Департамент освіти Вінницької міської ради

Комунальна установа «Міський методичний кабінет»

Комунальний заклад «Навчально-виховний комплекс: загальноосвітня школа І-ІІІ ступенів-гімназія №30 ім. Тараса Шевченка

Вінницької міської ради»

 

 

 

 

 

 

РОЗВИВАЄМО КРИТИЧНЕ МИСЛЕННЯ НА УРОКАХ АНГЛІЙСЬКОЇ МОВИ

HOW TO DEVELOP CRITICAL THINKING AT THE ENGLISH LESSONS

 

 

 

 

Ряполова Світлана Борисівна,

учитель англійської мови,

спеціаліст

вищої кваліфікаційної категорії,

старший учитель

 

 

 

 

 

Вінниця – 2016

 

Рекомендовано науково-методичною радою комунального закладу «Навчально-виховний комплекс:загальноосвітня школа I-III ступенів-гімназія №30 ім. Тараса Шевченка Вінницької міської ради».

Протокол № 2  від 24.10.2016

 

Автор-укладач:

Ряполова Світлана Борисівна, учитель англійської мови, спеціаліст вищої кваліфікаційної категорії, старший учитель

 

Рецензенти:

Соловей Марина Миколаївна,вчитель методист комунального закладу«Навчально-виховний комплекс:загальноосвітня школа I-III ступенів-гімназія №30 ім. Тараса Шевченка Вінницької міської ради».

Дзюба Валентина Карпівна, вчитель методист комунального закладу «Навчально-виховний комплекс: загальноосвітня школа I-III ступенів-гімназія №30 ім. Тараса Шевченка Вінницької міської ради».

 

 

Розвиваємо критичне мислення на уроках англійської мови /

Ряполова С.Б.: методична розробка. – Вінниця: ММК, 2016. – 60 с.

 

This book shares theoretical and practical ideas about critical thinking development.The first part «Theoretical foundations of studying critical thinking in language learning» presents the theoretical basis of the research. Critical thinking is generally understood as self-guided, self-disciplined thinking process which attempts to reason at the highest level of quality in a fair-minded way. In the second part «Strategies of promoting critical thinking: Topic Food. Eating out», the exercises are suggested.

CONTENTS

Introduction                                                                                                                4

Part 1. Theoretical foundations of studying critical thinking in language learning                                                             .6

1.1. What is critical thinking?                                                                            .6

1.2. Why to integrate and develop critical thinking in ELT?                             7

1.3. How to integrate critical thinking in a lesson plan?                                             9

1.4. What Teaching Strategies Promote Critical Thinking?                               10

1.5. What is Bloom’s taxonomy of learning domains?                                               12

1.6. Revisions to Bloom’s taxonomy                                                                         23

PART 2. STRATEGIES OF PROMOTING CRITICAL THINKING: topic Food. Eating out                                                                                                28

Result of experience                                                                                          44

Conclusion                                                                                                        47

References                                                                                                         50

Appendix 1.                                                                                                                51

Appendix 2                                                                                                                 56

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Critical thinking is generally understood as self-guided, self-disciplined thinking process which attempts to reason at the highest level of quality in a fair-minded way.It is our job as educators to equip the pupils with the strategies and skills they need in order to cope with various challenges they face in their lives.

Sometimes, learning feels like an obstacle course setting students up for failure. However, it’s the job of the teacher to drive the pupils to clear the hurdles and move forward. Every teacher needs a guide to helping the students accomplish objectives. It is how the teacher perceives the process that determines whatstudents will learn and how they’ll learn it.

Critical thinking is an important and vital topic in modern education. All educators are interested inteaching critical thinking to their students. Every teacher must have heard at some point throughout their teaching careers the term “critical thinking”. This concept seems to be present daily in educational speeches, articles and syllabuses. Moreover, there seems to be a general agreement on the “correctness” of such term and its usage. For that reason, it might be strange for the reader to discover that little is known about critical thinking, what it is, what it counts and how to incorporate it into our ELT lesson plans.

The aim of this book is to share both theoretical and practical ideas about critical thinking and its application within English language teaching and learning contexts.

The work is intended to solve the following tasks:

1. to reveal what critical thinking is;

2. to explain the reasons to integrate and develop critical thinking in ELT;

3. to create lessons with an element of critical thinking development.

The purpose of specifically teaching critical thinking in the sciences or any other discipline is to improvethe thinking skills of pupils and thus better prepare them to succeed in the world.

 The structure of this book includes Introduction, two chapters, conclusions, and references. The first part «Theoretical foundations of studying critical thinking in language learning» presents the theoretical basis of the research. In the second part «Strategies of promoting critical thinking: Topic Food. Eating out», the exercises are suggested.

 

 

Part 1

Theoretical foundations of studying critical thinking in language learning

 

People who think critically are aware of the inherently flawed nature of human thinking when left unchecked, therefore critical thinkers consistently attempt to live rationally, reasonably, empathically [Elder, 2007].

In this chapter, we will define the notion of critical thinking

 

1.1.                   What is critical thinking?

Critical thinking is a set of skills which include the abilities of a person to organize his or her thoughts and articulate them concisely and coherently; to learn independently having an abiding interest in doing it; to anticipate the probable consequences of the actions and suspend judgment in the absence of sufficient evidence to support a decision [Raymond S. Nickerson 1987]. Another way to put it, critical thinking is a reasonable, reflective, responsible, and skillful thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe or what to do.

A person who thinks critically can ask appropriate questions, gather relevant information, efficiently and creatively sort through this information, reason logically from this information, and come to reliable and trustworthy conclusions about the world that enable one to live and act successfully in it. In this vein, most of the researchers argue that critical thinking presupposes the ability to apply problem-solving techniques in domains other than those in which learned. Young minds undeniably need and exercise these abilities well beyond their school years. In keeping up with the ever-changing technological advances, the learners need to obtain, understand, and analyze information on a much more efficient scale.

It is crucial to be aware of the fact that critical thinking is not “survival thinking”; it requires careful and intentional development of specific skills in processing information, considering beliefs, opinions, solving problems. Critical thinking means correct thinking in the pursuit of relevant and reliable knowledge about the world. It is about being an active learner rather than a passive recipient of information. Critical thinkers rigorously question ideas and assumptions rather than accept them at they are presented. Critical thinkers identify, analyse and solve problems systematically rather than by intuition or instinct. They always seek to determine whether the ideas, arguments and findings represent the entire picture and they are open to finding that they do not [Schafersman 1991: p. 3].

A person with critical thinking skills can perform the following:

Ø  Understand the links between ideas.

Ø  Determine the importance and relevance of arguments and ideas.

Ø  Recognise, build and appraise arguments.

Ø  Identify inconsistencies and errors in reasoning.

Ø  Approach problems in a consistent and systematic way.

Ø  Reflect on the justification of their own assumptions, beliefs and values.

Therefore, critical thinking is arriving at the best possible solution in the circumstances that the thinker is aware of. In more everyday language, it is a way of thinking about whatever is presently occupying your mind, so that you come to the best possible conclusion.

 

1.2.         Why to integrate and develop critical thinking in ELT?

Critical thinking should be sufficiently developed in ELT, since it is the tool that provides learners with a more skillful way of communicating with other people, acquiring new knowledge, and dealing with ideas, beliefs, and attitudes. In all these areas, language plays a crucial role.

We may need to distinguish between the language as a communicative vehicle in everyday situations and the use of the language beyond the survival level. In fact, a lot of verbal communication occurs in everyday situations which do not require much thinking but a number of situational clichés and factual information. However, when a foreign language is taught/ learned, even the survival language level may require more thinking of how to communicate in a foreign language. This is because languages are culturally determined [Chrystal 2004]. And as cultures differ, so do languages. Traditions and mentality are reflected in the language, its vocabulary, grammar structures, modality, etc. When learning the target language, pupils need to accept these cultural differences not as a deviation from the natural way associated, as they may think, with their mother tongue but as a fully natural, though different, way of verbal expression within a different cultural domain. Practicing thinking critically when trying to identify similarities and differences in how one and the same cliché is put in words in another language makes the learning process more enjoyable and culturally enriching even at the beginning level. Moreover, the English language took the role of the lingua franca and is used globally by non-native speakers of English for intercultural communication. Critical thinking skills are indispensable when practicing such intellectual traits as empathy and tolerance thus getting ready for communication in multicultural contexts.

