This document was produced during the 1996-7 school year and distributed to Punahou teachers in March of 1997. It outlines the goals and standards of the Critical Thinking group at the time when CT courses were first being offered at Punahou.

During the 2000-2001 school year, the English department voted unanimously to make the Sophomore English course a CT-intensive course for all students. This decision had the effect of eliminating the need for a graduation requirement in Critical Thinking, since all students will receive at least some CT training as sophomores in English.

However, the central goals articulated in this document give a picture of what has already been attempted at Punahou, and help to articulate our overall mission. It was never intended that the students should learn to associate critical thinking with just one subject. Our assumption is that good critical thinking skills are relevant in every subject, and furthermore that CT skills will develop more quickly and more fully if they are taught purposefully rather than assimilated on a hit or miss basis.

- RBS

Critical Thinking Graduation Requirement

Statement of Purpose

Critical thinking courses set out to develop students' understanding of what thinking is and how to evaluate it, and to promote the intellectual traits required for effective reasoning. These goals reflect a common set of principles:

Reasoning well can improve our understanding of all areas of our lives.

Understanding means more than the ability to recall information, even information that is abstract or complex; understanding is produced only through engagement in a process of reasoning.

Understanding can be constructed and created only in the mind of the learner.

Understanding is only as sound as the reasoning that produced it; therefore, to evaluate knowledge it is necessary to evaluate the reasoning that produced it.

Understanding makes it possible to use knowledge effectively in novel situations.

Clearly, critical thinking courses have no monopoly over these principles and goals; all courses in the Academy challenge students to think effectively. What distinguishes critical thinking courses is the degree to which they focus on these goals, and the extent to which this focus allows teachers to design courses with this purpose in mind.


I. Critical Thinking courses value and raise student consciousness about principles and standards of reasoning

Critical thinking courses assume that students reason more effectively when they understand the principles and standards involved in reasoning. This assumption is reflected in (A) the tasks teachers assign, (B) the practices and behaviors they require students to engage in, and (C) the criteria they set for assessing student learning. Such courses establish clearly and explicitly their criteria for reasoning excellence. Individual components may vary according to course domain, but all criteria will provide students with the following tools: (1) an appropriate critical vocabulary; (2) models for tasks and assignments; and (3) a theoretical paradigm of critical thinking which articulates and defines standards of clarity, accuracy, and completeness.

A. Tasks

Critical thinking courses show evidence of articulated tasks and assignments which demonstrate a clear intention to raise student consciousness about essential elements of thinking. For example:

Tasks or assignments that lead not only to a solution but to a recognition of elements of thinking that are a necessary part of the process of arriving at an informed solution. E.G., "What assumptions do you have about American Indians, and what role might these assumptions have on your view of the history of the Battle of Little Big Horn?" "What new information have biologists gathered about life on Mars and how might this information lead them to revise their assumptions about what conditions are essential to sustain life?"

Tasks that enable students to recognize the dynamic relationships among the elements of reasoning. For example: "Explain how the point of view of the people in the middle ages related to the assumption they made that the earth was flat, how that assumption affected the selection of evidence and formulation of a philosophy, and how that philosophy affected action."

Tasks that require students to apply standards of Critical Thinking/Reasoning to improve their own process of thinking, i.e., to think metacognitively.

B. Practices and Behaviors

Critical thinking courses require students to practice behaviors that reflect the principles of critical thinking. For example, teachers

ask questions that model critical thinking, e.g., that ask students to identify, explain, or connect their assumptions, point of view, inferences, or information; or that compel them to consider the implications of their ideas, the concepts they are using, the questions they are asking, and the purpose of their reasoning;

respond to questions in ways that model critical thinking (e.g. "What point of view is implied in that question?");

elicit questions from students;

hold students accountable for using elements of reasoning and the appropriate standards to assess questions, ideas, and thinking patterns. ("Igor, was Suzette's question relevant to this conversation? Why?"; "How effective was that as a question designed to clarify?")

C. Learning Outcomes

Critical thinking courses lead students to develop their ability to reason; they value and assess concrete learning outcomes, each of which demonstrates that students have developed an ability to recognize and use elements of reasoning in unique situations, as well as to assess their own process of reasoning:

Students identify and articulate specific elements of reasoning they used in solving a problem (" When I interpreted the meaning of Hamlet's assertion that the readiness is all', how did I define readiness? Did I define it from Hamlet's point of view? What assumptions did I make about Hamlet's point of view to arrive at this definition?"

Students develop their ability to construct meaning out of chaos and to evaluate from a reasoned point of view the meaning they have constructed.

II. Critical thinking courses organize around principles and standards of reasoning

Critical Thinking courses structure assignments and classwork around the processes of thought (for instance, questions, investigative processes or ways of knowing). Teachers and students use elements of reasoning to generate questions and pursue answers. Under this approach,

students regularly and meaningfully reflect on how they are reasoning and how well they are reasoning;

classes focus on open-ended questions that call for reasoned judgment;

students assess work on an ongoing basis to ensure the integrity both of their thinking and of the products of their thought.

