Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

Teaching
critical thinking and

problem solving
Day 1
Location, Date
www.britishcouncil.org 1
Learning outcomes
In this session you will learn about:
• the meaning of critical thinking

and problem solving (CTPS)
• why these skills are valuable
• the structure of the learning programme.
Maya: find your light
Critical thinking: cognitive scientist’s definition
There are three types of thinking. Critical thinking is a sub-set of each
(Willingham, 2007).
Critical thinking: cognitive scientist’s definition
What makes thinking critical? It needs to be:
• effective – avoid common mistakes such as seeing only one
side of an issue, discounting new evidence that disconfirms
your ideas, reasoning from passion rather than from logic,
failing to support statements with evidence, etc.
• novel – you don’t simply remember a solution that is similar
enough to guide you
• self-directed – the student thinks independently.
Source: Willingham, 2007.
Four key features we will focus on
Objectives of the programme
You will:
• receive a basic theoretical understanding of CTPS
• explore evidence of how CTPS can be taught and assessed
• receive practical examples of how to develop CTPS

in schools
• identify opportunities to develop CTPS in your school
• develop skills to embed CTPS in your practice.
Three key teaching practices:
Asking good, open questions.
Modelling how to think critically and solve problems.
Providing effective feedback and corrections.
Agenda
Day one Day two School projects Day three
Session 1: Session 1: Evidence, Session 1: Review Session 1: Sharing
Introduction to CTPS part 2 lessons learned from
school projects
Session 2: Different Session 2: Non-routine Session 2: Review Session 2: Deeper

perspectives, part 1 problems, part 1 structures, part 1
Session 3: Different Session 3: Non-routine Session 3: Review Session 3: Deeper

perspectives, part 2 problems, part 2 structures, part 2
Session 4: Evidence, Session 4: Planning for Session 4: Reflection Session 4: Planning for
part 1 school projects further exploration of
CTPS
What we expect of you?
Think hard how to use critical
thinking and problem solving in
what you teach.
Try out some of the new ideas and

approaches.
Meet up with colleagues in your

school to share learning and discuss
how you are trying out new ideas.
What are your own learning objectives?
Why are critical thinking and problem solving important to

your students?
What is the main thing you would like to learn? Why?
Considering different
perspectives
Day 1
Location, Date
Learning outcomes
• what does it mean to consider different

perspectives
• why it is important
• how it can be taught.
Dead poets’ society
What do you see here?
Different perspectives on social issues
Hunger in the world’s richest country.
Deforestation: pros and cons.
Sugary drinks: addictive and unhealthy.
Design the ideal wallet.
What does it look like? Sketch it!
Different perspectives towards a character
Asking good questions
Closed questions: usually have only one correct answer.
Open questions: have several answers that can be correct.
Syria: 11 million have been forced to leave home
Teaching students how to ask good questions
Designing an activity
Please keep in mind these suggestions:
• Critical thinking should be taught in the context

of subjects.
• Critical thinking is not just for advanced students.
• Student experiences offer a way in to complex concepts.
• Make critical thinking strategies explicit and practise them.
Practising the activity
Please work in pairs.
Ten minutes each to teach a mini-lesson.
Ask open questions.
Try to get the other person to consider different perspectives.
Assessing evidence
Day 1
Location, Date
Learning outcomes
• what does it mean to gather

and assess evidence?
Stigma around HIV/aids
HIV is not passed on easily
HIV does not spread through the air like cold and flu viruses.
The main ways the virus enters the HIV is not passed on through:
bloodstream are: • kissing
• by injecting into the bloodstream (with a • spitting
contaminated needle or injecting
equipment) • being bitten
• contact with unbroken, healthy skin
• through the thin lining on or inside the
anus and genitals • being sneezed on
• sharing baths, towels or cutlery
• through the thin lining of the mouth and
eyes • using the same toilets or swimming pools
• mouth-to-mouth resuscitation
• via cuts and sores in the skin.
• contact with animals or insects such as
mosquitoes.
Source: www.nhs.uk
Human development facts
How did deaths per year from natural disasters change in
the last century?
• More than doubled.
• Remained the same.
• Almost halved.
How many years have women aged 30 years spent in school
on average? (Men of the same age spent around eight years.)
• Seven years.
• Five years.
• Three years.
How has the percentage of people living in extreme poverty
in the world changed in the last 20 years?
• Almost doubled.
• Almost halved.
Human development facts: the answers
How did deaths per year from natural disasters change
in the last century?
• More than doubled.
• Almost halved.
In Sweden, just one in ten people knew the right answer.
How many years have women aged 30 years spent in school on
average? (Men of the same age spent around eight years.)
• Seven years.
• Five years.
• Three years.
In the US, just one in four people knew the right answer.
How has the percentage of people living in extreme poverty in
the world changed in the last 20 years?
• Almost doubled.
• Almost halved.
In the US, just one in 20 people knew the right answer.
Is climate change real?
Teaching students how to assess evidence
Stick or switch?
Stick or switch?
You picked Host reveals
Door A Door B Door C
? ?
Stick or switch? The answer
You picked
Door C
Door A Door B is eliminated
Initial Initial Initial