One more aspect justifying and even requiring critical thinking introduction in the ELT class arises due to the rapidly growing international student mobility trends and the use of English as the language of instruction in universities around the world. Researchers of the American Foundation for Critical Thinking argue that critical thinking is not as natural skill as speaking or running, it is a deliberately developed complex set of skills and features which takes years to acquire. Similarly, a foreign language acquisition needs years of persistent training. So practicing both simultaneously saves time and provides a synergy effect: developing the former we improve the latter and vice versa.

Finally, critical thinking requires active and interactive learning. It does not tolerate passive learning, taking new things and opinions as ready-made words of wisdom. In our experience, pupils tend to learn better by actively communicating with each other in a particular context, especially if they are encouraged to apply critical thinking when comparing their views and ideas, when evaluating arguments, when probing into the intellectual standards of clarity and accuracy, breadth and width, relevance and fair-mindedness, etc.

Engaged in the interactive activities while practicing both communicative skills and critical thinking, learners have a better chance to improve their self-consciousness, their understanding of their abilities and of their limits and thus paving the road to self-improvement as learners, as future professional, and as individuals.

 

1.3.         How to integrate critical thinking into a lesson plan?

So far we have focused our attention on exploring some theoretical aspects of critical thinking, but as every English language teacher knows, it might be hard to find the way to apply and develop lesson plans that address critical thinking in viable and realistic ways. As usual, there are different contexts and learners’ characteristics that may influence the degree to which critical thinking can be introduced and developed, but we firmly believe that the first steps are planning, experimenting and reflecting. Our own practice and learners’ feedback will provide us with the necessary information to start redesigning lessons so that they involve pupils in the development of critical thinking, i.e. to adapt content, language tasks, learning strategies in cognitive and affective domains.

Undoubtedly, writing a lesson plan helps to organize our thoughts and have a framework that indicates how to take our pupils to certain “learning destinations”. In order to develop plans that include the development of critical thinking some essential elements or components are typical for any lesson plans, yet some other components need to be added and adapted in order to integrate a critical thinking element. After all, if we want to develop critical thinking in our foreign language class, we need to include some specific lesson components into the lesson plan, in addition to traditional components of the lesson description such as prerequisites, instructional objectives, supporting activities, and assessment.

Typically, language teachers are quite happy if their students learn some linguistic structures including words and collocations, as well as grammar structures and practice them, first, in a more controlled exercise and later in the production of their own pieces of text, oral or written. This traditional approach is known as PPP, which stands for Presentation – Practice – Production. The purpose of the initial stage called ‘Presentation’ is obviously to expose the learners to a new material which they can remember, in other words, retrieve, recognize later, and understand, i.e. being able to interpret and explain what they learned, first, though exercises known as ‘Practice’ and, later, to apply what they learned in a new context, a stage known as ‘Production’. Such transfer of knowledge typically from a teacher to a learner may not require active learning.

With a critical thinking objective in mind, this is not enough. Specifically, by including a critical thinking objective, teachers are expected not only to plan a more inquisitive mode of learning new linguistic phenomena but also to engage their pupils’ in an interactive activity focused on various issues which can be of interest to a particular group of students like world events or problems of personal character. This can be done by relying on the students’ previous experience, by asking question for clarification in order to make the issue clearer, more accurate and precise, by comparing opinions, by identifying the underlying factors, etc. All this has an effect on the quality of arguments and thinking, thus becoming personal practice in using a foreign language and thinking critically at the same time.

 

1.4.         What Teaching Strategies Promote Critical Thinking?

Teachers can use a number of techniques that can help pupils learn critical thinking, even for children enrolled in kindergarten. Here are some teaching strategies that may prove immediately effective:

Teaching Strategies to Encourage Creativity

Traditionally, elementary teachers prepare templates for art projects before they give it to their pupils. By doing so, it levels the creative playing field and can, in some ways, help the classroom run more smoothly if every child’s snowflake looks the same.

It may be a bit unnerving to relinquish a bit of control, but rest assured that not having everything prepped in advance is a good thing. Instead, give pupils all of the supplies needed to create a snowflake, and let them do it on their own. This will allow them to become critical thinkers because they will have to use their prior knowledge to consider what a snowflake looks like, how big it is, what color it is, etc.

Do Not Always Jump in to Help

It’s too easy to always find a solution for a pupil who needs your help. Kindergarteners especially will get very upset when they can’t find their crayons or scissors. The easy way for a teacher to answer is “It’s OK, you can borrow a pair of scissors from me.” Instead of always readily finding a solution for your pupils, try responding with “Let’s think about how we can find them.” Then, you can assist them in figuring out the best possible solution for finding their lost item.

Brainstorm Before Everything You Do

One of the easiest and most effective ways to get young children to think critically is to brainstorm. Regardless of subject, have the pupils think about what they’ll be doing, learning, or reading — before actually starting each activity.  Ask a lot questions, like “What do you think this book will be about?” Or “Tell me three things you think you will be learning in this lesson about your school life?” Give pupils every opportunity you can to be critical thinkers.

Classify and Categorize

Classification plays an important role in critical thinking because it requires pupils to understand and apply a set of rules. Give students a variety of words to describe certain objects and ask them to identify suitable words, then sort it into a category. This is a great activity to help them think and self-question what object should be, where, and why.

Compare and Contrast

Much like classifying, pupils will need to look closely at each topic or object they are comparing and really think about the significance of each one. You can have them compare and contrast just about anything — try this out with the book your class is reading now. Compare and contrast the weather forecast for today and yesterday. Compare the shape and color of a pumpkin to another vegetable. Compare and contrast today’s math lesson with last week’s — the ideas are endless.

Make Connections

Encouraging pupils to make connections to a real-life situation and identify patterns is a great way to practice their critical thinking skills. Ask them to be always on the look for these connections, and when they find one to make sure they tell you.

Provide Group Opportunities

Group settings are the perfect way to get your kids thinking. When children are around their classmates working together, they get exposed to the thought processes of their peers. They learn how to understand how other people think and that their way is not the only route to explore.

When this valuable skill is introduced to students early on in the education process, students will be capable of having complex thoughts and become better problem solvers when presented with difficulty. It’s important for students to possess a variety of skills, but it’s just as important for them to understand the skills and how, and when to use them.

In this vein, there are six ways to tier a lesson to promote critical thinking.

• Tier by challenge level (Bloom’s Taxonomy).

• Tier by complexity (When you tier by complexity, you address the needs of pupils at introductory levels as well as the needs of pupils who are ready for more advanced work.)

• Tier by resources (When you choose materials at various reading levels and complexity of content, you are tiering assignments by resources.)

• Tier by outcomes (Pupils use the same materials but end products vary.)

• Tier by process (The end products are the same but the ways pupils arrive at those outcomes may vary.)

• Tier by product (Group by multiple intelligences or learning styles followed by assignments that fit those preferences.)

 

1.5.                   Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains

Bloom's Taxonomy was created in 1956 under the leadership of educational psychologist Dr Benjamin Bloom in order to promote higher forms of thinking in education, such as analyzing and evaluating concepts, processes, procedures, and principles, rather than just remembering facts (rote learning). It is most often used when designing educational, training, and learning processes. The Taxonomy of Education is a mean of expressing qualitatively different kinds of thinking, as presented in Table 1 below:

 

Table 1. Bloom’s Taxonomy

Bloom's Taxonomy has since been adapted for classroom use as a planning tool and continues to be one of the most universally applied models across all levels of schooling and in all areas of study.

The Three Domains of Learning are identified (Bloom, et al. 1956):

1.     Cognitive: mental skills (knowledge)

2.     Affective: growth in feelings or emotional areas (attitude or self)

3.     Psychomotor: manual or physical skills (skills)

Domains may be thought of as categories. Instructional designers, trainers, and educators often refer to these three categories as KSA (Knowledge [cognitive], Skills [psychomotor], and Attitudes [affective]). This taxonomy of learning behaviors may be thought of as “the goals of the learning process.” That is, after a learning episode, the learner should have acquired a new skill, knowledge, and/or attitude.

While an elaborate compilation for the cognitive and affective domains were soon produced, the psychomotor domain remained unchanged. However, there have been at least three psychomotor models created by other researchers.

 Their compilation divides the three domains into subdivisions, starting from the simplest cognitive process or behavior to the most complex. The divisions outlined are not absolutes and there are other systems or hierarchies that have been devised, such as the Structure of Observed Learning Outcome (SOLO). However, Bloom's taxonomy is easily understood and is probably the most widely applied one in use today.

