Critical Thinking Skills

1. Critical Thinking Skills Critical Thinking – skillfully analyzing, assessing and reconstructing an idea using effective communication and problem-solving abilities Analyzing – identify the question at issue, sources of information, inferences, assumptions, implications, main concepts & point of view Assessing – check for clarity, accuracy, relevance, significance, logic and fairness & past precedent

2. Think about it… • Does this outfit match? • Why or why not? Support your opinion with logic. • What kind of evidence could you use to support your opinion? • Can you argue for the other side?

3. Think About It… • Does this outfit match? • Why or why not? Support your opinion with logic. • Can you provide evidence? • How else might you support your opinion?

4. Think about it… • Does this outfit match? • Support your opinion with logic. • Support your opinion with evidence. • If you have no evidence, how else could you defend your argument?

5. School Rules You will be assigned to a group of 3 – 4 students. Identify a school rule or policy that you would like to see changed or that is a “hot topic” issue. As a group, use your critical thinking skills to analyze and assess the issue. Why does this rule / policy exist? Who does it protect? How? Why should it be changed? How would you change it (what would your new rule / policy be)? Justify the change with logic, evidence, etc. Two group members should be prepared to defend the current rule / policy. Two members should be prepared to argue for change.

6. Don’t forget: You can copy-paste this slide into other presentations, and move or resize the poll.