CRITICAL THINKING & PROBLEM SOLVING
Overview For Teachers
CRITIAL THINKING & PROBLEM SOLVING: The ability to analyze facts and use a logical approach to form an accurate, objective decision or plan of action; recognize and clearly define a problem, determine the cause, identify, prioritize, and select alternatives for a solution, then implement the solution even for difficult or complex issues; evaluate and monitor progress and revise the plan as needed; the ability to identify resources needed to solve a problem; generate new ideas; consider the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one; discover a rule or principle underlying the relationship between two or more objects and apply it to a new situation or when solving a problem; the ability to “think on one’s feet”, assess problems, and find well-thought out solutions within a reasonable time frame; the ability to think critically and creatively, share thoughts and opinions; the ability to understand framework for sound ethical decisions.
PURPOSE: Upon completion of this module, the student will understand the importance of being a critical thinker and problem solver and the role they play in being successful. In addition, the objectives listed below should be met.
Ability to use critical thinking skills on a daily basis
Ability to follow the specific steps to solve a problem
Ability to recognize the importance of critical thinking and problem solving
Ability to recognize how critical thinking and problem solving apply to work
This module focuses on teaching students the importance of critical thinking and problem solving. Students will work to improve these skills through activities and guided discussions with their class. They will discuss aspects of critical thinking and problem solving such as the steps to take to become a critical thinker, the specific steps to solve a problem, and the importance of utilizing these skills in all aspects of life.
TEACHERS: WHAT ARE YOU OBSERVING?
What does critical thinking and problem solving look like in the classroom or in school in general? A great way to answer this and get things going is through engagement with the students. Ask your students these questions:
1. What does critical thinking and problem solving look like in school?
2. How do your critical thinking and problem solving skills affect people around you? Example: teachers, classmates, teammates, family, etc.
3. What does critical thinking and problem solving look like within your learning?
RELEVANCY OF CRITICAL THINKING & PROBLEM SOLVING:
In a recent study, critical thinking and problem solving were identified as some of the most important skills needed for job success, and skills that are lacking in today’s workforce. They were also rated as the top skills of increasing importance over the next five years.
Problem Solving Strategies
Time Allocation: 20 minutes
Materials/Resources: computers/tablets/smartphones(students - optional), paper, pens/pencils, whiteboard, markers, sticky notes (lots)
ANTICIPATORY SET IDEA:
Ask students to brainstorm all the different decisions that people make to plan a wedding –write these decisions on the whiteboard. Once you get a pretty lengthy list, ask students how do people make these decisions? Can they make them on the spot, do they have to think about, plan, or prioritize these decisions, etc.?
WATCH THE VIDEO:
It is important for students to realize that when the time comes to make a big life decision, it’s difficult to decide what to do on the spot. Making a decision requires a lot of critical thinking and problem solving and each person is different in how they approach their decision making.
There are many different strategies a person can use to make a decision and it’s very common for people to use more than one. Some examples of these strategies are:
o Pros and Cons list
o Talking it out with someone else
o Researching it o Asking for advice
It’s important to know which strategies work for you to help you critically think and problem solve through major life decisions.
Ask students to think back to the last major decision they had to make and if they can’t think of one, have them think of a major decision they will have to make in the future.
o Example: choosing a college, choosing a career, etc. Once they think of one, have them write it down on a sticky note and position one of the walls in the classroom. Don’t have students write their name on their note –keep them anonymous.
Once all the students have posted their notes, give each student about 5 additional sticky notes. Next they will walk around the room and read all the major decisions that were posted by their classmates. They will then write advice or offer a problem-solving strategy that could be used to help make the right decision. They will then post their sticky note with advice next to the decision to which they responded. They may respond to as many as time allows.
When time is up, have students collect the responses that were posted for their major decision and read through them.
CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING:
Technology Use: Create a survey, poll, or questionnaire to send to the students that will give you immediate feedback about the student’s level of understanding. You can use Survey Monkey, Google Forms, or any other survey platform you prefer.