 The cognitive domain involves knowledge and the development of intellectual skills [Bloom, 1956]. This includes the recall or recognition of specific facts, procedural patterns, and concepts that serve in the development of intellectual abilities and skills. There are six major categories of cognitive processes, starting from the simplest to the most complex (see the table below for an in-depth coverage of each category):

Knowledge

Comprehension

Application

Analysis

Synthesis

Evaluation

The categories can be thought of as degrees of difficulties. That is, the first ones must normally be mastered before the next one can take place.

Bloom's Revised Taxonomy. Lorin Anderson, a former student of Bloom, and David Krathwohl revisited the cognitive domain in the mid-nineties and made some changes, with perhaps the three most prominent ones being [Anderson, Krathwohl, Airasian, Cruikshank, Mayer, Pintrich, Raths, Wittrock, 2000]:

Øchanging the names in the six categories from noun to verb forms rearranging them as shown in Table 2 below

Øcreating a processes and levels of knowledge in Table 3 below.

 

Table 2. Bloom's Revised Taxonomy

 

Table 3. Table of the Revised Cognitive Domain

Category	Examples, key words (verbs), and technologies for learning (activities
Remembering: Recall or retrieve previous learned information.	Examples: Recite a policy. Quote prices from memory to a customer. Recite the safety rules.   Key Words: defines, describes, identifies, knows, labels, lists, matches, names, outlines, recalls, recognizes, reproduces, selects, states   Questions: - What is...? - Can you select ? - Where is...? - Where did _ happen? - Who were the main..? - Which one....? - Why did...? - How would you describe...? - When did...? - Can you recall...? – Who was...? - How would you explain...? -How did _ happen...? – Can you list the three...? - How is...? - How would you show...?   Technologies: book marking, flash cards, rote learning based on repetition, reading   Activities: 1.      Match character names with pictures of the characters. 2.      Match statements with the character who said them. 3.      List the main characteristics of one of the main characters in a WANTED poster. 4.      Arrange scrambled story sentences in sequential order. 5.      Recall details about the setting by creating a picture of where a part of the story took place.
Understanding: Comprehending the meaning, translation, interpolation, and interpretation of instructions and problems. State a problem in one's own words.	Examples: Rewrite the principles of test writing. Explain in one's own words the steps for performing a complex task. Translate an equation into a computer spreadsheet.   Key Words: comprehends, converts, defends, distinguishes, estimates, explains, extends, generalizes, gives an example, infers, interprets, paraphrases, predicts, rewrites, summarizes, translates.   Questions: - How would you classify the type of... ? - How would you compare...? - Will you state or interpret in your own words...? - How would you rephrase the meaning... ? - What facts or ideas show ...? - What is the main idea of...? - Which statement support... ? - Which is the best answer...? - What can you say about...? - How would you summarize...? - Can you explain what is happening...? - What is meant by...?   Technologies: create an analogy, participating in cooperative learning, taking notes, storytelling, Internet search   Activities: 1.    Interpret pictures of scenes from the story or art print. 2.    Explain selected ideas or parts from the story in his or her own words. 3.    Draw a picture and / or write a sentence showing what happened before and after a passage or illustration found in the book. 4.    Predict what could happen next in the story before the reading of the entire book is completed. 5.    Construct a pictorial time - line that summarizes what happens in the story. 6.    Explain how the main character felt at the beginning, middle, and / or end of the story.
Applying: Use a concept in a new situation or unprompted use of an abstraction. Applies what was learned in the classroom into novel situations in the work place.	Examples: Use a manual to calculate an employee's vacation time. Apply laws of statistics to evaluate the reliability of a written test.   Key Words: applies, changes, computes, constructs, demonstrates, discovers, manipulates, modifies, operates, predicts, prepares, produces, relates, shows, solves, uses   Questions: - How would you use...? - How would you solve ___using what you’ve learned...? - What examples can you find to...? - How would you show your understanding of...?-  How would you organize_____ to show...? - How would you apply what you learnt to develop...? - What approach would you use to....? - What other way would you plan to.... ? - Can you make use of the facts to...? - What elements would you use to change.... ? - What facts would you select to show....? - What questions would you ask during an interview?   Technologies: collaborative learning, create a process, blog, practice   Activities: 1.    Classify the characters as human animals ,or things. 2.    Transfer a main character to a new setting. 3.    Make finger puppets and act out a part of the story. 4.    Select a meal that one of the characters would enjoy eating plan a menu, and a method of serving it. 5.    Think of a situation that occurred to a character in the story and write about he or she would handled the situation differently.
Analyzing: Separates material or concepts into component parts so that its organizational structure may be understood. Distinguishes between facts and inferences.	Examples: Troubleshoot a piece of equipment by using logical deduction. Recognize logical fallacies in reasoning. Gathers information from a department and selects the required tasks for training.   Key Words: analyzes, breaks down, compares, contrasts, diagrams, deconstructs, differentiates, discriminates, distinguishes, identifies, illustrates, infers, outlines, relates, selects, separates   Questions: - What are the parts or features of...? - How i s __related to …? - Why do you think...? - What is the theme...? - What motive is there...? Can you list the parts...? - What inference can you make...? - What conclusions can you draw...? - How would you classify...? - How would you categorize...? Can you identify the different parts...? - What evidence can you find...? - What is the relationship between...? - Can you make a distinction between...? – What is the function of...?   Technologies: Fishbowls, debating, questioning what happened, run a test.   Activities: 1.    Identify general characteristics (stated and/ or implied) of the main characters. 2.    Distinguish what could happen from what couldn’t happen in the story in a real life. 3.    Select parts of the story that were the funniest/ saddest/ happiest and most unbelievable. 4.    Differentiate fact from opinion. 5.    Compare and / or contrast two of the main characters. 6.    Select an action of a main character that was exactly the same as something the student would have done.
Evaluating: Make judgments about the value of ideas or materials.	Examples: Select the most effective solution. Hire the most qualified candidate. Explain and justify a new budget.   Key Words: appraises, compares, concludes, contrasts, criticizes, critiques, defends, describes, discriminates, evaluates, explains, interprets, justifies, relates, summarizes, supports   Questions: - What changes would you make to solve...? - How would you improve...? - What would happen if...? - Can you elaborate on the reason...? - Can you propose an alternative...? - Can you make the distinction between...? What is the function of...? Technologies: survey, blogging   Activities: 1.    Create a story from just the title before the story is read. 2.    Write three new titles for the story that would give a good idea what it was about. 3.    Create a poster to advertize the story so people will want to read it. 4.    Use your imagination to draw a picture about the story. 5.    Create a new product related to the story. 6.    Restructure the roles of the main characters to create new outcomes in the story.
Creating: Builds a structure or pattern from diverse elements. Put parts together to form a whole, with emphasis on creating a new meaning or structure.	Examples: Write a company operations or process manual. Design a machine to perform a specific task. Integrates training from several sources to solve a problem. Revises and process to improve the outcome.   Key Words: categorizes, combines, compiles, composes, creates, devises, designs, explains, generates, modifies, organizes, plans, rearranges, reconstructs, relates, reorganizes, revises, rewrites, summarizes, tells, writes   Questions: - Do you agree with the actions...? - What is your opinion of... ? - How would you prove...? - Would it be better if...? - What choice would you have made....? - What judgment would you make about...?   Technologies: Create a new model, write an essay, network with others   Activities: 1.    Decide which character in the selection he or she would most like to spend a day with and why. 2.    Judge whether or not a character should have acted in a particular way and why. 3.    Decide if the story really could have happened and justify reasons for the decision.

 

Skills in the Affective Domain describe the way people react emotionally and their ability to feel other living things' pain or joy. Affective objectives typically target the awareness and growth in attitudes, emotion, and feelings. There are five levels in the affective domain moving through the lowest order processes to the highest:

Ø  Receiving. The lowest level; the student passively pays attention. Without this level no learning can occur. Receiving is about the student's memory and recognition as well.

Ø  Responding. The student actively participates in the learning process, not only attends to a stimulus; the student also reacts in some way. The student attaches a value to an object, phenomenon, or piece of information. The student associates a value or some values to the knowledge they acquired.

Ø  Organizing. The student can put together different values, information, and ideas and accommodate them within his/her own schema; comparing, relating and elaborating on what has been learned.

