Critical and Creative Thinking

Defined

Critical and Creative Thinking are

characteristics of good thinking
processes, or types of thinking.

Critical thinking has to do with

evaluation of ideas,
creative thinking, with
generating them.

Critical and Creative Thinking

“Me CRITICAL” “Me Creative”

Analyse facts Generate ideas

Make comparisons

Evaluate
arguments

Draw conclusions

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 Critical and Creative Thinkers?

• “I don’t really like to think too much. I

just want to do what the boss says”.
• “Why waste time wondering if he’s
right?”
• “I would rather make smart decisions
than prove that I’m right”.
• “I would like to hear everyone’s
opinions, even if I take a different
stand”.

Ways of Fostering
Critical and Creative Thinking (CCT)
1. Make students realise the importance of
knowledge for its own sake (students will be
more willingly to increase their knowledge)
2. Use vocabulary words describing such thinking
processes, e.g., ‘what can you conclude…’, ‘in
your analysis…’, ‘looking at all points of view…’,
‘how can you defend your point of view?’
3. Include activities that foster CCT, e.g.,
discussions, debates, role plays of possibilities,
solving of real-life problems with multiple solutions
4. Get them to read material outside their textbooks;
these would give them other viewpoints of an
event

2
Marzano’s Dimensions of Learning
To learn, students must Thus:
1. Have positive 1. “Yes, I want to learn!”
attitudes 2. “I am absorbing information!”
2. Acquire knowledge 3. “See, I’m using concept maps
3. Extend knowledge and KNLs!!”
4. Use knowledge 4. “I can apply my knowledge of
meaningfully photosynthesis to explain why
5. Have productive oxygen levels drop at night”
habits 5. “I must have good mental habits
such as organising my
information into categories so
that I can remember easily”

How can we promote learning

according to Marzano’s dimensions?
1. How can generate positive attitudes/ or
make students feel that the tasks are
valuable?
2. How can we help students experience
information such that they learn?
3. What kind of activities will help students to
extend their knowledge?
4. How can we help students to be able to
reason in complex ways?
5. How can we teach them good mental
habits?

3
 Ways to promote learning according
to Marzano’s dimensions
1. Positive • Build curiosity and commitment to learn
attitudes
2. Experience • Use interesting, hands-on, application-
information based, real-life, and longer-term activities
3. Extend their • Such as experiments, problem-solving
knowledge activities, and inventions
4. Reason in
complex
ways
5. Teach good • Get students to take charge of their own
mental learning
habits • Teach explicitly (tell them exactly what
they are to do) and model mental habits of
thinking