probability 1/3 probability 1/3 probability 1/3
You picked door Probability of door B or C is 2/3

A, probability door C is eliminated, which means:
remains 1/3 probability of door B becomes 2/3
Justification of slavery
Assessing evidence
Day 2
Location, Date
Learning outcomes
• what does it mean to gather

and assess evidence?
What kind of feedback is most useful? why?
• I can see that you are very hardworking.
• The method to check for evidence is to read what is written in

the passage.
• To solve this problem your aim should be to create a table with

two sides listing what you know and what you still need to find
out. Hence, read the question again, identify information that is
listed in the problem, find out what is the information you are
seeking.
Suggestions on providing effective feedback
• Focus on smaller aspects of the task with
an addition of goals.
• Provide feedback in manageable units but

do not make it too simple.
• Ensure that the feedback is not too

detailed and specific so that the student
has no thinking left to do.
Video on specific feedback

of subjects.
Ask open questions.
Then try to provide effective feedback.
Non-routine
problems
Day 2
Location, Date
Learning outcomes
• what does it mean to solve

non-routine problems?
Non-routine problems
Routine and non-routine problems
Routine questions. Routine questions can
be answered or solved using methods
familiar to students by replicating previously
learned methods in a step-by-step fashion.
Non-routine questions. Non-routine

questions are those for “which there is not
a predictable, well-rehearsed approach or
pathway explicitly suggested by the task,
task instructions, or a worked-out example”.
Why solving non-routine problems is important?
Break the law and do the right thing?
Oh, the places you’ll go!
Design for change
Role modelling, thinking aloud
Last year was unusually dry in Great Britain. England usually
gets 800mm of rainfall a year. Scotland, where it rains more,
usually gets about 1,500mm of rainfall a year. Last year, both
England and Scotland had 200mm less rain than usual. Tom and
Laura heard this on the radio. Tom thinks when you compare
England and Scotland, the decline in rainfall is the same. Laura
thinks the decline is different. Explain how both of them are
correct.
It looks like I need to divide the change amount by the original amount to find the percentage change in
England and in Scotland.
England: 200 divided by 800 is 25 per cent
Scotland: 200 divided by 1,500 is 13 per cent
So the percentage decrease for England is much greater (25 per cent) than for Scotland (13 per cent). Now I see
what Laura is saying! It’s different because the decrease in rainfall for Scotland is much smaller than the
decrease for England. Finally, I ask myself, ‘Does this answer make sense when I re-read the problem?’ Tom’s
answer makes sense because both countries did have a decline of 200mm in rainfall. Laura is also right, because
the percentage decrease for Scotland is much smaller than the percentage decrease for England. Now both
answers make sense to me.
Rainy weather
1. “What is this story about? What do I need to find out?”
2. “Have I ever seen a problem like this before?”
3. “What steps should I take to solve this problem?”
4. “Does this answer make sense when I re-read the problem?”
• Critical thinking should be taught in the context of

subjects.
• Make critical thinking strategies explicit and practise

them.
The topic should be non-routine for most of your students.
Try to model the problem solving process by thinking aloud.
Ask open questions, try to provide effective feedback.
Action planning
Day 2
Location, Date
www.britishcouncil.org
Looking for deep
structure
Day 3
Location, Date
Learning outcomes
• what does it mean to look for

the deep structure of issues?
• how it can be taught
A treasure hunter
…was going to explore a cave up on a hill near a beach. He
suspected there might be many paths inside the cave so he
was afraid he might get lost. Obviously, he did not have a
map of the cave; all he had with him were some common
items such as a flashlight and a bag. What could he do to
make sure he did not get lost trying to get back out of the
cave later?
Here is the solution: it is to carry some sand with you in the bag, and
leave a trail as you go, so you can find your way back out of the cave.
On one level, this story is about a treasure hunter and a cave. On another
level, however, the story is about finding something with which to leave a
trail.
Surface and deep structures
• Deep structure refers to a principle that goes beyond
specific examples.
• Surface structure refers to the particulars of an example

