SAJAN KARNLecturer, Tribhuvan University

Vice Chair, NELTA Birgunj

We prefer to do what have been done, not what have not been

done.

“I thought it was no big deal.”

“I just wasn’t thinking”

“How was I supposed to know?”

“I can’t think of everything!”

“My bad…”

Is it important to do things not done?

If yes, why?

The world we have created is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without changing our thinking. 

Albert Einstein

You and I are not what we eat; we are what we think. 

Walter Anderson

I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think."

- Socrates, Greek philosopher(469-399 BCE)

Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably why so few engage in it.

Henry Ford

Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything one learned in school." 

Albert Einstein

Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.

  Malcolm S. Forbes

The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.

Plutarch

Unfortunately, filling vessels has been a preferred strategy of most of the teachers

Three categories of educational objectives:

Cognitive domain Affective domain Pshyochomotor

domain

Knowledge – facts or bits of information Comprehension – understanding what information

means Application – finding a practical use for the

knowledge Analysis – breaking down the knowledge into

component parts Synthesis – connecting knowledge to other

knowledge and devising something new Evaluation – judging knowledge

Michael Scriven and Richard Paul Say:

Critical thinking is the process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.

The art of thinking about your thinking, while The art of thinking about your thinking, while

youyou’’re thinking, so as to make your thinking re thinking, so as to make your thinking

more clear, precise, accurate, relevant, more clear, precise, accurate, relevant,

consistent, and fair; the art of constructive consistent, and fair; the art of constructive

skepticism; the art of identifying and skepticism; the art of identifying and

removing biasremoving bias……and one-sidedness of and one-sidedness of

thought; the art of self-directed, in-depth thought; the art of self-directed, in-depth

thinkingthinking…… (Paul, 1990)

Critical thinking should not be confused with being argumentative or being critical of other people.

Although critical thinking skills can be used in exposing fallacies and bad reasoning, critical thinking can also play an important role in cooperative reasoning and constructive tasks.

We can use critical thinking to enhance work processes and improve social institutions.

Good critical thinking might be seen as the foundation of science and a liberal democratic society.

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Critical thinking promotes creativity.

Critical thinking is crucial for self-reflection

Critical thinking enhances language and presentation skills

Critical thinking is very important in the new knowledge economy.

"Critical thinking is the art of taking charge of your own mind.  Its value is simple: if we can take charge of our own minds, we can take charge of our lives”

students learn to think more critically, they become more proficient at historical, scientific, and mathematical thinking.  Finally, they develop skills, abilities, and values crucial to success in everyday life. ...

Critical thinking is essential if we are to get to the root of our problems and develop reasonable solutions. After all, the quality of everything we do is determined by the quality of our thinking.

A critical thinker is someone who explores and considers as many possibilities as they can. Their thinking is not bound by rules, and they try their best not to use emotions to justify their ideas.

Given a sentence written in the past or present tense, the student will be able to use the future tense to rewrite the sentence with no errors in tense and no tense contradiction

Having read Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, the student will be able to clearly contrast 2 characters’ motives behind their actions in a written response measured with anappropriate rubric.

Given the poem, the students will be able to compose a nature poem in two stanzas including a paradox.

Given a list of 20 words with similar meanings, the student will be able to correctly arrange the words into groups of synonyms.

Involve them in guessing Brainstorming Applications Think-Pair-Share ConcepTests Think Aloud Pair Problem

Solving (TAPPS) The Minute Paper Promote interaction

among students Ask open-ended

questions Allow sufficient time for

reflection Teach students to apply

knowledge Use real-life problems

Asking students to take part in debate, elocutions

Asking them to argue for or against a motion

Asking them to compose a poem /story Asking them to write argumentative

essays Asking them questions but open-ended Give their own opinions or call on their

own experiences Process the rules of the language to solve

problems with the language, Use their imagination to role play

situations using the target language,

Education is for life, not for living.

Critical thinking prepares students to educate themselves for the rest

of their lives