, we offer professional development workshops for faculty in primary, secondary and university settings. Each workshop is designed according to the needs of individual institutions. Below is an abbreviated list of topics covered in past workshops.</div>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Foundational: introduction to critical thinking fundamentals</li>\r\n<li>Critical thinking and assessment</li>\r\n<li>Socratic questioning</li>\r\n<li>Critical thinking, reading and writing</li>\r\n<li>Teaching students to think theoretically and empirically</li>\r\n<li>Teaching students to ask good questions and follow out the implications of thought</li>\r\n<li>Reasoning across the curriculum</li>\r\n<li>Critical thinking and the role of administration</li>\r\n<li>Embodying valuable critical thinking dispositions</li>\r\n<li>Analytic reasoning</li>\r\n<li>Critical thinking and emotional intelligence</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<div>To read more or to inquire about professional development opportunities, please visit us on the web at: <br /> <a href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/professionalDev/index.cfm\">www.criticalthinking.org/professionalDev/</a></div>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" colspan=\"2\">\r\n<div><strong>Fostering Critical Thinking in the Classroom&hellip;<em><br /> <br /> Test for Students to Repeat in Every Course</em></strong></div>\r\n<div>Every academic field has its own logic or system of meanings. To learn the field is to learn the system. Whether we are designing a new screwdriver or working out a perspective on religion, we must create a system of meanings that make sense to us. To learn the system underlying a discipline is to create it in our mind. This requires that our thinking be re-shaped and modified. As you study a subject, periodically ask yourself:</div>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Can I explain the underlying system of ideas that defines this subject? (like writing an encyclopedia entry)</li>\r\n<li>Can I explain the most basic ideas in it to someone who doesn&rsquo;t understand? (answering their questions about it)</li>\r\n<li>Could I write a glossary of its most basic vocabulary?</li>\r\n<li><span><span> </span></span>Do I understand the extent to which the subject involves a great deal of expert disagreement or very little expert disagreement?</li>\r\n<li>Have I written out the most basic logic of the subject? (its purposes, key questions, information, assumptions, inferences, points of view, concepts, implications)</li>\r\n<li>Can I compare and contrast the logic of the subject I am learning with that of other subjects I have learned?</li>\r\n<li>To what extent can I relate this subject to significant problems in the world?</li>\r\n<li>To what extent has thinking in this field helped me to become more intellectually humble, perseverant, autonomous&hellip;?</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td colspan=\"2\">\r\n<div style=\"border: 1px dashed navy; padding: 10px; font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\"><br />\r\n<div style=\"padding: 8px;\"><span>&ldquo;Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it.&rdquo;</span><br />\r\n<div>&nbsp;<br /> -Marian Wright Edelman, <em><span>founder of the Children's Defense Fund and first African-American woman to be admitted to the Mississippi Bar</span></em></div>\r\n</div>\r\n</div>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><br style=\"clear: both;\" /></p>","public_access":"1","public_downloads":"1","sku":"","files":{},"images":{}}

April 2010

<table style="border: 1px solid black;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="720" bgcolor="#ffffff"> <tbody> <tr> <td width="110" align="left"><a href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/"><img src="http://www.criticalthinking.org/images/Critical_Thinking_Seal100.gif" border="0" alt="Foundation for Critical Thinking" hspace="10" vspace="10" width="100" height="100" align="left" /></a></td> <td style="font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" width="450" align="center"><strong style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 28px; color: #000000; font-family: Broadway,Wide Latin,Rockwell,Times,Serif;">NEWSLETTER</strong><br /> <strong style="font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;">Foundation for Critical Thinking</strong><br /> <a style="font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/">www.criticalthinking.org</a></td> <td align="center"><br /> <br /> <strong style="font-size: 19px; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; font-style: italic;">April<br /> 2010 <br /> </strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3" align="center"> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="12" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr valign="top"> <td style="font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" colspan="2"><a style="font-weight: normal; color: #0000c9; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/page.cfm?CategoryID=100&endnav=1"><span style="color: #0000cd;"><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Register now for the 30th International Conference on Critical Thinking and Education Reform.<br /> </span></span></span></a><img style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; float: left; width: 380px; height: 197px;" src="http://www.criticalthinking.org/image/pimage/30THCONFad-web2.gif" alt="" /> <div>The conference will consist in approximately 40 conference sessions offered over four days. Note that this year a number of advanced sessions (including two preconference sessions) are offered for returning registrants and those who have participated in our professional development programs onsight.<br /> <br /> <span style="color: #000080;"><span><strong>July 19-22, 2010; <em>Preconference July 17-18</em>.  </strong></span></span><strong><span style="color: #000080;">Claremont Hotel and Resort, Berkeley, CA</span><br /> <br /> Conference Sessions include</strong></div> <ul> <li> <a style="font-weight: normal; color: #0000c9; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2010_Sessions.cfm#3326"><strong>Engaging Students in Taking Ownership of Content Through Thinking</strong></a>…<br /> Dr. Gerald Nosich </li> <li> <a style="font-weight: normal; color: #0000c9; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2010_Sessions.cfm#3327"><strong>Helping Students Understand the Role of Skilled Questioning in Close Reading</strong></a>…<br /> Dr. Enoch Hale</li> <li> <a style="font-weight: normal; color: #0000c9; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2010_Sessions.cfm#3328"><strong>Critical Thinking: Many Things to Many Persons</strong></a><strong>…</strong>Dr. Richard Paul</li> <li> <a style="font-weight: normal; color: #0000c9; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2010_Sessions.cfm#3331"><strong>How to develop a successful long-term staff development plan that fosters critical thinking</strong></a>…Dr. Linda Elder</li> <li> <a style="font-weight: normal; color: #0000c9; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2010_Sessions.cfm#3332"><strong>To Think Is To Question. To Think Critically Is To Ask Critical Questions. What Are Some Critical Questions Students Should be Asking To Learn at higher and higher levels?</strong></a><strong>...</strong>Dr. Gerald Nosich</li> <li> <a style="font-weight: normal; color: #0000c9; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2010_Sessions.cfm#3333"><strong>Helping Students Understand the Connection Between Skilled Questioning and Substantive Writing</strong></a>…Dr. Enoch Hale </li> <li> <a style="font-weight: normal; color: #0000c9; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2010_Sessions.cfm#3334"><strong>Advanced Session: The Skilled Learner as Skilled Questioner</strong></a>…Dr. Richard Paul</li> <li> <a style="font-weight: normal; color: #0000c9; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2010_Sessions.cfm#3337"><strong>Teaching Students to Ask Multilogical Questions within a Field or Discipline</strong></a><strong>…<br /> </strong>Dr. Gerald Nosich</li> <li> <a style="font-weight: normal; color: #0000c9; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2010_Sessions.cfm#3338"><strong>Questioning Male Chauvinism and Female</strong></a><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><a style="font-weight: normal; color: #0000c9; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2010_Sessions.cfm#3338"><strong> </strong></a><a style="font-weight: normal; color: #0000c9; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;" href="../Conference/2010_Sessions.cfm#3338"><strong>Chauvinism: Transcending Two Forms of Dogmatism; Toward Egalitarianism and Fairmindedness in Gender-Centered Issues</strong></a></span>…Dr. Linda Elder</li> <li> <a style="font-weight: normal; color: #0000c9; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2010_Sessions.cfm#3339"><strong>Advanced Session: Critical Thinking Pedagogy; Advanced Design of Instruction</strong></a>…<br /> Dr. Richard Paul</li> </ul> <hr /> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" colspan="2"><span><strong>Teachers and Faculty:<br /> <span style="color: #0000cd;">Register now for our online course: CT700 Critical Thinking for Instructors</span></strong></span><br /> <strong>Fall 2010 Semester</strong><br /> <br /> This course is offered in affiliation with Sonoma State University. It introduces critical thinking theory and focuses on the application of critical thinking to classroom instruction. The course fosters understanding of how to teach critical thinking skills to students through any subject, discipline, or grade level (while working within given curricula). In this course, you will be introduced to, or deepen your understanding of, the analysis of thought, the assessment of thought, and the development of intellectual dispositions. You will design critical thinking structures, strategies and lessons, and you will engage in ongoing critical dialogue with colleagues.