2. More than 2500 years ago notable
philosopher Socrates first named
the term critical thinking. He
established the importance of
seeking evidence, closely
examining reasoning and
assumptions, analyzing basic
concepts, and tracing out
implications not only of what is
said but of what is done as well.
His method of questioning is now
known as "Socratic Questioning"
and is the best known critical
thinking teaching strategy.
3. Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly
and rationally. It includes the ability to engage
in reflective and independent thinking.
5. The actual teaching of critical
thinking is a function of many
situation-specific factors: teacher
style, teacher interest, teacher
knowledge and understanding,
class size, cultural and
community backgrounds and
expectations, student
expectations and backgrounds,
colleagues’ expectations, recent
local events, the amount of time
available to teachers after they
have done all the other things
they have to do, and teacher
grasp of critical thinking, to
name some major factors.
6. Critical thinking is a higher-level
cognitive skill which lecturers
look for in a university student.
When you are completing your
assignments (essay, reports,
presentations, exams), you have
to give evidence of critical
thinking. Go beyond simple
description and make sure
you evaluate by weighing up
the pros and cons, the strengths
and weaknesses of any
argument. Critical thinking
provides you with an approach
to information that can be very
valuable and very much
expected of a university
graduate.
7. In a traditional English reading class,
students are mainly trained to improve
their language skills- first to enlarge
vocabularies and then to improve
reading comprehension ability. They are
expected to obtain information or
knowledge from the text and accept the
ideas or viewpoints presented in the
textbook. Most of the reading articles
are literature works, humorous stories
and scientific articles, but very few
argumentary articles with strict logic.
The reading exercises are often
multiple- choice questions to test
students‟ comprehension. The
traditional lecturing and classroom
activities are not very helpful in
fostering students‟ critical thinking. So
a new way to teach English reading
focusing on developing students‟
critical thinking should be proposed.
8.
9.
10. Critical thinking enables students to:
think about and evaluate their own thinking and
behavior on issues related to health education,
physical education, and home economics
make reasonable and defensible decisions about
issues related to individual and community well-
being
challenge and take action (individually and
collectively) to address social, cultural, economic,
and political inequalities
understand the role and significance of the
movement culture and its influence on our daily
lives and the lives of people in our community
