Instructional Strategies for Critical Thinking

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Learning Theories Strategy One: Cognitivism – Base Ten Blocks
Explanations of How the Strategy Will Help Students Learn Critically Thinking
Discovery Learning Activity
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Critical thinking entails evaluating and objectively analyzing situations to develop a position. It is the ability to connect logical ideas by thinking clearly and rationally. Different types of instructional strategies can be used in critical thinking. The most notable strategies include the use of other points of view, reading a lot, and analyzing things as they are seen. Necessary thinking skills are observation, reflection, evaluation, interpretation, decision making, explanation, and problem-solving (Critical Thinking Skills, 2022). One is said to apply critical thinking when they make judgments based on what they have observed, analyzed, interpreted, and explained. Mathematics is the content area that effectively develops critical thinking skills among elementary school students.

Learning Theories Strategy One: Cognitivism – Base Ten Blocks

Definition of Strategy: Games are the domain of cognitivism (Carlton, 2012).
Activity Name: Base Ten Blocks
Activity Description:
- Students will complete the following activities:
  - The first activity is to provide students with a number of base ten blocks to build anything they wish
  - The second activity is to alternate rolling of dice between two players in a race to reach 100 while trading
  - The third activity is allowing a group of 2-3 students to add answers not written with any other group to a chart paper circulated around the room. The intention is to find how many ways they can do it.

Explanations of How the Strategy Will Help Students Learn Critically Thinking

This strategy will help students increase their critical thinking skills by enhancing their ability to physically represent what they are learning to develop an understanding of each concept. They build number combinations to create the concept of trading or regrouping by seeing how each operation develops logically. The first strategy is the Base Ten Blocks which will cover the content area of mathematics for children in grade three. It is a hands-on activity that helps children to learn place value, measurements, operations, number concepts, and many others. Children can physically and manually represent whatever they are learning to understand the concepts introduced in the activity (Critical Thinking Skills, 2022). They know how to trade and regroup numbers and observe how each operation develops logically.

Base Ten Blocks presents an excellent opportunity for a genuine assessment by helping the teacher know how students approach mathematical problems. The blocks’ positioning helps teachers visualize the student’s thinking. The challenges encountered in this activity unleash incredible abilities where performance is highly regarded. In contrast, some students with memories of numbers and their relationships exhibit difficulties with spatial problems and can quickly learn from the activity if they explore it extensively (Diagnose Student’s Needs, 2022). Observing an individual’s intellectual strength and style is possible by following how they explore the activity without inhibitions. They should be allowed to describe their creations and share their thinking and strategies with others to help the teacher to make an observational assessment.

Using mathematics activities in the classroom can help students develop their ability to create, analyze, evaluate, and apply knowledge, including understanding and remembering it. Using Base Ten Blocks helps grade three students think critically in a mathematical manner by activating their analytical and evaluative skills. The use of this strategy allows children to have the ability to open up their minds to understand mathematical concepts using physical representations of mathematical formulas. They can make essential connections between critical ideas and how they relate to each other in a picture of regrouping and trading (Diagnose Student’s Needs, 2022). It is an essential skill in critical thinking and problem-solving activities because it handles issues comprehensively. Students can look at the different points of view when attempting to solve a problem. Base Ten Blocks shows the student how to practically view topics from different angles and distinguish between various aspects of a problem.

Background Information of the Instructional Strategy: The base ten blocks, or the multi-base arithmetic blocks, were created by Zoltan Pal Dienes, an educationist, and mathematician. The game is a mathematical manipulative that students can use to learn elementary mathematics concepts of addition, subtraction, place value, number sense, division, and multiplication (Diagnose Student’s Needs, 2022). The blocks are manipulated in different ways to come up with patterns and numbers.
Materials Used in Classroom: Plastic materials of flats, blocks, units, and longs.
Technology Resources Two: Websites.
Definition of Strategy: Technology is the domain of cognitivism.
Activity Name: IXL.
Activity Description:
- Open the computer and log in to IXL.
- Choose the subject area between English and mathematics that the student needs to practice.
- Let the student to step into the arena and practice her mathematics or language arts skills in different subjects.