meant to illustrate deep structure.
Attacking the tumour
Suppose you are a doctor faced with a patient who has a
malignant tumour in his stomach. It is impossible to operate on
the patient, but unless the tumour is destroyed, the patient will
die. There is a kind of ray that can be used to destroy the
tumour. If the rays reach the tumour all at once at a sufficiently
high intensity, the tumour will be destroyed. Unfortunately at
this intensity the healthy tissue that the rays pass through on
the way to the tumour will also be destroyed.
Attacking the tumour
At lower intensities the rays are harmless to healthy tissue, but
they will not affect the tumour either.
What type of procedure might be used to destroy
the tumour with the rays, and at the same time avoid destroying
the healthy tissue?
Source: Gick, 1983.
The solution is to use a number of weaker rays coming from
different directions, but all focused on the tumour. The
weaker rays can pass through the healthy tissue, but they
combine at the site of the tumour to destroy it.
A wicked king
A wicked king ruled a small country from a fortress. The
fortress was situated in the middle of the country and many
roads radiated outward from it, like spokes on a wheel. A
great general vowed to capture the fortress and free the
country of the wicked king. The general knew that if his
entire army could attack the fortress at once, it could be
captured. But a spy reported that the king had planted mines
on each of the roads. The mines were set so that small bodies
of men could pass over them safely, since the dictator
A wicked king
needed to be able to move troops and workers about;
however, any large force would detonate
the mines. Not only would this blow up the road, but the
king would destroy many villages in retaliation. How could
the general attack the fortress?
The general needs to disperse the troops first, and
then re-gather the combined strength of the troops at
the point of attack.
Climate change in a bottle
Moving from surface to deep structures
Knowledge tends to be inflexible when it is first learned. As

you continue to work with the knowledge, you gain expertise;
the knowledge is no longer organized around surface forms,
but rather is organized around deep structure.
Source: Chi, 1981.

of subjects.
Try to get the other person to think about both

the surface structure and then the deep structure
of the issue.
Ask open questions, try providing effective

feedback, model the problem solving and
critical thinking process by thinking aloud.

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Teaching

critical thinking and

• the meaning of critical thinking

• why these skills are valuable

• the structure of the learning programme.

Source: Willingham, 2007.

• receive a basic theoretical understanding of CTPS

• explore evidence of how CTPS can be taught and assessed

• receive practical examples of how to develop CTPS

• identify opportunities to develop CTPS in your school

• develop skills to embed CTPS in your practice.

Asking good, open questions.

Modelling how to think critically and solve problems.

Providing effective feedback and corrections.

Session 2: Different Session 2: Non-routine Session 2: Review Session 2: Deeper

Session 3: Different Session 3: Non-routine Session 3: Review Session 3: Deeper

Try out some of the new ideas and

Meet up with colleagues in your

Why are critical thinking and problem solving important to

What is the main thing you would like to learn? Why?

• what does it mean to consider different

• how it can be taught.

Hunger in the world’s richest country.

Deforestation: pros and cons.

Sugary drinks: addictive and unhealthy.

What does it look like? Sketch it!

Closed questions: usually have only one correct answer.

Open questions: have several answers that can be correct.

• Critical thinking should be taught in the context

• Critical thinking is not just for advanced students.

• Student experiences offer a way in to complex concepts.

• Make critical thinking strategies explicit and practise them.

Source: Willingham, 2007.

Ten minutes each to teach a mini-lesson.

Ask open questions.

Try to get the other person to consider different perspectives.

• what does it mean to gather

• how it can be taught.

• More than doubled.

• Remained the same.

• Remained the same.

• More than doubled.

• Remained the same.

In Sweden, just one in ten people knew the right answer.

• Remained the same.

In the US, just one in 20 people knew the right answer.

You picked Host reveals

Door A Door B Door C

Initial Initial Initial

You picked door Probability of door B or C is 2/3

• what does it mean to gather

• how it can be taught.

• The method to check for evidence is to read what is written in

• To solve this problem your aim should be to create a table with

• Provide feedback in manageable units but

• Ensure that the feedback is not too

• Critical thinking should be taught in the context

• Critical thinking is not just for advanced students.

• Student experiences offer a way in to complex concepts.

• Make critical thinking strategies explicit and practise them.

Source: Willingham, 2007.

Ten minutes each to teach a mini-lesson.

Ask open questions.