Professional Documents
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Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Day 1
Location, Date
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Learning outcomes
In this session you will learn about:
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Maya: find your light
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Critical thinking: cognitive scientist’s definition
There are three types of thinking. Critical thinking is a sub-set of each
(Willingham, 2007).
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Critical thinking: cognitive scientist’s definition
What makes thinking critical? It needs to be:
• effective – avoid common mistakes such as seeing only one
side of an issue, discounting new evidence that disconfirms
your ideas, reasoning from passion rather than from logic,
failing to support statements with evidence, etc.
• novel – you don’t simply remember a solution that is similar
enough to guide you
• self-directed – the student thinks independently.
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Four key features we will focus on
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Objectives of the programme
You will:
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Three key teaching practices:
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Agenda
Day one Day two School projects Day three
Session 1: Session 1: Evidence, Session 1: Review Session 1: Sharing
Introduction to CTPS part 2 lessons learned from
school projects
Session 4: Evidence, Session 4: Planning for Session 4: Reflection Session 4: Planning for
part 1 school projects further exploration of
CTPS
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What we expect of you?
Think hard how to use critical
thinking and problem solving in
what you teach.
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What are your own learning objectives?
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Considering different
perspectives
Day 1
Location, Date
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Learning outcomes
In this session you will learn about:
• why it is important
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Dead poets’ society
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What do you see here?
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Different perspectives on social issues
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Design the ideal wallet.
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Different perspectives towards a character
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Asking good questions
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Syria: 11 million have been forced to leave home
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Teaching students how to ask good questions
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Designing an activity
Please keep in mind these suggestions:
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Practising the activity
Please work in pairs.
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Assessing evidence
Day 1
Location, Date
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Learning outcomes
In this session you will learn about:
• why it is important
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Stigma around HIV/aids
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HIV is not passed on easily
HIV does not spread through the air like cold and flu viruses.
The main ways the virus enters the HIV is not passed on through:
bloodstream are: • kissing
• by injecting into the bloodstream (with a • spitting
contaminated needle or injecting
equipment) • being bitten
• contact with unbroken, healthy skin
• through the thin lining on or inside the
anus and genitals • being sneezed on
• sharing baths, towels or cutlery
• through the thin lining of the mouth and
eyes • using the same toilets or swimming pools
• mouth-to-mouth resuscitation
• via cuts and sores in the skin.
• contact with animals or insects such as
mosquitoes.
Source: www.nhs.uk
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Human development facts
How did deaths per year from natural disasters change in
the last century?
• Almost halved.
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Human development facts
How many years have women aged 30 years spent in school
on average? (Men of the same age spent around eight years.)
• Seven years.
• Five years.
• Three years.
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Human development facts
How has the percentage of people living in extreme poverty
in the world changed in the last 20 years?
• Almost doubled.
• Almost halved.
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Human development facts: the answers
How did deaths per year from natural disasters change
in the last century?
• Almost halved.
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Human development facts: the answers
How many years have women aged 30 years spent in school on
average? (Men of the same age spent around eight years.)
• Seven years.
• Five years.
• Three years.
In the US, just one in four people knew the right answer.
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Human development facts: the answers
How has the percentage of people living in extreme poverty in
the world changed in the last 20 years?
• Almost doubled.
• Almost halved.
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Is climate change real?
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Teaching students how to assess evidence
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Stick or switch?
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Stick or switch?
? ?
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Stick or switch? The answer
You picked
Door C
Door A Door B is eliminated
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Justification of slavery
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Assessing evidence
Day 2
Location, Date
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Learning outcomes
In this session you will learn about:
• why it is important
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What kind of feedback is most useful? why?
• I can see that you are very hardworking.
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Suggestions on providing effective feedback
• Focus on smaller aspects of the task with
an addition of goals.
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Video on specific feedback
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Designing an activity
Please keep in mind these suggestions:
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Practising the activity
Please work in pairs.
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Non-routine
problems
Day 2
Location, Date
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Learning outcomes
In this session you will learn about:
• why it is important
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Non-routine problems
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Routine and non-routine problems
Routine questions. Routine questions can
be answered or solved using methods
familiar to students by replicating previously
learned methods in a step-by-step fashion.
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Why solving non-routine problems is important?
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Break the law and do the right thing?
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Oh, the places you’ll go!
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Design for change
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Role modelling, thinking aloud
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Last year was unusually dry in Great Britain. England usually
England and Scotland had 200mm less rain than usual. Tom and
Laura heard this on the radio. Tom thinks when you compare
correct.
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It looks like I need to divide the change amount by the original amount to find the percentage change in
So the percentage decrease for England is much greater (25 per cent) than for Scotland (13 per cent). Now I see
what Laura is saying! It’s different because the decrease in rainfall for Scotland is much smaller than the
decrease for England. Finally, I ask myself, ‘Does this answer make sense when I re-read the problem?’ Tom’s
answer makes sense because both countries did have a decline of 200mm in rainfall. Laura is also right, because
the percentage decrease for Scotland is much smaller than the percentage decrease for England. Now both
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Rainy weather
1. “What is this story about? What do I need to find out?”
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Designing an activity
Please keep in mind these suggestions:
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Practising the activity
Please work in pairs.
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Action planning
Day 2
Location, Date
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Looking for deep
structure
Day 3
Location, Date
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Learning outcomes
In this session you will learn about:
• why it is important
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A treasure hunter
…was going to explore a cave up on a hill near a beach. He
suspected there might be many paths inside the cave so he
was afraid he might get lost. Obviously, he did not have a
map of the cave; all he had with him were some common
items such as a flashlight and a bag. What could he do to
make sure he did not get lost trying to get back out of the
cave later?
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Here is the solution: it is to carry some sand with you in the bag, and
leave a trail as you go, so you can find your way back out of the cave.
On one level, this story is about a treasure hunter and a cave. On another
level, however, the story is about finding something with which to leave a
trail.
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Surface and deep structures
• Deep structure refers to a principle that goes beyond
specific examples.
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Attacking the tumour
Suppose you are a doctor faced with a patient who has a
malignant tumour in his stomach. It is impossible to operate on
the patient, but unless the tumour is destroyed, the patient will
die. There is a kind of ray that can be used to destroy the
tumour. If the rays reach the tumour all at once at a sufficiently
high intensity, the tumour will be destroyed. Unfortunately at
this intensity the healthy tissue that the rays pass through on
the way to the tumour will also be destroyed.
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Attacking the tumour
At lower intensities the rays are harmless to healthy tissue, but
they will not affect the tumour either.
What type of procedure might be used to destroy
the tumour with the rays, and at the same time avoid destroying
the healthy tissue?
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The solution is to use a number of weaker rays coming from
weaker rays can pass through the healthy tissue, but they
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A wicked king
A wicked king ruled a small country from a fortress. The
fortress was situated in the middle of the country and many
roads radiated outward from it, like spokes on a wheel. A
great general vowed to capture the fortress and free the
country of the wicked king. The general knew that if his
entire army could attack the fortress at once, it could be
captured. But a spy reported that the king had planted mines
on each of the roads. The mines were set so that small bodies
of men could pass over them safely, since the dictator
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A wicked king
needed to be able to move troops and workers about;
however, any large force would detonate
the mines. Not only would this blow up the road, but the
king would destroy many villages in retaliation. How could
the general attack the fortress?
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The general needs to disperse the troops first, and
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Climate change in a bottle
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Moving from surface to deep structures
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Designing an activity
Please keep in mind these suggestions:
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Practising the activity
Please work in pairs.
Ten minutes each to teach a mini-lesson.
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