Figure 2: https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-integrating-critical-thinking-into-the-classroom/2021/03

Critical thinking has been a topic of discussion in relation to skills needed to be successful in school and beyond. In those discussions, it is clear that critical thinking is an important skill to develop. Even though it is a common term used often in conversations, do we know what it is? How to teach it? How to break it down so it aligns to multiliteracies in an English Language Arts classroom? These are questions we will answer through this learning module. We will be breaking down the pieces of critical thinking and then working collaboratively on a project. In the project, you will look at a few lessons or a unit and create it with a critical thinking lens. You will think about the students you have in your classroom when creating this project. Therefore, it will be important to learn about them as individuals and as a collective, and to help with this, looking at their learner profiles.

PRE-SURVEY: 

Complete the following pre learning module survey to help with understanding how you would define critical thinking and what you are already doing in your classroom when it comes to critical thinking. 

• Pre-survey Google Form

AUDIENCE:

K-12 English Language Arts Educators with a basic knowledge of critical thinking. However, know that those of you with a large amount of knowledge of critical thinking might go through the first section at a quicker pace than those with a small amount of knowledge. In addition, the audience is expected to have an understanding of personalized learning as implemented in the Kaneland School District (link to district website with description and personalized learning resources).

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

By the end of this learning module, you will be able to understand and do the following:

• Define critical thinking and explain how it relates to the English Language Arts classroom
• Identify ways for students to use critical thinking to evaluate multiliteracies
• Identify and be able to explain fallacies and biases as they relate to critical thinking
• Describe and explain ways that you can introduce critical thinking to students
• Identify questions that can support critical thinking and explain how questioning plays a role in critical thinking
• Create a rough draft of a critical thinking learning plan based on what you learned
• Evaluate a peer’s critical thinking learning plan based on a rubric
• Design a critical thinking learning plan based on feedback from peers

All of these specific outcomes align with professional responsibilities for you as an educator based on the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards (https://www.isbe.net/Documents_PEAC/IL_prof_teaching_stds.pdf). Specifically, the standards below are addressed in this module and in the application of the project:

• "Standard 1 - Teaching Diverse Students – The competent teacher understands the diverse characteristics and abilities of each student and how individuals develop and learn within the context of their social, economic, cultural, linguistic, and academic experiences. The teacher uses these experiences to create instructional opportunities that maximize student learning" (Illinois Professional Teaching Standards, 2013, p. 1).
• "Standard 3 - Planning for Differentiated Instruction – The competent teacher plans and designs instruction based on content area knowledge, diverse student characteristics, student performance data, curriculum goals, and the community context. The teacher plans for ongoing student growth and achievement" (Illinois Professional Teaching Standards, 2013, p. 2).
• "Standard 4 - Learning Environment – The competent teacher structures a safe and healthy learning environment that facilitates cultural and linguistic responsiveness, emotional well-being, self-efficacy, positive social interaction, mutual respect, active engagement, academic risk-taking, self-motivation, and personal goal-setting" (Illinois Professional Teaching Standards, 2013, p. 3).
• "Standard 5 - Instructional Delivery – The competent teacher differentiates instruction by using a variety of strategies that support critical and creative thinking, problem-solving, and continuous growth and learning. This teacher understands that the classroom is a dynamic environment requiring ongoing modification of instruction to enhance learning for each student" (Illinois Professional Teaching Standards, 2013, p. 4).

STRUCTURE AND TIMELINE:

In this learning module, you can go at your own pace, and you are given a choice in what you learn about in sections 1 through 5. The sections are self-paced and self-directed. Section 1 is the foundation since it is focused on what critical thinking is and Section 6 wraps up all the learning and prepares for the project. You will have a choice in how you learn about the topic of each section. For example, if you would rather read a document about fallacies and biases in critical thinking than watch a video, you can make that choice by thinking about how you learn best. With that being said, the time to complete this module will vary based on your prior knowledge and the choices you make in what you learn. However, everyone is expected to complete the module within the time span of the first semester of the school year so that you can apply your project to the second semester of the school year.

In the chart below are some visuals (created by me in Canva) to help with what you will need to complete in the seven sections.

