ALLAMA IQBAL OPEN UNIVERSITY, ISLAMABAD

(Department of Science Education)

ASSIGNMENT No. 1
(Units 1–4)

Course: Critical Thinking and Reflective Practices

(8611)

Submitted to: Mr. Yasir Abbas

Submitted by: Sadia Mushtaq

Roll#: CA654332

Reg #: 20pri03840

Smester: Autumn, 2020

Group: Science

Date : 15 Feb, 2021

Semester: Autumn, 2020

Total Marks: 100
Pass Marks: 50

Assignment # 1
 Question # 01:

Justify the statement that “critical thinking is important for teachers and learners in the 21 st
century”. Support your arguments with logic. (20)

Answer

Critical thinking:

Critical thinking is a concept that has been developing in various forms in the past two
millenniums. Although the term “critical thinking”, was used more commonly in late first half
of twentieth century.
Edward Glaser (1941) has defined critical thinking as:
“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.”

Attitude

Skill Knowledge

Fig 1: Critical Thinking

Critical thinking in 21st century:

In the 21st century, people have to have the higher-order thinking skills called 21st-century
learning skills to solve new problems of the modern world. Be a critical thinker is one of a kind
the higher-order thinking. 'Being able to think' means that student should know how to apply
their knowledge and skills they developed during learning in real life. Then, this paper focuses
on what the competencies that should have for the student to be a critical thinker. Data were
collected by using the literature study method. This method aims to gather all information from
all written documents such as article journals and books.

Today, critical thinking is considered as one of the most important skills for career success and
an essential component of life in the information age.

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Teaching and learning in 21st century:

Our older techniques of education and social organization may have been satisfactory in the past,
but the demands of education at present are quite different. Many important changes in the
intellectual landscape of our planet took place in the 20th century, and they are all making their
mark in the 21st Century. These developments are already known to us; these include and are not
limited to the following:
➢ There is more information available for learners now than ever before. The increase in
information will continue to increase, this means that we need to know how to search and
then how to analyze information as much and we do not really need to memorize the
information itself.
➢ The pace of social change continues to increase. Our lives are so much different than our
grandparents; our parents and our children will live in a very different world. We need to
learn more than useful patterns; we need to know how to adapt and how to refuse to
adapt.
➢ The universe is becoming a connected whole more than ever before. What happens in
USA influences China, what happens in Brazil influences India. Economies and
technological resources are increasingly connected. As with any large and complex
system, it is now challenging to understand how it operates.
➢ Our mass media showers down on us with its so called “expert” discourse. We have been
in a habit of more and more rely on selected talking heads to do our thinking for us. Of
course, such “experts” have their own points of view and their own master minds, yet the
time is requiring us to judge them more closely than ever.
➢ The old “banking” model is insufficient. According to this model we used to view
students as a bank account into which the instructor deposits knowledge. The data is a
thing or an artifact, and once the student has it, they were then labeled as educated. Given
the magnitude of current knowledge that seems impossible as well as ineffective.Students
need to learn how to manipulate and process data more than just check to see how full
their knowledge bank is. Let’s explore some of the methodologies found most useful in
this era.
Importance of critical thinking

Health and Physical Education in the New

Zealand Curriculum (1999) defines critical
thinking as "examining, questioning,
evaluating, and challenging taken-for-
granted assumptions about issues and
practices" and critical action as "action
based on critical thinking”.

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Importance of critical thinking for students:

By adopting this definition of critical thinking and applying their learning in education
contexts, students can:
✓ become broad and adventurous thinkers
✓ generate innovative solutions
✓ use their reasoning skills to analyze and evaluate
✓ plan and think strategically

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

Importance of critical thinking for teachers:

In order to help their students to develop critical-thinking skills and to take critical action,
teachers need to:
✓ have a sound knowledge base from which to support students as they delve more deeply
into content
✓ remain open to challenge by students, not representing themselves as the sole source of
knowledge
✓ encourage students to look at the big picture by engaging them in critical-thinking
processes that have relevance beyond the classroom
✓ be prepared to listen to voices that originate in the classroom and to use students' personal
experiences as starting points for gathering information
✓ encourage students to question and challenge existing beliefs, structures, and practices
✓ avoid offering 'how to do it' approaches
✓ encourage students to be sensitive to the feelings of others

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Arguments:

One educational system that has adopted critical thinking as an essential part of its curriculum
and teaching method is progressive education.