Ø  Characterizing. The student at this level tries to build abstract knowledge.

The Psychomotor Domain is skill based and refers to the learning of skills. Physical skills are the ability to move, act, or manually manipulate the body to perform a physical movement. There are three levels in the psychomotor domain according to RH Dave (1967):

Ø  Imitation: Copy action of another

Ø  Manipulation: Reproduce activity from instructions

Ø  Develop Precision: Execute skill reliably, independent of help

Ø  Articulation: Adapt and integrate expertise to satisfy a non-standard objective

Ø  Naturalization: Automated, unconscious mastery of activity and related skills at strategic level

Educational implications of Bloom’s taxonomy include the following:

1.       Bloom’s taxonomy provides a universally effective strategy for creating all type of content to impart learning.

2.       The taxonomy helps teachers make decisions about the classification of content.

3.       Bloom’s taxonomy also helps teachers map content to tasks that students need to perform.

4.       Bloom’s taxonomy guides teachers to develop higher levels of thinking process for critical thinking or creative thinking.

5.       Using the taxonomy a teacher develops questions or projects that require the development of thinking and reflection from the knowledge level to the evaluation level.

6.       A teacher or a syllabus designer designs a curriculum as well as classroom assignment using Bloom’s taxonomy to advance the learning process from recalling learning materials to higher level of thinking.

7.       A teacher creates class activities based on Bloom’s Taxonomy.

 

1.6. Revisions to Bloom’s taxonomy

 

Considering that Bloom meant for his work to guide rather than dictate what educators used as tools for the learning environment, the idea of revising such a popular pedagogy only made sense. One of Bloom’s former students understood this and did just that. Lorin Anderson, along with other partners, published A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives.[Anderson L.W, 2001]

The revisions appear as simple updates to the original by adding modern or newer ways of teaching and learning as well as a change in the levels of learning, mainly between evaluation and synthesis. Another apparent change centered on the wording of the levels or categories where the nouns changed to verbs.

Although not as obvious but just as important, the revisions took into account that the levels shouldn’t just categorize. Instead, the alterations emphasize that the categories rely on each other so much so that they should overlap and converge. Just because Remembering is lower on the “ladder” than Understanding doesn’t mean that Remembering isn’t important to Understanding. A student must remember in order to understand. But, the student must also understand to remember.

In the revised taxonomy, knowledge is at the basis of these six cognitive processes, but its authors created a separate taxonomy of the types of knowledge used in cognition:

Factual Knowledge - the basic knowledge of any subject

-       Knowledge of terminology, facts and information

-       Knowledge of specific details and elements

Conceptual Knowledge - general ideas or theories about that subject.

-       Knowledge of classifications and categories

-       Knowledge of principles and generalizations

-       Knowledge of theories, models, and structures

Procedural Knowledge - skills or methods used to take action

-       Knowledge of subject-specific skills and algorithms

-       Knowledge of subject-specific techniques and methods

-       Knowledge of criteria for determining when to use appropriate procedures

Metacognitive Knowledge- the awareness of a person’s own cognitive process.

-       Strategic Knowledge

-       Knowledge about cognitive tasks, including appropriate contextual and conditional knowledge

-       Self-knowledge

However, what’s even more interesting and helpful is the added dimension to categories. Each one is now capable of stretching through the taxonomy on a level of its own. So, Factual Knowledge builds up from Remembering to Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating, and finally Creating.

In the revised Taxonomy, these cognitive processes provide profundity and therefore more value then the actual categories themselves, giving educators a better handle on the importance of various material and skills. It seems that this version acts more like a brain allowing for the categories to create connections within connections. In fact, they’re described as dimensions rather than categories.

It Works like the Brain. If the focal point of a lesson were only within the Knowledge/Remembering dimension then the educator could expand the learning criteria to include the cognitive processes of all the rest of the categories. For example, let’s take something as basic as spelling. The English language in particular contains bits and pieces of many other languages so it can be challenging to make connections, which are the foundation of remembering, when attempting to memorize spelling words. However, if spelling is taught with the cognitive processes in mind, the difficulty and therefore the knowledge or remembering morphs into a two-dimensional rather than a one-dimensional lesson. If the teacher assigns a spelling word such as auspicious then tells the student to look up the definition and part of speech, the teacher’s making sure the student has a basic knowledge of the word and the student may or may not remember it, depending on how well they can memorize or understand it. But, if the teacher adds another dimension to the spelling lesson by having the student use it in a sentence that exercise begins to seal the word auspicious into the mind. Even better, the teacher now tells the student to create their own sentence based on something they want to happen or has happened to them; the spelling word completes the cognitive process and settles into the student’s memory.

How to Use Bloom’s Taxonomy. The use of Bloom’s in theory or lessons may sound good but the actual delivery might not look so good once the logistics of teaching actually begin. Because Bloom’s Taxonomy lives and breathes in educational publications and any teacher with an education degree knows about Bloom’s Taxonomy, the language shows in his or her lessons. It’s also supposed to appear through the delivery in the classroom. Using it actually makes it easier for teachers and educators to write objectives and implement the steps to achieving a goal. Now that the revisions were made, it seems that there are two directions the categories can take. Some would argue there are more. In fact, some believe that educators should begin with Creating instead of Remembering.

With all of this in mind, creating a path to a goal is simply a matter of using the language effectively in order to match and categorize the ideas forming the goal. Let’s go back to the example of the spelling word auspicious. The objective was to have the student spell the word correctly; however, in order to do this, the student needed to do more than just memorize. The student needed to look up the definition and the part of speech then use it in a sentence. To further challenge the student to remember it, the student then needed to create their own sentence regarding something they wanted to happen in the future or something that happened in the past. Both of the latter ideas also stem from the meaning of the word, so there’s the repetition of the word needed for memorizing the spelling then the meaning emphasized through understanding, applying, and creating. The teacher can also add editing and reading within context for evaluating and analyzing. That’s how Bloom’s Taxonomy works on a small scale.

Now move backward to preparing for such a lesson. The words in bold within the categories indicate the word choice that should be used to carry out the objective. The educator would write:

1. Remember: Students will recall the spelling of the word auspicious. (Note: There will be several other words included, but this is meant to be simple.)

2. Understand: Students will predict the meaning of the word based on its use in the text then clarify it’s meaning with the dictionary definition.

3. Apply: They will implement it into a sentence showing that they actually know how it’s used.

4. Analyze: Students will distinguish its use by seeing how it’s used as an adjective, adverb, and noun.

5. Evaluate: Students will judge whether or not the word is used correctly within a given text.

6. Create: Students will construct their own sentences (or paragraph or story for more words) using the word correctly in its three different forms.

This small example carries the teacher through every category as well as the cognitive processes within each category. It details the steps with which the instructor ensures that the students remain challenged and retain information that otherwise may be lost to simple memorization.

The authors of the revised taxonomy suggest a multi-layered answer to this question, to which the author of this teaching guide has added some clarifying points:

1. Objectives (learning goals) are important to establish in a pedagogical interchange so that teachers and students alike understand the purpose of that interchange.

2. Teachers can benefit from using frameworks to organize objectives

3. Organizing objectives helps to clarify objectives for themselves and for students.

4. Having an organized set of objectives helps teachers to:

• “plan and deliver appropriate instruction”;

• “design valid assessment tasks and strategies” ;and

• “ensure that instruction and assessment are aligned with the

objectives.”

5. Things to Consider While Implementing Bloom’s Taxonomy:

6. The reason that some teachers fail to move students up the levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy are many. For example, a teacher might have low expectations concerning the students1 abilities. This is just sad and becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. Another reason might be that it can become difficult and time consuming for the teacher. It is a complete truth that it is much easier to grade assignments based on the lower levels than on the higher levels. In fact, as you move up Bloom’s Taxonomy, you will find that rubrics become more important to ensure fair, accurate, and quick grading.

7. In the end, it is supremely important that we as educators help our students become critical thinkers. Building on knowledge and helping kids begin to apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate is the key to helping them grow and prosper in school and beyond.

 

 

PART 2

STRATEGIES OF PROMOTING CRITICAL THINKING:

topic Food. Eating out

 

I.Remembering

Aims: 1) Identify of the knowledge on the topic;

2) give your ideas, assumptions on the topic;

1. What is the topic we are going to speak?

 

 

2a. What do you know about food?

Think of the words that you associate with Food and fill in the mind map.

