Adapted by permission of the publisher.Д¬ritical thinking has been central to education since the time of Socrates (469вЂ“399 B.C.E.). Bloom, Taxonomy of educational objectives. Students evaluate their argument and conclusions about alligators in the sewers by interacting with online experts before they present their argument to the class. They arrange and study the data to suggest conclusions. Students gather facts from electronic and paper resources about alligators, sewers, and New York and input them into a database. Students brainstorm about the information they need and the questions they need to ask and make a chart using Inspiration software. FIGURE 4.1 Higher Order Thinking Skills from BloomвЂ™s Taxonomy Excellent resources for using the revised taxonomy are available from teachthought at and many other sources on the Web, including Pinterest (e.g., the poster at Forty-five years after BloomвЂ™s Taxonomy was published, Anderson and Krathwohl (2001) revised it to add a вЂњmetacognitive knowledgeвЂќ category and to make it easier for teachers to design instruction that requires critical thinking. Figure 4.1 presents an example of critical thinking skills from BloomвЂ™s taxonomy and the types of technology-enhanced tasks that might support them. The second three competencies-analysis, synthesis, and evaluation-are generally considered critical thinking or higher order skills. BloomвЂ™s first three competencies-knowledge, comprehension, and application-are generally equated with the acquisition of declarative knowledge (discussed in chapter 2). This list of cognitive skills is based on BloomвЂ™s well-known Taxonomy of Educational Goals (Bloom, 1956).

These skills also include creative thinking (chapter 5) and problem solving (chapter 6). Scholars agree, however, that schools are not the most productive learning environments for critical thinking, and that schools need to take a stronger focus on critical thinking.Д¬ritical thinking is part of a group of cognitive abilities and personal characteristics called higher order thinking skills (HOTS). However, most peopleвЂ™s skills are not as well developed as they could or should be, and there is a clear link between critical thinking and student success. To some extent all humans, even very young children, continually think critically to analyze their world and to make sense of it. Plan experiments and judge experimental designs.Дefine terms in a way appropriate for the context.Дraw conclusions when warranted, but with caution. Judge the quality of an argument, including the acceptability of its reasons, assumptions, and evidence.Дevelop and defend a position on an issue. Identify conclusions, reasons, and assumptions. When using technology, being able to think critically allows one to: A simple way to define critical thinking is the ability to make good decisions and to clearly explain the foundation for those decisions. In order to implement technology use with a learning focus, teachers need to understand critical thinking before attempting to support it with technology.Д¬ritical thinking skills refer to abilities to be open-minded, mindful, and analytical, and to evaluate, question, reason, hypothesize, interpret, explain, and draw conclusions (Ennis, 2012). OVERVIEW OF CRITICAL THINKING AND TECHNOLOGY IN KвЂ“12 CLASSROOMS That sentiment is even more applicable in the age of the Internet and world unrest as humans prepare for an unknown future. And, those without the ability to make rational choices should not be allowed to run free, for being irresponsible, they could easily be a danger to themselves and to the rest of usвЂќ (p. A person who cannot think critically, cannot make rational choices. Almost 30 years ago, Facione (1990) argued that critical thinking is also necessary for societies to hang together, stating, вЂњBeing a free, responsible person means being able to make rational, unconstrained choices. There are a great number and variety of standards that students are expected to meet using critical thinking skills such as analyzing, evaluating, and assessing this is because critical thinking is essential for students to lead productive lives. Critical thinking is fundamental to learner achievement in all subject areas.

Chapter 4 skills and applications