<br /> <br /> For more information about class registration, cost and credit options, check the <a style="font-weight: normal; color: #0000c9; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/courses/onlinecourses.cfm">online learning section our website</a>for further details. <hr /> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" colspan="2"><span style="color: #000099;"><strong>News from the Archives</strong></span>…by Linda Elder<br /> April 2010<br /> <br /> The program for the <em>Fourth International Conference on Critical Thinking and Education Reform</em> opened with the following quote by John Stuart Mill:<br /> <br /> <div style="margin-left: 20px;">“In the case of any person whose judgment is really deserving of confidence, how has it become so? Because he has kept his mind open to criticism of his opinions and conduct. Because it has been his practice to listen to all that could be said against him: to profit his practice to listen to all that could be said against him: to profit by as much of it as was just, and expound to himself, and upon occasion to others, the fallacy of what was fallacious. Because he has felt, that the only way in which a human being can make some approach to knowing the whole of a subject, is by hearing all manner of diverse opinion, and studying all modes in which it can be looked at by every character of mind.  No wise man ever acquired his wisdom in any mode but this; nor is it in the nature of human intellect to become wise in any other manner.”</div> <br /> In this statement, Mill captures the underlying philosophy of the <em>Center for Critical Thinking</em>, in 1986 and still today.  In an introductory piece on the history of the conference (in the same program) Richard Paul writes:<br /> <br /> <div style="margin-left: 20px;">“It is important to recognize that we are still very much in the beginning stages of educational reform based on critical thinking instruction.  There is every reason to think that the need for an annual conference in critical thinking will continue indefinitely. The deeply entrenched compartmentalization of knowledge, the increasing sophistication of propaganda and mass manipulation techniques, the continuing dominance of rote memorization and recall of facts as modes of learning, the growth of television and the electronic media, the increasing conflict of opposing ideologies in the global village, the acceleration of misunderstanding and stereotyping in international politics, the growing desire for simplistic explanations of life with opposing groups being identified as essentially “good” or ‘evil”, the growing threat of nuclear holocaust – all argue for the pressing need for fairminded critical thinking skills.”</div> <br /> With only very minor editing, Paul’s statement could have been written today. The same problems he was concerned with almost a quarter century ago still plague us today. The world has become more complicated, the international community has become increasingly intertwined, the dangers facing us as humans loom, arguably, ever larger than they did when Paul wrote this statement in 1986. And still schooling continues more or less unchanged. Some modification here and there, yes; but deep and substantive global changes, no.<br /> <br /> <img style="width: 700px; height: 660px;" src="http://www.criticalthinking.org/image/pimage/UtahStatesman.gif" alt="" /><br /> <br /> An article highlighting Richard Paul’s comments at a Utah State University presentation in 1987 quoted Paul as saying “We don’t have a genuine democracy.  We may have the form but we don’t have the substance. If our schools are to produce students who think, discuss, pursue truth and develop independence of thought, we have a lot of work to do on a deep-seated structural level in education.”  The article goes on the say “According to Paul, American schools are not now, nor have they ever been, in tune with the democratic ideal…He said the place to find critical thinking is in the future. In order to develop critical thinking, Paul believes that the powerful tendency of ethnocentrism must be combated by education before ‘we can make our own decisions on what is truth and what is not…To the extent that children can handle it, they should be taught what is truth. The whole concept of education is dependent on the notion that there is such a thing as truth. A child needs to discover and appreciate other points of view besides their own.’ Paul said that in this world of technology, getting ahead and getting a job replace some of the most important broader issues of survival [which require critical thinking]. ‘What is the point of advancing technologically in the world and being able to complete successfully if we ultimately destroy ourselves.”<br /> <br /> Hmmm. Makes sense to me.<br /> Then and now and into the future...we hope.<br /> <br /> <img style="width: 700px; height: 580px;" src="../image/pimage/April_Archive700.gif" alt="" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"> <div style="border: 1px dashed navy; padding: 10px; font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;"> “The disposition of mankind, whether as rulers or as fellow-citizens, to impose their own opinions and inclinations as a rule of conduct on others, is so energetically supported by some of the best and by some of the worst feelings incident to human nature, that it is hardly ever kept under restraint by anyone but want of power; and as the power is not declining, but growing, unless a strong barrier of moral conviction can be raised against the mischief, we must expect, in the present circumstances of the world, to see it increase.” <div>John Stuart Mill, from <em>On Liberty</em></div> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p><br /> <br style="clear: both;" /></p>

{"id":2827,"title":"April 2010","author":"","content":"<table style=\"border: 1px solid black;\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"720\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"110\" align=\"left\"><a href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/\"><img src=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/images/Critical_Thinking_Seal100.gif\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Foundation for Critical Thinking\" hspace=\"10\" vspace=\"10\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" align=\"left\" /></a></td>\r\n<td style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" width=\"450\" align=\"center\"><strong style=\"font-weight: normal; font-size: 28px; color: #000000; font-family: Broadway,Wide Latin,Rockwell,Times,Serif;\">NEWSLETTER</strong><br /> <strong style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\">Foundation for Critical Thinking</strong><br /> <a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/\">www.criticalthinking.org</a></td>\r\n<td align=\"center\"><br /> <br /> <strong style=\"font-size: 19px; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; font-style: italic;\">April<br /> 2010&nbsp;<br /> </strong></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td colspan=\"3\" align=\"center\">\r\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"12\" width=\"100%\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr valign=\"top\">\r\n<td style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" colspan=\"2\"><a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #0000c9; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/page.cfm?CategoryID=100&amp;endnav=1\"><span style=\"color: #0000cd;\"><span><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Register now for the 30th International Conference on Critical Thinking and Education Reform.<br /> </span></span></span></a><img style=\"margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; float: left; width: 380px; height: 197px;\" src=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/image/pimage/30THCONFad-web2.gif\" alt=\"\" />\r\n<div>The conference will consist in approximately 40 conference sessions offered over four days. Note that this year a number of advanced sessions (including two preconference sessions) are offered for returning registrants and those who have participated in our professional development programs onsight.<br /> <br /> <span style=\"color: #000080;\"><span><strong>July 19-22, 2010; <em>Preconference July 17-18</em>.