The IXL comprehensive curriculum is an activity that offers thousands of skills in different subjects, including English, mathematics, social studies, science, and arts. Students introduced to IXL strongly understand how other notions and concepts are connected to the subjects (Diagnose Student’s Needs, 2022). This strategy helps students to make connections complemented by collaborations between different classrooms leading to the overall intellectual growth of students.

The skills acquired from this activity and interconnected to develop a deep understanding of how different concepts can be used across various disciplines. It is a holistic approach to learning which prepares children to develop problem-solving skills and critical thinking abilities (Diagnose Student’s Needs, 2022). For instance, social studies and science skills can be used as an informational text for prescribed standards in the English language, which helps the student to develop subject knowledge, critical thinking skills, and reading comprehension.

IXL provides first-grade-level mathematics skills that include games used in learning and exploration. Students can develop customized skills by choosing subjects that give them the most significant challenge. They select a skill plan which states individual standards and aligns the student’s textbook, including standardized tests. The most amazing skills on offer include counting, understanding subtraction, patterns, addition builders, experience additions, data, and graphs (Diagnose Student’s Needs, 2022). These skills help students to develop critical thinking abilities through interconnections across different concepts and notions. Moreover, they can also examine the use of various themes, including cause and effect and data interpretation across multiple subjects.

Moreover, IXL is known to broaden and increase collaborations and cooperation across classrooms. The learning of the content can be assessed through IXL analytics, computer software that will help the teacher evaluate a student’s performance. The software provides continuous insights from real-time diagnostics, indicating students’ overall working grades and levels. It has a diagnostic strand analysis feature that groups students with similar needs and recommends the most appropriate skills for each group. It is easier for teachers to create instruction strategies for different subjects (Diagnose Student’s Needs, 2022). Additionally, IXL analytics can be used by teachers in conducting assessments and help give an accurate picture concerning a student’s progress.

There is a direct relationship between cooperative learning and critical thinking. Furthermore, the art of mastering crucial thinking among students is also directly related to a good command of language. Creative thinking and critical thinking complement each other. Cooperative learning enhances and develops students’ innovative thinking capabilities, consequently improving their necessary thinking skills. In collaborative learning, teachers and educators can assess students’ critical thinking skills by thoroughly analyzing the seven components of critical thinking. It has become increasingly difficult to assess such skills by comparing students’ performance using various grading systems. Essential assessments of thinking should incorporate long-term cooperative tasks and written works to identify how the students use the seven components of critical thinking (Cooperative Learning, 2022). The success of such an undertaking relies on the graders’ competence and grading consistencies.

Background Information of the Instructional Strategy: IXL provides first-grade-level mathematics skills that include games used in learning and exploration. Students can develop customized skills by choosing subjects that give them the most significant challenge. They select a skill plan which states individual standards and aligns the student’s textbook, including standardized tests (Diagnose Student’s Needs, 2022). The most amazing skills on offer include counting, understanding subtraction, patterns, addition builders, experience additions, data, and graphs.
Materials Used in Classroom: Computers and smartphones
Instructional Strategy Three: Cognitivism – PEMDAS.
Definition of Strategy: Mathematical order is the domain of cognitivism (Carlton, 2012).
Activity Name: PEMDAS.
Activity Description:
- Students are required to use PEMDAS (BEDMAS/BODMAS) in the correct order of operations to solve simple arithmetic problems
- The teacher sets a random code to prevent students from guessing but instead solve the arithmetic problem
- Teacher rewards the first student to crack the code

In grade five, students can use this strategy to test their critical thinking abilities. PEMDAS cannot be regarded as an activity per se but rather a mathematical strategy that challenges the mind to follow a particular order to come to the correct conclusion (PEMDAS, 2022). Using PEDMAS’ mathematical order, students can solve complex mathematical problems that could otherwise be impossible to calculate.

