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When
Will I Receive My Order?
Continental U.S.: Orders are shipped
First Class mail or UPS (depending on
the weight) for arrival within 7-12 business
days. Outside Continental U.S.& Canada:
Orders are shipped First Class or Priority
mail (depending on the weight) for arrival
within 7-14 business days.
What
is your Product Guarantee?
Our commitment is to help you meet
your students' needs by providing high-quality
critical thinking materials.
Our products are
fully guaranteed--if any product does
not meet your needs or expectations, we
will be happy to give you an exchange,
a credit, or a refund within 60 days of
purchase. Just fill out our Return Form.
Higher grades and top test scores? We
guarantee it--or your money back! Develop
your students' critical thinking and empower
their minds. --Michael O. Baker, Publisher
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Privacy Guarantees do I have?
The Critical Thinking Co. is dedicated
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support and comply with the Children's
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Select comments may
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You also have the
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If you have any questions
about this privacy policy or your dealings
with this site, please contact us at service@CriticalThinking.com.
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Returns
What
is your return policy?
Any product(s) in resalable condition
may be returned within 60 days of receipt
for a credit, refund, or exchange. (Shipping
costs are not refundable unless the return
is a result of our error.)
How
do I return a product?
Please enclose a copy of your
packing slip and the Return Form with your return. Please wrap your package securely and
return it:
Insured, prepaid
U.S. MAIL to
P.O. Box 1610
Seaside, CA 93955
or
Prepaid UPS to
1069 Broadway Ave.
Seaside, CA 93955
I
received the wrong item(s). What should
I do?
Please call our customer service
department at 800-458-4849. We will immediately
exchange the product for the correct item
and pay all related shipping costs.
I
received a damaged good. What should I
do?
Please call our customer service
department at 800-458-4849. We will replace
the damaged item and pay all related shipping
costs.
How
do I track my order while in shipment?
Please call our customer service
department at 800-458-4849.
How
can I cancel an order?
Please call our customer service
department at 800-458-4849 within 24 hours
after placing your order. If the item(s)
have not already been shipped, we will
cancel the order.
General
Information What
is Critical Thinking?
Critical thinking is reasoned identification
and evaluation of evidence to guide decision
making. A critical thinker uses broad
in-depth analysis of evidence to make
decisions and communicate his/her beliefs
clearly and accurately. Critical thinking
produces bright, independent, innovative
thinkers who succeed in education and
in life. Learn
More
What
critical thinking skills are necessary
for success in your courses?
First think critically about the skills
you want students to learn in your courses,
and why. Which of these are general critical
thinking skills? Which are discipline
specific? Be prepared to explain this
to your students at the beginning of the
term.
How
can you assess students' critical thinking
skills and background knowledge at the
start of your courses?
Determining this at the beginning of the
term allows you to tailor your selection
and presentation of material so that it
challenges students appropriately
not too much or too little. Consider creating
a short diagnostic tool for this purpose,
such as a questionnaire asking students
to list related or prerequisite courses
taken, and to describe their beliefs about
your subject. Review their responses carefully,
and think critically about how you can
incorporate this knowledge into your course
planning.
How
can you use group discussion to promote
critical thinking?
Researchers have found consistently that
interaction among students, in the form
of well-structured group discussions plays
a central role in stimulating critical
thinking. Discussing course material and
its applications allows students to formulate
and test hypotheses, practice asking thought-provoking
questions, hear other perspectives, analyze
claims, evaluate evidence, and explain
and justify their reasoning. As they become
more sophisticated and fluent in thinking
critically, students can observe and critique
each others' reasoning skills.
How
will you demonstrate or model critical
thinking?
Modeling of critical thinking skills by
instructors is also crucial for teaching
critical thinking successfully. By making
your own thought processes explicit in
class explaining your reasoning,
evaluating evidence for a claim, probing
the credibility of a source, or even describing
what has puzzled or confused you
you provide a powerful example to students,
particularly if you invite them to join
in; e.g., "Can you see where we're
headed with this?" "I can't
think of other explanations; can you?"
"This idea/principle struck me as
difficult or confusing at first, but here's
how I figured it out." You can encourage
students to emulate this by using them
in demonstrations, asking them to "think
out loud" in order for classmates
to observe how they reason through a problem.
How
can you interact with students so as to
promote critical thinking?
