#gtchat Archive
Global #gtchat Powered by TAGT is a weekly chat on Twitter that takes place on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT and 5 p.m. PT in the U.S. For one hour, parents, educators, advocates and experts in the field of gifted and talented gather to share resources, links, authentic life experiences and insights about gifted issues.
Tuesday April 5, 2016
Welcome to Global Gifted and Talented Chat Powered by the Texas Association for the Gifted & Talented
Our topic today is “Strategies for Teaching Critical Thinking”
Before we begin, please tell us where you’re from and introduce yourself!
Hi Jo Freitag from Gifted Resources and Sprite's Site Victoria Australia here on a wet Wednesday 10.00 am for
I’m Lisa Conrad ~ moderator, advocate, presenter, blogger & mother of 2 gifted young adults from Pittsburgh, PA.
I’m Tyler with the and I’m from Bowling Green, KY.
TDP teacher from Chicago northwest suburbs.
Jodi, TDP teacher from Chicago's northwest suburbs.
As a reminder, we use a Q1/Q2 format for questions & A1/A2 for answers during
If joining via Twitter, remember to add the hashtag to each tweet.
Thanks for sharing this resource!
Jeremy, parent from CT. May be in and out but sounds like interesting topic.
Research indicates that having a standard definition of critical thinking can enhance its teaching. (Choy/Cheah 2009)
Q1) How do you define critical thinking?
HI Tida Banfield. Gifted Teacher- Georgia
A1) Critical thinking is the ability to conceptualise, analyse, synthesize, evaluate information and challenge assumptions
Lots of high order thinking skills https://t.co/WQFJek23Lg
A1) Critical thinking is the ability to conceptualise, analyse, synthesize, evaluate information and challenge assumptions
Yes! A complex way of thinking! https://t.co/kcHotxj5Eo
A1) Critical thinking is the ability to conceptualise, analyse, synthesize, evaluate information and challenge assumptions
Carolyn K. of Hoagies' Gifted, Inc. Hopefully this network works better!
A1) Critical thinking is the art of thinking about thinking with a view to improving it. (Hurd 2009)
A1) Deep, analytical, and evaluative thinking informed by evidence.
A1) Critical thinking is the ability to monitor & assess one’s own thinking while processing the thinking of others.
A1) Critical thinking enables us to think things through; learn from experience; acquire & retain knowledge. (Hurd 2009)
A1 thinking so you don't simply accept all argu and concls you are exposed to rather have an attitude involvi ques & arg, conls
Critical thinking and systems thinking are somewhat related, and allow you to examine potential logical consequences.
A much needed skill in today's world!
Just got here! I'm Candace a GT specialist in the Dallas area.
A1) Not taking anything at face value. Considering what's behind sources of information or points of view. https://t.co/eMe1fbJsSf
Q1) How do you define critical thinking?
Q2) Are teachers today prepared to teach critical thinking skills?
A2) not at all, and even if they are, they're not allowed!
A1 critical thinking is evaluating, analyzing, and interpreting information and the world around us.
A2) We have been focusing on the answers to assessments rather than on critical thinking skills.
A2) Unfortunately, some research points to Ts not being prepared at the undergraduate level to teach critical thinking skills.
Well said, Tyler! I think most would agree. https://t.co/fAokRdSnxD
A2) We have been focusing on the answers to assessments rather than on critical thinking skills.
A2) Perhaps not explicitly but all should be, in my opinion; especially questioning techniques.
The State of Critical Thinking Today: The Need for a Substantive Concept of Critical Thinking (pdf) https://t.co/eD6H3rLdpZ
A2- Ts that teach risk taking and probing beyond surface knowledge. TS that thk critically can teach ss to do the same
A2 There appears to be a wide variability in the ability of teachers being able to use criticl thinking in the classroom.
Glad to be employed by a District that not only encourages this but expects it of all staff!
And this is where they need support! https://t.co/vJN2FhWlu3
A2 There appears to be a wide variability in the ability of teachers being able to use criticl thinking in the classroom.
Cheers to this! https://t.co/BoMKO4CgaY
Glad to be employed by a District that not only encourages this but expects it of all staff!
A2) I think many teachers would be prepared to teach critical thinking - depends on opportunities they had to learn it themselves
A2) Few school districts afford teachers the opportunity for PD in teaching critical thinking due to time constraints & complexity.
Tweets not visible in chat from locked accounts. :(
I agree. I have always had to seek out training myself. Never offered outside of gifted pd
Perhaps the better ? How can we empower teachers to use critical thinking as a vehicle for teaching (content or test strategies)?