Non-Technology: Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down: Students will demonstrate their level of understanding by giving a thumbs up or thumbs down. Students with thumbs down will need more clarification.
ETHICAL SCENARIO--Optional (if not using, skip to "review and closing")
The Ethical Choice Scenarios have been developed to provide teachers with the ability to make the material applicable to real-life and relevant to the students. Within this guide, directions and prompts for the teacher will be in BLUE for ease of facilitation.
READ THE FOLLOWING SCENARIO OUT LOUD TO THE STUDENTS:
THEATRE GROUP DILEMMA
You are a member of a theatre group in a nearby city. Singing and acting is your passion and you truly value the opportunity to be a part of this group. Lately, there has been some talk going around that some members of the group have been exempt from auditioning for the last few productions, mostly the well-known actors and actresses who have the most experience. You know that situations like this sometimes happen in the “real world” but this is a local theatre group where everyone should be given a chance to prove him or herself. Tryouts for the next production are scheduled for the following week, but today the director called you into his office. He told you that you were in for one of the main singing parts; you were ecstatic to hear this! This was the role you’ve been wanting more than anything and have had your heart set on. Then, you realized the director meant that you didn’t have to audition. He explained that there wasn’t enough time to see every performer’s audition. Since you’ve been in previous productions and he knows how talented you are, you didn’t need to audition. Now you are feeling conflicted – what are you going to tell the other actors and actresses who wanted that same role? How can you explain this to them? Should you share your thoughts and opinions with the director about everyone deserving a chance to audition for the role? How are you going to solve this problem?
ASK THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: (display them to the class if necessary)
1. How many of you have already been faced with this scenario in real life?
2. What are the possible courses of action you could take?
3. What are possible positive or negative consequences for you, depending on your decision?
GUIDED DISCUSSION: ASK STUDENTS TO SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS ON THE SITUATION AND HOW THEY ANSWERED THE QUESTIONS.
NOTE 1 : To help facilitate discussion, share any personal experiences you may have encountered with this same sort of issue.
NOTE 2 : Another option to foster further critical thinking is to then ask students, “How important is it to stand by what you believe, even if it means losing something you really want?”
NOTE 3 : Another option to foster further critical thinking is to then ask students , “ What values do you think are in tension here, why is it an ethical dilemma?”
CLOSING DISCUSSION: ASK THE STUDENTS, “AFTER CRITICALLY THINKING ABOUT THIS SITUATION, WHAT IMPACT COULD YOUR DECISION HAVE ON YOUR LONG-TERM REPUTATION?”
REVIEW AND CLOSING:
To end the lesson, have students read through the sticky notes they received and have them answer the following questions:
o Reflect on the major decision you wrote down to use in this activity; if the decision was in the past, what strategy did you use to
make that decision?
o Looking at the advice you received from classmates, do you believe you used the correct problem solving strategy to make the
decision? Why or why not?
o If you could go back in time to make this decision again, what would you change? Why?
CORRELATION TO OBSERVATION TOOL: The Frequency Observation Tool (FOT) has a category where students will be observed and rated on their critical thinking and problem solving skills. This lesson gives students the opportunity to reflect on their current critical thinking and problem solving strategies and will give them the chance to learn new strategies that may help improve their critical thinking and problem solving abilities in the future.
DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION IDEAS:
-Visual: Visual learners will benefit from reading through all the advice and feedback they receive from their classmates
-Auditory: Auditory learners will benefit from the partner and the class discussions.
-Kinesthetic: Kinesthetic learners could benefit by writing down any important information.
-ESL: ESL students would benefit from having a partner to assist them in the writing activity in case they have questions or need clarification.
-At-risk: At -risk students will benefit from the interaction they have with their group to help keep them focused and on task.
-Advanced: Advanced learners could benefit from helping other students write down their schedules, or by assisting ESL or At -risk students who may need additional help .