critical thinking activity for college

10 Great Critical Thinking Activities That Engage Your Learners

How can learners own their learning with critical thinking activities they’ll really love? Allowing our learners to take stands on issues that matter to them engages the classroom in a way that fosters great critical thinking.

Who? What? Why? When? Where? How? When they can relate these questions to themselves and exercise personal self-reflection, we build community and “heart-centered” learning.

Let’s get to the critical thinking skills that really matter. Here are some amazing critical thinking activities that you can do with your learners.

(These activities are originally from www.facinghistory.org but they are no longer available online. We present their outlines here for you to expand upon in your own creative ways.)

10 Great Critical Thinking Activities

Attribute linking—building community by taking perspectives.

Learners pair up according to similar physical attributes determined by the facilitator. These include hair color, eye color, hand size, and height. For each attribute, learners discuss times when they were discriminated against because of it. They then take on the roles of victim, perpetrator, or bystander and discuss.

Barometer—Taking a Stand on Controversial Issues

When posed with a thought-provoking prompt, learners line themselves up along a U-shaped continuum representing where they stand on that issue. The sides of the U are opposite extremes, with the middle being neutral. The teacher starts a discussion by giving equal opportunity for individuals in each area of the continuum to speak about their stand. The learners use “I” statements when stating their opinion.

Big Paper—Building a Silent Conversation

Writing (or drawing) and silence are used as tools to slow down thinking and allow for silent reflection, unfiltered. By using silence and writing, learners can focus on other viewpoints. This activity uses a driving question, markers, and Big Paper (poster-sized is best). Learners work in pairs or threes to have a conversation on the Big Paper.

Learners can write at will, but it must be done in silence after a reflection on the driving question. This strategy is great for introverts and provides a ready-made visual record of thought for later.

Body Sculpting—Using Theatre to Explore Important Ideas

Learners are given time to consider their feelings on a thought-provoking abstract or concrete image. Next, they come up with words that describe their reactions—trapped, free, angry, joyful, etc. They are then paired up and one person is the sculptor, while the other is the “clay.” The sculptor poses the clay into a form that artfully displays the word they wish to portray. Here are some guidelines:

Sculptors can either physically mold the “clay” or act as a mirror for them to show the “clay” the position/image they want.

Images can be concrete or abstract.

Sculptors must treat their clay with gentleness and respect (very important!).

There are no wrong answers; whatever image you get is fine.

All body sculpting must be done in silence.

Café Conversations

Understanding different viewpoints is a great way to delve deeply into a topic. 5 to 10 learners are given character sheets. These might include gender, age, family status (married, single, how many children, etc.), occupation, education level and significant life events. The group is also given a historical event or similar topic.

Learners can create identity charts in collaboration with each other to determine their character’s viewpoint. When they can adequately represent their character, what follows is a “cafe conversation.” Don’t forget to go over guidelines on how to respectfully disagree! Allow at least 20 minutes for a conversation.

Other Critical Thinking Activities

Jigsaw—Developing Community and Disseminating Knowledge: Learners take on the role of “experts” or “specialists” of a particular topic. Then a panel of experts is assembled to get the larger picture.

K-W-L Charts—Assessing What We Know/What We Still Want to Learn: Charts to document “What I Know” and “What I Want to Know” and after learning has occurred, “What I Learned.”

Think, Pair, Share—Facilitating Discussions in Small and Large Groups: A classic tool to guide learners in relevant and meaningful discussion, and to build community.

Town Hall Circle: Like a real town meeting, individual learners are “given the floor” and a time limit to express their views.

Reader’s Theater: In groups, create a dramatic script based on the ideas within a given text. Do not script word for word. The idea is to get off the page and represent the idea in the learner’s own words.

Get Learners’ Brains Active

Critical thinking exercises like the ones we shared here play a crucial role in fostering intellectual growth and preparing learners for the complexities of the modern world. Through group discussions, debates, and problem-solving tasks, learners are encouraged to question assumptions, examine multiple perspectives, and seek evidence-based solutions.

Allowing learners room to think deeply and discuss openly during critical thinking activities is the key to them taking true responsibility for the learning. Through these kinds of activities, we foster real thinkers and life-long learners. 