&nbsp; </strong></span></span><strong><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Claremont Hotel and Resort, Berkeley, CA</span><br /> <br /> Conference Sessions include</strong></div>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li> <a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #0000c9; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2010_Sessions.cfm#3326\"><strong>Engaging Students in Taking Ownership of Content Through Thinking</strong></a>&hellip;<br /> Dr. Gerald Nosich&nbsp;</li>\r\n<li> <a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #0000c9; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2010_Sessions.cfm#3327\"><strong>Helping Students Understand the Role of Skilled Questioning in Close Reading</strong></a>&hellip;<br /> Dr. Enoch Hale</li>\r\n<li> <a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #0000c9; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2010_Sessions.cfm#3328\"><strong>Critical Thinking: Many Things to Many Persons</strong></a><strong>&hellip;</strong>Dr. Richard Paul</li>\r\n<li> <a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #0000c9; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2010_Sessions.cfm#3331\"><strong>How to develop a successful long-term staff development plan that fosters critical thinking</strong></a>&hellip;Dr. Linda Elder</li>\r\n<li> <a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #0000c9; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2010_Sessions.cfm#3332\"><strong>To Think Is To Question.&nbsp;To Think Critically Is To Ask Critical Questions.&nbsp;What Are Some Critical Questions Students Should be Asking To Learn at higher and higher levels?</strong></a><strong>...</strong>Dr. Gerald Nosich</li>\r\n<li> <a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #0000c9; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2010_Sessions.cfm#3333\"><strong>Helping Students Understand the Connection Between Skilled Questioning and Substantive Writing</strong></a>&hellip;Dr. Enoch Hale&nbsp;</li>\r\n<li> <a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #0000c9; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2010_Sessions.cfm#3334\"><strong>Advanced Session:&nbsp;The Skilled Learner as Skilled Questioner</strong></a>&hellip;Dr. Richard Paul</li>\r\n<li> <a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #0000c9; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2010_Sessions.cfm#3337\"><strong>Teaching Students to Ask Multilogical Questions within a Field or Discipline</strong></a><strong>&hellip;<br /> </strong>Dr. Gerald Nosich</li>\r\n<li> <a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #0000c9; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2010_Sessions.cfm#3338\"><strong>Questioning Male Chauvinism and Female</strong></a><span style=\"font-family: times new roman,times,serif;\"><a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #0000c9; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2010_Sessions.cfm#3338\"><strong> </strong></a><a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #0000c9; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"../Conference/2010_Sessions.cfm#3338\"><strong>Chauvinism: Transcending Two Forms of Dogmatism; Toward Egalitarianism and Fairmindedness in Gender-Centered Issues</strong></a></span>&hellip;Dr. Linda Elder</li>\r\n<li> <a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #0000c9; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2010_Sessions.cfm#3339\"><strong>Advanced Session: Critical Thinking Pedagogy; Advanced Design of Instruction</strong></a>&hellip;<br /> Dr. Richard Paul</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<hr />\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" colspan=\"2\"><span><strong>Teachers and Faculty:<br /> <span style=\"color: #0000cd;\">Register now for our online course: CT700 Critical Thinking for Instructors</span></strong></span><br /> <strong>Fall 2010 Semester</strong><br /> <br /> This course is offered in affiliation with Sonoma State University.&nbsp;It introduces critical thinking theory and focuses on the application of critical thinking to classroom instruction.&nbsp;The course fosters understanding of how to teach critical thinking skills to students through any subject, discipline, or grade level (while working within given curricula). In this course, you will be introduced to, or deepen your understanding of, the analysis of thought, the assessment of thought, and the development of intellectual dispositions. You will design critical thinking structures, strategies and lessons, and you will engage in ongoing critical dialogue with colleagues.<br /> <br /> For more information about class registration, cost and credit options, check the <a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #0000c9; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/courses/onlinecourses.cfm\">online learning section our website</a>for further details. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n<hr />\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" colspan=\"2\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><strong>News from the Archives</strong></span>&hellip;by Linda Elder<br /> April 2010<br /> <br /> The program for the <em>Fourth International Conference on Critical Thinking and Education Reform</em> opened with the following quote by John Stuart Mill:<br /> <br />\r\n<div style=\"margin-left: 20px;\">&ldquo;In the case of any person whose judgment is really deserving of confidence, how has it become so? Because he has kept his mind open to criticism of his opinions and conduct. Because it has been his practice to listen to all that could be said against him: to profit his practice to listen to all that could be said against him: to profit by as much of it as was just, and expound to himself, and upon occasion to others, the fallacy of what was fallacious. Because he has felt, that the only way in which a human being can make some approach to knowing the whole of a subject, is by hearing all manner of diverse opinion, and studying all modes in which it can be looked at by every character of mind.&nbsp; No wise man ever acquired his wisdom in any mode but this; nor is it in the nature of human intellect to become wise in any other manner.&rdquo;</div>\r\n<br /> In this statement, Mill captures the underlying philosophy of the <em>Center for Critical Thinking</em>, in 1986 and still today.&nbsp; In an introductory piece on the history of the conference (in the same program) Richard Paul writes:<br /> <br />\r\n<div style=\"margin-left: 20px;\">&ldquo;It is important to recognize that we are still very much in the beginning stages of educational reform based on critical thinking instruction.&nbsp; There is every reason to think that the need for an annual conference in critical thinking will continue indefinitely. The deeply entrenched compartmentalization of knowledge, the increasing sophistication of propaganda and mass manipulation techniques, the continuing dominance of rote memorization and recall of facts as modes of learning, the growth of television and the electronic media, the increasing conflict of opposing ideologies in the global village, the acceleration of misunderstanding and stereotyping in international politics, the growing desire for simplistic explanations of life with opposing groups being identified as essentially &ldquo;good&rdquo; or &lsquo;evil&rdquo;, the growing threat of nuclear holocaust &ndash; all argue for the pressing need for fairminded critical thinking skills.&rdquo;</div>\r\n<br /> With only very minor editing, Paul&rsquo;s statement could have been written today. The same problems he was concerned with almost a quarter century ago still plague us today. The world has become more complicated, the international community has become increasingly intertwined, the dangers facing us as humans loom, arguably, ever larger than they did when Paul wrote this statement in 1986. And still schooling continues more or less unchanged. Some modification here and there, yes; but deep and substantive global changes, no.<br /> <br /> <img style=\"width: 700px; height: 660px;\" src=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/image/pimage/UtahStatesman.gif\" alt=\"\" /><br /> <br /> An article highlighting Richard Paul&rsquo;s comments at a Utah State University presentation in 1987 quoted Paul as saying &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t have a genuine democracy.&nbsp; We may have the form but we don&rsquo;t have the substance. If our schools are to produce students who think, discuss, pursue truth and develop independence of thought, we have a lot of work to do on a deep-seated structural level in education.&rdquo;&nbsp; The article goes on the say &ldquo;According to Paul, American schools are not now, nor have they ever been, in tune with the democratic ideal&hellip;He said the place to find critical thinking is in the future. In order to develop critical thinking, Paul believes that the powerful tendency of ethnocentrism must be combated by education before &lsquo;we can make our own decisions on what is truth and what is not&hellip;To the extent that children can handle it, they should be taught what is truth. The whole concept of education is dependent on the notion that there is such a thing as truth. A child needs to discover and appreciate other points of view besides their own.&rsquo; Paul said that in this world of technology, getting ahead and getting a job replace some of the most important broader issues of survival [which require critical thinking]. &lsquo;What is the point of advancing technologically in the world and being able to complete successfully if we ultimately destroy ourselves.&rdquo;<br /> <br /> Hmmm. Makes sense to me.<br /> Then and now and into the future...we hope.<br /> <br /> <img style=\"width: 700px; height: 580px;\" src=\"../image/pimage/April_Archive700.gif\" alt=\"\" /></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td colspan=\"2\">\r\n<div style=\"border: 1px dashed navy; padding: 10px; font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\">&nbsp;&ldquo;The disposition of mankind, whether as rulers or as fellow-citizens, to impose their own opinions and inclinations as a rule of conduct on others, is so energetically supported by some of the best and by some of the worst feelings incident to human nature, that it is hardly ever kept under restraint by anyone but want of power; and as the power is not declining, but growing, unless a strong barrier of moral conviction can be raised against the mischief, we must expect, in the present circumstances of the world, to see it increase.&rdquo;\r\n<div>John Stuart Mill, from <em>On Liberty</em></div>\r\n</div>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n<p><br /> <br style=\"clear: both;\" /></p>","public_access":"1","public_downloads":"1","sku":"","files":{},"images":{}}

