Sunday, June 4, 2017

Answering Good Questions is Critical Thinking

The first thing to understand is that nothing in teaching is more important than engagement. The analogy I once heard and that I share regularly is, A car does not work unless it is engaged in gear; similarly, the brain won't move unless it is engaged. "Engaged in what?" becomes the question.

It's the big question. How do people choose between right and wrong? How far will we go in taking a stand?* (Think Atticus Finch, Martin Luther King Jr., Vietnam.) What elements of the Greek and American Democracy do we want to include in our school's new constitution? In subsequent years this becomes a shorter study: Do we need to amend our constitution based on academic and discipline data?

It's the smaller questions throughout. Which author of the two articles provides support for Antigone's decision to bury her brother despite the edict? Does the reference to Atticus Finch here strengthen or weaken the author's claim? Based on this text, why did the Greeks include a form of impeachment in their democracy?

It's the follow-up, probing questions: Why do you consider belligerent to be loaded language? You provided several pieces of evidence for your position; if, like Atticus, you were a lawyer, what is your key piece of evidence and why? Who wants to agree or disagree with Zed's analysis here and why?

Simply put: Engaging with and answering good questions based on a deep study of relevant texts is critical thinking.

*Inspired by EL Education Unit


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