It is a system that relies on active learning methods for children, starting from a very young age.
It provides a framework for the learning and teaching methods that can encourage critical and
independent thinking in children and facilitates the process of learning in students. Leading
educators agree that a curriculum aimed at building thinking skills would benefit not only the
individual learner but also the community, and society at large.
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Against this new paradigm, the role of education, teachers and students inevitably must change.
Today the role of the teacher in a progressive environment is very much different to that in a
traditional classroom. Teachers need to move from primarily being the information keeper and
information dispenser to being an enabler of learning where knowledge is co-constructed with
the student.

Teachers will become facilitators, guides, mentors, sources and resources that support children in
acquiring independent thinking and ‘learning for life’, stemming from the unique blend of
traditional and experiential learning that progressive education offers.

At Clarion, the only school to date offering progressive education in the UAE, our teachers have
the benefit of experience with and education from the world’s leader in progressive education,
the NY-based Bank Street. In recognition of the increasing importance of progressive education,
Bank Street has been tasked by the US Department of Education to guide the development of the
curricula of schools around the United States to equip the students with the optimal education to
prepare them for STEM-based and other priority 21st century careers.

As educators, it is our responsibility to ignite in them a natural curiosity for the world around
them, the confidence to develop their independence of thinking and harness their joy for
learning.

References:

1. Brookfield and Smyth, (1995). New Zealand Curriculum.

http://health.tki.org.nz/Keycollections/Curriculum-in-action/Making-Meaning/Teaching-
and-learningapproaches/Engaging-students-in-critical-thinking

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 2. Paul, R. & Elder, L. (2001). Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your
Learning and Your Life. http://www.criticalthinking.org/store/products/critical-thinking-
tools-fortaking-charge-of-your-learning-amp-your-life-2nd-edition/143 Smyth (2000),
page 507.

3. Nurul Hafni, Rizky. (2018). 21st Century Learner: Be a Critical Thinker.

4. Importance of critical thinking. (n.d.). Retrieved December 27, 2020

5. Joni. (n.d.). EDUC 1300: Effective Learning Strategies. Retrieved December 27, 2020,

6. Inside Higher Ed. (n.d.). Retrieved December 27, 2020

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Question # 02:

How can you apply any one of the theories of critical thinking in the secondary classroom
of Pakistan? (20)

Answer

Meanings critical theory:

As a term, Critical Theory has two meanings with different origins and histories: the first
originated in sociology and the second originated in literary criticism, whereby it is used and
applied as an umbrella term that can describe a theory founded upon critique; thus, the theorist
Max Horkheimer described a theory as critical insofar as it seeks “to liberate human beings from
the circumstances that enslave them”.

Critical Theory in sociology and political philosophy:

In sociology and political philosophy, the term Critical Theory describes the neo-Marxist
philosophy of the Frankfurt School, which was developed in Germany in the 1930s. This use of
the term requires proper noun capitalization, whereas “a critical theory” or “a critical social
theory” may have similar elements of thought, but not stress its intellectual lineage specifically
to the Franfurt School. Frankfurt School theorists drew on the critical methods of Karl Marx and
Sigmund Freud. Critical Theory maintains that ideology is the principal obstacle to human
liberation. Critical Theory was established as a school of thought primarily by the Frankfurt
School theoreticians Herbert Marcuse, Theodor Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Walter Benjamin,
and Erich Fromm. Modern Critical Theory has additionally been influenced by György Lukács
and Antonio Gramsci, as well as the second generation Frankfurt School scholars, notably Jürgen
Habermas. In Habermas’s work, Critical Theory transcended its theoretical roots in German
idealism, and progressed closer to American pragmatism. Concern for social “base and
superstructure” is one of the remaining Marxist philosophical concepts in much of contemporary
Critical Theory.