AUDIO OPTION	Audio Option
VIDEO OPTION	Video Option
ARTICLE OPTION	Article Option
COMMENT	Comment on Post
UPDATE	Create Your Own Update

As shown in the visual above, there will also be an expectation that you will complete a comment and update for each section. For each comment, you will be responding to a question related to the material of that section and you will respond to one other peer's comment. For the update, you will respond to a prompt. The response will be around 200 words and includes media whether that is in the form of an image, video, etc. You will also respond to one other peer's update by commenting directly on the update. The specifics for each comment and update will be listed to the right of the images above. These two responses will show your learning and progress on the learning outcomes of this learning module. The comment and update will also allow for you to engage with other learners in an asynchronous way.

MATERIALS AND SUPPORT:

In order to successfully complete the learning module, you will need access to a computer, headphones or speakers for watching videos, and a digital document program (Word, Google Docs, etc.) used to complete your project. If you have any questions, please reach out to the contact below.

Rachael Walker – rbenner3@illinois.edu

The focus of this learning module is critical thinking in the English Language Arts classroom, and it has been created based on conversations and importance placed on the skill of critical thinking. Therefore, that piece is discussed at the beginning of the explanation. The audience, structure, and materials are all described so there is a clear understanding of the module and who should be going through it. When it comes to the structure, the choices are given in each section and as a formative assessment, the learners are expected to comment on the section and to write an update both in response to questions or topics related to what they learned about in the section. With each comment and update they will engage in commenting on other peer's comments and updates so that they can learn from each other and see other people's perspectives.

Also included is a presurvey to see what knowledge they are coming in with in regards to defining critical thinking and teaching it. They will also be assessing where they feel they are already for some of the learning outcomes (the ones not project specific) to see how they change throughout the learning module. 

The learning outcomes are also described and I created a learning outcome for each step of the learning module. So, they mirror each of the next six sections. The learning outcomes and this learning module mirror the expectations and standards set by the state of Illinois, which are called the Professional Teaching Standards (2013), and the specific ones that are addressed in this module were quoted.

When it came to the learning outcomes, Bloom’s Taxonomy verbiage was utilized for this learning module. For example, to get to the highest level of synthesis/creating I used the term design and for the level knowledge/remembering I used the term define. In addition, since one of the major philosophies of our district is personalized learning, the structure of it mirrors that concept so participants not only are able to have choices in the order and project, but also in how they prefer to learn the material in each section (text, video, etc.). Visuals are used in order to help them with their selection as well as understanding which is the comment and the update for each section.

Learning Outcome: Define critical thinking and explain how it relates to the English Language Arts classroom

Figure 3: https://tscfm.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/why-is-critical-thinking-important.jpg

It is clear from many individuals and statistics based on wants of the workplace, that critical thinking is important to a majority. The visual above highlights a few ways that critical thinking helps additional skills such as creativity and curiosity. The learning options below as well as the next two videos help to define critical thinking and its role of it in our everyday lives. 

Critical Thinking Defined Videos

Evaluating information as well as our own thoughts are some of the necessary elements for critical thinkers. The video below overviews critical thinking and its components. As you watch it think about ways that students exhibit these behaviors and how they do not yet exhibit them. 

QualiaSoup (2009, December 24). Critical thinking. YouTube. https://youtu.be/6OLPL5p0fMg?si=vzNw6-0g_n5-g3gp

The video below is from the University of Northern Illinois and they explain an overview of critical thinking as well as components of it such as argument. 

Pynn, G. (2014, August 1). Critical thinking - fundamentals: Introduction to critical thinking. YouTube. https://youtu.be/Cum3k-Wglfw?si=tvLcI8QXyM1ISPBD

The learning options below further explain critical thinking from a variety of perspectives, depending on which option you choose. If you feel confident in understanding critical thinking, the audio option takes the definition a step further to begin thinking about how it is taught. 

Learning Options: 

AUDIO OPTION	How Do We Teach Critical Thinking? Podcast
VIDEO OPTION	Critical Thinking: The Next Step in Human Evolution | Vegard Møller | TEDxYouth@Oslo
ARTICLE OPTION	What is Critical Thinking?

Comment and Update: 

COMMENT	What is your definition of critical thinking? Use the learning option you chose above to support your definition.  Engage in the discussion by commenting on other comments.
UPDATE	In your update, answer one of the two choices: how have you taught critical thinking in the English Language Arts classroom -OR- based on the information above, how do you think critical thinking could be incorporated into the English Language Arts classroom? Engage with at least one other peer by commenting on their update.

Learning Outcome: Identify and be able to explain biases as they relate to critical thinking

Being aware of biases whether conscious or unconscious can be an important step to making us better critical thinkers. When we can evaluate ourselves and be more self-aware, we can increase our critical thinking skills. There are many resources on this subject of biases and in this section, we are mainly going to focus on cognitive bias since that relates the most directly with critical thinking. The video below introduces this concept of cognitive bias. 

