Today we primarily discussed the critical thinking element "implications/consequences" through the Elon Musk interview and the news of Canada's legalization of marijuana. This connected to Musk's one try of marijuana on the interview which is again in the news -- he must step down from CEO for three years and pay millions of dollars. We discussed the lack of logic in that as well. Bobby said that the implications of Canada's decision may lead to the U.S. legalization of marijuana as well, and that many people will move to Canada. We pushed the implications further to how the government will benefit financially. On the interview the implications regarding Musk's idea to no longer limit ourselves to 2-D traffic and travel, but to go 3D by myriad tunnels under our main roads to eliminate traffic, led to in-depth critical thinking to assess its feasibility, pros and cons, etc. Bobby has a cartoon assignment where he must analyze the main message and underlying concepts through the eight elements.
First, Marcel and I reviewed critical thinking elements. Then he showed me his storyboard that we had worked on last week. We assessed it critically. Finally, Marcel explained the writing prompt he received for a 20-minute practice. He asked for, and received, strategies on how to do this type of writing within that time frame. We talked about how he could incorporate critical thinking terms. He put on a time and began, as did I. Afterward, we read his paper and critiqued it, and then mine. Marcel picked up some new ideas from my example, and also noted that he could have used dialogue and a more specific scene. I let him keep my paper for reference; it also shows critical thinking elements explicitly in the text.
Marcel reviewed the eight elements of critical thinking, and then we applied these in depth to the picture he was given as the last "slide" of the picture board. What did he think was the purpose of that photo? We turned that question into three differing perspective questions. Then we discussed the question at issue, and what questions the image could possibly bring to thought (from surface level to deeply reasoned conclusions based on what could be gleaned in the image). We continued with all eight elements in this manner. Marcel took copious notes. Then we compared story lines -- I gave him mine and he explained his. He is illustrating his story well. The synopsis he will need to write for the storyboard was discussed; a strategy to make it outstanding is to use the critical thinking standard "significance" in those few required sentences because if he can clearly explain the significance of the girl in the picture, in his narrative, in real-life terms, that will be obvious high-level work.
We reviewed the elements of CT as a refresher, and then moved to our weekly focus on just one of them -- this week it was (is) inference. Bobby had to explain what an inference is well enough to move forward into its use by watching more of the Elon Musk interview. What did Bobby infer from (selected comments, selected interactive discussion with the interviewer, body language). Great session! He filled out the inference worksheet (I have one for each week) and his homework is to be alert to inferences he is making or that he sees others making.
Today we reviewed the first two elements of thought, purpose and question, and moved our focus to the third element: information. Bobby learned that the primary evaluation of information lies in its ability to stand up to tests of relevancy and reliability. We used an interview of Elon Musk to advance authentic application of these first three elements in recognition of them in Musk. Bobby began to ask quite a few questions (CT element) and is assigned three items to research to get relevant and reliable information. A couple of the questions genuinely came from the developing intellectual curiosity I see in him. The hour went by fast and we accomplished a great deal. Bobby is advancing as a critical thinker more and more each week.
Marcel did very well with the introductory session on critical thinking. This system is based on The Foundation for Critical Thinking, the longest running think tank in the world, Linda Elder, president. It is the preferred system of critical thinking for Palm Beach State College and many universities internationally, as well as our U.S. Intelligence agencies. Marcel learned the three categories of CT, elements of thought for analysis, standards for evaluation, and intellectual traits for character building and analysis in literature. We discussed, questioned, and sought examples to expound on the first eight terms (elements) and Marcel charted them on a wheel diagram that we will use for writing the logic of texts. We covered a fair amount quickly, and Marcel grasped the initial meanings quite well. I look forward to working with him more to move his thought to become a master critical thinker as he has the capacity to do so. This knowledge will enable Marcel to create original content at a high level in both speaking and writing. It will aid in good decision-making. It was a pleasure to work with him today.
Bobby and I sat outside for the first hour with a newspaper. He is discovering reasons to read/watch/keep up with the news. He chose an unlikely article to "spring" on his dad! Its title is "Thousands of pounds of trash is waiting ... for you." First, Bobby read the article out loud quickly. Then we began the Worksheet on CT element "question" from which we advanced in the second hour to analyzing the article -- its purpose, what they're trying to figure out, what point of view is involved, etc. To begin, Bobby wrote a short definition of "question" and I then had him take one minute to write as many questions as possible. We took the first one, "Why do we have to age?" and spent about 12 minutes in Socratic questioning which led Bobby through some deep thinking -- really stretching! I explained that he just participated in Socratic questioning and that I would teach him how to do it himself. It's complex and an art so we will work on it bit by bit. We reviewed academic vocabulary from last week, and added some words from the news article. Homework: find another news article that we will analyze with the CT elements. Be aware of "question" this week, consistently asking himself what questions he has, and what questions others have.
Bobby was introduced to the eight elements of critical thinking. He created a graph to label as we discussed the terms. He filled out a questionnaire to share his areas of high interest. Our focus in on the element "purpose" this week. Bobby's homework is to find a news article that we will analyze, ask someone about the purpose of their job or career, and self-monitor about his own purposes in making decisions, etc. We analyzed an ad for a car (Bobby's chose it) and questioned the purposes of the advertiser and designer. Then we researched the beginnings of the game of basketball, asking questions about the purpose of the game and its rules.
