Giving is Caring

Always remember:

The value of time, the success of perseverance, the worth of character, the power of kindness, the influence of example, and the obligation of duty.



Monday 17 March 2014


 

 

Critical thinking and problem solving

 

This was the second session of the workshop

 
Widening Our Real Learning Design has become a real passion in education, since most linguists have found that Learning English through content makes our students broaden their minds and develop skills which will be beneficial for later life.

 After defining CLIL as a dual focused approach to teaching which aims to introduce pupils to content areas such as Science, Technology or Social Studies using a foreign language as the medium to teach all or part of the subject, it is clear that we cannot separate CLIL from life skills such as Critical thinking and Problem solving.

Critical thinking definitions:

·         Critical thinking is thinking that analyzes thought, that assesses thought, and that transforms thought for the better.

·         A way of thinking that enables a thinker to think regularly at a higher level (than most people are capable of thinking

·         Thinking skills used for determining the accuracy, or authenticity of something and the ability to look for reasons and alternatives

Teaching critical thinking skills is an important goal of the modern educational system.  Teachers are no longer content to have students simply memorise facts, figures, and dates, they expect  students to  analyse situations and  ponder it with all available data.     
Questions are important catalysts in the critical thinking process because they encourage students to reflect on the knowledge they have acquired and to apply this to new situations, as it is one of the features of CLIL. Students are asked to understand, analyse, synthesize and evaluate content to reach the outcomes

A critical thinking approach helps students to ensure understanding and to express their ideas I their own words. They also get used to analysing what they have learned and to “think” about “thinking”.

 Problem solving:


Finding the solution to a problem after analysing, finding the best way of action, trying it out and evaluating.