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Developing Higher-Order Thinking SkillsProblem
Solving and Critical Thinking

• Presented bySusan Saale
• Academic Support Coordinator
• Center for Academic Success

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Metacognition

• Is an awareness of ones own thinking
• Is a process used to consciously regulate ones
  own thinking
• Includes declarative knowledge (facts),
  procedural knowledge (knowing how to do
  something) and conditional knowledge (knowing
  when and why to apply which knowledge)

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Thinkers may be

• Experts, intelligent novices or novices
• One can be an expert in one area but a novice
  in another. We all have some area in which we do
  very well, and learning new skills comes easily.
  In others we may have to work very hard to become
  competent.

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Experts and Novices Think Differently

• Experts Arrange problems around broad,
  encompassing concepts perceive meaningful
  patterns from given information take time to
  analyze a given problem have a good memory
• Novices Tend to arrange problems around
  superficial detail do a lot of trial and error
  jump at the most obvious answer take more time
  trying to find a solution than thinking about the
  process

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Novices vs. Intelligent Novices

• Intelligent novices learn new domains more
  quickly than other novices
• Metacognitive skills make the difference
• Planning (linking new information to what you
  already know)
• Monitoring (understanding each part)
• Evaluating (checking and reviewing)

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What intelligent novices know

• Learning is different from memorization
• Solving problems without looking at the solution
  is different from using the solution as a model
• Comprehension of reading material must be tested
  while the reading is in progress
• Whether the answer to a problem makes sense

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Higher-Order Thinking SkillsBlooms Taxonomy
Evaluation
Synthesis
Analysis
Application
Comprehension
Knowledge
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Knowledge

• Knowledge, according to Bloom, is the simple
  recall of information.
• This memorization of data is the foundation for
  all the other stages of cognitive development.

• This stage allows one to give dates of historical
  events, recite a poem, identify items in a list
  or recognize patterns.

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Comprehension

• Comprehension requires knowledge.
• In this stage the individual understands and can
  interpret the meaning from instructions, and can
  paraphrase problems.

• This stage allows one to interpret information
  from a spreadsheet and explain how to perform a
  complex task.

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Application

• Application requires knowledge and comprehension.
• The individual can solve problems by adapting
  information to new situations and in different
  environments.

• The stage allows one to use statistics to
  evaluate the reliability of a research project.
• S/he can demonstrate, modify, manipulate and
  predict from a given set of data.

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Analysis

• Analysis requires knowledge,compre- hension and
  application.
• This individual can distinguish fact and opinion
  and can separate information into component
  structural parts.

• The stage allows one to recognize logical
  fallacies.
• This person can compare and contrast,
  discriminate and distinguish, and select
  appropriate information.

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Synthesis

• Synthesis requires each of the preceding stages.
• This person can develop diverse bits of
  information and construct them into new meaning
  or structure.

• This stage allows one to take information from a
  variety of resources and develop a new idea.
• This person can combine, compile, explain and
  generate new structures or patterns.

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Evaluation

• Evaluation requires all five of the previous
  stages.
• This individual can make judgments about the
  value of ideas.

• This stage allows one to appraise, compare,
  critique, defend, evaluate and interpret
  information and come to the most effective
  solution to a given problem.

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Moving Up Calls for Critical Thinking

• Critical thinking requires that one
• Avoid Assumptions
• Collect Sort Evidence
• Prioritize Relevant Evidence
• Consider Concepts/Viewpoints/Judgements
• Create A Plan
• Implement
• Evaluate

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Graphic Organizers

• Such as flashcards, flow charts, cycles,
  matrices, and trees can be used to facilitate
  critical thinking by helping to organize and
  prioritize relevant information. They also allow
  that information to be reformatted to accommodate
  different learning styles