Carter and Kravits Keys to Success Critical Thinking and Problem Solving TOPIC Critical Thinking and Problem Solving SUMMARY The information based working world needs critical thinking more than ever and instructors are focusing on it more than ever before Critical thinking and problem solving are skills and like any other skill they are built with effort and maintained with use The Keys to Effective Learning approach to these topics focuses on critical and creative thinking as part of a problem solving process When students work on a problem that has stakes for them personally they are more motivated to engage LEARNING OUTCOMES Students will be able to Define critical and creative thinking Improve critical thinking skills including analysis comparison and evaluation Develop creative thinking skills Apply thinking skills to problems and decisions Identify analyze and solve problems effectively Define and think through decisions ACTIVITIES FOR CRITICAL THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING The following chart provides a quick overview of the activities for Critical Thinking and Problem Solving A complete description including directions materials needed timelines for completion and applicable worksheets follow this chart As you review this material and the activities within consider the following None of the activities are meant to be prescriptive Pick choose and adapt You know your students and what they need better than anyone else We have denoted the format in which the activities can be used Some are suited only for face to face but the majority can be adapted to hybrid and online environments We have included all worksheets needed to complete the activities for this topic You may want to suggest means by which your students can save retrieve and send their activities This is usually determined by you and the LMS used at your institution The activities provided for this module are intended to give you suggestions that may assist you in providing students with activities journal writing Copyright 2017 Pearson Education Inc 1 Carter and Kravits Keys to Success Critical Thinking and Problem Solving thought provoking situations and group activities You probably have many activities in addition to the ones found here Use them to your best advantage You and your ideas bring the class to life Activity 1 Break the Ice with a Story 2 Develop Your Questioning Skills 3 Fact or Opinion 4 Test Your Assumptions 5 Using Resources to Solve Problems 6 What If Description This activity provides students with an opportunity to consider a personal story and respond to it individually as well as in discussion This activity helps students become more effective questioners This activity uses advertising materials to help students develop their ability to evaluate fact and opinion This activity has students evaluate assumptions and bias in statements This activity has students use thinking skills in the context of accessing helpful resources This activity builds creative thinking skills 7 Powerful Group Problem Solving This activity gives students the experience of solving a problem in a group Application Traditional Hybrid or Blended Online Traditional Hybrid or Blended Online Traditional Hybrid or Blended Online Traditional Hybrid or Blended Online Traditional Hybrid or Blended Online Traditional Hybrid or Blended Online Traditional Hybrid or Blended Copyright 2017 Pearson Education Inc 2 Carter and Kravits Keys to Success Critical Thinking and Problem Solving MyStudentSuccessLab ASSESSMENTS and ACTIVITIES MyStudentSuccessLab www mystudentsuccesslab com is an online solution designed to help students acquire and develop the skills they need to succeed Here students can access peer led video presentations and develop core skills through interactive exercises and projects Rich assessments based on Bloom s Taxonomy and tied to learning outcomes provide students with the opportunity to identify their strengths and weaknesses and to communicate them more effectively MyStudentSuccessLab helps students develop academic life and career skills that will transfer to ANY course or experience This grid describes the elements and activities available to you in the KEL 7e text specific version of the MyStudentSuccessLab KEL 7e MyStudentSuccessLab Critical and Creative Thinking MSSL Topic MSSL Activity Description Critical and Creative Thinkin g Video Creativity and Problem Solving Critical and Creative Thinkin g Practice 1 Introducing Critical Thinking Time on Task 10 15 min Related Learning Objectives Identify and develop creative thinking skills Explain the value of creative thinking Suggested Use Homework or in class video with discussion questions Describe critical 15 min Extra practice or homework A short humorous video about what creative thinking means and how it informs problem solving A multimedia activity that helps students understand the definition and steps of the critical thinking process and how to identify and classify different viewpoints thinking Identify and develop the skills of critical thinking Explain the value of critical thinking Consider information from different viewpoints Copyright 2017 Pearson Education Inc 3 Carter and Kravits Keys to Success Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Identify Define problems problems 15 20 min Extra practice or homework 25 30 min Extra practice or homework 20 min Graded homework Analyze your Brainstorm problem possible solutions Gather information about your possible solutions Develop creative thinking skills Apply thinking skills to problems and decisions Practice 2 Identify the Problem Critical and Creative Thinkin g Critical and Creative Thinkin g Practice 3 Generate Possible Solutions Take Action Gather Evidence of Your Creativity Critical and Creative Thinkin g This multimedia activity explores the problem solving process and focuses on identifying and defining the root problem In this scenario based multimedia activity students investigate information to develop effective solutions to a problem and then generate possible solutions The text s in chapter exercise provided in the MyLab Activity encourages creative thinking and focuses the reader on generating ideas about a personal problem Grading requires reading The text s chapter summary exercise converted to a short matching quiz Autograded Critical and Creative Thinkin g Summary Note the Important Points All KEL Critical 10 min Graded homework and Creative Thinking chapter objectives Critical and