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While critical theorists have been frequently defined as Marxist intellectuals, their tendency to
denounce some Marxist concepts and to combine Marxian analysis with other sociological and
philosophical traditions has resulted in accusations of revisionism by Classical, Orthodox, and
Analytical Marxists, and by Marxist-Leninist philosophers. Martin Jay has stated that the first
generation of Critical Theory is best understood as not promoting a specific philosophical agenda
or a specific ideology, but as “a gadfly of other systems”.

Critical theory and education

Though relatively few educators–including educational technologists–appear to concern

themselves directly with critical theory (McLaren, 1994a), a number of influential educators are
pursuing the theory in one or more of its current manifestations. Henry Giroux and Peter
McLaren are among the best known of today’s critical theorists, and we find critical theorists
working across a spectrum of intellectual frames: postmodernism (Peters, 1995); critical
pedagogy (Kanpol, 1994); power (Apple, 1993; Cherryholmes, 1988); teaching (Beyer, 1986;
Gibson, 1986; Henricksen & Morgan, 1990; Simon, 1992; Weiler & Mitchell, 1992); curriculum
(Apple, 1990; Giroux, Penna & Pinar, 1981; Beyer & Apple, 1988; Pinar, 1988; Castenell &
Pinar, 1993); feminist pedagogies (Ellsworth, 1989a; Lather, 1991; Luke & Gore, 1992); teacher
education (Sprague, 1992); mass media/communications studies (Hardt, 1993); vocational-
technical studies (Davis, 1991); research summaries about critical theory (Ewert, 1991); and
research using methods of the critical sciences (Carr & Kemmis, 1986; Grumet, 1992).

Publications on critical theory in education:

At least two publications attend in depth to Habermasian critical theory in education. Ewert
(1991) has written a comprehensive analysis of the relationships of Habermasian critical theory
to education, and in A Critical Theory of Education, Young (1990) tries to present a rather
complete picture of Habermas’s critical theory and its relations to education. Young says that
critical theorists believe that extreme rationalization has lent itself to the further development of
an alienated culture of manipulation. In the science of education, this led to a view of pedagogy
as manipulation, while curriculum was divided into value-free subjects and value-based subjects
where values were located decisionistically. The older view of pedagogy as a moral/ethical and
practical art was abandoned.

Young (1990) further points out that Habermas and other critical theorists believe that:

Threshold of a learning:

We are on the threshold of a learning level characterized by the personal maturity of the
decentered ego and by open, reflexive communication which fosters democratic participation and
responsibility for all. We fall short of this because of the one-sided development of our rational
capacity for understanding.

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Another seminal thinker who is responsible for several notions of critical theory in education is
Paulo Freire. Freire’s work, especially Pedagogy of the Oppressed (Freire, 1969), has been very
influential in critical-education circles:

Freire’s project:

Freire’s project of democratic dialogue is attuned to the concrete operations of power (in and out
of the classroom) and grounded in the painful yet empowering process of conscientization. This
process embraces a critical demystifying moment in which structures of domination are laid bare
and political engagement is imperative. This unique fusion of social theory, moral outrage, and
political praxis constitutes a kind of pedagogical politics of conversation in which objects of
history constitute themselves as active subjects of history ready to make a fundamental
difference in the quality of the lives they individually and collectively live. Freire’s genius is to
explicate and exemplify the dynamics of this process of how ordinary people can and do make
history in how they think, feel, act, and love (West, 1993).

References:

1. Jamil, M., & Muhammad, Y. (2019). Teaching science students to think critically: Understanding
secondary school teachers’ practices. Journal of Research and Reflections in Education, 13(2), 1-11.
2. Hussain, A. (2019, September 07). AIOU assignment bed 1.5 Year 2.5 year 8611 critical
thinking and reflective Practices Assignment 1. Retrieved February 14, 2021, from
https://bedmedassignment.blogspot.com/2019/09/aiou-assignment-bed-1-5-year-2-5-year-
8611-critical-thinking-and-reflective-practices-assignment-1.html
3. Ejaz, M. (2017). CRITICAL THINKING AND REFLECTIVE PRACTICES (First ed.).
Islamabad, Pakistan: Allama iqbal open university.

