1. Critical Reading Critical Thinking

2. What is critical reading/ thinking?
Agenda
What is critical reading/ thinking?
Why is it important?
Techniques

3. New thing? Easy ? Why not? Not really.
Because you need to engage a part of your brain that is not normally used.

4. Our brains Humans only use 10% of their brains Albert Einstein:
we could all be geniuses if we knew how to unleash the full potential of our brains

5. “Our minds are capable of remarkable, incredible feats, yet
we don’t use them to their full capacity. In fact, most of us
only use 10 per cent of our brains, if that. The other 90 per
cent is full of untapped potential and undiscovered abilities,
which means our minds are only operating in a very limited
way instead of at a full stretch. I believe that we once had
full power over our minds. We had to, in order to survive, but
as our world has become more sophisticated and complex
we have forgotten many of the abilities we once had.”
(Geller,1996)

6. Developing critical thinking
lack of critical thinking can be explained from physiological perspective
previous environment has not encouraged the brain to develop that particular part
need to trigger the part of the brain that has been left unused

7. Where does this leave you?
Glad
that it is not you but your environment?
Intrigued
- want to find out more and especially how to develop this part of the brain?
Puzzled
- don’t quite believe that it is that simple?

8. Right to be sceptical !
There’s no proof that we use only 10% of our brains (it’s a widespread myth!).
There’s no link between this myth and critical thinking.

9. Or have you been taken in by:
Good standard of language (formal)
Scientific perspective
Use of widely accepted premise
“It is common knowledge …”
Reference to experts (Albert Einstein)
Quotation from well-known person
(Uri Geller)
Use of words that establish logical links
(therefore, this explains, similarly …)

10. Clues Use of ‘emotional’ words “famous, amazing, well-known …”
Appeal to audiences ‘vanity’ (all geniuses)
Absence of scientific evidence
Mentioning Einstein without giving the source
Uri Geller is an entertainer not a brain expert
Uri Geller has a vested interest (his livelihood)
Flawed reasoning (link between psychic powers and critical thinking)

11. Being critical Being analytical evaluative questioning investigative
sceptical
challenging
(synonyms)

12. Critical Reading & Critical Thinking
Critical reading: technique for discovering information & ideas
> careful, active, reflective, analytical reading
Critical thinking: technique for evaluating information & ideas
> reflecting on validity in light of prior reading and understanding of the world

13. Example:
Parents are buying expensive cars for their children to destroy them.
Critical reading:
Who or what is ‘them’? (parents, cars or children?)
What evidence is given to support this claim?
Critical thinking:
Is the chosen meaning (claim) true?
Is it a good idea? Who will benefit / lose out from this practice? What will be the impact?
Critical thinking is only possible if you have understood the text or message
Need to know why you accept or reject a new idea or piece of information

14. Reading Non-critical: text provides facts
Reader memorises the facts and key remarks
Critical :
text provides portrayal
facts of one individual’s
‘take’ on the subject
matter
Reader recognises what is said and how it is said

15. Critical reading techniques
Deep or intensive reading techniques
surveying the text
reading more than once
reading in chunks
stopping to check comprehension (block- break- review)
questioning the text
taking notes
making comments in the margins
identifying a line of reasoning
identifying evidence
identifying assumptions
identifying conclusion
… and evaluating these!

16. Tools of critical reading
Analysis (to know what to look for)
> You have to recognise the aspects of the discussion that control the meaning.
Interpretation (what to make of it)
> You have to interpret the data and facts,
within the text and within the wider context.

17. Tools of critical reading (cont.)
Analyse & interpret the author’s portrayal of the topic >> to identify the author’s purpose.
Examine the choices the author made concerning: - content
- structure
- language
Consider their effect on the meaning

18. same subject: But what are the intentions ?
Queen Elizabeth II by
Annie Leibovitz 2007
Portrayal of the
same subject: But what are the intentions ?
Queen Elizabeth II by
Lucian Freud, 2001
Queen Elizabeth II by
unknown 2007 ‘in these fast-moving times’

19. Evaluation: the ability to make a judgement about the value of something by using a standard (appraise, argue, assess, attach, compare, defend, estimate, judge, predict, rate, select, support, evaluate)
Bloom’s Taxonomy (1956)
Synthesis: the ability to combine existing elements in order to create something original (arrange, collect, compose, construct, design, develop, organize, plan, propose)
Analysis: the ability to break content into components in order to identify parts, see relationships among them, and recognize organizational principles (analyse, appraise, calculate, categorize, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, distinguish, examine, question, test)
Application: the ability to use a learned skill in a new situation (apply, demonstrate, employ, illustrate, interpret, sketch, solve, use, write)
Understanding: basic level of understanding, the ability to know what is being communicated in order to make use of the information (classify, describe, discuss, explain, identify, report, review)
Knowledge: starting point, includes both the acquisition of information and the ability to recall information when needed (define, label, list, memorize, order, relate …)

20. For a strong argument Provide evidence
Have a structured line of reasoning
Clear and coherent language
Make links between points
Provide interim conclusions that lead to …
A well supported final conclusion

21. Possible barriers to critical thinking
Emotional involvement
Ignorance
Prejudice
Lack of focus or attention to detail
Focus of facts only
Understanding ‘critical’ as purely negative
Awe of experts, reluctance to critique experts
Lack of practice

22. Summary: Critical thinking
Recognising reasoning
Drawing & recognising conclusion
Identifying unstated assumption
Appraising evidence
Evaluating statements
> Skill to be developed over time, with practice

23. Good Luck