t eaching c ritical t hinking : m eeting esol n eeds in a merican c ontexts by helen alexander and...

TEACHING CRITICAL THINKING: MEETING ESOL NEEDS IN AMERICAN CONTEXTS

by Helen Alexander

and Mira Deliyska

3-3:45pm, Friday April 8, 2011Convention Center - 203B

1

WHY IS CRITICAL THINKING IMPORTANT?

Importance in American colleges and universities Mission Statements: Educational philosophy of

American classrooms Across the curriculum

Importance for American employers For business For industry For professionals

Personal Growth Flexibility Ambiguity tolerance

2

WHAT IS CRITICAL THINKING? There are many definitions for many uses, most too

vague: Business: Wolcott & Lynch (2002). Developing Critical

Thinking Skills: The Key to Professional Competencies. A faculty handbook and tool kit. Sarasota, FL: American Accounting Association. http://www.wolcottlynch.com

Philosophical: Foundation for Critical Thinking: Michael Scriven & Richard Paul, 1987. www.criticalthinking.org

Pedagogical: Peter A. Facione (2006). Critical Thinking: What is it and Why It Counts http://www.insightassessment.com/pdf_files/what&why2006.pdf

3

CRITICAL THINKING FOR ESOL NEEDS

We need to teach the ways and processes by which we come to an informed decision AND by which we communicate our processes and decisions to others (H. Alexander, 2010).

Critical thinking skills are teachable. For ESOL, students need to become cognizant of cultural implications.

4

WHAT AFFECTS CRITICAL THINKING?

Culture Including language and educationCan be seen through contrastive rhetoric

studies IndonesianThaiChineseArabic

5


Culture

6


“When Thai students in Thailand wrote narratives in both Thai and English, the rhetorical features of psychological plot and internal mental changes in their personae were foregrounded. She compared the Thai students’ narratives in both English and Thai with English narratives by US students of the same age and class background, in which, by contrast, physical plot and external events moved the narrative forward. . . . Indrasutra [, the researcher,] attributes the focus on mental states in the Thai students’ essays in both Thai and English to the Buddhist philosophy and the didactic purpose of the narrative in Thai culture. American students [sic] writers, on the other hand, saw themselves in control of the many events in their stories and wrote to entertain, not educate an audience.” Severino (p. 48, 1993)

7


Severino (1993) and Xing, Wang, & Spencer (2008), report some Chinese and Taiwanese students as exhibiting inductive, “start-sustain-turn-sum”, circular and metaphorical structures when writing. “It is claimed that Chinese rhetorical style consists of a four-part pattern: qi (‘start, open’) establishes the field or prepares the reader for the topic; cheng (‘carry on, sustain’) introduces and develops the topic; zhuan (‘turn’) turns to a seemingly unrelated subject or looks at the problem from another angle; and he (‘conclude’) sums up the essay whereby the author’s opinion is established or hinted at” (p. 74, Xing, et al). Severino’s students self-reported their preference for the four-part structure.

8


“Written discourse of Arab ESL learners is dependent on the Arabic logic and cultural thought patterns. The rhetoric of a tightly organized, logical presentation of ideas is as foreign to Arab students as English itself (Yorkey, 1977). On the other hand, English rhetoric is often construed as cold and highly impersonal rather than embellished as is the elite style of literary Arabic” (p. 5, Santos & Suleiman, 1993).

9


Students’ receptivity:William Perry’s model of intellectual

and moral developmentKing & Kitchener’s reflective modelWolcott & Lynch: “Steps for better

thinking”

10

WHAT AFFECTS CRITICAL THINKING?(STUDENTS’ RECEPTIVITY) Perry’s model of intellectual development:

Dualism (Positions 1-2): Knowledge is black and white. Authority Figures have the right answers.

Multiplicity (Positions 3-4): There are grey areas when it comes to knowledge.

Relativism (Positions 5-6): All opinions are equally valid. There is uncertainty.

Commitment (Positions 7-9): One must weigh the evidence, commit to an opinion and be able to defend it or possibly change one’s opinion, as more evidence becomes available. Knowledge claims must be evaluated in relationship to the context.

11

WHAT AFFECTS CRITICAL THINKING?(STUDENTS’ RECEPTIVITY, CONT’D)

Reflective Judgment Model: King & Kitchener Pre-reflective Reasoning (Stages 1-3): “…Knowledge

is gained through the word of an authority figure or through firsthand observation” (King & Kitchener, 2002).

Quasi-Reflective Reasoning (Stages 4-5): Recognition of uncertainty, but due to lack of information. One does not understand of how evidence entails a conclusion.

Reflective Reasoning (Stages 6-7): One makes judgments that are “most reasonable” and about which they are “relatively certain,” based on their evaluation of available data. Knowledge claims must be evaluated in relationship to the context.