Author and keynote speaker, Lee works with governments, education systems, international agencies and corporations to help people and organisations connect to their higher purpose. Lee lives in Japan where he studies Zen and the Shakuhachi.

The Growth Mindset Choice: 10 Fixed Mindset Examples We Can Change

7 critical thinking barriers and how to overcome them.

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11 Activities That Promote Critical Thinking In The Class

Ignite your child’s curiosity with our exclusive “Learning Adventures Activity Workbook for Kids” a perfect blend of education and adventure!

Critical thinking activities encourage individuals to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information to develop informed opinions and make reasoned decisions. Engaging in such exercises cultivates intellectual agility, fostering a deeper understanding of complex issues and honing problem-solving skills for navigating an increasingly intricate world.

Through critical thinking, individuals empower themselves to challenge assumptions, uncover biases, and constructively contribute to discourse, thereby enriching both personal growth and societal progress.

Critical thinking serves as the cornerstone of effective problem-solving, enabling individuals to dissect challenges, explore diverse perspectives, and devise innovative solutions grounded in logic and evidence. For engaging problem solving activities, read our article problem solving activities that enhance student’s interest.

52 Critical Thinking Flashcards for Problem Solving

What is Critical Thinking?

Critical thinking is a 21st-century skill that enables a person to think rationally and logically in order to reach a plausible conclusion. A critical thinker assesses facts and figures and data objectively and determines what to believe and what not to believe. Critical thinking skills empower a person to decipher complex problems and make impartial and better decisions based on effective information.

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Importance of Acquiring Critical Thinking Skills

Critical thinking skills cultivate habits of mind such as strategic thinking, skepticism, discerning fallacy from the facts, asking good questions and probing deep into the issues to find the truth. Acquiring critical thinking skills was never as valuable as it is today because of the prevalence of the modern knowledge economy.

Today, information and technology are the driving forces behind the global economy. To keep pace with ever-changing technology and new inventions, one has to be flexible enough to embrace changes swiftly.

Today critical thinking skills are one of the most sought-after skills by the companies. In fact, critical thinking skills are paramount not only for active learning and academic achievement but also for the professional career of the students.

The lack of critical thinking skills catalyzes memorization of the topics without a deeper insight, egocentrism, closed-mindedness, reduced student interest in the classroom and not being able to make timely and better decisions.

Incorporating critical thinking lessons into the curriculum equips students with the tools they need to navigate the complexities of the modern world, fostering a mindset that is adaptable, inquisitive, and capable of discerning truth from misinformation.

Benefits of Critical Thinking for Students

Certain strategies are more eloquent than others in teaching students how to think critically. Encouraging critical thinking in the classroom is indispensable for the learning and growth of the students. In this way, we can raise a generation of innovators and thinkers rather than followers. Some of the benefits offered by thinking critically in the classroom are given below:

• It allows a student to decipher problems and think through the situations in a disciplined and systematic manner
• Through a critical thinking ability, a student can comprehend the logical correlation between distinct ideas
• The student is able to rethink and re-justify his beliefs and ideas based on facts and figures
• Critical thinking skills make the students curious about things around them
• A student who is a critical thinker is creative and always strives to come up with out of the box solutions to intricate problems
• Critical thinking skills assist in the enhanced student learning experience in the classroom and prepares the students for lifelong learning and success
• The critical thinking process is the foundation of new discoveries and inventions in the world of science and technology
• The ability to think critically allows the students to think intellectually and enhances their presentation skills, hence they can convey their ideas and thoughts in a logical and convincing manner
• Critical thinking skills make students a terrific communicator because they have logical reasons behind their ideas

Critical Thinking Lessons and Activities

11 Activities that Promote Critical Thinking in the Class

We have compiled a list of 11 critical thinking activities for students that will facilitate you to promote critical thinking abilities in the students. By incorporating these activities, educators can introduce real-world examples of critical thinking in the classroom, empowering students to apply these skills in everyday situations.

We have also covered problem solving activities that enhance student’s interest in our another article. Click here to read it.

1. Worst Case Scenario

Divide students into teams and introduce each team with a hypothetical challenging scenario. Allocate minimum resources and time to each team and ask them to reach a viable conclusion using those resources.