Develop the habit of asking questions
that require students to think critically,
and tell students that you really expect
them to give answers! In particular, Socratic
questioning encourages students to develop
and clarify their thinking: e.g., "Would
your answer hold in all cases?" "How
would you respond to a counter-example
or counter-argument?" "Explain
how you arrived at that answer?"
This is another skill
that students can learn from your example,
and can use in working with each other.
Providing regular opportunities for pair
or small group discussions after major
points or demonstrations during lectures
is also important: this allows students
to process the new material, connect it
to previously learned topics, and practice
asking questions that promote further
critical thinking. Obviously, conveying
genuine respect for student input is essential.
Communicating the message that you value
and support student contributions and
efforts to think critically increases
confidence, and motivates students to
continue building their thinking skills.
An essential component of this process
is the creation of a climate where students
feel comfortable with exploring the process
of reasoning through a problem without
being "punished" for getting
the wrong answer.
How
can you structure assignments to promote
critical thinking?
Writing assignments are an excellent vehicle
for promoting critical thinking. In a
paper, you can require students to provide
valid evidence and arguments in favor
of claims that they support and those
they do not, thus encouraging them to
consider more than their own perspectives.
Writing requires students to plan and
organize their thoughts in logical order,
and if well done, it necessitates thorough
and fluent knowledge of their topic. Creating
activities by which students can practice
applying knowledge learned in class to
new problems or everyday experience, encourages
them to examine their assumptions and
make judgments about the fit between theory
and application, principle and practice.
Problem-solving assignments are obviously
an integral part of courses in mathematics,
statistics, and the sciences, as they
allow students to develop and refine the
reasoning and hypothesis-testing abilities
necessary for success in these disciplines.
However, instructors in other subject
areas can also consider how to help students
develop discipline-relevant problem-solving
skills, particularly concerning ill-structured
and novel problems. Possibilities for
this kind of activity are endless and
are best developed by instructors to meet
the unique needs of their students, disciplines,
and subject matter.
How
can you test students so as to require
and reward critical thinking?
Developing appropriate testing
and evaluation of students is an important
part of building critical thinking practice
into your teaching. If students know that
you expect them to think critically on
tests, and the necessary guidelines and
preparation are given before hand, they
are more likely to take a critical thinking
approach to learning all course material.
Design test items that require higher-order
thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis,
and evaluation, rather than simple recall
of facts; ask students to explain and
justify all claims made; instruct them
to make inferences or draw conclusions
that go beyond given data. Essays and
problems are the most obvious form of
item to use for testing these skills,
but well-constructed multiple-choice items
can also work well. Consider carefully
how you will evaluate and grade tests
that require critical thinking and develop
clear criteria that can be shared with
the students.
How
can you assess student critical thinking
performance throughout the term?
In order to make informed decisions about
student critical thinking and learning,
you need to assess student performance
and behavior in class as well as on tests
and assignments. Paying careful attention
to signs of inattention or frustration,
and asking students to explain them, can
provide much valuable information about
what may need to change in your teaching
approach; similarly, signs of strong engagement
or interest can tell you a great deal
about what you are doing well to get students
to think. Brief classroom assessment instruments,
such as asking students to write down
the clearest and most confusing points
for them in a class session, can be very
helpful for collecting a lot of information
quickly about student thinking and understanding.
How
can you use assessment results to inform
your teaching?
The key to the best use of ongoing assessment
techniques, of course, is that you (a)
think critically about the results and
what they say about student thinking and
learning at that point, (b) make informed
decisions about any changes in your teaching
connected with the assessment, and (c)
explain this process carefully to students.
This tells them that you take their input
seriously and are making genuine efforts
to incorporate it, within reason
and once more, you are modeling good critical
thinking practice.
How
can you afford to spend time focusing
on teaching students to think critically
when you have so much content to cover?
Because of the rapidly changing
nature of knowledge in the 21st century,
giving students a great deal of content
with no discussion of how to analyze,
integrate, or apply it will leave them
with nothing but a collection of discrete
pieces of information to cram into their
minds for the tests. They will not understand
it thoroughly and will forget most of
it within a week of the final exam because
they lacked an essential understanding
of the material and its underlying assumptions.
If measured by the amount of information
actually retained and an increased ability
to continue to learn and assimilate new
knowledge, focusing on "learning
how to learn" a subject creates a
far greater return for student and faculty
time and energy spent.
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