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Question # 03:

Enlist three strategies for developing critical thinking in the classroom interaction. Explain
which one is best and why is it so? (20)

Answer

Critical thinking:

Thinking critically is more than just thinking clearly or rationally; it’s about thinking
independently. It means formulating your own opinions and drawing your conclusions regardless
of outside influence. It’s about the discipline of analysis and seeing the connections between
ideas, and being wide open to other viewpoints and opinions.

Teaching critical thinking skills:

Teaching critical thinking skills is a necessity with our students because they’re crucial for
living life. As such, every teacher is looking for exciting ways to integrate it into classrooms.
However, what exactly are these skills, and what are some of the best strategies teachers can use
for teaching them?

Developing critical thinkers in the classroom is essential to creating a classroom full of excited
and motivated learners. What exactly is a “critical thinker”? Critical thinkers don’t just think
clearly or rationally; they use skillful analyzing, assessing, and reconstructing to make decisions
every day. When we develop critical thinkers, this happens seamlessly. According to Educational
Psychologist Dr. Linda Elder, “Critical thinking is self-guided, self-disciplined thinking which
attempts to reason at the highest level of quality in a fair-minded way. People who think
critically consistently attempt to live rationally, reasonably, empathically.”

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Students who master their critical thinking skills will be able to differentiate between which
influences will shape their personality and which influences will not. Further details to our
descriptions may need to be added for those who know little about critical thinking.

Strategies of developing critical thinking:

There is nothing magical about our ideas. No one of them is essential. Nevertheless, each
represents a plausible way to begin to do something concrete to improve thinking in a regular
way. Though you probably can’t do all of these at the same time, we recommend an approach in
which you experiment with all of these over an extended period of time.

9. Analyze 1. Use
group “Wasted” 2. A Problem
Time. A Day
influences on
your life

8. Get in 3. Internalize
touch with Intellectual
your emotions Standards
Strategies
of critical
thinking

7. Redefine the 4. Keep an

Way You See Intellectual
Things Journal

6. Deal with 5. Reshape

Your Ego Your
Character

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First Strategy:

Use “Wasted” Time. All humans waste some time; that is, fail to use all of their time
productively or even pleasurably. Sometimes we jump from one diversion to another, without
enjoying any of them. Sometimes we become irritated about matters beyond our control.
Sometimes we fail to plan well causing us negative consequences we could easily have avoided
(for example, we spend time unnecessarily trapped in traffic — though we could have left a half
hour earlier and avoided the rush). Sometimes we worry unproductively. Sometimes we spend
time regretting what is past. Sometimes we just stare off blankly into space. The key is that the
time is “gone” even though, if we had thought about it and considered our options, we would
never have deliberately spent our time in the way we did. So why not take advantage of the time
you normally waste by practicing your critical thinking during that otherwise wasted time? For
example, instead of sitting in front of the TV at the end of the day flicking from channel to
channel in a vain search for a program worth watching, spend that time, or at least part of it,
thinking back over your day and evaluating your strengths and weaknesses.

For example, you might ask yourself questions like these: When did I do my worst thinking
today? When did I do my best? What in fact did I think about today? Did I figure anything out?

Second Strategy:

A Problem A Day. At the beginning of each day (perhaps driving to work or going to school)
choose a problem to work on when you have free moments. Figure out the logic of the problem
by identifying its elements. In other words, systematically think through the questions: What
exactly is the problem? How can I put it into the form of a question? How does it relate to my
goals, purposes, and needs?

1. Wherever possible take problems one by one. State the problem as clearly and precisely as
you can.

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 2. Study the problem to make clear the “kind” of problem you are dealing with. Figure out, for
example, what sorts of things you are going to have to do to solve it. Distinguish Problems over
which you have some control from problems over which you have no control. Set aside the
problems over which you have no control, concentrating your efforts on those problems you can
potentially solve.