June 2009

<table style="border: 1px solid black;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="720" bgcolor="#ffffff"> <tbody> <tr> <td width="110" align="left"><a href="http://www.criticalthinking.org"><img src="http://www.criticalthinking.org/images/Critical_Thinking_Seal100.gif" border="0" alt="Foundation for Critical Thinking" hspace="10" vspace="10" width="100" height="100" align="left" /></a></td> <td style="font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" width="450" align="center"><strong style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 28px; color: #000000; font-family: Broadway,Wide Latin,Rockwell,Times,Serif;">NEWSLETTER</strong><br /> <strong style="font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;">Foundation for Critical Thinking</strong><br /> <a style="font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.criticalthinking.org">www.criticalthinking.org</a></td> <td align="right"><br /> <br /> <strong style="font-style: italic; font-family: helvetica,arial,sans-serif;">JUNE 2009  </strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3" align="center"> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="12" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr valign="top"> <td style="font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" width="360"> <div><span><strong>Online Critical Thinking Course </strong></span></div> <div><span><strong>For Those Who Teach</strong></span></div> <div><strong> </strong></div> <div><span style="color: #000080;"><strong>Introduction to Critical Thinking </strong></span></div> <div><span style="color: #000080;"><strong>For Instruction and Learning. </strong>(CT700)</span></div> <div><span style="color: #000080;"><strong>Fall 2009 Semester</strong></span></div> <div> </div> <div>This course is offered in affiliation with Sonoma State University. It introduces critical thinking theory and focuses on application of critical thinking to classroom instruction.  The course fosters understanding of how to teach critical thinking skills to students through any subject, discipline, or grade level (while working within given curricula). In this course, you will be introduced to, or deepen your understanding of, the analysis of thought, the assessment of thought, and the development of intellectual dispositions. You will design critical thinking structures, strategies and lessons, and you will engage in ongoing critical dialogue with colleagues.</div> <div> </div> <div><strong>Fall Course Registration Opens July 1, 2009 </strong></div> <div><em>Check the <a href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/courses/onlinecourses.cfm">online learning section of our website</a> for further details and information on course materials, requirements, academic credit options and course fees </em></div> </td> <td style="font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;"> <div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span><strong><em>Join us for the</em>… </strong></span><span><strong><br /> </strong></span></div> <span> <div style="text-align: center;"><strong><br /> </strong></div> </span> <div style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="color: #000080;"><strong>29<sup>th</sup> Annual <br /> International Conference on Critical Thinking and Educational Reform</strong></span></span></div> <div><em> </em></div> <div><strong>July 20-23 - 2009<br /> </strong></div> <div><strong><em>Preconference… July 19-20</em></strong></div> <div> </div> <div><a href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/store-page.cfm?P=conference&itemID=361"><strong><em>Early Registration Ends June 22nd  </em></strong></a></div> <div style="text-align: left;"><br /> Our annual international conference provides a unique opportunity for you to improve your understanding of critical thinking, as well as your ability to more substantively foster it in the classroom and in all aspects of your work and life. This year’s theme focuses on <em>Fostering Intellectual Discipline</em>. The conference will be held in beautiful Berkeley, CA.<br /> <br /> We encourage institutions to send groups of teachers and administrators who can spearhead critical thinking efforts at your home base. See our special group rates. <br /> <a href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2009_Conference.cfm">Click here for more information including session titles and dates.</a> <br /> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgfqQHg8Jms&feature=PlayList&p=66C5FC67AA8FB371&index=0&playnext=1"><br /> View video excerpts from the keynote address</a> of last year's conference (2008) on our <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/CriticalThinkingOrg">YouTube Channel</a></div> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" colspan="2"> <div><strong>Fostering Critical Thinking in the Classroom…<em>Teach students how to assess their listening</em></strong></div> <div>Skilled listening is essential to learning and communication. However it must be learned.  One way of fostering critical listening is <em>by holding students responsible</em> for their listening in the classroom. Consider these approaches:</div> <div> </div> <div><strong>First Strategy</strong>: Call on students regularly and unpredictably, holding them responsible either to ask questions they are formulating as they think through the content or give a summary, elaboration, or example of what others have said.</div> <div> </div> <div><strong>Second Strategy</strong>: Ask every student to write down the most basic question they need answered in order to understand the issue or topic under discussion. Then collect the questions (to see what they understand or don’t understand about the topic). Or you might: (a) call on some of them to read their questions aloud, or (b) put them in groups of two with each person trying to answer the question of the other.</div> <div> </div> <div>Through activities such as these students learn to monitor their listening, determining when they are and when they are not following what is being said. This should lead to their asking pertinent questions. Reward students for asking questions when they do not understand what is being said</div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"> <div style="border: 1px dashed navy; padding: 10px; font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;">There are many ways to “define” critical thinking.  We need not seek a single definition; rather we should look for reasonable articulations from different angles which illuminate different aspects of critical thinking. Edward Glaser, who is considered the father of the modern critical thinking movement, said: “The ability to think critically…involves three things: (1) an attitude of being disposed to consider in a thoughtful way the problems and subjects that come within the range of one’s experiences, (2) knowledge of the methods of logical inquiry and reasoning, and (3) some skill in applying those methods.” <br />   <em><br />     An Experiment in the Development of Critical Thinking</em>. New York: Teachers College Columbia Uni. 1941</div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p> </p> <p><br style="clear: both;" /></p>