The scenarios can include situations like stranded on an island or stuck in a forest. Students will come up with creative solutions to come out from the imaginary problematic situation they are encountering. Besides encouraging students to think critically, this activity will enhance teamwork, communication and problem-solving skills of the students.

This critical thinking activity not only pushes students to devise innovative solutions in challenging scenarios but also strengthens their teamwork, communication, and problem-solving abilities, making it an engaging and educational experience.

Read our article: 10 Innovative Strategies for Promoting Critical Thinking in the Classroom

2. If You Build It

It is a very flexible game that allows students to think creatively. To start this activity, divide students into groups. Give each group a limited amount of resources such as pipe cleaners, blocks, and marshmallows etc.

Every group is supposed to use these resources and construct a certain item such as building, tower or a bridge in a limited time. You can use a variety of materials in the classroom to challenge the students. This activity is helpful in promoting teamwork and creative skills among the students.

Incorporating critical thinking games like this into your classroom not only promotes teamwork and creativity but also challenges students to think outside the box as they work together to build their structures.

It is also one of the classics which can be used in the classroom to encourage critical thinking. Print pictures of objects, animals or concepts and start by telling a unique story about the printed picture. The next student is supposed to continue the story and pass the picture to the other student and so on.

This engaging exercise is one of the most effective critical thinking activities for kids, as it encourages them to use their creativity and problem-solving skills while working together to construct innovative structures with limited resources.

4. Keeping it Real

In this activity, you can ask students to identify a real-world problem in their schools, community or city. After the problem is recognized, students should work in teams to come up with the best possible outcome of that problem.

5. Save the Egg

Make groups of three or four in the class. Ask them to drop an egg from a certain height and think of creative ideas to save the egg from breaking. Students can come up with diverse ideas to conserve the egg like a soft-landing material or any other device. Remember that this activity can get chaotic, so select the area in the school that can be cleaned easily afterward and where there are no chances of damaging the school property.

6. Start a Debate

In this activity, the teacher can act as a facilitator and spark an interesting conversation in the class on any given topic. Give a small introductory speech on an open-ended topic. The topic can be related to current affairs, technological development or a new discovery in the field of science. Encourage students to participate in the debate by expressing their views and ideas on the topic. Conclude the debate with a viable solution or fresh ideas generated during the activity through brainstorming.

7. Create and Invent

This project-based learning activity is best for teaching in the engineering class. Divide students into groups. Present a problem to the students and ask them to build a model or simulate a product using computer animations or graphics that will solve the problem. After students are done with building models, each group is supposed to explain their proposed product to the rest of the class. The primary objective of this activity is to promote creative thinking and problem-solving skills among the students.

8. Select from Alternatives

This activity can be used in computer science, engineering or any of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) classes. Introduce a variety of alternatives such as different formulas for solving the same problem, different computer codes, product designs or distinct explanations of the same topic.

Form groups in the class and ask them to select the best alternative. Each group will then explain its chosen alternative to the rest of the class with reasonable justification of its preference. During the process, the rest of the class can participate by asking questions from the group. This activity is very helpful in nurturing logical thinking and analytical skills among the students.

9. Reading and Critiquing

Present an article from a journal related to any topic that you are teaching. Ask the students to read the article critically and evaluate strengths and weaknesses in the article. Students can write about what they think about the article, any misleading statement or biases of the author and critique it by using their own judgments.

In this way, students can challenge the fallacies and rationality of judgments in the article. Hence, they can use their own thinking to come up with novel ideas pertaining to the topic.

10. Think Pair Share

In this activity, students will come up with their own questions. Make pairs or groups in the class and ask the students to discuss the questions together. The activity will be useful if the teacher gives students a topic on which the question should be based.

For example, if the teacher is teaching biology, the questions of the students can be based on reverse osmosis, human heart, respiratory system and so on. This activity drives student engagement and supports higher-order thinking skills among students.

11. Big Paper – Silent Conversation

Silence is a great way to slow down thinking and promote deep reflection on any subject. Present a driving question to the students and divide them into groups. The students will discuss the question with their teammates and brainstorm their ideas on a big paper.

After reflection and discussion, students can write their findings in silence. This is a great learning activity for students who are introverts and love to ruminate silently rather than thinking aloud.

Incorporating critical thinking activities for high school students, like silent reflection and group brainstorming, encourages deep thought and collaboration, making it an effective strategy for engaging both introverted and extroverted learners.