12

WHAT AFFECTS CRITICAL THINKING?(STUDENTS’ RECEPTIVITY, CONT’D)

“Steps for better thinking,” Wolcott & Lynch for business, based on King & Kitchener’s reflective judgment model and Fischer’s dynamic skill theory—with college classroom practice

Foundation: Knowing (Repeat information. Reason to single “correct” solution, perform computations, etc.)

Step 1: Identifying (Identify problem and acknowledge reasons for enduring uncertainty and absence of single “correct” solution)

Step 2: Exploring (Interpret and organize information in meaningful ways that encompass problem complexities)

Step 3: Prioritizing (After thorough analysis, develop and use reasonable guidelines for prioritizing factors to consider and choosing among solution options)

Step 4: Envisioning (Acknowledge, explain, and monitor limitations of endorsed solution; strategic innovation)

13

TEACHING CRITICAL THINKING:CRITICAL THINKING PATTERNS ACCEPTABLE IN AMERICAN CULTURE

Deductive Aristotelian Logic

Syllogisms:

All men are mortal.

Socrates is a man.

Therefore Socrates is mortal.

14


The Use of Deductive and Inductive Reasoning Deductive: the strongest defense of ideas; it

begins with general rules or principles to which both the author and reader/listener agree to come to a specific conclusion

Inductive: can be very persuasive based on the weakness or strength of the connection between the observation and the conclusion. Inductive reasoning also sets up the general principles of deductive reasoning: scientists use inductive reasoning to create experiments, observe results, and posit theories about why things happen all the time, and so do we.

15

Socratic Seminar:

Socratic Seminar is the use of questions don’t necessarily have one right answer. It is meant to foster a spirit of inquiry through discussion or dialog and involves:

(1) a text or problem, (2) the questions raised, (3) the seminar leader, (4) the participants.

16


Toulmin: Claim: You should buy our tooth-whitening product. Data: Studies show that teeth are 50% whiter after using the product for a specified

time. Warrant: People want whiter teeth.

LeTourneau University (2002)

17


TEACHING CRITICAL THINKING

Additional elements to teachproperty approach to ideas

(plagiarism and intellectual property)authorityempirical foundationsneed to alter to fit own field

18

STEPS TO CRITICAL THINKING

Identifying: You can’t discuss an idea you don’t understand.

Analyzing: Looking at the validity (appropriateness and acceptability) of the structure for the purpose.

Evaluating: Judging how well or poorly the idea is expressed and/or supported.

Adopting/Adapting/Formulating: Making the idea your own, thinking more about it, or coming up with your own hypothesis

19

STEP ONE: IDENTIFYING

Encompasses reading/writing/listening/speakingReading comprehension

Global versus local level Independent versus dependent clauses Content wordsStrategy to teach: annotating

http://www.bucks.edu/~specpop/annotate-ex.htm

20

STEP ONE CONTINUED….

Defining Six common ways to define: antonym/negation,

synonym, class/sub-class, compare/contrast, process/origin, example

Literal versus inferential Contexts of definition and importance of definingStrategies:Practice defining, recognizing types of definitions,

and weaknesses of definitions

21

DEFINITION ACTIVITIES

Which is the best definition? Why?1) Freedom is the absence of necessity, coercion, or

constraint in choice or action.2) Freedom is the right to life, liberty, and property.3) Freedom is the ability to do whatever you want

as long as it doesn’t harm someone else.

What are the problems with these definitions?http://philosophy.hku.hk/think/meaning/def.php

Define “chair”.

22

STEP ONE CONTINUED

Organizational pattern recognition Eight common patterns in academic English:

persuasion, compare/contrast, cause/effect, process, problem/solution, example, classification, definition

Anticipation and comprehension Recognition of support’s place in overall

argument/structureStrategies: global and local prediction, transition

and vocabulary awareness

23

ORGANIZATIONAL PATTERNS Based on the topic sentence, what pattern

should be used (and what ideas should be given?) This family was a victim of a problem they could

have avoided-a problem that, according to Florida park rangers, hundreds of visitors suffer each year.

"Park" is difficult to define in Florida, because there are so many kinds of parks.

O'Leno is a good example of a state park in Florida. Forest and river dominate O'Leno State Park. By

contrast, Lloyd Beach State Recreation Area, near Fort Lauderdale, is dominated by the oily bodies of sun-worshippers who crowd into it every summer weekend.