TEDx Talks (2022, Apr 22). Cognitive bias, why you’re rightfully wrong | Yaqine Saada | TEDxClearLakeHighSchool. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQHEXK8t698

As stated in section one, critical thinking is about thinking about your own thinking. You need to be aware of biases and be able to evaluate them to question your stance or understanding of a subject. One way to understand our own biases is to identify the different biases that exist and think about what examples we have in our own lives. The learning options below relate to defining the biases, which will help with this process. 

Additional Resources

There are additional resources on this subject matter, which you can explore on your own. The first is a webinar from Cambridge on the impact of bias in critical thinking. The additional items listed are a variety of videos related to biases, which might be helpful. 

Cambridge Brazil (2022, Aug 30). The impact of bias in critical thinking. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgUPmhh3HJg

Linked Resources: 

• Critical Thinking: Cognitive Biases Playlist from Laurie Santos Psychology Professor at Yale University
• How to Outsmart Your Own Unconscious Bias from Valerie Alexander, founder and CEO of Goalkeeper Media
• Unpacking the biases that shape our beliefs from Mike Hartmann, PhD of Clinical Epidemiology

The learning options in this section explore and define a variety of biases. Feel free to explore one or more to help with your understanding of biases and their connection to critical thinking. 

Learning Options: 

AUDIO OPTION	Cognitive Bias with David Dylan Thomas Podcast
VIDEO OPTION	12 Cognitive Biases Explained - How to Think Better and More Logically Removing Bias
ARTICLE OPTION	A Deep Dive into Critical Thinking (Part 2) – The Bias Battle

Comment and Update: 

COMMENT	Is there one bias that stands out to you as one that is most important in relation to critical thinking? Explain.  Engage in the discussion by commenting on other comments.
UPDATE	In this update, how do you believe bias should be taught in the classroom? Explain.  Engage with at least one other peer by commenting on their update.

Learning Outcome: Identify questions that can support critical thinking and explain how questioning plays a role in critical thinking.

Figure 4: https://www.teachthought.com/critical-thinking/6-critical-thinking-questions-situation/

Images like the one above start the process of asking questions that develop our critical thinking skills. Thinking about where the information is coming from, what information or perspectives are missing, and thinking about what is significant about this information. Even thinking about biases is also important since they play into our questioning and understanding as well (the learning option video below brings up cognitive bias). 

There are many types of questions out there that help support critical thinking. In addition to the ones listed in the image above, below is a cheat sheet of questions based on who, what, where, when, why, and how. These questions can be applied to any content area, including English Language Arts. Do you recognize any of the ones below? Have you used these questions in the past in the classroom or in your life?

Figure 5: https://www.teachthought.com/critical-thinking/critical-thinking-questions/

Asking questions is a skill that needs to be taught and practiced, and one way to do this is in the classroom. When it comes to English Language Arts, between reading, discussions, arguments, etc., questioning is embedded throughout the content area. Even one of the Common Core Standards relates to questioning:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.7.1.C
Pose questions that elicit elaboration and respond to others' questions and comments with relevant observations and ideas that bring the discussion back on topic as needed.

In order to help support questioning in the classroom and beyond, the learning options below give ideas of types of questions to ask to support critical thinking. 

Learning Options:

AUDIO OPTION	Deep Questions about Critical Thinking from Thinking Clearly Podcast
VIDEO OPTION	Encourage Critical Thinking with 3 questions | Brian Oshiro | TEDxXiguan
ARTICLE OPTION	Critical Thinking Questions for the ELA Classroom from We Are Teachers

Comment and Update:

COMMENT	What are some questions that you use to help aid in critical thinking personally and/or in your classroom? Explain how it has helped aid in critical thinking.  Engage in the discussion by commenting on other comments.
UPDATE	In this update, explain the role that questioning has in critical thinking. Use examples from your experiences as well as the information from this section to support your response Engage with at least one other peer by commenting on their update.

Learning Outcome: Describe and explain ways that you can introduce critical thinking to students

One of the conversations that occurs often around critical thinking in education is how to begin teaching it in the classroom. Using questions and introducing concepts like biases (referenced in sections two and three in this learning module) can be a couple of ways to do that. An additional way is to introduce the concept as an overview by showing or engaging in a video like the one below on how to increase your critical thinking skills or the one after that on what is critical thinking. 