Finally, for students with critical thinking, you can go to GS-JJ.co m to customize exclusive rewards, which not only enlivens the classroom, but also promotes the development and training of students for critical thinking.

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Thanks for the great article! Especially with the post-pandemic learning gap, these critical thinking skills are essential! It’s also important to teach them a growth mindset. If you are interested in that, please check out The Teachers’ Blog!

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50 Super-Fun Critical Thinking Strategies to Use in Your Classroom

by AuthorAmy

Teaching students to be critical thinkers is perhaps the most important goal in education. All teachers, regardless of subject area, contribute to the process of teaching students to think for themselves. However, it’s not always an easy skill to teach. Students need guidance and practice with critical thinking strategies at every level.

One problem with teaching critical thinking is that many different definitions of this skill exist. The Foundation for Critical Thinking offers four different definitions of the concept. Essentially, critical thinking is the ability to evaluate information and decide what we think about that information, a cumulative portfolio of skills our students need to be successful problem solvers in an ever-changing world.

Here is a list of 50 classroom strategies for teachers to use to foster critical thinking among students of all ages.

1. Don’t give them the answers  

Learning is supposed to be hard, and while it may be tempting to jump in and direct students to the right answer, it’s better to let them work through a problem on their own. A good teacher is a guide, not an answer key. The goal is to help students work at their “challenge” level, as opposed to their “frustration” level.

2. Controversial issue barometer

In this activity, a line is drawn down the center of the classroom. The middle represents the neutral ground, and the ends of the line represent extremes of an issue. The teacher selects an issue and students space themselves along the line according to their opinions. Being able to articulate opinions and participate in civil discourse are important aspects of critical thinking.

3. Play devil’s advocate

During a robust classroom discussion, an effective teacher challenges students by acting as devil’s advocate, no matter their personal opinion. “I don’t care WHAT you think, I just care THAT you think” is my classroom mantra. Critical thinking strategies that ask students to analyze both sides of an issue help create understanding and empathy.

4. Gallery walk

In a gallery walk, the teacher hangs images around the classroom related to the unit at hand (photographs, political cartoons, paintings). Students peruse the artwork much like they are in a museum, writing down their thoughts about each piece.

5. Review something

A movie, TV show , a book, a restaurant, a pep assembly, today’s lesson – anything can be reviewed. Writing a review involves the complex skill of summary without spoilers and asks students to share their opinion and back it up with evidence.

6. Draw analogies

Pick two unrelated things and ask students how those things are alike (for example, how is a museum like a snowstorm). The goal here is to encourage creativity and look for similarities.

7. Think of 25 uses for an everyday thing

Pick an everyday object (I use my camera tripod) and set a timer for five minutes. Challenge students to come up with 25 things they can use the object for within that time frame. The obvious answers will be exhausted quickly, so ridiculous answers such as “coatrack” and “stool” are encouraged.

8. Incorporate riddles

Students love riddles. You could pose a question at the beginning of the week and allow students to ask questions about it all week.

9. Crosswords and sudoku puzzles

The games section of the newspaper provides great brainteasers for students who finish their work early and need some extra brain stimulation.

10. Fine tune questioning techniques

A vibrant classroom discussion is made even better by a teacher who asks excellent, provocative questions. Questions should move beyond those with concrete answers to a place where students must examine why they think the way they do.

11. Socratic seminar

The Socratic seminar is perhaps the ultimate critical thinking activity. Students are given a universal question, such as “Do you believe it is acceptable to break the law if you believe the law is wrong?” They are given time to prepare and answer, and then, seated in a circle, students are directed to discuss the topic. Whereas the goal of a debate is to win, the goal of a Socratic discussion is for the group to reach greater understanding.

12. Inquiry based learning

In inquiry-based learning, students develop questions they want answers to, which drives the curriculum toward issues they care about. An engaged learner is an essential step in critical thinking.

13. Problem-based learning

In problem-based learning, students are given a problem and asked to develop research-based solutions. The problem can be a school problem (the lunchroom is overcrowded) or a global problem (sea levels are rising).

