Dr. Maryam Torbati’s Post

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Professor at Fresno Pacific University

The following six levels of critical thinking questions can be remarkably useful resources:1 ·       Applied to remembering facts and concepts in gaining knowledge, you ask: who, what, where, when, how and sometimes why. Asking what is particularly constructive given that it is shows up in the present, is usually answerable and the forthcoming answers are key signposts for not re-enacting what didn’t work and for duplicating what did work. Why questions may be used sparingly since they are heard as accusatory and blaming, triggering defeating reactivity in emotions, behavior and relationships. ·       Applied to demonstrating understanding and gaining comprehension, you ask: what’s the main idea or theme, compare and contrast, what supports that statement, what was your understanding of and how would you classify that, along with can you distinguish between, what differences exist between, provide a definition for and offer an example or illustration of what you mean. ·       Applied to using acquired knowledge to solve problems in new situations through application, you ask: what examples, what approach, how would you solve, how would you apply, what would result if, what questions would you best ask, what factors would you change if, can you develop a set of instructions about, and would this information be useful if you had. ·       Applied to breaking down information into its component parts, to identify causes and motives, make inferences and gather evidence to support generalizations and relationships through analysis, you ask: how would you categorize, what are the parts, how are the components related, can you make a distinction, what evidence is there, what is its function and what conclusions can be drawn. ·       Applied to the creative compiling of information in a new pattern or proposing different solutions through synthesis, you ask: how might you improve, suppose it worked differently than we thought, how would you adapt this to a new situation, what would happen if we combined this with that, what model or theory would accurately reflect these findings and what happens if you did this. ·       Applied to formulating opinions by making judgments about data, work quality and the validity of ideas based on specific criteria through evaluation, you ask: what’s your opinion, how did you come to that view, how did you determine that choice, how do you explain, what do you base your opinion on, what do you recommend, how do you prioritize, and what would you select.

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