Gerald Grow's Homepage at http://www.longleaf.net/ggrow

24

STEP ONE CONTINUED

Question/task comprehension Recognizing what is requested/required

Question word/indicator Independent versus dependent clause Content words

Using the pattern of organization most appropriate Turning questions/indicators to thesis statements Prioritizing

Structuring answer or action accordinglyStrategy to teach: outlining

25

STEP TWO: ANALYZING Deductive Reasoning

Syllogisms-4 types of valid structures categorical conditional conjunctive disjunctive

Application to common English writing structureStrategy to teach: syllogisms

Inductive Reasoning 4 types common in English:

causal analogy sign generalization Weakness or strength dependent on frequency/reliability

Strategy to teach: types of inductive reasoning 26

DEDUCTIVE VERSUS INDUCTIVE

Validity and reasonableness determined according to context/type of reasoning required.

STRUCTURE OF A PERSUASIVE PAPER All natural resources should be protected. Endangered animals are natural resources. Therefore, all endangered animals should be

protected. RESULTS OF AN EXPERIMENT

Every time the subjects ate beef, they got sick. All subjects were American females ages 30-40. It’s possible that beef is bad for American women

in their 30s and 40s.27

STEP THREE: EVALUATING

Fact versus opinion Identify what is fact or opinion according to the

context. Purpose of sentence or article

Ex. The police stated they believed it to be a homicide.

Identify how the fact or opinion is being used. Fact should be support for opinion.

Strategies: reading for meaning, writing for accuracy, examples

*Agro fuel Article:AnnotateIdentify fact/opinion and juxtaposition in article

28

STEP THREE CONTINUED

Bias/slanted language Noting language use and its affect on the argumentIs the other side treated or represented? In what terms?

Perspectives Who is writing? For whom? What perspective is this from? Who else should be addressed or is a stakeholder?

Hidden assumptions Looking for the unspoken/unwritten premise that needs to be true for the whole to be true (syllogism)How this premise affects your understanding/belief/agreement with authorStrategies: connotation attention, role plays, syllogism building, examples* agro fuel article

29

STEP THREE CONTINUED

Authority Does the author have the right to discuss this

subject/be used as an expert based on: Education Background Experience

Strategies: research, compare/contrast

Activity: Ben Stein and Jerry Lewis.Who can be used as an expert on comedy?Who can be used as an expert on economics?Who can do both? Why? 30

STEP FOUR: ADOPTING, ADAPTING, FORMULATING

The final stage, if the idea was worth the effort, brings us to employing the knowledge within our own lives, world view, and so forth.

Ideas that meet all the above criteria should probably be adopted as part of the world view.Ideas for which there are problems with the presentation and/or the structure, BUT these weaknesses can be dealt with could be adapted.Ideas which are inappropriate, invalid, overly infused by the author’s bias, personality or perspective can be reformulated based on your own theories in order to do further research and draw a more informed decision based in valid, sound and recognizable logic.

To show forth this application: research project

31

References

Chandra, J.S. (2004). Notions of critical thinking in Javanese, Batak Toba and Minangkabau culture. In B. N. Setiadi, A. Supratiknya, W. J. Lonner, & Y. H.

Poortinga (Eds.). Ongoing themes in psychology and culture (Online Ed.). Melbourne, FL: International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology.

Retrieved from http://www.iaccp.org

LeTourneau University (2002). Toulmin's Analysis. OwLet Online Writing and Learning. Retreived from

http://owlet.letu.edu/contenthtml/research/toulmin.html

Perry, W. G. (1970). Forms of intellectual and ethical development in the college years: a scheme. Troy, MO: Holt, Rinehart &Winston.

Santos, S. L. & Suleiman, M. F. (1993). Teaching English to Arabic-speaking students: Cultural and linguistic considerations. Classroom use teaching guide.

Retrieved from ERIC database.

Severino, C. (1993). The doodles in context: Qualifying claims about contrastive rhetoric. Writing center journal, 14(1), 44-62.

Tucker, D. (2003). Understanding learning styles and study strategies of Korean students in American colleges and universities: a research study with

recommendations for faculty and academic advisors. Research report. Retrieved from ERIC database.

Wheeler, K. (2010). Logic: Syllogisms. Dr. Wheeler’s Homepage at Carson-Newman. Retreived from http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/logic_syllogism.html

Xing, M., Wang, J., & Spencer, K. (2008). Raising students’ awareness of cross-cultural contrastive rhetoric in English writing via an e-learning course.

Language Learning & Technology, 11(2), 71-93.

Yorkey, R. (1977). Practical techniques for teaching Arabic-speaking students. In J. Alatis & R. Crymes (Eds.), The human factors in ESL: A series of six

lectures (pp. 57-85). Washington, D.C.: TESOL.

32

CONTACT US

Mira Deliyska [email protected]

Helen Alexander [email protected]

33

t eaching c ritical t hinking : m eeting esol n eeds in a merican c ontexts by helen alexander and...

Documents