14. Challenge all assumptions

The teacher must model this before students learn to apply this skill on their own. In this strategy, a teacher helps a student understand where his or her ingrained beliefs come from. Perhaps a student tells you they believe that stereotypes exist because they are true. An effective teacher can ask “Why do you think that?” and keep exploring the issue as students delve into the root of their beliefs. Question everything.

15. Emphasize data over beliefs

Data does not always support our beliefs, so our first priority must be to seek out data before drawing conclusions.

16. Teach confirmation bias

Confirmation bias is the human tendency to seek out information that confirms what we already believe, rather than letting the data inform our conclusions. Understanding that this phenomenon exists can help students avoid it.

17. Visualization

Help students make a plan before tackling a task.

18. Mind mapping

Mind mapping is a visual way to organize information. Students start with a central concept and create a web with subtopics that radiate outward.

19. Develop empathy

Empathy is often cited as an aspect of critical thinking. To do so, encourage students to think from a different point of view. They might write a “con” essay when they believe the “pro,” or write a letter from someone else’s perspective.

20. Summarization

Summarizing means taking all the information given and presenting it in a shortened fashion.

21. Encapsulation

Encapsulation is a skill different from summarization. To encapsulate a topic, students must learn about it and then distill it down to its most relevant points, which means students are forming judgements about what is most and least important.

22. Weigh cause and effect

The process of examining cause and effect helps students develop critical thinking skills by thinking through the natural consequences of a given choice.

23. Problems in a jar

Perfect for a bell-ringer, a teacher can stuff a mason jar with dilemmas that their students might face, such as, “Your best friend is refusing to talk to you today. What do you do?” Then, discuss possible answers. This works well for ethical dilemmas, too.

24. Transform one thing into another

Give students an object, like a pencil or a mug. Define its everyday use (to write or to drink from). Then, tell the students to transform the object into something with an entirely separate use. Now what is it used for?

25. Which one doesn’t belong?

Group items together and ask students to find the one that doesn’t belong. In first grade, this might be a grouping of vowels and a consonant; in high school, it might be heavy metals and a noble gas.

26. Compare/contrast

Compare and contrast are important critical thinking strategies. Students can create a Venn diagram to show similarities or differences, or they could write a good old-fashioned compare/contrast essay about the characters of Romeo and Juliet .

27. Pick a word, find a related word

This is another fun bell-ringer activity. The teacher starts with any word, and students go around the room and say another word related to that one. The obvious words go quickly, meaning the longer the game goes on, the more out-of-the-box the thinking gets.

28. Ranking of sources

Give students a research topic and tell them to find three sources (books, YouTube videos, websites). Then ask them, what resource is best – and why.

29. Hypothesize

The very act of hypothesizing is critical thinking in action. Students are using what they know to find an answer to something they don’t know.

30. Guess what will happen next

This works for scientific reactions, novels, current events, and more. Simply spell out what we know so far and ask students “and then what?”

31. Practice inference

Inference is the art of making an educated guess based on evidence presented and is an important component of critical thinking.

32. Connect text to self

Ask students to draw connections between what they are reading about to something happening in their world. For example, if their class is studying global warming, researching how global warming might impact their hometown will help make their studies relevant.

33. Levels of questioning

There are several levels of questions (as few as three and as many as six, depending on who you ask). These include factual questions, which have a right or wrong answer (most math problems are factual questions). There are also inferential questions, which ask students to make inferences based on both opinion and textual evidence. Additionally, there are universal questions, which are “big picture” questions where there are no right or wrong answers.

Students should practice answering all levels of questions and writing their own questions, too.

34. Demand precise language

An expansive vocabulary allows a student to express themselves more exactly, and precision is a major tool in the critical thinking toolkit.

35. Identify bias and hidden agendas

Helping students to critically examine biases in sources will help them evaluate the trustworthiness of their sources.

36. Identify unanswered questions

After a unit of study is conducted, lead students through a discussion of what questions remain unanswered. In this way, students can work to develop a lifelong learner mentality.

37. Relate a topic in one subject area to other disciplines

Have students take something they are studying in your class and relate it to other disciplines. For example, if you are studying the Civil War in social studies, perhaps they could look up historical fiction novels set during the Civil War era or research medical advancements from the time period for science.

38. Have a question conversation

Start with a general question and students must answer your question with a question of their own. Keep the conversation going.