Verbs _______    _______ _______    _______ _______    _______ _______    _______

 

FOOD

 

Adjectives _______    _______ _______    _______ _______    _______ _______    _______

 

Kitchen Utensils _______    _______ _______    _______ _______    _______ _______    _______

 

Vegetables _______    _______ _______    _______ _______    _______ _______    _______

 

Cooked Dishes _______    _______ _______    _______ _______    _______ _______    _______

 

Drinks _______    _______ _______    _______ _______    _______ _______    _______

 

Fast Food _______    _______ _______    _______ _______    _______ _______    _______

 

Fruit _______    _______ _______    _______ _______    _______ _______    _______

 

1.      

2.      

3.      

 

 

 

4.      

5.      

6.      

 

 

 

 

 

2b) Basket of ideas 

Think of the words that you associate with the phrase “we eat food” and fill in the mind map.

 

What _____________________________________________

 

Where ________________________________________________

 

Why   ________________________

 

How often ________________________________

 

We eat         food

 

1.      

2.      

3.      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summing up the ideas is very necessary for this task. Check the wrong ideas if they are.

3. Write the names of the food and drink in the box below the picture

 

coffee               turkey                         salad                                   cheese cake                  pizza                           steak                                   fish

 

 

4. What food do you think is ….?

Sour…….bitter…...sweet……..spicy…….salty

 

5. Which of these foods contain…..

-vitamines

-minerals

-Protein

-A lot of calories

 

6 .Look at the pictures and say what food you eat more often. Is it healthy?

 

 

milk products      meat products     sweet things         fruit and vegetables

Example: I often have milk products like cheese and milk .I think they are healthy.

7. Match the words with the translation. Write down only the numbers and the letters.

1. potato pancakes     a) млинці

2. delicious                b) голубці

3. cabbage rolls         c) смачний

 4. course                  d) борщ

5.  pancakes               e) деруни

6. cutlet                     f) котлета

7. borshch                  g) страва

8. fry                          h) лити

9.  boil                        i) варити

10. chop                     j) різатишматочками

11. peel                      k) смажити

12. slice                     l) дрібнонарізати

13. bake                     m) пекти

14. pour                     n) чистити

15. mash                    o) товкти

8. Put in the necessary words some, any, much, and many.

1. There aren’t ____ vegetables in the salad. (much, any)

2. Do you want to eat _____ orange? (some, any)

3. I have _____ eggs for breakfast. (much, many)

4. John has ____ lemonade in his glass. (much, many)

5. Let’s make ____ apple pie. (some, many)

6. Can you give me ____ sandwich? (much, any)

9. Read the text with tagging:

I know this	I don’t know this	I was surprised by this fact

 

 

Read the text and choose from the restaurants. The restaurants may be chosen only once.

 

Eating Out

A. Thai Basil

Thai Basil is located in historic Grove Arcade Market in Toronto. It’s great to taste and enjoy authentic Thai cuisine cooked by native Thai chef. The restaurant offers three separate menus of innovative dishes. You can visit this restaurant with your favourite pet.

B. Laughing Seed Café, North Carolina

Asheville's original downtown vegetarian restaurant specializing in international dishes and using fresh organic ingredients. The decor of our restaurant is elegant. Private dining can be for groups.

C. Last Days of the Raj

The Indian restaurant, located in the centre of Newcastle is perfect for eating before or after the cinema or a show. In summer enjoy your meal in the beautiful garden. The most popular dishes are lamb and chicken cooked with mild, medium or hot spices. For brave customers there is extra hot!

D. Spago

Whether you'd like a great value-for- money lunch or a relaxed evening meal in stylish surroundings, this is the place in Beverly Hills for you. The chefs have all been trained in Italy and they make both traditional and contemporary dishes. We recommend the pasta and seafood.

E. Your Local Caff  

Remember when cafés served full English breakfasts - sausages, beans, fried bread, bacon and eggs - with a strong cup of tea? Well, this place in Manila still does and you can have your breakfast at any time you like during the day while you listen to your favourite tunes from the 1980s.

F. The Lemon Tree

This pretty restaurant in Christchurch,  serves healthy food that's tasty too. Come in for a snack at lunchtime or a great fruit smoothie or a cappuccino and a delicious piece of cake in the afternoon. Food is bought from local producers whenever possible.

G. Cheesy Bites

Located in Dubai, A restaurant that only serves cheese, but hundreds of cheeses from many countries and in lots of different forms. They serve reasonably-priced lunches but dinner can be expensive. Lovely food and a very elegant dining room, looking onto an amazing flower garden.

H. The Chocolate Box

The owner of this small café, located in English Kington, used to cook all kinds of food, but then she realized she preferred desserts to anything else. If you want meat or fish, don't come here. They only do desserts! Lots of different kinds of sweets. Chocolate lovers will be excited by the range of chocolate cakes.

 

II.               Understanding

Aims : understand,  interpret, summarize, paraphrase, classify, compare, explain. facts

1. Read the text and choose from the restaurants. The restaurants may be chosen only once.

Which restaurant

1.                offers only vegetables?  __________________

2.                offers only dishes including dairy products?__________________

3.                does amazing desserts?

4.                serves an all-day breakfast including sausages, bacon and eggs?

5.                allows to take favourites?

6.                employs staff trained in Europe?

7.                cooks only the right food?

8.                offers different kinds of meat?

2. Read the text once more and fill the table:

Name of the restaurant	Country	Main features

 

3. Check your understanding: recommendations

Recommend and write a dish or drink for these customers on the line below.

 

fish tomato salad pasta and seafood a cappuccino a fruit smoothie lamb

 

I really love seafood. Which main course do you suggest?____________________

I want a main course but I only have £5 and I don’t like cheese. What do you suggest?______________________

I’m a vegetarian and I want a starter but I don’t like soup. What starter should I choose?____________________________

I want a dessert but I don’t like sweet things. What can I choose?____________

I don’t like eggs or cheese and I have £15. What can I choose?_______________

It’s a really cold day and I need a hot drink. I only have £1, though. What can I have?_______________________

4. Discuss these questions in groups:

 

Which of these restaurants would you choose and why?

How often do you go out?

What is your favourite restaurant in your city? Why?

Why do you go to the restaurants?

What type of restaurants are popular in your country? Explain the difference.

5. Find the additional information :

What facts show that the restaurant is good/bad? Give some examples.

6. Read the text once more and say what dishes would you like to try? Why?

Example: I would like to try vegetarian salads because they are from fresh organic ingredients. They can taste delicious, smell good and look appetizing.

 

III. Applying

Aims: carry out, execute, use, implement , solve problems by applying knowledge/facts

1a).Say whether you want to cook this dish yourself / with your friends.

-Write the e-mail to the chef and ask him all the questions you have to.What questions would you ask the chef of the restaurant about your favourite dish and ingredients you need to cook it?

-Report your findings to the class.

1.b)Look at these pictures, order them and give the recipe of the dish.

A.	B.	C.	D.	E.
F.	F.	G.	H.	J.

 

-Read the ingrediants and describe the cooking process.

Ingredients for the Salad

1 head Romaine lettuce

1 tomato

¼ purple onion

½ cucumber

1 carrot

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients for the Salad Dressing

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

Pinch of salt

Dash of pepper

-Guess what it is and give the title of the dish.

- Suggest other variants for this dish.

2.Role-play

- Interview your classmates find out about their favourite dishes and ingredients they need to cook their dish. Report your findings to the class.

- Interview the owner of the restaurant

The owner of the restaurant agreed to give the interview.

What questions would you ask the owner of the restaurant during the interview?

3. Role-play

Order the sentences to make a dialogue. Make up your own one or complete this one..

qWhich coffee would you like: espresso, cappuccino or filter coffee?

qNext, please.

 

qNo milk, please. Just sugar.

 

qYes. Your order, please, one tea, one double espresso and one filter coffee.

 

qNo, thank you. Just coffee.

 

qOne tea and two coffees.

 

qOne double espresso and one filter coffee.

 

qWith sugar and milk?

 

qWill you have any chocolate with coffee?

 

4. Write your own menu.

IV Analyzing

Aims: Break down material into its component parts for examination, identifying motives, causes, compares, organizes, outlines, integrates

1. Separate these characteristics according to the types of the restaurants: a fast food or an expensive restaurant .

The service is very quick.

A live music.

You might wait for an order for a long time.

The atmosphere is informal.