3. Figure out the information you need and actively seek that information.

4. Carefully analyze and interpret the information you collect, drawing what reasonable
inferences you can.

5. Figure out your options for action. What can you do in the short term? In the long term?
Distinguish problems under your control from problems beyond your control. Recognize
explicitly your limitations as far as money, time, and power.

6. Evaluate your options, taking into account their advantages and disadvantages in the situation
you are in.

7. Adopt a strategic approach to the problem and follow through on that strategy. This may
involve direct action or a carefully thought-through wait-and-see strategy.

Third Strategy: Internalize Intellectual Standards.

Each week, develop a heightened awareness of one of the universal intellectual standards
(clarity, precision, accuracy, relevance, depth, breadth, logicalness, significance). Focus one
week on clarity, the next on accuracy, etc. For example, if you are focusing on clarity for the
week, try to notice when you are being unclear in communicating with others. Notice when
others are unclear in what they are saying. When you are reading, notice whether you are clear
about what you are reading. When you orally express or write out your views (for whatever
reason), ask yourself whether you are clear about what you are trying to say. In doing this, of
course, focus on four techniques of clarification:

1) Stating what you are saying explicitly and precisely (with careful consideration given to your
choice of words),

2) Elaborating on your meaning in other words,

3) Giving examples of what you mean from experiences you have had, and

4) Using analogies, metaphors, pictures, or diagrams to illustrate what you mean. In other
words, you will frequently STATE, ELABORATE, ILLUSTRATE, AND EXEMPLIFY your
points. You will regularly ask others to do the same. Fourth Strategy: Keep An Intellectual
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Journal. Each week, write out a certain number of journal entries. Use the following format
(keeping each numbered stage separate):

1. Situation. Describe a situation that is, or was, emotionally significant to you (that is, that you
deeply care about). Focus on one situation at a time.

2. Your Response. Describe what you did in response to that situation. Be specific and exact.

Strategy Five: Reshape Your Character.

Choose one intellectual trait---intellectual perseverance, autonomy, empathy, courage, humility,

etc. --- to strive for each month, focusing on how you can develop that trait in yourself.

For example, concentrating on intellectual humility, begin to notice when you admit you are
wrong. Notice when you refuse to admit you are wrong, even in the face of glaring evidence that
you are in fact wrong. Notice when you become defensive when another person tries to point out
a deficiency in your work, or your thinking. Notice when your intellectual arrogance keeps you
from learning, for example, when you say to yourself “I already know everything I need to know
about this subject.” Or, “I know as much as he does. Who does he think he is forcing his
opinions on me?” By owning your “ignorance,” you can begin to deal with it.

Strategy Six: Deal with Your Egocentrism.

Egocentric thinking is found in the disposition in human nature to think with an automatic
subconscious bias in favor of oneself. On a daily basis, you can begin to observe your egocentric
thinking in action by contemplating questions like these: Under what circumstances do I think
with a bias in favor of myself? Did I ever become irritable over small things? Did I do or say
anything “irrational” to get my way? Did I try to impose my will upon others? Did I ever fail to
speak my mind when I felt strongly about something, and then later feel resentment? Once you
identify egocentric thinking in operation, you can then work to replace it with more rational
thought through systematic self-reflection, thinking along the lines of: What would a rational
person feel in this or that situation? What would a rational person do? How does that compare
with what I want to do?

Strategy Seven: Redefine the Way You See Things.

We live in a world, both personal and social, in which every situation is “defined,” that is, given
a meaning. How a situation is defined determines not only how we feel about it, but also how we
act in it, and what implications it has for us. However, virtually every situation can be defined in
more than one way. This fact carries with it tremendous opportunities. In principle, it lies within
your power and mine to make our lives more happy and fulfilling than they are. Many of the
negative definitions that we give to situations in our lives could in principle be transformed into
positive ones. We can be happy when otherwise we would have been sad.
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 Strategy Eight: Get in touch with your emotions:

Whenever you feel some negative emotion, systematically ask yourself: What, exactly, is the
thinking leading to this emotion? For example, if you are angry, ask yourself, what is the
thinking that is making me angry? What other ways could I think about this situation?