First Video Reference:

BBC Ideas (2021, Jan 21). Five simple strategies to sharpen your critical thinking. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHjgKe7JMNE

Second Video Reference: 

GCFLearnFree (2019, April 30). What is critical thinking? YouTube. https://youtu.be/-eEBuqwY-nE?si=WrrOs9gMMtjLy8lj

Giving the students a connection to how they have used critical thinking in their world might be helpful to make sure it does not seem like a new skill to them. In addition, explaining how critical thinking is a process (one that no one is perfect at or mastered) and that it is a skill that needs to consistently be practiced, can be vital in building this idea of growth mindset when they are building their critical thinking skills. It is also important to think about the students you have in your classroom when introducing this concept because the exposure may vary as well as their level of practice. 

The learning options below cover a few different ways that you can introduce critical thinking to students in your classroom. The first is a podcast where they discuss mistake analysis, the second is a video that describes how they incorporated critical thinking in their classrooms, and the last is an article that sets up a framework for critical thinking. Feel free to choose one or more of the options below. 

Learning Options:

AUDIO OPTION	The Magic of Mistakes: Boost Critical Thinking With Mistake Analysis from Jennifer Gonzalez (Cult of Pedagogy) and Colin Seale (thinkLaw Founder & CEO)
VIDEO OPTION	Critical Thinking from the Cornell Center for Teaching Innovation
ARTICLE OPTION	Critical Thinking: Frameworks and Models for Teaching published in Canadian Center of Science and Education

Comment and Update: 

COMMENT	How were you introduced to critical thinking? Do any of the learning options or videos above relate to your introduction? Explain.  Engage in the discussion by commenting on other comments.
UPDATE	In your update, explain how you would introduce critical thinking to your students based on what you have learned thus far. This might become part of your critical thinking learning plan.  Engage with at least one other peer by commenting on their update.

Learning Outcome: Identify ways for students to use critical thinking to evaluate multiliteracies

Evaluating sources is a major skill in the English Language Arts classroom and it connects to many facets within the standards. The Common Core Standards themselves integrate this skill. For example, these are the 7th Grade standards related to evaluating and analyzing multiliteracies*:

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.7: Compare and contrast a text to an audio, video, or multimedia version of the text, analyzing each medium's portrayal of the subject (e.g., how the delivery of a speech affects the impact of the words).
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.8: Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claims.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.9: Analyze how two or more authors writing about the same topic shape their presentations of key information by emphasizing different evidence or advancing different interpretations of facts.

While the importance of this skill is clear through the emphasis in the English Language Arts standards (in addition to it being a helpful skill for life), it can be difficult to teach and have the learning stick. One way to help with this is to use specific questions or steps to help make it simple for students. Two videos below can be helpful to break down in a simple way how to choose your news and use the five C's to identify fake news, one from TED Ed and one from Dr. John Spencer. Both sources have additional information on the topics of critical thinking and evaluating sources as well as other education relevant topics. 

How to Choose Your News Video: 

TED-Ed (2014). How to choose your news - Damon Brown. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-Y-z6HmRgI

Helping Students Identify Fake News with the Five C's of Critical Consuming Video: 

Spencer, J. (2016, Dec 7). Helping students identify fake news with the five c's of critical consuming. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf8mjbVRqao

Depending on your interests and needs, select at least one of the learning options below when it comes to learning about evaluating sources. All three learning options focus on how to evaluate sources with a variety of steps. Feel free to choose one, or if interested, look through all three to compare and contrast the ways they suggest evaluating sources. 

* "The term “multiliteracies” was coined in 1994 by the New London Group, a group of scholars who came together to consider the current state and possible future of literacy pedagogy" (Kalantzis & Cope, 2023, p. 2) - this term encompasses more than the traditionally held reading and writing, incorporating more modern literacies such as social media

Learning Options: 

AUDIO OPTION	Evaluating Your Sources Podcast from Teaching and Learning Librarian at the University of Manchester Library
VIDEO OPTION	How to Evaluate Sources from Stanford University Libraries
ARTICLE OPTION	Evaluating Sources: Introduction from Purdue OWL with links on where to begin and evaluating digital sources

Comment and Update: 

COMMENT	Using what you learned from the videos linked above as well as the learning option of your choice, which way to evaluate sources do you think would work well for students? If none, then why do you feel those ways would not work? Engage in the discussion by commenting on other comments.
UPDATE	In your update this week, explore a variety of ways that you have taught evaluating sources and/or explore ways other educators have taught how to evaluate sources and multiliteracies.  Engage with at least one other peer by commenting on their update.