The usual mathematical operations include addition, substation, division, and multiplication, performed under a particular order or rule. The order of operation by PEMDAS is equal to the BODMAS rule, which is only different because of its abbreviation. PEMDAS is an abbreviation for parenthesis, exponents, multiplication and division, addition, and subtraction. In contrast, BODMAS stands for brackets order division, multiplication addition, and subtraction. PEMDAS is a term that is frequently used in America, whereas BODMAS is commonly a feature of the UK and India (PEMDAS, 2022). However, no significant difference exists between the two formulas used in mathematics.

The order for applying the variables in the formula is the same for both rules. Most people commit PEMDAS to memory by saying, “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally” (PEMDAS, 2022). The order is followed during a calculation when calculating challenging equations using steps. It states that the operation order ought to begin with parentheses or ones enclosed by brackets. The operation then proceeds to the exponents (square roots and degrees). The third step involves operations on multiplications and divisions, followed by addition and subtraction. The formula was introduced to help students to remember the operations involved in applying the math order (Silly School Songs, 2022). These binary operations include division, multiplication, subtraction, and addition.

Learning the content in the mathematical activity will be assessed by determining if the student has gotten the correct answer. When calculating problems using PEMDAS, it is nearly impossible to get the correct answer if one does not follow the given mathematical order. The assessment of such a mathematical activity helps the teacher to know if the student has followed the given formula or not. An incorrect answer to a mathematical problem means that the student has not used the order (Silly School Songs, 2022). It indicates they cannot think critically because such an exercise requires order and consistency. The order of operation is of utmost importance because it ensures that one arrives at the correct answer.

Background Information of the Instructional Strategy: PEMDAS is a mathematical acronym that was founded in the United States of America. However, in the UK and India, the terminology takes a different name and is referred to as BODMAS (PEMDAS, 2022). There is no major difference between these two acronyms because they both deal with the order of operations.
Materials Used in Classroom: Equations and examples.

Discovery Learning Activity

It is a learning activity based on inquiry in situations where the learner uses their past experiences to discover new truths and facts to be learned. Students will interact with the world through object manipulation and exploration, struggling with controversies and questions, or experimenting. Consequently, they may discover some knowledge on their own. An example of a third-grade discovery learning activity is one in that a student is engaged in a writing assignment known as word up. Students should be left to create their captions using random photos to help them expand their vocabulary or other literary devices.

The activity should be introduced in the English subject to improve vocabulary. The student will need family photos, a small notebook, construction paper, glue, a stapler, pencil, or marker for the activity. The child should be given some old family photos to look through the images. He should be left to glue a few photos that interest him on the small notebook. The teacher should encourage the child to think of funny and descriptive captions for the selected images. The pages should be stapled together with construction paper if plain paper is used.

Conclusion

The teacher activates a student’s critical thinking skills by using different learning styles and theories in the classroom. Teachers can use critical thinking skills, including working in groups, incorporating different viewpoints, inspiring creativity, and asking questions. For instance, using music in the classroom is crucial because it encourages students to stimulate their imagination, body coordination, and creativity. A teacher can also use technology resources to activate critical thinking, including the iReady website, which helps students to be binding and become more engaged. In addition, the teacher can use the Benn diagram to compare and contrast students’ skills. Incorporating critical thinking skills in the classroom is advisable because it expands students’ knowledge and academic gains.

References

Critical thinking skills. (2022). Skills You Need. Web.

Cooperative learning: Benefits, strategies, and activities.(2022). Valamis. Web.

Diagnose students needs. (2022). IXL. Web.

Markzack, L. (2019). Using technology to teach critical thinking skills.Digital Learning Collaborative. Web.

PEMDAS. (2022). Byju’s. Web.

Silly school songs(2022). Silly School Education. Web.

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