{"id":2828,"title":"June 2009","author":"","content":"<table style=\"border: 1px solid black;\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"720\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"110\" align=\"left\"><a href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org\"><img src=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/images/Critical_Thinking_Seal100.gif\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Foundation for Critical Thinking\" hspace=\"10\" vspace=\"10\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" align=\"left\" /></a></td>\r\n<td style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" width=\"450\" align=\"center\"><strong style=\"font-weight: normal; font-size: 28px; color: #000000; font-family: Broadway,Wide Latin,Rockwell,Times,Serif;\">NEWSLETTER</strong><br /> <strong style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\">Foundation for Critical Thinking</strong><br /> <a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org\">www.criticalthinking.org</a></td>\r\n<td align=\"right\"><br /> <br /> <strong style=\"font-style: italic; font-family: helvetica,arial,sans-serif;\">JUNE 2009 &nbsp;</strong></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td colspan=\"3\" align=\"center\">\r\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"12\" width=\"100%\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr valign=\"top\">\r\n<td style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" width=\"360\">\r\n<div><span><strong>Online Critical Thinking Course </strong></span></div>\r\n<div><span><strong>For Those Who Teach</strong></span></div>\r\n<div><strong>&nbsp;</strong></div>\r\n<div><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>Introduction to Critical Thinking </strong></span></div>\r\n<div><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>For Instruction and Learning. </strong>(CT700)</span></div>\r\n<div><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>Fall 2009 Semester</strong></span></div>\r\n<div>&nbsp;</div>\r\n<div>This course is offered in affiliation with Sonoma State University.&nbsp;It introduces critical thinking theory and focuses on application of critical thinking to classroom instruction. &nbsp;The course fosters understanding of how to teach critical thinking skills to students through any subject, discipline, or grade level (while working within given curricula). In this course, you will be introduced to, or deepen your understanding of, the analysis of thought, the assessment of thought, and the development of intellectual dispositions. You will design critical thinking structures, strategies and lessons, and you will engage in ongoing critical dialogue with colleagues.</div>\r\n<div>&nbsp;</div>\r\n<div><strong>Fall Course Registration Opens July 1, 2009 </strong></div>\r\n<div><em>Check the <a href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/courses/onlinecourses.cfm\">online learning section of our website</a> for further details and information on course materials, requirements, academic credit options and course fees </em></div>\r\n</td>\r\n<td style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\">\r\n<div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><span><strong><em>Join us for the</em>&hellip; </strong></span><span><strong><br /> </strong></span></div>\r\n<span>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><br /> </strong></div>\r\n</span>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><span><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>29<sup>th</sup> Annual <br /> International Conference on Critical Thinking and Educational Reform</strong></span></span></div>\r\n<div><em>&nbsp;</em></div>\r\n<div><strong>July 20-23 - 2009<br /> </strong></div>\r\n<div><strong><em>Preconference&hellip; July 19-20</em></strong></div>\r\n<div>&nbsp;</div>\r\n<div><a href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/store-page.cfm?P=conference&amp;itemID=361\"><strong><em>Early Registration Ends June 22nd&nbsp; </em></strong></a></div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><br /> Our annual international conference provides a unique opportunity for you to improve your understanding of critical thinking, as well as your ability to more substantively foster it in the classroom and in all aspects of your work and life.&nbsp;This year&rsquo;s theme focuses on <em>Fostering Intellectual Discipline</em>.&nbsp;The conference will be held in beautiful Berkeley, CA.<br /> <br /> We encourage institutions to send groups of teachers and administrators who can spearhead critical thinking efforts at your home base.&nbsp;See our special group rates. <br /> <a href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/Conference/2009_Conference.cfm\">Click here for more information including session titles and dates.</a> <br /> <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgfqQHg8Jms&amp;feature=PlayList&amp;p=66C5FC67AA8FB371&amp;index=0&amp;playnext=1\"><br /> View video excerpts from the keynote address</a> of last year's conference (2008) on our <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/user/CriticalThinkingOrg\">YouTube Channel</a></div>\r\n</div>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" colspan=\"2\">\r\n<div><strong>Fostering Critical Thinking in the Classroom&hellip;<em>Teach students how to assess their listening</em></strong></div>\r\n<div>Skilled listening is essential to learning and communication.&nbsp;However it must be learned.&nbsp;&nbsp;One way of fostering critical listening is <em>by holding students responsible</em> for their listening in the classroom. Consider these approaches:</div>\r\n<div>&nbsp;</div>\r\n<div><strong>First Strategy</strong>: Call on students regularly and unpredictably, holding them responsible either to ask questions they are formulating as they think through the content or give a summary, elaboration, or example of what others have said.</div>\r\n<div>&nbsp;</div>\r\n<div><strong>Second Strategy</strong>: Ask every student to write down the most basic question they need answered in order to understand the issue or topic under discussion. Then collect the questions (to see what they understand or don&rsquo;t understand about the topic). Or you might: (a) call on some of them to read their questions aloud, or (b) put them in groups of two with each person trying to answer the question of the other.</div>\r\n<div>&nbsp;</div>\r\n<div>Through activities such as these students learn to monitor their listening, determining when they are and when they are not following what is being said. This should lead to their asking pertinent questions. Reward students for asking questions when they do not understand what is being said</div>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td colspan=\"2\">\r\n<div style=\"border: 1px dashed navy; padding: 10px; font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\">There are many ways to &ldquo;define&rdquo; critical thinking.&nbsp;&nbsp;We need not seek a single definition; rather we should look for reasonable articulations from different angles which illuminate different aspects of critical thinking.&nbsp;Edward Glaser, who is considered the father of the modern critical thinking movement, said: &ldquo;The ability to think critically&hellip;involves three things: (1) an attitude of being disposed to consider in a thoughtful way the problems and subjects that come within the range of one&rsquo;s experiences, (2) knowledge of the methods of logical inquiry and reasoning, and (3) some skill in applying those methods.&rdquo; <br /> &nbsp; <em><br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; An Experiment in the Development of Critical Thinking</em>. New York: Teachers College Columbia Uni. 1941</div>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><br style=\"clear: both;\" /></p>","public_access":"1","public_downloads":"1","sku":"","files":{},"images":{}}

DECEMBER 2009

<table style="border: 1px solid black;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="720" bgcolor="#ffffff"> <tbody> <tr> <td width="110" align="left"><a href="http://www.criticalthinking.org"><img src="http://www.criticalthinking.org/images/Critical_Thinking_Seal100.gif" border="0" alt="Foundation for Critical Thinking" hspace="10" vspace="10" width="100" height="100" align="left" /></a></td> <td style="font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" width="450" align="center"><strong style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 28px; color: #000000; font-family: Broadway,Wide Latin,Rockwell,Times,Serif;">NEWSLETTER</strong><br /> <strong style="font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;">Foundation for Critical Thinking</strong><br /> <a style="font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.criticalthinking.org">www.criticalthinking.org</a></td> <td align="right"><br /> <br /> <strong style="font-style: italic; font-family: helvetica,arial,sans-serif;">DECEMBER 2009  </strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3" align="center"> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="12" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr valign="top"> <td style="font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" width="375"><strong>Professional Development at <br /> Your Institution</strong><br /> In our continuing pursuit to bring critical thinking to all levels of education, we reach out to institutions and organizations across the country and beyond. One important vehicle for this is professional development programs.  For the Fall 2009 semester we have conducted the following workshops: <ul> <li><strong>Georgia Military College</strong>, Socratic Questioning: Formulating and Asking Questions utilizing Tools of Critical Thinking</li> <li><strong>Nebraska Wesleyan University,</strong> Critical Thinking and Instructional Strategies</li> <li><strong>Doane College</strong>, Integrating Critical Thinking into Instruction.