TEACHING ASSISTANTS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM SCHOOL OF SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING Spring 2015

Transcription

1 TEACHING ASSISTANTS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM SCHOOL OF SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING Spring 2015 THINKING CRITICALLY Aziza Ellozy, Founding Director, CLT Associate Dean for Learning Technologies Hoda Mostafa, Associate Professor of Practice SSE/CLT

2 A SPECIAL THANK YOU A SPECIAL THANK YOU GOES TO DR. MAHMOUD SHALTOUT FOR HIS GENEROUS CONTRIBUTION OF THE CREATIVE CARTOONS THAT HE CREATED FOR THE LOGICAL FALLACIES IN THIS PRESENTATION

3 Objectives of workshop 1. To introduce you to some of the elements of critical thinking 2. To demonstrate critical thinking in action through activities Susan Haak, October /preposterism.html

4 Critical Thinking Take a few minutes to define what you think is Critical Thinking Pair up with your neighbor and exchange your definitions Each pair, come up with a common definition

5 What is critical thinking? Let s go over your definitions of CT Critical Thinking is the ability to think about one s thinking to recognize its strength and weaknesses, and to recast the thinking in improved form. Three definitions of critical thinking Center for Critical Thinking. 22 October, <

6 The Essential Thinking Skills Refer to your handout

7 The Essential Thinking Skills The Gathering Skills Gathering All The Information The Organizing Skills Organizing For The Purpose Of Making Sense The Generating Skills Generating Additional Information The Recognizing Skills Recognizing What Has Been Left Unsaid The Analyzing and Evaluating Skills Analyzing and Evaluating For the Purpose Of Coming To A Conclusion Please refer to your handout

8 The Essential Thinking Skills The Recognizing Skills Recognizing fact from opinion Recognizing bias and assumptions The Analyzing Skills Identify, construct, and evaluate arguments Please refer to your handout

9 The Recognizing Skills Recognizing fact from opinion Recognizing bias and assumptions

10 Critical Thinking in Action: Recognizing fact from opinion If a statement can be proven right or wrong by measurement or test it is a statement of fact If no right or wrong can be established, if there is no way to check its accuracy, a statement is an opinion

11 Critical Thinking in Action: Recognizing fact from opinion 1. In 996 AD., Al-Hakim becomes caliph of Fatimid Egypt. 2. America s treatment of the homeless is a disgrace. 3. The Egyptian novelist, Naguib Mahfouz, wrote more than 30 novels, and in 1988 became the first Arab to win the Nobel Prize for literature. He was arguably the greatest Arab novelist of the 20th Century 4. From Algeria and Libya to Egypt and Syria, the Arab world commands Western headlines, even as its complex politics and cultures elude the grasp of most Western readers and commentators. 5. Because of a newly formed and largely incompetent national weather service, the city of Galveston, Texas was practically destroyed in a horrifying hurricane that left thousands dead. 6. Poetry and politics just don t mix.

12 Identifying and Examining Assumptions ACTIVITY : THE STORY

13 Critical Thinking in Action: Identifying hidden assumptions What are assumptions? They are unstated beliefs that we take for granted and upon which we base our actions or rest our arguments Find our lost alumni. 24 Sept <

14 ACTIVITY 1 - The Story Start interactive session

15 Critical Thinking in Action: Identifying and examining assumptions Exercise The story Find our lost alumni. 24 Sept < I will read to you The story You will analyze statements about The story You will answer some questions Discussion

16 Indicate whether you think the following statements are: T True F False? - Uncertain 1. A man appeared after the owner had turned off his store lights. 2. The robber was a man 3. The man did not demand money. 4. The man who opened the cash register was the owner. 5. The storeowner scooped up the contents of the cash register and ran away 6. Someone opened a cash register. 7. After the man who demanded the money scooped up the contents of the cash register, he ran away 8. While the cash register contained money, the story does not state how much. 9. The robber demanded money of the owner. 10. The owner was middle-aged 11. The police officer was a man.

17 The Analyzing Skills To be able to think critically, it is very important that you can identify, construct, and evaluate arguments

18 What is a logical fallacy? A logical fallacy is an error in reasoning that makes the argument invalid

19 Origins The word fallacy may derive from the Latin word fallere meaning, to deceive, to trip, to lead into error or to trick. The word may also derive from the Greek phelos, meaning deceitful.

20 Why study logical fallacies? Fallacies are defects that weaken arguments. Always be on the lookout for faulty reasoning!

21 EXAMPLES OF COMMON LOGICAL FALLACIES

22 Ad Hominem The arguer attacks the speaker instead of the argument. Example Mr. Yy has written several books arguing that video games lead to slower mental development. Mr. Yy is a frustrated computer geek who couldn t get a job at Sony, so you shouldn t listen to him

23 Appeal to authority "the experts say... An argument is more valid because it comes from an authority figure An argument is more valid because it comes from an authority figure

24 Appeal to authority "Albert Einstein was extremely impressed with this theory."

25 Non Sequitur (it does not follow) Latin for "It doesn't follow" The claim and support seem related, but a step in the logic has been omitted. not prove the point. Ahmad lives in a large building, so his apartment must be large evidence

26 Post hoc, ergo hoc Post hoc, ergo propter hoc -- Latin for "It happened after, so it was caused by": The rooster crowed, and the sun came out. Therefore the rooster made the sun come up

27 Slippery slope Example The arguer asserts that if we take even one step onto the "slippery slope," we will end up sliding all the way to the bottom; he or she assumes we can't stop halfway down the hill. "If we pass laws against fully automatic weapons, then it won't be long before we pass laws on all weapons, and then we will begin to restrict other rights, and finally we will end up living in a communist state. Thus, we should not ban fully automatic weapons."

28 Straw Man The arguer simply ignores a person's actual position and substitutes a distorted, exaggerated or misrepresented version of that position.

29 Straw Man Laila and her mother are arguing about cleaning out their closets: Mother: "We should clean out the closets. They are getting a bit messy." Laila: "Why, we just went through those closets last year. Do we have to clean them out everyday?" Mother: "I never said anything about cleaning them out every day. You just want too keep all your junk forever, which is just ridiculous."

30 Appeal to ignorance There is no proof that X is true Definition Using the absence of proof to the contrary as support of the claim Therefore X is false Example Recent data shows that sea levels have not risen significantly worldwide in over a decade, therefore global warming is a myth

31 False dichotomy Definition: In false dichotomy, the arguer sets up the situation so it looks like there are only two choices. Example You are either with us or with the terrorists

32 Hasty generalization Definition Example Tip Making assumptions about a whole group or range of cases based on a sample that is inadequate "Fred, the Australian, stole my wallet. Thus, all Australians are thieves." Ask yourself what kind of "sample" you're using Are you relying on the opinions or experiences of just a few people, or your own experience in just a few situations?

33 Weak analogy Definition Example Comparing two things as though they are alike when they have key features which are different Giraffes and gorillas have fur, eat plants, and have names that start with Gs. They are also very large. Guinea pigs also have a name that starts with a G, have fur, and eat plants, so they are also probably very large

34 Please refer to your handout Let s practice

35 NAME THIS FALLACY GROUP COMPETITION

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47 INDENTIFY AND NAME THE FALLACIES IN THIS VIDEO

48 Center for Learning and Teaching THANK YOU SOURCES: Bloom, B., Editor. (1956) A Taxonomy of educational objectives. Handbook I: Cognitive Domain. New York: McKay Jonas, A., Raths, L., Rothstein, A. and Wassermann, S. (1986) Teaching for Thinking. Teachers College Press, NY. P