39. Display a picture for 30 seconds, then take it down

Have students list everything they can remember. This helps students train their memories and increases their ability to notice details.

40. Brainstorm, free-write

Brainstorming and freewriting are critical thinking strategies to get ideas on paper. In brainstorming, anything goes, no matter how off-the-wall. These are great tools to get ideas flowing that can then be used to inform research.

41. Step outside your comfort zone

Direct students to learn about a topic they have no interest in or find particularly challenging. In this case, their perseverance is being developed as they do something that is difficult for them.

42. The answer is, the question might be

This is another bell-ringer game that’s great for engaging those brains. You give students the answer and they come up with what the question might be.

43. Cooperative learning

Group work is a critical thinking staple because it teaches students that there is no one right way to approach a problem and that other opinions are equally valid.

44. What? So what? Now what?

After concluding a unit of study, these three question frames can be used to help students contextualize their learning.

45. Reflection

Ask students to reflect on their work – specifically, how they can improve moving forward.

46. Classify and categorize

These are higher level Bloom’s tasks for a reason. Categorizing requires students to think about like traits and rank them in order of importance.

47. Role play

Roleplay allows students to practice creative thinking strategies. Here, students assume a role and act accordingly.

48. Set goals

Have students set concrete, measurable goals in your class so they understand why what they do matters.

No matter your subject area, encourage students to read voraciously. Through reading they will be exposed to new ideas, new perspectives, and their worlds will grow.

50. Cultivate curiosity

A curious mind is an engaged mind. Students should be encouraged to perform inquiry simply for the sake that it is a joy to learn about something we care about.

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Click the above link to view Word documents for all the handouts for this chapter. 

Student Learning Outcome

Students will identify fallacies in reasoning, increase awareness of the scientific method, describe cognitive biases, practice the steps in critical thinking, examing moral reasoning scenarios, and practice creative thinking techniques.

Critical Thinking Exercise: Crime and Punishment

This critical thinking exercise is based on a current news article in which a young woman was arrested for selling $400 worth of heroin to an undercover police officer in 1974.   She was sentenced to a 10-20 year prison term, but escaped after 8 months.   She was caught 34 years later in 2008.  She had become a model citizen with 3 children that she had raised as model citizens.  She was returned to Michigan to complete her jail sentence.  Her family and friends petitioned the governor for clemency.  The details are described in the exercise,   Crime and Punishment .  These is also a worksheet that helps students work through the steps of critical thinking for this case.  See the   Critical Thinking Worksheet: Crime and Punishment . 

Review the concept that critical thinking involves looking at a problem from many points of view.   Divide students into discussion groups for this exercise.  Have each group write a different point of view on the board.  As a summary, have students volunteer to  state their personal values and reasonable point of view at the end.  This exercise is included in the printed text and available as a supplement for the online edition.   

You can use any interesting and complex current event or social issue for this type of exercise.  Copy interesting shows or news specials from TV and use them for this exercise.  Topics that have been good for class discussion include elections, health issues such as smoking, welfare, violence in the schools, and cults such as Heaven’s Gate. If they are complex and controversial, you will get a variety of opinions and the discussion will be interesting.  This exercise works well if students respect each other’s point of view.  If it becomes a debate, students can get sidetracked and have difficulty going through the critical thinking process.   

Critical Thinking Exercise: Assisted Suicide

A critical thinking exercise on the controversial topic of assisted suicide for terminally ill patients is available as a supplemental exercise.  See the   Critical Thinking Exercise: Assisted Suicide and the  Critical Thinking Worksheet: Assisted Suicide   for this exercise.    You can also use any current complex issue in the news.  When using these exercises with your class, emphasize that they are complex and controversial issues.  The purpose of discussing them is to practice a critical thinking process rather than to reach a solution.  Stress that there is no right answer, only reasonable views.  Ask students to respect each other’s point of view.   Try to be neutral on these issues and wait until the end of the discussion to share your reasonable view.