</li> <li><strong>NorthWest Organization of Nurse Executives</strong>, Leadership Through Critical Thinking: Finding Our Way in an Increasingly Complex World</li> <li><strong>Ascension Christian High School</strong>, Foundations of Critical Thinking</li> <li><strong>Temecula Preparatory School</strong>, Foundations of Critical Thinking and Instructional Strategies</li> <li><strong>KIPP Foundation</strong>, Critical Thinking and the Process of Assessment</li> <li><strong>Bemidji State University</strong>, The Concept of Critical Thinking and Instructional Strategies</li> <li><strong>Lee College</strong>, Motivation for Critical Thinking; Critical and Creative Thinking Assignments</li> <li><strong>Hawaii State Department of Education</strong>, Foundations of Critical Thinking</li> <li><strong>Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center</strong>, Foundations and Classroom Strategies</li> <li><strong>Haddonfield Public Schools</strong>, Introduction to Critical Thinking and Instructional Strategies</li> <li><strong>Hawaii State Department of Education</strong>, Foundations of Critical Thinking</li> <li><strong>Western Kentucky University</strong>, WKU Critical Thinking Scholars Initiative</li> <li><strong>West Kentucky Community and Technical College</strong>, Foundations of Critical Thinking, Competency</li> <li><strong>Salisbury University</strong>, Foundations of Critical Thinking</li> <li><strong>Chesapeake Campu</strong><strong>s</strong> – Tidewater Community College, Introduction to Critical Thinking and Teaching it Across the Curriculum</li> <li><strong>South Texas College</strong>, Foundations of Critical Thinking</li> </ul> To learn more about our long-term development programs, please read about our <a style="font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/professionalDev/higherEducation.cfm">professional development opportunities</a>.</td> <td style="font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;"> <div><strong style="color: navy;">Announcing the 30<sup>th</sup> International Conference on Critical Thinking</strong></div> <br /> Mark your calendars now for the 30<sup>th</sup> Annual International Conference on Critical Thinking and Education Reform.  It will be held July 19-22 (preconference, July 17-18) at the Claremont Resort in Berkeley, CA. Our conference is the world’s longest running conference on critical thinking.  The 30th conference  will mark three decades of work toward the cultivation of critical societies.<br /> <br /> The conference theme is “How to Teach Students to Master Content by Developing a Questioning Mind.”  Session choices and registration will open soon.<br /> <br /> Watch your email for conference updates.<br /> <br /> <hr /> <div><strong style="color: navy;">Spring 2010 Workshops in Critical Thinking</strong><br /> <br /> <strong>March 20 - 21, 2009<br /> Berkeley, CA</strong></div> <br /> Make plans now to attend one of our <a style="font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/page.cfm?CategoryID=105&endnav=1">Spring Workshops in Critical Thinking</a>. These workshops will cover  fundamental critical thinking concepts and principles, in addition to practical applications and methods for bringing critical thinking into the classroom.  <br /> <br /> Choose one of the following workshops:<br /> <ul type="disc"> <li><strong>Integrating a Comprehensive Understanding of Critical Thinking into Effective Design for Teaching and Learning Academic Content<br /> </strong></li> <br /> <li><strong>Placing a Robust Framework for Critical Thinking At the Heart Of Your Institution’s Mission, Accreditation or Reaccreditation Process<br /> </strong></li> <br /> <li><strong>Approaching Students as Thinkers; Cultivating the Intellect</strong></li> </ul> <a style="font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/store-page.cfm?P=products&ItemID=388&catalogID=219&cateID=135">Click for More Information on rates or to Register Online! </a></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" colspan="2"><strong>Fostering Critical Thinking in Instruction</strong>...<br /> <br /> Encourage students to think of content as a form of thinking. For example, encourage students to recognize that the key to history (as a body of content) is historical thinking; the key to biology is biological thinking, etc. Discuss the purposes that define the field of study – “Biologists have the following aims:…”. Name and explain some of the kinds of questions, problems, and issues that people in the field answer, solve, or resolve. Give examples of the ways in which data is collected in the field and of the ways those data are processed (the inferences or conclusions professionals come to). Discuss the point of view or perspective the field fosters or entails. How do biologists look at the world (or at the data they collect)? How do anthropologists? How do artists? Nurses? Lawyers? Doctors?<br /> <br /> There is a particular set of performances we are striving for in teaching any body of content. We want basic concepts to be internalized. We want students to leave our classes with the content of the course available to them in their minds, so they can actually use the content they learned in the “real” world. Thinking is the only vehicle for that internalization and use. When students think poorly while learning, they learn poorly. When they think well while learning, they learn well.</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"> <div style="border: 1px dashed navy; padding: 10px; font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;">“Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one’s self-esteem. That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily.” <div><em>~ Thomas Szasz</em></div> </div> <em> </em></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p> </p> <p><br style="clear: both;" /></p>

{"id":2829,"title":"DECEMBER 2009","author":"","content":"<table style=\"border: 1px solid black;\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"720\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"110\" align=\"left\"><a href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org\"><img src=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/images/Critical_Thinking_Seal100.gif\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Foundation for Critical Thinking\" hspace=\"10\" vspace=\"10\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" align=\"left\" /></a></td>\r\n<td style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" width=\"450\" align=\"center\"><strong style=\"font-weight: normal; font-size: 28px; color: #000000; font-family: Broadway,Wide Latin,Rockwell,Times,Serif;\">NEWSLETTER</strong><br /> <strong style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\">Foundation for Critical Thinking</strong><br /> <a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org\">www.criticalthinking.org</a></td>\r\n<td align=\"right\"><br /> <br /> <strong style=\"font-style: italic; font-family: helvetica,arial,sans-serif;\">DECEMBER 2009 &nbsp;</strong></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td colspan=\"3\" align=\"center\">\r\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"12\" width=\"100%\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr valign=\"top\">\r\n<td style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" width=\"375\"><strong>Professional Development at <br /> Your Institution</strong><br /> In our continuing pursuit to bring critical thinking to all levels of education, we reach out to institutions and organizations across the country and beyond. One important vehicle for this is professional development programs.&nbsp; For the Fall 2009 semester we have conducted the following workshops: \r\n<ul>\r\n<li><strong>Georgia Military College</strong>, Socratic Questioning: Formulating and Asking Questions utilizing Tools of Critical Thinking</li>\r\n<li><strong>Nebraska Wesleyan University,</strong> Critical Thinking and Instructional Strategies</li>\r\n<li><strong>Doane College</strong>, Integrating Critical Thinking into Instruction.</li>\r\n<li><strong>NorthWest Organization of Nurse Executives</strong>, Leadership Through Critical Thinking: Finding Our Way in an Increasingly Complex World</li>\r\n<li><strong>Ascension Christian High School</strong>, Foundations of Critical Thinking</li>\r\n<li><strong>Temecula Preparatory School</strong>, Foundations of Critical Thinking and Instructional Strategies</li>\r\n<li><strong>KIPP Foundation</strong>, Critical Thinking and the Process of Assessment</li>\r\n<li><strong>Bemidji State University</strong>, The Concept of Critical Thinking and Instructional Strategies</li>\r\n<li><strong>Lee College</strong>, Motivation for Critical Thinking; Critical and Creative Thinking Assignments</li>\r\n<li><strong>Hawaii State Department of Education</strong>, Foundations of Critical Thinking</li>\r\n<li><strong>Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center</strong>, Foundations and Classroom Strategies</li>\r\n<li><strong>Haddonfield Public Schools</strong>, Introduction to Critical Thinking and Instructional Strategies</li>\r\n<li><strong>Hawaii State Department of Education</strong>, Foundations of Critical Thinking</li>\r\n<li><strong>Western Kentucky University</strong>, WKU Critical Thinking Scholars Initiative</li>\r\n<li><strong>West Kentucky Community and Technical College</strong>, Foundations of Critical Thinking, Competency</li>\r\n<li><strong>Salisbury University</strong>, Foundations of Critical Thinking</li>\r\n<li><strong>Chesapeake Campu</strong><strong>s</strong> &ndash; Tidewater Community College, Introduction to Critical Thinking and Teaching it Across the Curriculum</li>\r\n<li><strong>South Texas College</strong>, Foundations of Critical Thinking</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nTo learn more about our long-term development programs, please read about our <a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/professionalDev/higherEducation.cfm\">professional development opportunities</a>.