They are the same everywhere, so you know exactly what you want.

The customers usually give the percents to the waiter for serving

You almost don’t wait and eat very fast.

It creates much litter.

The food is not cheap, especially for young people.

The atmosphere is formal.

A great variety of national and international dishes.

The cooking is a very long process.

The food contains a lot of fat and it’s unhealthy.

It opens for 24 hours a day

Fast food	Full-served restaurants

 

2. Find a distinction between these types of restaurants. Compare them.

Write advantages and disadvantages of fast food restaurants.

Write advantages and disadvantages of expensive restaurants.

3. Discussion.

 

What changes would you make in fast food/full-served restaurants?

Can you propose an alternative restaurant ?

( Use technology “ Talking chips”

1. Pass out a colored chip to each person.

2. One player at each table scribes ideas on chart paper.

3. Each person contributes an idea that answers the question.

4. Afterwards, the player places their chip in the center of the table.

5. Listen while others contribute their views.

6. Instructor clarifies/verifies.

 

V. Evaluating

Aims: Check, hypothesize, experiment, judge, detect, compiling information in a different way – creating a new idea/solution

1.. Act as a story-teller and create the story just from the title before the story is read. The title is “ American food”

2. Create the poster to advertise a story.

3. Write down a recipe of your new dish in your cookery book

4. Invite your friend in the restaurant.

5. Make the invitation card .

6. Order meals in the restaurant having 50 grn/300grn.

7. Advertise your own restaurant and present your restaurant.

8. Report your last visiting to the restaurant

9. Comment on the culinary blog or communicate on the blog with peers.

 

VI. Creating

Aim: design, construct, plan, produce, invent, present opinions, make judgments about the content/values/validity of the text.

1. Write a letter to your pen-friend or write an essay.

2. Shoot a film about your own restaurant . How can you imagine the ideal restaurant? Download your film in YouTube.

4. Create your own culinary radio program and broadcast in your school.

5. Make a podcast.

a) Imagine you are going to make a podcast. Think of a food-related story .

b) Prepare a short broadcast about your story.

c) Present your podcast to your classmates.

Cubing

 

I.     Remembering

 

1.Odd one out

pizza	pasta	noodle	___________
bitter	spicy	batter	___________
beat	steam	sprinkle	___________
curry	pepper	carry	___________
oven	cooker	boil	___________
pour	peel	sour	___________
pear	pineapple	beans	___________
plate	ladle	bowl	___________
lamb	mutton	tuna	___________
roast	bake	pork	___________
chopstick	rolling pin	fork	___________

 

II.Understanding

Read the text and choose the correct answer.

 

 

Future restaurants might be named after the physical or emotional state they hope to create. Their menus will list the benefits of each dish and drink. Some restaurants have already started this concept, and list the nutritional content of their dishes on the menus.

Let’s take the restaurant Winners as an example. Their menu would list dishes specifically designed to help you win sports competitions. There would be 'Night-before Vegetable Lasagne', a pasta dish with extra layers of spinach pasta for slow-burning energy, rich tomato sauce full of vitamin C and soft, easy-to-digest vegetables. All this would be topped with a little fresh cheese – just enough to help you get a good night’s sleep, but not enough to give you nightmares!

Or you could choose the 'Go-faster Salad', which is a large bowl of mixed raw vegetables in a light salad dressing, giving you energy without making you gain weight. The vegetables are carefully chosen to include plenty of natural vitamins and minerals.

1.The names of the future restaurants will be

a) creative

b) dull

c) the same as now

2. The restaurant “ Winners” servers  pasta with

a) spinach pasta and tomato sauce

b) spinach pasta, tomato sauce and cheese

c) cheese

3.The 'Go-faster Salad' consists of …….. in a light salad dressing

a) fresh vegetables

b) steamed vegetables

c) fried vegetables

III. Applying      

 

What kind of dishes do you think would be on the menu at the Clever Café (which sells food that’s good for your brain)?

 

IV.Analyzing

Compare the hamburgers nowadays and hamburgers in the future.

What’s going to happen to hamburgers ?

 

V. Evaluating

1. Can you justify your decision?

Is snacking a bad idea when you’re feeling down?Why?

How is all junk food also changing?

Is unhealthy food going out of fashion?( brands are changing)? Why? Why not?

Are biscuit companies making biscuits with added vitamins? Why?

2. Suggest your variant to bite (name, ingregiants,...).

 

VI. Creating

Write an essay “What food will we eat in the future”.

 

Let’s talk about FOOD

 

1.     Rememdering

What is your favourite food for breakfast/dinner/supper?

How often do you eat it?

What is your favourite restaurant? Why?

How often do you eat in a restaurant?

 

2.     Understanding

 

Describe an everyday meal from your country and tell how to prepare it.

Which country do you think has the best food?

What food do you refuse to taste?

        

3.     Applying

Can you give some examples of fast food(also junk food)?What are they?

How often do you eat fast food? Why?

What are the most popular dishes in your country? Prove your ideas.

 

4.     Analyzing

What do people usually eat on a special holiday( like Easter or Christmas)?

Have you ever eaten Japanese food? What can you say about its taste?

When did you last go to a nice restaurant? What did you order?

 

5.     Evaluating

If you visited a country where people ate snakes or dogs, would you try it?

Have you ever eaten insects or snails? Would you like to try them?

Can you cook? What is the last dish you cooked?

 

6.     Creating

What is the strangest food you have ever eaten? Why?

Is there a pet in your family? What does it eat?

What dishes do you usually cook for it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RESULTS OF EXPERIENCE

Thus, the methods and techniques of critical thinking development really have great potential, realization of which is directly linked to the formation of the communicative competence of students. This is the most crucial task defined in the new State Standard of Basic and Secondary Education, for the subject of English, as regards the life skills of students. Incorporating critical thinking in my lesson plans has become a challenge I constantly experience in order to provide my students with quality of learning experience.

The important element I have realize is that critical thinking cannot developvery quickly, it is a long-lasting process and there are many steps to be taken. I understand that teaching contexts and routines can easily lead to frustration and a quick discharge of innovative practices, for that careful planning is required. I assure that helping children to become better thinkers does not mean a huge change in what we teach. It means a change in the way we think about it. Using different tasks and stories for children to develop critical thinking can be “natural, familiar and sometimes fun‟ (Erkaya, 2005). If children love these tasks, they will love talking about them. Asking the right questions and providing the necessary support for them to answer get children to develop their thinking processes. Good teaching is not only transferring knowledge from teachers to students. By making education more thinking-centered, we better prepare both ourselves for teaching and the children for digesting the information and creating their products .A “trial and error” approach can be the best way to move towards the incorporation of critical thinking in teaching process and understanding that there is not one exclusive or “right” way to develop and promote it. I should think a lot when applying my own critical thinking methods into my lessons plans. Using the methods and techniques of critical thinking I can conclude that the process is quite helpful and gives good results. I believe that the systematic use of these methods and techniques at the lessons improves the quality of students' knowledge and their competences in practice.

The positive impact of critical thinking on teaching students can be seen from the following chart.

Chart 1

The level of my students’ educational achievements

 

 

The chart is composed for the students of one group of the 5 D, 6 A and 7 B classes,who were under observation during the term. Teaching process in these classes was more thinking-centered. According to the diagram, 35 students demonstrated satisfactory performance at the end of the school term; 72 students performed rather well, as their school reports say; 55 students showed excellent results. Thus, quality performance makes up 78, 3%, which is higher than a year before (66, 3%)

The application of critical thinking technologies actually makes any lesson interesting and truly modern. It results in the growth of motivation, which in turn leads to increasing of cognitive interest and quality performance of the students. The main purpose of the teacher is to create favorable conditions for active development of successful cognitive activity which largely depends on a variety of cognitive space.

Another chart shows the development of cognitive activity of students and their attitudes towards English. Research is conducted for all pupils who are enrolled for me personally.

Chart 2.  Development of cognitive activity of the students as a result of the usage of critical thinking method in teaching English.

 

Owing to the studies on the technology of critical thinking development, my

students have improved their academic results. They are winners and participants of Stage I of All-Ukrainian Olympiads in English, winners and participants of FLEX. I believe that the application of new methods and technologies at the English lessons helps to improve the performance of the students, forms and develops their communicative competence. In addition, it is obvious that the lessons where the technology of critical thinking development is implemented into positively affect the promotion of effective cooperation in solving complex problems. According to my observations, the students have improved their ability to express and discuss their ideas and formulated them clearly and precisely, gained higher self-esteem, self-confidence.