Yes! https://t.co/9A2tz2d4HV
Perhaps the better ? How can we empower teachers to use critical thinking as a vehicle for teaching (content or test strategies)?
A2) I think teachers don't bc they don't know how & it's hard to assess
Hard but not impossible. We'll talk about assessment in a few minutes. https://t.co/LujtDtnL5b
A2) I think teachers don't bc they don't know how & it's hard to assess
A2) A teacher who knew how to coach via the Socratic method could teach critical thinking. I don't know any teachers doing that.
Q3) What strategies work best for teaching critical thinking?
Very true; subjectivity is difficult but easier w/ standards-based assessments & specific outcomes.
What does that extra "L" matter? -- Kidding of course!
A3) Educators need to act as facilitators of discussions that may not result in ‘right’ answers.
that is a super cool idea!
They are out there, I promise!
A3) to Ss or Ts? Or both?
A3) Writing essays based on prompts that adhere to Bloom’s Taxonomy of H.O.T. (Smith/Szymanski 2013).
A2 In the age of high stakes testing I worry Ts don't have time to incorporate critical thinking. I also think it scares some Ts.
A3) teaching students questioning techniques
A3) problem based learning w guidance&no solution no answers in the back of the book oh &GraysonSchool here https://t.co/yL9kbTxv2g
Q3) What strategies work best for teaching critical thinking?
Was there a link that accompanies this one?
Kelly:) I'm teacher, writer, homeschooling mama to my 2e DS
A3: Socratic questioning is an art form, but to teach CT, perhaps we need to understand our curricula and ID the big ideas?
It is included in the links provided with this question. :) I'll look it up after chat.
A3: My Big idea for this semester is Claim-Evidence-Reasoning. It's embedded in all the standards.
Asking questions without answers, taking a step back and allowing LS to lead, questioning.
We’re already half way through our chat! Thanks for all the great sharing.
A3) Have Ss create a wiki about subject they’re studying or analyze existing wikis; enhance tech skills. (Snodgrass 2011)
Q4) How do we assess critical thinking skills?
A3- I begin with cognition thinking. Making thinking visible strategies. Emphasis on how to think not what
https://t.co/X5n8i2dhaL .
unfortunately, my experience as a teacher has been that most focus is how to help strugglers work to minimum standard
A fairly common refrain in education today. We must consider needs of ALL students. https://t.co/Vk1RJ8HAn2
unfortunately, my experience as a teacher has been that most focus is how to help strugglers work to minimum standard
A4) Assessment of critical thinking instruction can include course evaluation; analyze students’ understanding of critical thinking.
there has to be a focus on questioning and work that is open ended-more than one answer
A3) Willingness to let students lead; ask Qs without predetermined As; question Ss back, offer Ss to weigh in on peers' ideas.
A4) Assess whether students can reason between conflicting viewpoints.
Assessing Deeper Learning: A Survey of Performance Assessment and Mastery-Tracking Tools (pdf) https://t.co/xMM0K1dO39
Human nature implores us to help strugglers meet minimum; we should, just NOT at cost of pushing ALL higher.
A4) Educators need to continually provide valuable feedback to students before considering assessment.
When products are used, the DAP Tool developed by Roberts & Inman is a great way to assess learning!
A4) Self assessments; reflection, measure of growth against self & specific outcomes.
A4-Interpreting events/ideas, socratic talks, journals, debates on var. topics, analysis of themes/ideas,rubrics-crit.thk. proc.
Feedback is absolutely necessary! If the S receives no feedback, how will they improve? https://t.co/j5hyqNi3cJ
A4) Educators need to continually provide valuable feedback to students before considering assessment.
Reasoning abilities are crucial https://t.co/gdzPOuM8sS
A4) Assess whether students can reason between conflicting viewpoints.
We had our Ss brainstorm skills needed in critical thinking exercises https://t.co/0xLPPvCRZ0
BETA experimented with newspaper blackout poems, and analyzed each article for bias to practice critical thinking. https://t.co/lwHcR7oyL3
Q5) What are some intellectual traits of a critical thinker?
This is a great idea! I have to steal :-) Thank you for sharing!
..and timely, which is not always easy! And specific with suggestions 4 growth. Ideal, but for me, difficult to maintain!
A5) Critical thinkers have ability to realize personal limitations; recognize personal bias; willing to work through complexities.
A4 I think teaching specific critical thinking skills that you are then looking to present themselves in class a rubric can be used
what really bricks do you use?
flexible, questioning, inquisitive...in addition to teachers-we need parents/administrators to value critical thinking
A5) What are the traits of Sherlock Holmes? Too bad Doyle's stories seem so dated. They make nice case studies in critical thinking.
A5) Critical thinkers know how to ask the RIGHT questions.