</td>\r\n<td style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\">\r\n<div><strong style=\"color: navy;\">Announcing the 30<sup>th</sup> International Conference on Critical Thinking</strong></div>\r\n<br /> Mark your calendars now for the 30<sup>th</sup> Annual International Conference on Critical Thinking and Education Reform.&nbsp; It will be held July 19-22 (preconference, July 17-18) at the Claremont Resort in Berkeley, CA. Our conference is the world&rsquo;s longest running conference on critical thinking.&nbsp; The 30th conference&nbsp; will mark three decades of work toward the cultivation of critical societies.<br /> <br /> The conference theme is &ldquo;How to Teach Students to Master Content by Developing a Questioning Mind.&rdquo;&nbsp; Session choices and registration will open soon.<br /> <br /> Watch your email for conference updates.<br /> <br /> \r\n<hr />\r\n<div><strong style=\"color: navy;\">Spring 2010 Workshops in Critical Thinking</strong><br /> <br /> <strong>March 20 - 21, 2009<br /> Berkeley, CA</strong></div>\r\n<br /> Make plans now to attend one of our <a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/page.cfm?CategoryID=105&amp;endnav=1\">Spring Workshops in Critical Thinking</a>. These workshops will cover&nbsp; fundamental critical thinking concepts and principles, in addition to practical applications and methods for bringing critical thinking into the classroom.&nbsp; <br /> <br /> Choose one of the following workshops:<br /> \r\n<ul type=\"disc\">\r\n<li><strong>Integrating a Comprehensive Understanding of Critical Thinking into Effective Design for Teaching and Learning Academic Content<br /> </strong></li>\r\n<br />\r\n<li><strong>Placing a Robust Framework for Critical Thinking At the Heart Of Your Institution&rsquo;s Mission, Accreditation or Reaccreditation Process<br /> </strong></li>\r\n<br />\r\n<li><strong>Approaching Students as Thinkers; Cultivating the Intellect</strong></li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/store-page.cfm?P=products&amp;ItemID=388&amp;catalogID=219&amp;cateID=135\">Click for More Information on rates or to Register Online! </a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Fostering Critical Thinking in Instruction</strong>...<br /> <br /> Encourage students to think of content as a form of thinking. For example, encourage students to recognize that the key to history (as a body of content) is historical thinking; the key to biology is biological thinking, etc. Discuss the purposes that define the field of study &ndash; &ldquo;Biologists have the following aims:&hellip;&rdquo;. Name and explain some of the kinds of questions, problems, and issues that people in the field answer, solve, or resolve. Give examples of the ways in which data is collected in the field and of the ways those data are processed (the inferences or conclusions professionals come to). Discuss the point of view or perspective the field fosters or entails. How do biologists look at the world (or at the data they collect)? How do anthropologists? How do artists? Nurses? Lawyers? Doctors?<br /> <br /> There is a particular set of performances we are striving for in teaching any body of content. We want basic concepts to be internalized. We want students to leave our classes with the content of the course available to them in their minds, so they can actually use the content they learned in the &ldquo;real&rdquo; world. Thinking is the only vehicle for that internalization and use. When students think poorly while learning, they learn poorly. When they think well while learning, they learn well.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td colspan=\"2\">\r\n<div style=\"border: 1px dashed navy; padding: 10px; font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\">&ldquo;Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one&rsquo;s self-esteem. That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily.&rdquo;\r\n<div><em>~ Thomas Szasz</em></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<em> </em></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><br style=\"clear: both;\" /></p>","public_access":"1","public_downloads":"1","sku":"","files":{},"images":{}}

November 2009

<table style="border: 1px solid black;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="720" bgcolor="#ffffff"> <tbody> <tr> <td width="110" align="left"><a href="http://www.criticalthinking.org"><img src="http://www.criticalthinking.org/images/Critical_Thinking_Seal100.gif" border="0" alt="Foundation for Critical Thinking" hspace="10" vspace="10" width="100" height="100" align="left" /></a></td> <td style="font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" width="450" align="center"><strong style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 28px; color: #000000; font-family: Broadway,Wide Latin,Rockwell,Times,Serif;">NEWSLETTER</strong><br /> <strong style="font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;">Foundation for Critical Thinking</strong><br /> <a style="font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.criticalthinking.org">www.criticalthinking.org</a></td> <td align="right"><br /> <br /> <strong style="font-style: italic; font-family: helvetica,arial,sans-serif;">NOVEMBER 2009  </strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3" align="center"> <table style="width: 716px; height: 819px;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="12"> <tbody> <tr valign="top"> <td style="font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" width="360"> <div><strong style="color: navy;">Teachers and Faculty:</strong> <br /> <br /> <strong style="font-size: 19px;">Register now for our online course in teaching Critical Thinking. </strong></div> <br /> <strong>CT700 Critical Thinking for Instructors:<br /> Spring 2010 Semester</strong><br /> <br /> This course is offered in affiliation with Sonoma State University. It introduces critical thinking theory and focuses on the application of critical thinking to classroom instruction. The course fosters understanding of how to teach critical thinking skills to students through any subject, discipline, or grade level (while working within given curricula). In this course, you will be introduced to, or deepen your understanding of, the analysis of thought, the assessment of thought, and the development of intellectual dispositions. You will design critical thinking structures, strategies and lessons, and you will engage in ongoing critical dialogue with colleagues.<br /> <em><br /> <br /> For more information about class registration, cost and credit options, check the </em><a style="font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/courses/onlinecourses.cfm" target="_blank">online learning section our website</a><em> for further details. </em></td> <td style="font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;"> <div><strong style="color: navy;">Spring 2010 Workshops in Critical Thinking</strong><br /> <br /> <strong>March 20 - 21, 2009<br /> Berkeley, CA</strong></div> <br /> Make plans now to attend one of our <a style="font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/page.cfm?CategoryID=105&endnav=1">Spring Workshops in Critical Thinking</a>. These workshops will cover  fundamental critical thinking concepts and principles, in addition to practical applications and methods for bringing critical thinking into the classroom.  Choose one of the following workshops:<br /> <ul type="disc"> <li><strong>Integrating a Comprehensive Understanding of Critical Thinking into Effective Design for Teaching and Learning Academic Content<br /> </strong></li> <br /> <li><strong>Placing a Robust Framework for Critical Thinking At the Heart Of Your Institution’s Mission, Accreditation or Reaccreditation Process<br /> </strong></li> <br /> <li><strong>Approaching Students as Thinkers; Cultivating the Intellect</strong></li> </ul> As always we encourage groups to attend. We offer reduced registration for groups. <a style="font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/store-page.cfm?P=products&ItemID=388&catalogID=219&cateID=135">Click for More Information on rates or to Register Online! </a></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;" colspan="2"><strong style="color: navy;"> Fostering Critical Thinking in the Classroom… </strong><br /> <strong>Model skilled thinking for your students: Part II</strong><br /> <br /> It is most likely the case that your students are unaware of what highly skilled thinking looks like. Most of the time quality thinking is implicitly modeled rather than made explicit. Rather than just thinking well in front of students, we advocate explicit modeling of skilled “moves.” This means not only thinking aloud in front of students, but also calling attention to the “moves” you are making. For example, high quality thinking:<br /> <ul> <li> Focuses on Accuracy: Whenever I am reasoning through a problem, I want to make sure I am using accurate information. Whenever it seems that other people are using questionable information in their thinking, I want to check to see if the information is accurate rather than simply accept it as true. I might ask the person how they know the information they are using is accurate. Or I might just look up the information for myself – depending on the circumstances.