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

Critical thinking is a process which leads to reasoned conclusions, through the application of a set of skills. It can be applied and used in different contexts in order to test the validity of several hypotheses presented as solutions of a problem or an issue. Critical and creative thinking, although different, can work together when problems call for innovative solutions. In the workplace, the application of critical thinking results in better decisions, fewer mistakes and improves the level of collaboration among people.

Using the techniques creates opportunities for development of students' critical thinking skills related to the ability to obtain process and use information from different sources and spread the results of its analysis in the concise form.

However, one should emphasize the fundamental point associated with the use of instructional techniques to form the critical thinking skills that intuitive, but in our view, not as accentuated in theoretical developments, as well as in practice.

Critical thinking is not useful as a single phenomenon, but as a mean to some useful purposes. If you don’t always focus students on the need to achieve a useful purpose, you can get into a situation where critical thinking skills will be the source of the usual carping, which displays daily activities can significantly complicate as a teaching and educational process.

These techniques and methods facilitate critical thinking and diversify the activities of teachers and learners, creating conditions for the development of cognitive interest, enriching the vocabulary of studentsand contribute to the development of creative thinking.

 Thus, using interactive teaching methods and developing critical thinking in children bring to the following conclusions:

- Interactive teaching methods result in intensifying the process of understanding and creative use of knowledge in solving practical problems;

- The students are formed a productive approach to mastering information;

 - Students establish friendly relationship with the teacher;

 - Critical thinking increases the motivation of the students in solving problems discussed and gives rise to their emotional search activity;

 - Everyone engaged in interactive teaching is doing well, contributing to the result of group work;

 - The learning process is interesting:

 - Develop students' desire for creative, productive work;

 - Students tend to act, achieve success and motivate their own behavior;

- Practiced behavior is necessary for successful professional or business activity.

 We can distinguish positive and negative sides of the table:

                                                                                                       Table1

Positive	Negative
1. Expanding the student’s educational opportunities (obtaining, analysis, use of information from different sources); 2. Normally, high levels of learning; 3. The teacher can easily monitor the level of learning in students; 4. The teacher has the opportunity to be a manager, a consultant, etc; 5. The partnership is developing between a teacher and pupils and within the students’ community.	1.We need considerable time to study the specific information ; 2. It requires a different approach in the assessment of students' knowledge; 3. The teacher has no experience in this type of training. 4. There is no methodical development of lessons on various subjects

 

Using the methods and techniques to develop critical thinking can change approaches to visibility: it must contain an element of reflection on which students are working on their own material. The statement by the student as the product of this study will be the result of his thoughts and hands. In my opinion, is an important achievement, because only generation that is able to move away from mechanical reproduction, has power to make a new step in politics and economics. None of us can predict problems many children will probably encounter in the future. For sure, they have to know a lot, but in terms of information, technology should teach children to learn on their own, independently acquire knowledge and  focus on the use of acquired knowledge in everyday life. Interactive teaching methods in the classroom of English identity educate and prepare it to real life.

To conclude, we would like to quote William Graham Sumner [Paul, R.

2009, p.23] when he mentions the paramount influence of critical thinking within

societies and among human beings:

“The critical habit of thought, if usual in society, will pervade all its mores, because it is a way of taking up the problems of life. Men educated in it cannot be stampeded by stump orators ... They are slow to believe. They can hold things as possible or probable in all degrees, without certainty and without pain. They can wait for evidence and weigh evidence, uninfluenced by the emphasis or confidence with which assertions are made on one side or the other. They can resist appeals to their dearest prejudices and all kinds of cajolery. Education in the critical faculty is the only education of which it can be truly said that it makes a good citizen”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

REFERENCES

 

Clark, D. R. 2010. Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning Domains. Retrieved July 10, 2012 from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html/.

Elder, L. 2007. A brief conceptualization of critical thinking. Retrieved August 21, 2012 from http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/410/.

Nickerson, R. 1987. Critical Thinking. Retrieved July 17, 2012 from http://lclane2.net/criticalthinking.html/.

Paul, R. and Elder, L. 2009. The miniature guide to critical thinking. Concepts and tools. The Foundation for Critical Thinking.

Paul, R. (1993). Critical thinking: What every person needs to survive in a rapidly changing world (3rd ed.). Rohnert Park, California: Sonoma State University Press

Schafersman, S. 1991. An introduction to Critical Thinking. Retrieved February 8,2008 from http://www.freeinquiry.com/critical-thinking.html/.

Campbell, Bruce. “Using Tiered Activities to Differentiate.” 2nd Annual SDE National Conference.

Anderson, L.W. (2001). A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. New York: Pearson, Allyn & Bacon.

Bloom, B.S. (Ed.). Engelhart, M.D., Furst, E.J., Hill, W.H., Krathwohl, D.R. (1956). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Handbook I: The Cognitive Domain. New York: David McKay Co Inc.

David Chrystal’s book The Stories of English, 2004

Krathwohl, D., Bloom, B. & Masia. B. (1964). Taxonomy of educational objectives: Handbook II: Affective domain. London: Longman.

Erkaya, Odilea Rocha (2005). Benefits of Using Short Stories in the EFL Context. Asian EFL Journal Vol 8.

 

 

APPENDIX 1

LESSON PLAN FOR THE 7^th GRADE

Topic:Food.

Subtopic: Opening a new restaurant.

Objectives:- revise the vocabulary connected with the topic;

-develop reading, listening, speaking and writing skills;

- develop discussing preferences and attitudes towards food and restaurants;

-develop critical thinking.

STAGES:

I. 1. Introduction. Greeting

T. Good afternoon! Nice to see you. How do you feel today?

T. I am glad to hear you are fine. Are you ready to start our lesson?

2. Presentation of the theme

T. Look at the screen, watch the video and say what we are going to speak about.

Yes, you are right. I want to welcome you to the World of Food . The theme of our lesson is “Opening a new restaurant.”. Today we are in an unusual business school. And we are going to creat our own restaurants. At the end of the lesson we’ll open new restaurants. The main task is to demonstrate how magic and mysterious the world of known and unknown food is. We’ll develop your skills, knowledge, creativity and desire to work hard. As any business school we have a timetable. The first lesson is warming up.

3. Warming-up

a)What proverbs and tongue twisters about food do you know? Recite them.

b)I propose you to do the brainstorm why people eat?        (to grow, to live, for pleasure, for keeping energy,….)

T. Explain in 2 or 3 sentences what is meant by each of these points.

T. What is the main point?

P. People eat to live.

T. Right you are! So the motto of the lesson is “Live not to eat but eat to live”

II. Main body

1 Listening.

a)Pre-listening:

T. The next lesson is listening

Answer the questions using the phrases: I think; to my mind; in my opinion…..

What is better for you: to eat at home or to eat out?

Do you prefer home-made food? Why?

Where do you go when you have no time to have your meals at home?

Why else do we go to the restaurants?

What is your favourite restaurant in Vinnytsia? Why?

What must we remember about when we come to a restaurant?

T. Sometimes we like to eat out. And now I want to propose you to listen to the conversation between two people. Listen to this interview attentively and tick the food and the drinks people can order. (Presenting of unknown words)

Trifle is the typical English dessert made with fruit, cake and cream

Stilton is the English  blue cheese

 

	Fish
	pasta
	steak
	fries
	risotto
	vegetable salad
	ketchup
	trifle(fruit,cake and cream)
	coffee
	tea
	cakes
	sandwiches
	Stilton(English  blue cheese)
	fruit salad
	Roquefort(French cheese)
	toast

 

b) Listening

c)While-listening activity.

Listen to the interview once more . Then read the statements and put “True” for the true statements and “False” for the false ones.

 

2.Speaking Role-play

T. You must be very polite serving your future customers. And now we’ll train in serving them. You have dialogues on your tables. Order the sentences in these dialogues and then act them.

Make up your own ones.

3. Reading (text “American Food”)

The next lesson is reading. You‘ve learnt to serve the customers and now you are going to read the text about different kinds of food. You will need this information for writing your menu.

a)      Pre-reading activity. Vocabulary

(Presenting of unknown words)

Patron– regular customer at a shop/restaurant

Tips– gift of money to a waiter for services

American food is what immigrants bring to the country from all over the world. They say Americans live on hamburgers, hot-dogs, chips and coca-colas. Fast food is very popular in the USA.

