Critical thinking & Leadrship at EFL classes

1. SHAHID HUSSAIN MIR
M.PHIL LINGUISTICS
ESL/EFL INSTRUCTOR AT AJK UNIVERSITY
PAKISTAN
Shahid.mir54@gmail.com

2. ACTIVITIES
TIME PERMITTING, WORK THROUGH ACTIVITIES
IN YOUR BOOKLET.
BE SURE TO THINK CRITICALLY!
Why is Critical Thinking
Important?

3. Why Is Critical Thinking Important?
 . . . it underlies the basic elements of
communication
 . . . it plays an important part in social
change. . .
 . . . it is a path to freedom from half-
truths and deceptions
Critical thinking helps us develop:
• Intellectual Humility
• Intellectual Autonomy
• Intellectual Integrity
• Intellectual Courage
• Intellectual Perseverance
• Confidence in Reason
• Intellectual Empathy
• Fair-mindedness

4. ©2007 Foundation for Critical Thinking Press www.criticalthinking.org
ELEMENTS OF THOUGHT

5. What IS Thinking Critically
and Creatively ????
© 2010 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning

6. What is Critical Thinking
 Expanded Contemporary Emphasis
Reasoning
EvaluateArgumentsandConclusions
Communication
Creativity
ProblemSolving
EvaluateIdeasandPlans
Life-LongLearningSkills
EvaluateOne'sUnderstanding

7. What Is Critical Thinking?
p. 107
Chapter Exercise
p. 105+

8. CRITICAL THINKING
“‘Knowledge is power.’ Rather, knowledge is happiness.
To have knowledge, deep broad knowledge, is to
know truth from false and lofty things from low.”
Helen Keller, American author, activist, and lecturer
• Critical Thinking is
evaluating ideas.
• Creative Thinking is
producing new ideas.

9. Critical Thinking: What is involved?
 Question: what is being asked?
 Purpose: why do I want the answer?
 Point of View: where do I stand to look at the
question?
 Information: what data do I have?
 Concepts: what ideas are involved?
 Assumptions: what am I taking for granted?
 Inferences: what conclusions am I drawing?
 Consequences: what are the implications of my
question?

10. Uncritical Thinkers
o Pretend to know more than they do.
o Get annoyed by problems.
o Are impatient.
o Judge on first impressions and intuition.
o Focus on their own opinions.
o Look only for ideas like their own.
o Are guided by feelings rather than
thoughts.
o Claim that thinking gives them a
headache.
Don’t think
about
it, just sign
it!

11. Reasoning in Critical Thinking
I. Reasoning: Induction vs. Deduction
Inductive arguments go from
specific observations to general
conclusions
Deductive arguments go from
broad generalizations to specific
conclusions

12. I. Reasoning : Relevance and Adequacy
Two things are required to judge the soundness of an argument:
Relevance Adequacy
Look at an example:
“I don’t see why all students have
to take an introductory writing
course. It’s a free country. Students
shouldn’t have to take courses they don’t
want to take.”
Is the statement “It’s a free country
relevant? What does living in a free
country have to do with courses that
community college students are
required to take? Nothing.
Now look at this example:
“Everyone taking Math 100 failed the test
last Friday. I took the test last Friday.
Therefore, I will probably get an F in the
course.”
How many tests are left in the
course? What other assignments
figure into students’ grades? The
information present may not be
adequate to predict an F in the
course.

13. I. Reasoning: Analyzing Arguments
“The aim of argument, or of discussion,
should not be victory, but progress.”
Joseph Joubert, French moralist
Sound or Unsound?
Is it Relevant?
Is it Adequate?
Is it Logical?

14. How to Develop Leadership
in ESL/EFL Class through
problem solving activities ?

15. CAN YOU THINK OF A
SOLUTION ?
If You ( a group) are/ is
stuck in a room and door is
locked and there is no one to
get you out then how will you
think out of the box for the
solution of the problem?

16. I. Problem Solving: How-To’s
STEP 1: Define the problem.
STEP 2: Brainstorm possible options.
STEP 3: Devise criteria to evaluate each option.
STEP 4: Evaluate each option you’ve proposed.
STEP 5: Choose the best solution.
STEP 6: Plan how to achieve the best solution.
STEP 7: Implement the solution and evaluate results.

17. II. Decision Making:
What’s Your Style?
Directive
Behavioral
Analytical
Conceptual

18. Four Common Decision
Making Problems
Snap decisions
 Don’t jump to conclusions!
Narrow thinking
 Broaden your vistas!
Sprawling thinking
 Don’t beat around the bush!
Fuzzy thinking
 Keep it sharp! Keep it relevant!