</li> <li>Focusing on Relevance and Precision: Whenever I am reasoning through a problem, I want to make sure I use information relevant to the problem. I do this by writing out the question at issue as precisely as possible and then writing down the information I am using in thinking through the problem. In this way I can check to make sure the information is relevant to the precise question I am dealing with.</li> <li>Focusing on Breadth: In reasoning through this issue it seems that it is important that I consider multiple ways of looking at the issue. I know this because whenever I am dealing with a problem that can reasonably be viewed from multiple relevant viewpoints I want to make sure I fully consider those viewpoints. If I fail to do so I will be reasoning in a narrow-minded way. So let me begin by stating the basic arguments that can reasonably be made with respect to this issue. Then you can see whether I have left out an important perspective.</li> </ul> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"> <div style="border: 1px dashed navy; padding: 10px; font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;">"The best teacher is the one who suggests rather than dogmatizes, and inspires his listener with the wish to teach himself." <div><em>~ Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton (1803-1873) British politician, poet and critic.</em></div> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p> </p> <p><br style="clear: both;" /></p>

{"id":2830,"title":"November 2009","author":"","content":"<table style=\"border: 1px solid black;\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"720\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"110\" align=\"left\"><a href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org\"><img src=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/images/Critical_Thinking_Seal100.gif\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Foundation for Critical Thinking\" hspace=\"10\" vspace=\"10\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" align=\"left\" /></a></td>\r\n<td style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" width=\"450\" align=\"center\"><strong style=\"font-weight: normal; font-size: 28px; color: #000000; font-family: Broadway,Wide Latin,Rockwell,Times,Serif;\">NEWSLETTER</strong><br /> <strong style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\">Foundation for Critical Thinking</strong><br /> <a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org\">www.criticalthinking.org</a></td>\r\n<td align=\"right\"><br /> <br /> <strong style=\"font-style: italic; font-family: helvetica,arial,sans-serif;\">NOVEMBER 2009 &nbsp;</strong></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td colspan=\"3\" align=\"center\">\r\n<table style=\"width: 716px; height: 819px;\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"12\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr valign=\"top\">\r\n<td style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" width=\"360\">\r\n<div><strong style=\"color: navy;\">Teachers and Faculty:</strong> <br /> <br /> <strong style=\"font-size: 19px;\">Register now for our online course in teaching Critical Thinking. </strong></div>\r\n<br /> <strong>CT700 Critical Thinking for Instructors:<br /> Spring 2010 Semester</strong><br /> <br /> This course is offered in affiliation with Sonoma State University.&nbsp;It introduces critical thinking theory and focuses on the application of critical thinking to classroom instruction.&nbsp;The course fosters understanding of how to teach critical thinking skills to students through any subject, discipline, or grade level (while working within given curricula). In this course, you will be introduced to, or deepen your understanding of, the analysis of thought, the assessment of thought, and the development of intellectual dispositions. You will design critical thinking structures, strategies and lessons, and you will engage in ongoing critical dialogue with colleagues.<br /> <em><br /> <br /> For more information about class registration, cost and credit options, check the </em><a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/courses/onlinecourses.cfm\" target=\"_blank\">online learning section our website</a><em> for further details. </em></td>\r\n<td style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\">\r\n<div><strong style=\"color: navy;\">Spring 2010 Workshops in Critical Thinking</strong><br /> <br /> <strong>March 20 - 21, 2009<br /> Berkeley, CA</strong></div>\r\n<br /> Make plans now to attend one of our <a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/page.cfm?CategoryID=105&amp;endnav=1\">Spring Workshops in Critical Thinking</a>. These workshops will cover&nbsp; fundamental critical thinking concepts and principles, in addition to practical applications and methods for bringing critical thinking into the classroom.&nbsp; Choose one of the following workshops:<br /> \r\n<ul type=\"disc\">\r\n<li><strong>Integrating a Comprehensive Understanding of Critical Thinking into Effective Design for Teaching and Learning Academic Content<br /> </strong></li>\r\n<br />\r\n<li><strong>Placing a Robust Framework for Critical Thinking At the Heart Of Your Institution&rsquo;s Mission, Accreditation or Reaccreditation Process<br /> </strong></li>\r\n<br />\r\n<li><strong>Approaching Students as Thinkers; Cultivating the Intellect</strong></li>\r\n</ul>\r\nAs always we encourage groups to attend. We offer reduced registration for groups. <a style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http://www.criticalthinking.org/store-page.cfm?P=products&amp;ItemID=388&amp;catalogID=219&amp;cateID=135\">Click for More Information on rates or to Register Online! </a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"font-weight: normal; color: #000033; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\" colspan=\"2\"><strong style=\"color: navy;\"> Fostering Critical Thinking in the Classroom&hellip; </strong><br /> <strong>Model skilled thinking for your students: Part II</strong><br /> <br /> It is most likely the case that your students are unaware of what highly skilled thinking looks like. Most of the time quality thinking is implicitly modeled rather than made explicit. Rather than just thinking well in front of students, we advocate explicit modeling of skilled &ldquo;moves.&rdquo; This means not only thinking aloud in front of students, but also calling attention to the &ldquo;moves&rdquo; you are making. For example, high quality thinking:<br /> \r\n<ul>\r\n<li>&nbsp;Focuses on Accuracy: Whenever I am reasoning through a problem, I want to make sure I am using accurate information. Whenever it seems that other people are using questionable information in their thinking, I want to check to see if the information is accurate rather than simply accept it as true. I might ask the person how they know the information they are using is accurate. Or I might just look up the information for myself &ndash; depending on the circumstances.</li>\r\n<li>Focusing on Relevance and Precision: Whenever I am reasoning through a problem, I want to make sure I use information relevant to the problem. I do this by writing out the question at issue as precisely as possible and then writing down the information I am using in thinking through the problem. In this way I can check to make sure the information is relevant to the precise question I am dealing with.</li>\r\n<li>Focusing on Breadth: In reasoning through this issue it seems that it is important that I consider multiple ways of looking at the issue. I know this because whenever I am dealing with a problem that can reasonably be viewed from multiple relevant viewpoints I want to make sure I fully consider those viewpoints. If I fail to do so I will be reasoning in a narrow-minded way. So let me begin by stating the basic arguments that can reasonably be made with respect to this issue. Then you can see whether I have left out an important perspective.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td colspan=\"2\">\r\n<div style=\"border: 1px dashed navy; padding: 10px; font-weight: normal; color: #000066; font-family: Garamond,Palatino,serif; text-decoration: none;\">\"The best teacher is the one who suggests rather than dogmatizes, and inspires his listener with the wish to teach himself.\"\r\n<div><em>~ Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton (1803-1873) British politician, poet and critic.</em></div>\r\n</div>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p><br style=\"clear: both;\" /></p>","public_access":"1","public_downloads":"1","sku":"","files":{},"images":{}}

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