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Thinking and Reasoning
Presenting an Argument, Logic and Reasoning, Identifying Similarities and Differences, Hypothesis Testing and Scientific Inquiry, Trouble-Shooting and Problem-Solving Techniques, Decision-Making Techniques
Key Concepts:
- Critical Thinking Guides developed for Explore More visualize student thinking and learning processes
- Content-area online reading with a purpose for reading, a scan for key organizational features, and examine, summarize, review and use their new learning
- Critical media viewing with purposeful, observant, active, and critical use of media
- Investigating issues by discovering and defining the issue, writing an issue statement for investigation, delving deep into the issue and its related problems, and responding to the issue
- Making decisions through identifying situations requiring a decision, examining previous related decisions, evaluating information and possible alternatives, considering motivations for these alternatives, and making an informed decision based on experience with the content
- Interpreting findings, reformulating new hypotheses, and presenting alternative explanations and conclusions
- Comparing and contrasting relevant and important relationships and qualitative and quantitative data
- Evaluating arguments, questioning claims, identifying logical structures, and analyzing the validity of arguments
- Building a logical and reasonable case, constructing logical and reasonable arguments, and then analyzing those arguments and evidence for validity
- Basic trouble-shooting and problem-solving techniques such as alternative courses of action, prediction of likely consequences, selection of the most appropriate strategy, examination of complex real-world situations, and evaluating and recommending the feasibility of various solutions
- Reviewing a variety of informational texts such as feature articles, editorials, interview transcripts, reference, directions, public documents, and consumer documents in both primary and secondary sources of information
- Determining differing forms of logic and reasoning such as problem/solution, reason/evidence, and advantage/disadvantage
- Using several forms of evidence such as facts, examples, testimonials, narratives, statistics, quotes, and comparisons
- Interpreting graphic representations such as diagrams, timelines, tables, charts, graphs, demonstrations, pictures
- Understanding feature stories that include facts, examples and statistics in the form of informational articles with charts, graphs and tables and Web links for further investigation
- Interacting with a glossary of definitions, pronunciation guides, graphics, and related terms and facts
- Responding to polling questions for students in an online forum to login views and submiting a polling question to post on the Explore More Web site
- Investigating and exploring the social, environmental, economic, political and legal issues
- Researching for basic facts, compelling issues, and moral and ethical dilemmas
- Analyzing of economic impacts, consumption of goods and natural resources, individual practices, personal rights and responsibilities, government presence
- Surveying stakeholders from a variety of viewpoints, biases, persuasiveness, and expertise
Standards and Benchmarks
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