For the assisted suicide article, have students discuss the issue in groups and fill out the work sheet provided at the end of the chapter.  You can divide students into groups and ask each group to summarize a different point of view.  Write these headings on the board: the judge in the courtroom, the husband, the wife, the children (of this couple), medical doctors and a member of the clergy.  Sometimes students even want to write down the point of view of animal rights groups.  Wait until the groups have begun the discussion and ask for groups to volunteer to write the point of view for each topic written on the board.  You might suggest that certain groups take a particular topic to match their interests.  For example, if a group is talking about religious issues, assign this group to write under the religious heading.  If they are talking about the law, have them pretend to be the judge and write their answers under the legal heading.  After the different points of view are written on the board, objectively read through them with the class.  Often the group suggests additional ideas, but remind the group that we are just trying to understand the different points of view without making a judgment at this point.  After the discussion, have each student write his or her own reasonable view.  Ask for volunteers to share some of their reasonable views as a summary.  Ask students to be aware of their own particular mindset and to respect views that may be different from their own.  Save your reasonable view for last and share it with the class. 

Stress the fact that there is no right or wrong answer to these situations.  Each person will construct his or her reasonable view based on personal values and experiences.  What is important is to think through the process and look at the problem from many different perspectives. 

Critical Thinking about Your Decisions

Use the worksheet,   Critical Thinking about your Decisions , to help students to apply what they have learned about critical thinking to their own decisions. 

Examples of Fallacies in Reasoning

Recognizing fallacies in reasoning is an important part of critical thinking and can help students to avoid using them or allowing someone else use them for their own purpose, power, or financial gain.  Ask students familiarize themselves with the fallacies in reasoning presented in this chapter.  Then have them look for a news editorial, magazine article, or advertisement to illustrate a fallacy in reasoning.  Students can then paste this example to a sheet of paper and identify and explain the fallacy.  These papers can be posted in the classroom or presented to the class. (From Carla Edwards, Instructor, Cuyamaca College, El Cajon, CA)

Fun with Critical Thinking

Have some fun using thes brainteasers to engage your students in critical thinking using the handout, Fun with Critical Thinking . (From Paul Delys, Cuyamaca College)

Moral Reasoning Exercise

Analyze this dilemna using the stages of moral reasoning:

Mr. Allen's son was seriously injured but he had no car to take him to the hospital. He approaches a stranger and asks to borrow the car, but the stranger refused saying that he had to go to an important appointment. Mr. Allen steals the car by force to take his son to the hospital. Was it right for Mr. Allen to steal the car? Use the handout, A Moral Dilemna , to analyze this scenario and guide students through the stages or moral reasoning.

Jeopardy Play jeopardy with the fallacies in reasoning definitions and examples presented in this chapter.  Use the PowerPoint template for the   Jeopardy Game .  Just substitute your own questions on the slides.

Brainstorming with a Peanut Exercise

For this exercise, you will need to bring peanuts in their shells for each of your students and a timer.  Review the rules for brainstorming listed in the text and on the   Brainstorming Exercise .  For the first half of the exercise, have the students do the brainstorming individually.  Set the timer for 3-5 minutes and challenge them to come up with 10 answers before the time is up.  The first question is, "How is this this peanut like me?"  Half way through the time, remind them that they should have at least 5 answers.  Remind the students that they can be wild and crazy and come up with unusual answers.  Challenge them to use their imagination.

At the end of the time allowed, ask them to place an asterisk (*) next to their best items.  Ask for volunteers to share their best answers.  Here are some answers that have been given in the past:

How is this peanut like me?

It is wrinkled, like me.

It is brown, like me.

It cracks under pressure.

What you see is not always what you get.

Everyone is different.

It just sits in class. You can find both of us at ballgames. I can make any sandwich delicious.

For the second half of the exercise, do the brainstorming as a group and have students call out as many ideas as possible in the five minutes.  Pose the question, “How is this peanut like going to college?” and ask for answers from the class as a whole.  Remind students that they can steal other’s ideas, add to them or change them around.  For a warm-up, share some of these ideas:

How is this peanut like going to college?

It’s rough.

There are 2 nuts inside; one is the teacher and the other is the student.

We’re all nuts to a degree. Some professors are nuts.

We both went to _________’s class today.

College drives me nuts.  A bag of peanuts is like a room full of students, all different shapes and sizes and not anyone is the same. The college professor is the peanut farmer and the student is the peanut.  A good farmer makes for good peanuts. Sometimes a class is not all it's cracked up to be.