For example, can you think about the situation so as to see the humor in it and what is pitiable in
it? If you can, concentrate on that thinking and your emotions will (eventually) shift to match it.

Strategy Nine: Analyze group influences on your life:

Closely analyze the behavior that is encouraged, and discouraged, in the groups to which you
belong. For any given group, what are you "required" to believe? What are you "forbidden" to
do? Every group enforces some level of conformity. Most people live much too much within the
view of themselves projected by others. Discover what pressure you are bowing to and think
explicitly about whether or not to reject that pressure.

Conclusion:

The key point to keep in mind when devising strategies is that you are engaged in a personal
experiment. You are testing ideas in your everyday life. You are integrating them, and building
on them, in the light of your actual experience. For example, suppose you find the strategy
“Redefine the Way You See Things” to be intuitive to you. So you use it to begin. Pretty soon
you find yourself noticing the social definitions that rule many situations in your life. You
recognize how your behavior is shaped and controlled by the definitions in use:

1. “I’m giving a party,” (Everyone therefore knows to act in a “partying” way)

2. “The funeral is Tuesday,” (There are specific social behaviors expected at a funeral)

References:

1. Brookfield and Smyth, (1995). New Zealand Curriculum.

http://health.tki.org.nz/Keycollections/Curriculum-in-action/Making-Meaning/Teaching-
and-learningapproaches/Engaging-students-in-critical-thinking

2. Paul, R. & Elder, L. (2001). Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your
Learning and Your Life. http://www.criticalthinking.org/store/products/critical-thinking-
tools-fortaking-charge-of-your-learning-amp-your-life-2nd-edition/143 Smyth (2000),
page 507.

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 3. 5 Easy Strategies for Developing Critical Thinkers. (2020, November 03). Retrieved
December 27, 2020

4. Ejaz, M. (2017). CRITICAL THINKING AND REFLECTIVE PRACTICES (First ed.).

Islamabad, Pakistan: Allama iqbal open university.

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 Question # 04:

Critically analyze the relationship between teachers’ classroom questioning behaviors and a
variety of students’ outcomes, including achievement, retention and level of participation.

Answer

Critical question-answer forums Articles on the subject of classroom questioning often begin by
invoking Socrates. Researchers and other writers concerned with questioning techniques seem to
want to remind us that questioning has a long and venerable history as an educational strategy.
And indeed, the Socratic method of using questions and answers to challenge assumptions,
expose contradictions, and lead to new knowledge and wisdom is an undeniably powerful
teaching approach.

In addition to its long history and demonstrated effectiveness, questioning is also of interest to
researchers and practitioners because of its widespread use as a contemporary teaching technique.
Research indicates that questioning is second only to lecturing in popularity as a teaching method and
that classroom teachers spend anywhere from thirty five to fifty percent of their instructional time
conducting questioning sessions.

The present review focuses on the relationship between teachers' classroom questioning behaviors
and a variety of student outcomes, including achievement, retention, and level of student
participation.

Role of questioning:

Questioning plays a critical role in the way instructors structure the class environment, organize the
content of the course and has deep implications in the way that students assimilate the information that
is presented and discussed in class. Given that questioning can be a tremendously effective way to
teach, and recognizing that teachers are willing to engage in the process of asking questions while
instructing.
Questioning skills:
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Numerous researches indicate that teachers largely have been asking the wrong questions. The focus
has been primarily on questions regarding the specific information students possessed rather than
questions to promote learning. The use of questioning skills is essential to systematic investigation in
any subject area. In such an investigation
1) One asks questions to identify the reason or reasons for the investigation
2) Questions are asked to direct the search for information and to synthesize what has been discovered
3) The conclusions resulting from investigations are evaluated via questions.

