Instructions for Online Critical Reflections

Welcome to critical reflections for Sec 3 English Language!

Critical Thinking as a 21st Century Competency.

Critical thinking is done when a person thinks clearly and rationally. Critical thinking
is self-guided, self-disciplined thinking which attempts to reason at the highest level
of quality in a fair-minded way. Critical thinking is that mode of thinking - about any
subject, content, or problem - in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her
thinking by skillfully taking charge of the structures inherent in thinking and
imposing intellectual standards upon them.

Objectives
The Problem
Everyone thinks; it is our nature to do so. But much of our thinking, left to itself, is
biased, distorted, partial, uninformed or down-right prejudiced. Yet the quality of our
life and that of what we produce, make, or build depends precisely on the quality of
our thought. Shoddy thinking is costly, both in money and in quality of life. Excellence
in
thought,
however,
must
be
systematically
cultivated.
The Result -Traits of a Critical Thinker
A well cultivated critical thinker:

raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely;

gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret it

effectively comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them
against relevant criteria and standards;

thinks openmindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognizing and

assessing, as need be, their assumptions, implications, and practical
consequences; and

communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex

problems.

Etiquette

Students and teachers will respond after analysing tools of critical thinking and
looking through rubric
Students and teachers will respect each others opinions when critiquing one
anothers responses
The style of language used should be polite, formal and objective.

Processes
How do you get started on this site?
1. Create a disqus account.
2. Login through your gmail, FB or twitter.
3. Use your own name as username in the site.

Adapted from http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766

How will this site help you to think critically?

1. Critical Reflection articles are embedded in your class page. Click on it and
read the article within the given deadline.
2. Teacher posts the first set of critical thinking questions below the article.
3. The class will be split into 2 groups (Eg. Grp A and B). In round 1, the first
group, Grp A, responds to teachers questions. In round 2, the second group,
Grp B, responds to Grp As questions. Grp A may critique or give a follow up of
Grp Bs responses.
4. Indicate whom you are responding to before you begin typing your response: I
am responding to Thoughts about food revolution by Jane@tkgs
5. You may use the vote button to vote for the best, most well-reflected, critical
responses.
6. You may use the sort button to sort your classmates responses by most liked
or newest response

Tools for Critical Thinking

Adapted from http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766