Learning Outcome: Create a rough draft of a critical thinking learning plan based on what you learned

In an English Language Arts classroom where students are engaging in multiliteracies in the classroom and outside of it, critical thinking can be taught in a variety of ways. Some of the ways have been shown in the previous sections such as teaching about specific fallacies and biases, teaching explicitly questioning, and evaluating sources. There are additional ways such as specific activities and discussion methods that can be utilized to consistently utilize this skill. See the video below for one of those methods of how to teach critical thinking. 

Edutopia (2011, Sep 6). How KIPP teachers learn to teach critical thinking. YouTube. https://youtu.be/PtYABBs6LLc

Another method is the Socratic Method, which is shown in the video below. 

TED-Ed (2021). This tool will help improve your critical thinking - Erick Wilberding. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNDYUlxNIAA

After learning about critical thinking and ways to implement it in the classroom, you will now be thinking of ways to teach and integrate the skill into your own lesson plans. The goal for this session is to explore a variety of resources (some of which are linked below as well as the learning options) to help with creating your own critical thinking-based learning plan that you will implement with your students. You will be creating a rough draft that will be shared with other participants in this learning module. The peer-reviewed portion will be explained in the next section. Use the resources linked below or feel free to explore your own ideas based on what you learned in this learning module when finding ways to incorporate critical thinking to your English Language Arts classroom. 

Additional Resources to Explore:

• For Parents/Guardians: Raising Critical Thinkers
• Critical Thinking Activity: Hexagonal Thinking: A Colorful Tool for Discussion
• Culturally Responsive Critical Thinking Ideas: Finding the Funk: 3 Ways to Add Culturally Responsive Critical Thinking to Your Lessons
• ELA and Social Studies Strategies: Behind the Words: Infusing Critical Thinking in ELA and Social Studies
• Discussion and Critical Thinking: The Big List of Classroom Discussion Strategies

Learning Options:

AUDIO OPTION	Episode 19: Critical Thinking with Colin Seale
VIDEO OPTION	Build Critical Thinking Skills in the Classroom
ARTICLE OPTION	Integrating Critical Thinking Into the Classroom

Comment and Update: 

COMMENT	What are some ways that critical thinking can be taught based on the learning option(s) you chose above? Do you agree or disagree with their ideas and why? Engage in the discussion by commenting on other comments.
UPDATE	In your update, explain how critical thinking can be taught and describe what you would like to use for your project. Engage with at least one other peer by commenting on their update.

Learning Outcome: Evaluate a peer’s critical thinking learning plan based on a rubric

You will be completing a peer review of another peer's critical thinking learning plan. Utilize the rubric to evaluate their work and feel free to add comments based on what you have learned in this learning module that might be helpful feedback for them as well.

Once you receive your feedback, you will be making edits to your work and explaining what changes you made and why.

Rubric:

Below is the rubric where you place comments on the left side for areas of improvement based on the criteria/learning outcome and the right side for evidence of exceeding the standard or criteria.

Additional Comments or Suggestions:

Learning Outcome: Design a critical thinking learning plan based on feedback from peers

Look at your critical thinking learning plan to evaluate whether you have met the criteria set in the rubric. Also, look at the feedback you received from peers and the knowledge you gained from looking at other peers' work to make edits to your plan before submitting the final learning plan.

The final learning plan will be shared with other staff members to help with collaboration and as a resource hub that you can use for future classes. Make sure you include the grade level and content area in the title of your project to help with finding resources quickly that align to what the staff might need.

As an additional step, you can use either of the two tools linked below to evaluate your own personalized learning practice and reflect on how critical thinking can support this practice. Also, you can use these tools to set goals for yourself for the next year.

• The Competency-Based Education Innovation Configuration Map: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pEJLkBCyGfjMyGrnamfz3vVOg41ywdhEyXrWSno1Emc/edit?usp=sharing
• Personalized Learning Look Fors Reflection: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Yg8KcCGTCTdklJVROlCA3oY6X7ixTXAX_9M65zKne_0/edit?usp=sharing

UPDATE

In your last update of the course, share your critical thinking learning plan and the goal you have for the next year based on your own self-evaluation of your practice. Engage with at least one other peer by commenting on their update.

Extension (Optional):

• Additional reading on teaching critical thinking: Thinking Like a Lawyer by Colin Seale