Techniques of questioning:

1. Phrasing and re-phrasing; Teacher communicates the question so that all students
understand the response expectation.
2. Adaptation; teacher adapts the question being asked to fit the language and ability level of
the students.
3. Sequencing; teacher arranges the questions in a patterned order indicating a purposeful
questioning strategy without losing any question.
4. Balance; teacher asks both convergent and divergent questions and balances the time
between the two types. The teacher uses questions at an appropriate level or levels to achieve the
objectives of the lesson.
5. Participation; teacher asks and receives questions to stimulate a wide range of student
participation, encouraging responses from volunteering and non-volunteering students, redirects
initially asked questions to other students.
6. Probing; teacher probes initial student answers, and encourages students to complete,
clarify, expand or support their answers.
7. Wait Time (Think Time); teacher pauses three to five seconds after asking a question to
allow students time to think. The teacher also pauses after students’ initial responses to questions
in class.

Taxonomy of Question:
Types Multiple approaches to classifying questions exist in the education literature. The taxonomy
presented below is based on the research of William W. Wilen, and informed by the work of Angelo
V. Ciardiello, both of whom have published extensively on best practices in questioning skills.
Wilen’s simplified classification system is based on the taxonomy presented by Gallagher and
Aschner’s research and takes into account the Bloom’s taxonomy. The taxonomy below presents
separates questions into four quadrants with paired criteria:

Four quadrants with paired questions:

Questions can be either high or low order, and can be either convergent or divergent in their design.

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Low order questions High order questions

What color is the lion in that picture? Why do you suppose the lion is that color? These questions
check a student’s ability to recognize color and identify the color. There is a very narrow range of
possible answers (tan, light yellow, fawn)
This question allows the student to recognize and identify color, but then asks the student to consider
the relationship of the lion’s color to other things (its environment, other lions, other species of
animal, its place on the food chain).
Convergent Divergent:

What other animals can you think of that use color as camouflage? Suppose the lion had been born
with a much darker colored coat, what do you predict would happen to that lion in the wild? This
question checks a student’s ability to identify what role camouflage and animal coloration play in
nature and suggest other examples. (The responses are fairly easily anticipated and require that
students recall other examples of animals they have seen or studied).
This question allows the student to consider a scenario, use knowledge regarding camouflage, coat
coloration and the environment the animal lives in to create an original answer that is logical and
correct.
Comparison:

A low order question is one that requires the student to simply recall a single fact, while a high order
question asks the students to recall facts but to show that they comprehend the topic, situation or
solution to a stated problem. A high order question will require that a student understand the
relationship between a fact and piece of knowledge within the greater context of the situation. The
descriptor convergent refers to the limits placed on the response to a given question. A convergent
question by its nature has a more narrowly defined correct answer – the answer is generally short,
requires little reflection and requires that the responded recall from memory a bit of factual
information. Convergent questions may also be referred to as “closed-ended” questions, meaning that
the instructor is looking for an anticipated response that requires little original thought on the student’s
part. Convergent questions will not require students to put original thought to the development of an
answer. In other words, the answer will have been provided within the context of the lecture or
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readings assigned by the instructor. A divergent question on the other hand, is open-ended by nature.
To respond to a divergent question, a student must be able to recall some information from memory,
but must apply that knowledge and other knowledge to explain, extrapolate or further analyze a topic,
situation or problem. Divergent questions are broader in nature, can have multiple answers, and
require then a higher level of thinking on behalf of the student.

References:
1. Ejaz, M. (2017). CRITICAL THINKING AND REFLECTIVE PRACTICES (First ed.). Islamabad,
Pakistan: Allama iqbal open university.
2. Hussain, A. (2019, September 07). AIOU assignment bed 1.5 Year 2.5 year 8611 critical
thinking and reflective Practices Assignment 1. Retrieved February 14, 2021, from
https://bedmedassignment.blogspot.com/2019/09/aiou-assignment-bed-1-5-year-2-5-year-8611-
critical-thinking-and-reflective-practices-assignment-1.html

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Question # 05:

Write a diary of a shopping day. Write down a detailed reflection of that day using
guidelines of reflective writing.

Answer

Some of the methods of reflection that can be used to write a diary of shopping day:

Shopping's day Diary:

If they are writing the diary in advance they might ask questions like:
1. How I make the list of material to buy?
2. What objectives am I going to attain at the end of the shopping?
3. what is more important aspect that should be given more and quality time?
4. What convince used for shopping day?

