LESSON 1:

CRITICAL
THINKING
BY THE END OF THE LESSON, YOU WILL HAVE
BEEN ABLE TO:

- Define Critical thinking

- Differentiate critical from non-critical
thinking
- Formulate higher-order questions from a
text
- Answer critically the given questions from
a text
- Apply the principles of critical thinking in
various situations.
 CRITICAL THINKING

On the other hand, involves a series

of complex thought processes
which allow you to make reasoned
judgments, asses the way you
think, and solve problems
effectively.
 NON – CRITICAL THINKING

Happens when you simply accept the

things you are told without examining
them. It also happens when you
construct thoughts based on emotions.
Moreover, non-critical thinking leads
people to jump to conclusions without
proof or evidence.
 CRITICAL THINKING ENABLES
HIM/HER TO PROCESS AND
EVALUATE IDEAS TO COME UP
WITH HIS/HER OWN
PERSPECTIVE.

NON – CRITICAL THINKING

MAKES A PERSON READILY
ACCEPT IDEAS HE/SHE IS
EXPOSED TO.
LEVELS OF THINKING
 BENJAMIN BLOOM - American Educational Psychologist
 BLOOM’S TAXONOMY OF THE COGNITIVE DOMAIN
(1956) - Created by Bloom and his team, to promote
higher levels of thinking. It composed of six levels to
proceed to the next level, the current one must be
mastered first.

SIX LEVELS:

• KNOWLEDGE • ANALYSIS
• COMPREHENSION • SYNTHESIS
• APPLICATION • EVALUATION
 LORIN ANDERSON (2001) – Used verbs
instead of nouns to denote an active
process of thinking. Knowledge,
Comprehension, and Analysis were
renamed Remembering, Understanding
and Creating respectively.

 ANDERSON – Also reconstructed the

levels of thinking, putting first creating
before evaluating.
THE OLD VERSION THE NEW VERSION
EVALUA CREATING
-TION

SYNTHESI- EVALUATING
S

ANALYSIS ANALYZING

APPLICATION APPLYING

KNOWLEDGE UNDERSTANDING

COMPREHENSION REMEMBERING
FIRST THREE LEVELS OF THINKING
- Asking intelligent questions leads to better
understanding of events and ideas.

In the summer before Pia became a Grade 11

student. She decided to volunteer in a non-
goverment organization which ran a shelter for
street children. During her orientation, she
decided to report incidents street children
engaging in illicit activities. One day, she found
one of the children who used to go to the
shelter picking pockets in the market, so she
went to talk to him. He said that his father
threatened to beat him up if he will not hand
enough money by the end of the day.
 What did Pia do during summer?

Answering the questions requires you to

recall the information you just read. This is
remembering. It involves the retrieval
recognition, and recalling of information.
Remember when asking questions which aim
to define, memorize, or state information.
What can you say about the situation of the
street child?

To answer this question, you have to draw

your own interpretation, based on what you
read. This is called understanding. It refers to
the construction of meaning from verbal and
non-verbal messages.
Understanding by asking questions which
discuss, describe, paraphrase or explain
information.
If you were Pia, how would you approach the
incident of seeing one of the children?

You have to draw on the knowledge you

learned to use it on the situation, this is
applying. Applying refers to the use and
implementation of knowledge in various
situation.
Apply knowledge by asking questions which
demonstrate, solve, or use information.
 Higher-Order Thinking Skills

Analyzing, Evaluating, and Creating are

considered as higher-order thinking skills.
Once the highest level of thinking is
reached, one should be able to look at
things from different perspectives, decide
without being manipulated by emotions
and avoid biases and fallacies.
 Based on the response of the authorities, what
inference can you make regarding their treatment of the
case?

You have to examine the causes and make

inferences based on them. This is called
ANALYZING; it focuses on breaking down
ideas into parts and relating theses parts
to one another
Is the reaction of the authorities
justified?

When thinking of your answer, weigh the pros

and cons to judge the action. This is called
EVALUATING.

EVALUATE by asking things which judge and

test an idea based on certain rules or
standards.
 How would you illustrate the highlights of the events,
including the first part, through a four-panel comic strip?

You have to synthesize the parts to turn them

into one output. This is known as CREATING to
form a well designed whole

CREATING to produce, design or construct new

information or ideas.
QUALITIES OF A CRITICAL THINKER

A critical thinker is INQUISITIVE: He/she asks genuine that lead to a better

understanding of things and events. He/she doesn't pretend to know
anything, and digs deeper beyond superficial level of interpretation.

A critical thinker knows that critical thinking does not necessarily mean
looking for faults, but rather being open minded to different ideas to
arrive at a better judgment.
A critical thinker Examines and Evaluates information and doesn't accept
information until it is verified. And lastly, he/she doesn't let irrational
emotions affect his/her thinking and the actions are guided by the
application of different levels of thinking.
IMPORTANCE OF CRITICAL THINKING

In the area of reading, critical thinking makes you recognize different

texts and react to them intelligently. It enables you to analyze
written works, comprehend the message they convey, and apply the
message in real life. Evaluating text critically also allows you to
maximize the learning experience the reading provides. This also
leads to a better understanding and enjoyment of the texts you read.

In terms of writing, a critical approach provides you with the skills to

create well written texts. By knowing how to analyze and evaluate,
you can write with a clear purpose and position. Through critical
thinking, you can distinguish good and bad sources and know which
information to use. This leads to the production of good texts with
reliable and insightful content.
Prepared by:
Nicole C. Realeza
Elijah David G. Tobasco