You have to pay for peanuts, just like you have to pay for college (only peanuts are way cheaper!) The instructor is the farmer and the students are the peanuts. The first step in cracking a peanut is cracking the shell. The first step in college success is cracking a book. A peanut can be used for many things such as peanut butter or peanut oil. College helps use to develop our skills to prepare for a variety of careers.

After the brainstorming exercise, go over the other ways to cultivate creativity:

Serendipity                            Relaxed attention

Idea Files                               Visualization

Journal                                    Critical Thinking

Brainstorming: How to Graduate from College

Have students brainstorm the answer to this question, "What are all the things that could interfere with graduating from college?"  Then have students choose one item from the list and generate as many solutions for this problem as possible.  This is a good creativity exercise as well as getting students to apply creative problem solving to their own lives.

Creative Visualization with a Light Bulb Exercise

Bring an ordinary light bulb to class.  Hold the light bulb in your hand so that everyone can see it.  Ask students to close their eyes and see if they can still visualize the light bulb in their minds.  Ask students to raise their hands if they can see the light bulb in their imagination.  Then ask them to visualize the following:

Turn the light bulb on.

Turn it off.

Turn the light on.

Change the color to blue.

Change the color to yellow.

Change the color to green.

Change the color to orange.

Make the light bulb bigger.

Change the light bulb into a television screen.

See your favorite program on the screen.

Change the channel.

Turn the television off.

See another light bulb.

Turn it into a flashlight.

Shine the flashlight on a dog.

Make the dog bigger.

Turn the dog into a cat.

Hear the cat meow.

Turn the cat into a bird.

Put a light bulb in each hand.

Pretend that your light bulbs are jet engines and run down the street for a take-off.

Zoom off into the air.

Circle over your house.

Circle over your city.

Zoom away and look at the mountains.

Zoom back to your house.

Throw the light bulbs away and open your parachute.

Float down into your back yard and tell someone that you are home.

I’ll bet that you never thought that you could make a jet plane out of a light bulb!

You can if you use your imagination.

The above exercise was adapted from Robert F. Eberle, “Developing Imagination Through Scamper” printed in Sidney J. Parnes, Ruth B. Noller and Angelo Biondi,   Guide to Creative Action , (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1977). 

The Tomatoes Exercise

Bring two tomatoes to class.  Hold up the tomatoes and ask the students to come up with as many different words or proper nouns as possible using only the letters in the word “tomatoes.”  After five minutes, write the numbers 10-20 on the board.  Ask how many students came up with 20 words or more.  Tally the result.  Then list the number of people who were able to write 19 words and so on down the list to 10 words.

Then ask students to join together with three other students.  Using the word, “tomatoes,” see how many words the group can come up with in 5 minutes.  Again tally the results. Usually the groups are able to come up with many more ideas than individuals.  You can make this exercise more interesting by offering a prize to the group that comes up with the most words.  When the exercise is complete, discuss the idea of synergy.  When two or more people work together and share ideas, the result is greater than any one person could produce. 

For Online Classes

Online Discussion Questions

Here is a link to a Word document with all my online discussion questions: Online Discussion Questions

The topic for this week's discussion is critical and creative thinking.  For the critical thinking part, give an example of a fallacy in reasoning.  Here are some examples: 1. When my children were very young, I would tell them to brush their teeth in the evening.  I told them that if they did not brush their teeth, the sugar bugs would eat their teeth all night and eventually their teeth would turn green and fall out.  By predicting dire consequences, we try to influence behavior.  This is an example of using slippery slope.  Maybe some of you child development majors would have a better way of getting children to brush their teeth, but this worked for me.  Here is another example:  When my daughter was in middle school, she died her blond hair black.  I asked her why she did it and she said that she was tired of blond jokes.  She was the victim of the stereotype that all blondes are dumb. 

For the creative thinking part, read about creativity and brainstorming and have a little fun with this exercise.  Provide at least 3 answers to these questions:  1. How is a peanut like you?  Here are my answers.  1.  A peanut is wrinkled, like me.  2.  A peanut is curvy like me.  2.  I have a hard outer shell and a soft inner shell.  How is a peanut like going to college?   In every classroom there are at least 2 nuts, the instructor and at least one student.  The squares on the peanut remind me of rows of chairs in the classroom.  3.  There is usually something good on the inside.