Reflection of that day using guidelines of reflective writing:

“Your words are the bricks and mortar of the dreams you want to realize. Your words are the
greatest power you have. The words you choose and their use establish the life you
experience.” – Sonia Choquette

Whether we are young or old, we all have a story to tell, something to express and to offer the
world. Writing activities, and in particular reflective writing, fosters our creativity which is
driven by our life experiences. A growing body of research finds that writing about our responses
to events, situations or new information can have a variety of health benefits.

Reviewing aspects of our lives (its setbacks and positive aspects) can help manage stress, anxiety
and depression, improve mood, self-esteem and positive thinking, help process broken
relationships, help ease symptoms associated with trauma, chronic pain and illness, and even
strengthen our immune system.

Writer Ann Turkle says that, in effect, journaling “becomes a record of generous attention paid
to the immediate moment.” Setting aside time to write and reflect helps us make sense of the
world around us, validates our experiences, helps us regroup and find balance in our busy lives,
and be a vehicle for decision making, change and growth.

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By writing, we have the opportunity to build a blueprint, a moral compass by which we live and
how we treat others.

If journal writing helps us become better communicators, how do we get started?

1. Begin with a gracious heart: writing for ourselves is not about being the best writer, having
the correct spelling and grammar, or even having the nicest handwriting. Letting go of what we
think we should write about requires courage and can lead to boundless creative possibilities. A
journal is a safe place for us to work things out, express our innermost feelings and engage with
our own thoughts.

2. Set the tone: Carve out a special time and place to write. We each have a time of day when
we are more productive. For some, writing in the mornings is more productive and helps face the
day while others prefer writing in the evening to help process the day’s events. Whether in a
quiet area of the house, or in a bustling coffee shop, finding the right time and environment for
reflective writing can help us relax. Carrying a small journal in our bag or purse can help us
record and retrieve special moments in our day.

3. Decide what type of journal to begin: Gratitude journals focus on life’s blessings, prayer
journals record life moments or people in need prayer, and personal development journals track
career goals. Fitness journals help maintain accountability and encouragement with healthier
living choices, travel journals record experiences encountering new places and people, and art

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journals serve as a way to collect inspirational thoughts, images, sketches and clippings. Take
your pick!

4. Use a variety of reflective prompts:

a) Ask questions with a limit: Write about two moments you’ll never forget, five words that
best describe you and 10 things that make you smile. Limiting ourselves to certain parameters
helps us focus.

b) Stream of consciousness writing: Based on Julia Cameron’s The Artists Way, write down
whatever comes to mind for three minutes. Putting un-edited thoughts to paper is an excellent
meditative practice for our busy lives.

c) Write a letter to yourself: Record your goals, what you want your life to look like in a year’s
time, and ways you can attempt to achieve it. Seal it and open it in six months to see how you are
doing.

d) Pick a memento: Choose an object and write about when, where and from who it was
received. Discuss its importance and meaning. Objects have the power to open floodgates to
meaningful memories.

5. Seek out community resources: Look for local writers’ groups either at the library or
community center, local creative arts classes that have writing components, or even swap ideas
with friends and family.

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 Remind yourself there is not a right or wrong way to write reflectively; it’s a “space for
questions that may not have answers, a place for thoughts that may otherwise not have a home
and a safe container for emotions so that they do not have to be loose in the world.” (Kelly
Brown)

References
1. Hussain, A. (2019, September 07). AIOU assignment bed 1.5 Year 2.5 year 8611 critical
thinking and reflective Practices Assignment 1. Retrieved February 14, 2021, from
https://bedmedassignment.blogspot.com/2019/09/aiou-assignment-bed-1-5-year-2-5-year-8611-
critical-thinking-and-reflective-practices-assignment-1.html
2. Ejaz, M. (2017). CRITICAL THINKING AND REFLECTIVE PRACTICES (First ed.). Islamabad,
Pakistan: Allama iqbal open university.

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