Breakfast meal can vary from cereal and milk to eggs and pancakes or French toast (slices of bread dipped in an egg and milk batter and fried).

Lunch tends to be a lighter meal — a sandwich, yogurt, or a light entrée.

Dinner includes a main course of meat, poultry or fish, accompanied by soup, salad and vegetables.

Brunch, a common Sunday meal served between 10.00 a.m. and 2.00 p.m., is really a combination of breakfast and lunch. There is a wide variety of foods, depending on which type of restaurant you go to. Some American-style restaurants have a typical menu.

Soups are French onion, chicken, vegetable and soup of the day. Salads are regular.Main courses are steak, fried chicken, fish, hamburgers, pasta and pizza: Hot and cold sandwiches are combinations of ham, turkey, roast beef, chicken, tuna or egg salads  served between two slices of bread.

Beverages are coffee, tea, soft drinks, mineral water and iced tea.

Desserts are cakes, ice-cream, frozen yogurt, fruit etc.

Americans eat out often. Fast food restaurants-have wide popularity. There are two types of restaurants in the USA, fast food and full-service restaurants. The style of fast food restaurant is much like that of cafeteria. Patron go up to a counter to order their meal: hamburgers, hot chicken sandwiches, and pizza. In full-service restaurants a waiter comes to take patron’s order. To express satisfaction with service patrons will give a tip of 20% of the bill.

b) While-readingactivity(читання тексту за методом «Ажурна пилка»)

T. The aim is to pick up the main information from the text and to teach other members of your group.

c) Post-reading activity

Answer the questions

Questions:

What is American food like? What does the word “brunch” mean?

Why do you think that fast food restaurants are popular ?

How many types of restaurants are there in the USA? What are they? Whatis the difference between them?Who comes to take the patrons’ order in full-service restaurants? What do the Americans do to express satisfaction with service?

 

4. Group work

 

T. I’d like to draw your attention to fast food and expensive restaurants. It’s known that they are popular not only in the USA but also around the world. You have about 5 minutes to write advantages and disadvantages of fast food and full-service restaurants.  Then try to present your ideas.

(Pupils work in groups and fill in the chart)

4. Relaxation (the song “I like food”)

Now we have a break in our timetable. I propose you to sing a song.

4. Project work

a) T. The last lesson is project work. Any restaurant isn’t a restaurant without an advertisement. Your task is create a short advertisement for your restaurant( Use the advertising form) .Then do a brief presentation about your restaurant. Hold a vote to see which restaurant you would most like to visit.

Presentation of your ads.

b) According to your ads create the menu of your restaurant.

 

III Final Part

 

1.Homework Write a composition about your own restaurant.

2.Marks.Your worked hard  and your marks  are excellent and good.

3.Summing-up.T. Good of you! I think you will be real businessmen in future!

 I think your restaurants will have many happy customers and there won’t be any complains. Your business will thrive and you will have a success!

Unfortunately, our lesson has come to its end. What do you think of our lesson? Did you like it?

Look at these two faces which express your emotions. Give adjectives on our topic of food you either like or dislike. Stick them to the corresponding face.(Tasty, fresh, delicious, healthy, well-cooked // bitter, sour, etc.)

Have a nice day   

APPENDIX 2

Topic “Let’s Have aRest ” for the 5th grade

 The theme of the lesson “Travelling”(lesson 8) for the 5th grade

Objectives:-revise the vocabulary on the topic;

 -practice students in speaking, writing and working with a computer;

-develop critical thinking.

I.1)Greeting

Goodmorningpupils! Nice to see you again at our English Lesson. Today we are going to speak, read, write, and play games. But first of all I want you to do one thing. On your desks you have pictures with 4 faces. They are OK, Good, So-so and Bad. I hope that you are in a good mood today. But you can evaluate your mood yourself. Choose and show a Face according to your mood, please. Well, children I see most of you have a good mood and you are ready to work. Let’s begin!

2)Warming-up.

T: Let’s play a Game “Travelling Associations”

Look at the board. You see the words and word-combinations on the topic”Travelling”

Put them into the word net.

 

to travel by car                  to make new friends            to go sightseeing to the seaside                         to pack the luggage                  to the beautiful city to have a lot of fun              to buy souvenirs                         to feed the seagulls in the country                      to travel by train                      to go on an excursion fantastic                            abroad                                           exciting wonderful                         to sunbath                                     from…to in summer                         in July                                           shorts T-shorts                             suitcases                                        caps

 

1. Well, where can you like to travel during your holidays?

2. When can you travel?

3. What can you do during your summer holidays?

4 .What do you usually take with you?

5. What do you usually do there?

6. What are your impressions!

 

Why?

 

When?

 

Where?

 

What your impressions?

 

TRAVELLING

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                  

 

What to take?

 

What to do?

 

 

 

 

 

 

II Main body

1. Reading.

-Pre-reading

ex 3 p 91 . Order the pictures. Say what children found when they were at the seaside

-Reading

T: The teams have got Postcards. of ex 4,p 91.Work in pairs. One pupil is going to read postcard A another – B.

-While-reading

After reading Read and complete the sentences ( ex 5, p 90) you will answer my questions on the text.

2. СоmputerPractice .

T:Now children we have to do another task. Wearegoingtodopracticeoncomputers. Team I use Computer I. Team II use Computer II. Team III use Computer III. Team IV use Computer IV. Team V use Computer V. And Team V I use Computer VI.  Let’sbegin! Start program”10000 Words” Choose your topic “Travelling.” Chose the mode “Test” Select “MultipleChoiceTest” “WrittenTest”

3. Writing.

 T:While some pupils are working on computers we are going to do another task. You have to choose a place you know. Image you are on holiday there. Write a postcard to your friend.

4. Discussion.Team Work.

T: Work in small groups. Our problem for discussion is “Can you have a good rest in our country during your trip, or not?” Let’s discuss this statement using our «Thinking Hats» (after Edward de Bono”The six Thinking Hats”). Put on your hats, please. Each team presents its idea according to the colour of “thinking hat”.

Now it’s time for discussion. So, it's logical that we are going to discuss the problem: can we have a good rest in the country during your trip, or not?For today’s lesson we have preparedcolored hats of the six colours . You know each hat represents a role your mind plays in the critical thinking process. By switching from one coloured hat to another as you think about your topic, you are forced to look at your topic from a variety of perspectives.

 At the last lesson you were divided into six groups and were given task to think over your position to the problem .Now you are going to present your ideas according to the colour of your “thinking hat”. Let’s put on our “thinking hats” and begin our discussion.

T: Time is up. Are you ready to present your ideas?

Please White Hat that is neutral and objective and used to think about facts, figures, and other objective information. It’s a think of a scientist's white cap.

T: Please Red Hat that used to elicit the feelings, emotions, intuition and other senses. It’s a think of a red heart.

T: Please Black Hat that is serious, careful and used to discover why some ideas will not work; this hat inspires logical negative arguments. It’s a think of a judge robed in black

T: Please Yellow Hat that is sunny, positive optimistic and used to obtain the positive outlook, possibilities and benefits. It’s a think of the warming sun.

T:Please Green Hat that used to find creative new ideas. It’s a think of new green grass.

T: Please Blue Hat that used as a master hat to control the thinking process. It’s a think of the blue sky.

T:Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

5)Team Work. Game ”Message in a bottle”

T: Each team will get a coded message. Find out what the message is it. So let’s have a fun! MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE  So the first word in the message is "IF".

Let’sbegin!   Time is up! Who is ready?

The message is “If you read this message quicker you could get a ticket to London.”

Team №1 was the best in this task.Our Congratulations! Captain, this medal is yours.Take it. Super!

6) Project  Work .”Travelling Passport”

T: So you didn’t get free ticket to London. You have read the message too late. But anyway you have another task to work on your “Holiday Passport». Maybe we’ll catch luck travelling somewhere with our Passports.

(Some children are working on”Travelling Passport”,some children are doing practice on computers.

III. Final part

1. Home assignment.

а)Yourhometaskistofinishyour”Travelling Passport”and present it to class next lesson.

2.SUMMINGUP.

T: Well done, children. You were great today. I’m pleased with you. Thank you so much! You have worked really hard and you have done your best. Of course your marks are good and excellent today. Who was the best today?

T: Do you like our topic?

Did you like our today’s lesson?

What was the most interesting task for you? Why?