19. III.Becoming a Better Leader
1. Admit when you don’t know.
2. Realize you have buttons that
can be pushed.
3. Learn more about the
opposition.
4. Trust and verify.
5. Remember that critical
thinking is the foundation of
all achievement.
6. Think-consult-decide (TCD)© 2010 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning

20. ESL STUDENTS ARE
CRITICAL THINKERS IF:
 Acknowledge personal limitations.
 See problems as exciting challenges.
 Have understanding as a goal.
 Use evidence to make judgments.
 Are interested in others’ ideas.
 Are skeptical of extreme views.
 Think before acting.
 Avoid emotionalism
 Keep an open mind

21. GOOD LEADERS:
 Don’t accept other people’s blueprints.
 Be vigilant about what others can’t see.
 Differentiate the good from the bad.
 Take the plunge before They're an expert.
 Concentrate on the big picture.
 Take sensible risks.
 Motivate THEMSELF from inside.
 Shape environments that will support THEIR
creativity.
 Actively pursue THEIR creative life.

22. Operational Procedures of
Critical Thinking - 1
 Identifying key definitions
 Identifying ambiguity
 Identifying variables
 Formulating questions
 Defining issue or problem
 Classifying information
 Sequencing information
 Recognizing patterns
 Determining credibility
 Distinguishing fact from opinion
 Identifying assumptions
 Identifying values
 Noting missing evidence
 Identifying relationships
 Comparing & contrasting
 Cause and effect
 Summarizing information
 Using analogies

23. Operational Procedures of Critical
Thinking - 2
 Predicting trends from
data
 Predicting outcomes based
upon evidence
 Translating between verbal
and symbolic
 Identifying conclusions
 Identifying errors in reasoning
such as:
 Logical fallacies
 Errors in statistical reasoning
 Alternative conclusions that
satisfy evidence

24. Developing Discussion Questions to
Promote Critical Thinking
 a) “What are the implications of ___?”
 (b) “Why is ___ important?”
 (c) “What is another way to look at ___?”
 Questions that ask students to reflect on their own
thinking processes and to identify what particular
form of critical thinking they are using –
metacognition
 (Joe Cuseo, Questions that Promote Deeper
Thinking, Oncoursenewsetter)

25. Teaching Strategies that Promote Critical
Thinking
 According to Gregor Novak, Professor Emeritus at
IUPUI, who spearheaded the development of JiTT and
is now co-director of the JiTTDL (digital library)
project, the heart of the JiTT approach is the
“feedback loop” formed by the students’
preparation outside of class that affects what
happens during the subsequent in-class session.

26. JiTT Fosters Class Discussions

27. OTHER RECOMMENDED
TECHNIQUES
 ROLE PLAY : Assign Famous Leaders Role To Students
 DEBATE: Ask the students to do a debate on any topic
in the classroom.
 GAMES: Make the ESL/EFL students play games like
word building , puzzle etc. It will help them in
developing critical thinking.

28. IF STUDENTS ARE ABLE TO
DO FOLLOWING THEN
THEY HAVE DEVELOPED
LEADERSHIP SKILLS

29. . Reflect on yourself: Who are you? What do you
stand for? How do you want to influence others?
Formulate a concrete vision of yourself and start living
your life as the leader who makes your vision a reality.
and your knowledge. Take the time to continue your
path of excellence.

30.  2. Understand your base: Find out what people think about
your style of leadership. This could be a real eye
opener, and the key to making changes to the way you
influence others. Conduct a 360° evaluation of yourself
from your peers, supervisors and friends.
 3. Trust and Empower: An integral part of becoming a great
leader is to gain creative followers, and this includes
learning to respect your team’s capabilities by delegating
tasks. Leaders know that nobody does their best if they feel
weak, incompetent or alienated; they know that those who
are expected to produce the results must feel a sense of
ownership.

31.  4. VENTURE OUT: Leaders don’t sit idly by waiting for fate to
smile upon them. They seek and accept challenges. Leaders are
pioneers who are willing to step out into the unknown. They are
willing to take risks, innovate, and experiment to find new and
better ways of doing things.
 5. LEAD BY EXAMPLE: Take the opportunity to learn about your
followers and expand on where they want to go with their career.
Take time to mentor others and demonstrate effective business
ethics.
 6. SET DEFINITIVE GOALS: Know where your destination is and
then map out a plan to get there. To improve your leadership
skills, first set specific life goals with realistic timelines. Develop
action plans that will provide direction toward your goals.

32.  9. Be willing to admit failures and weaknesses: No one
is perfect. Great leaders surround themselves with
people that will fill in their own weaknesses. The most
successful leaders know that the key to success is not
avoiding failure, but learning from their mistakes.
 10. BECOME A LIFELONG LEARNER: Great leaders
continue to improve themselves in every possible way.
Life is filled with opportunities to learn and exp