A5) Most important: Open-mindedness and deep curiosity. https://t.co/lcWFwcsIcq
Q5) What are some intellectual traits of a critical thinker?
A5) Critical thinkers are willing to change when faced with evidence contrary to their own beliefs.
A5: Critical thinkers can see things with more than one point of view. connect to background information and apply to new ideas.
A5) Willingness to think deeply and critically and research and evaluate varying opinions on a topic
A5: Critical thinkers can change their mind.
Dated or not ... I've found they are very appealing to gifted kids! Perhaps for the reason you give. https://t.co/IDtN6PKXvZ
A5) What are the traits of Sherlock Holmes? Too bad Doyle's stories seem so dated. They make nice case studies in critical thinking.
Absolutely. Changing your mind with new evidence is a characteristic of a mature thinker.
A5. Taking joy in divergent ?s/challenges, eternally curious, provoking self/others, going beyond lists https://t.co/3IEVbkNxCZ
Q5) What are some intellectual traits of a critical thinker?
Common Core promotes critical thinking. But it doesn't help when the essay is the most disposable part of the test!
Q6) How does critical thinking benefit students throughout their lives?
A6) In-depth focus on enhancing critical thinking increases rigor & standardized test scores (Van- Tassel Baska et. al. 2009).
Boy, these sound like some of the characteristics Dabrowski discusses..
When Ss can think critically, they are able to solve new problems instead of regurgitate old ideas that don't work in the new sit.
hopefully slows down impulsive decisions that could be life changing
Thx 4 sharing this! And I wonder what a "How Do We Raze Critical Thinkers?" infographic would look like https://t.co/33rB9ZVCD2
A6) By tracking patterns in information - seeing info as a process; Ss develop skills of recognition & prediction.
A6) Critical thinking helps students make wise decisions, avoid scams, see through propaganda -valuable life skills!
Absolutely! Sad to see this lacking in so many today! https://t.co/2t7aqkKSLh
A6) Critical thinking helps students make wise decisions, avoid scams, see through propaganda -valuable life skills!
A6) allows students to connect to real world applications of their passions and act! https://t.co/gTEhHNeI4u
Q6) How does critical thinking benefit students throughout their lives?
A6) Ss can think deeply - make relevant connections & reasoned decisions; value & respect ideas of others.
Yes! And also mind their change. Meaning they can often tell when/how/why their paradigm has shifted. https://t.co/h7Y9Fslud2
A5: Critical thinkers can change their mind.
A6) They'll discover the world isn't black & white. They'll have to evaluate conflicting information/claims. https://t.co/M9IeCn92LH
Q6) How does critical thinking benefit students throughout their lives?
A6) Ss can think independently; consider multiple perspectives; go beyond surface learning.
A6) Able to respond flexibly in the ever-changing world they are entering; evaluative reasoning is both career & life skill
and solve the big problems!
A6. Conceptualizing and making connections - Beneficial over time.
A6- Encourage curiosity and questioning. Help them develop their voice and ability to reason.
A6: Critical thinking blends into by Bloom's, but practicing does require an environment where Ss feel valued and can take chances.
Exciting to 'see' so many lurkers today ... hope we are all learning together! My notifications are going wild! :D
Ha! I forgot to link to this. Many thanks, Jo!
We’re nearly at the end of our chat today … final thoughts or questions?
A6. Helps Ss deal w/ what life throws at them, like deluge of often conflicting, cacophonous info out there https://t.co/0P34zoMMOK
Q6) How does critical thinking benefit students throughout their lives?
We should never underestimate the power of a curious child in a safe environment. Glad you added this. :)
This will be archived at and the link will be shared via later today
Q5 critical thinkers have to be risk taker and unafraid to go against the norm.
Hello! Redesigned curriculum in encourages critical thinking. Here are some practical strategies https://t.co/RTZ52wojap
Thanks for a great chat. Hope to catch you all soon. BTW, the cross-cutting standards are a great CT tool.
Thank you Lisa and advisory board, sponsors,supporters and everyone for another very interesting
A5 critical thinkers need to be risk takers and unafraid to go against the norm.
Thanks to the extraordinary staff at for their awesome support; we couldn’t do it without them!
Thanks for hosting, Lisa!
Thanks to the Advisory Board:
Before you go … build your Personal Learning Network and follow some of the folks whose comments you liked!
Our next will be Tues April 12th at 8E/7C/6M/5P (US)/Wed 13th April at 1AM (UK)/12.00 NZST/10.00 AEST
Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts & comments today. That’s what chats are all about!
I specifically love valuing the ideas of others. I am glad this was mentioned. Extremely important!