III. Critical Thinking courses model critical thinking as a primary teaching strategy

Critical thinking courses feature, as a central characteristic, teachers who successfully and consistently demonstrate by example the universal skills of critical thinking in addition to the thinking and reasoning strategies specific to their particular domain. Teachers will

model how to use reason to arrive at a sound conclusion;

recognize and exhibit principles of solid reasoning;

show how to apply these principles to assess that thinking.

IV. Critical Thinking courses provide opportunities to practice applying principles and standards of reasoning

A course which uses material from math or science to teach the skills of critical thinking aim to develop students' abilities not to "know what scientists and mathematicians know" but to "think like scientists and mathematicians" or to "think mathematically" or "scientifically." Such courses give students regular and meaningful opportunities to practice the skills of critical thinking:

apply the principles of reasoning to figure out problems;

apply the standards of reasoning to checks their solutions;

use questioning extensively and effectively both to develop and to assess their reasoning.

practice the various abilities relevant to the domains or disciplines in which they are thinking

V. Critical Thinking courses provide opportunities to exhibit application of the principles and standards of reasoning

To students learning how to think about their thinking, the chance to exhibit their thinking is an opportunity to figure out what happened and understand themselves more deeply. Critical thinking courses provide regular, meaningful opportunities for students to exhibit their work as a way to demonstrate the quality and fruits of their thinking. From the perspective of critical thinking, discussing their work with a wider audience encourages them to improve how and how well they reason by spending time

observing their thoughts;

analyzing how they generated those thoughts;

evaluating how well they thought;

transforming how and how well they think.

The Critical Thinking Group: Standards

What concrete behaviors, outcomes, practices demonstrate that a course values and raises consciousness about the elements of thinking and standards of critical thinking?

I. Outcomes that will demonstrate that students have developed their ability to recognize and use the elements of reasoning. Students will

use elements of reasoning to develop meaning and understanding

use appropriate standards to evaluate meaning and understanding

use elements of reasoning and standards of critical thinking to improve their thinking

generate questions that reflect their ability to use elements of reasoning and standards of critical thinking

II. Outcomes that will demonstrate that students are learning how to achieve these outcomes. Students will

recognize how all eight elements are reflected in the objects of their thinking

consciously use all eight elements in their thinking

recognize the interdependence of all eight elements in their thinking and in the objects of their thinking

recognize the dynamic character of the connections among the elements of reasoning

identify appropriate standards of critical thinking to evaluate their thinking

apply appropriate standards of critical thinking to improve their thinking

III. Practices that will demonstrate that teachers are valuing and raising consciousness about the elements of reasoning and the standards of critical thinking. Teachers will

ask questions that model critical thinking

respond to questions in ways that model critical thinking

elicit questions from students

hold students accountable for responding to their own and each others' questions in ways that reflect consciousness of the elements of reasoning and the appropriate standards of critical thinking

hold students accountable for assessing their questions and responses

Questions and Answers about the Critical Thinking Graduation Requirement

1. What is "critical thinking?"

Critical thinking involves both the processes we recognize as thinking and the metacognitive process (thinking about thinking). There may be other definitions, ideas, or concepts associated with critical thinking, but in attempting to set standards for curriculum development we have used Richard Paul's model in exploring what it means to think and to think about thinking. To understand critical thinking we have agreed to educate each other through discussion, modeling, workshops, and simulations. We invite all teachers interested in teaching critical thinking to join in this ongoing learning experience.

2. Don't all courses teach critical thinking?

All courses require students to think about a topic. In physics courses students are required to think about physics, in language courses, French or Japanese; critical thinking classes require students to think about thinking. At the core of a true critical thinking course is thinking, whether it be about English literature, U. S. history, geometry, biology, or any other subject. The goal of a critical thinking course is to help students become better thinkers.

Since you can't think without thinking about something, critical thinking courses have a "content"; but this content becomes the "ground" and the thinking through which content is gained becomes the "field"; the focus shifts from "using thinking to learn about, say, geometry" to "using geometry to learn about thinking."

The value of critical thinking is not so much that it requires students to develop a different skill as it is to give them an opportunity to become aware of and to develop the patterns of thinking they use all the time, in school and beyond.

3. Why have a critical thinking requirement?

We believe that students who learn how to improve their thinking can apply those abilities to other courses and to their lives, and thus, as Richard Paul puts it, "prepare themselves for a rapidly changing world." Critical thinking courses implement this principle by making the students' thinking the "content" of such courses. They provide a framework that allows teachers and students to pursue this goal unreservedly. The five essential criteria that comprise this course "content": 1) teachers demonstrate that they value critical thinking by articulating what critical thinking is; 2) teachers organize the course around the principles and values of critical thinking; teachers provide opportunities for students to 3) practice and 4) exhibit evidence of critical thinking; and 5) teachers model critical thinking principles and abilities.

4. Can I turn my current course into a critical thinking course?

Yes, if you want to make the teaching, modeling, and assessing of thinking skills the primary focus of your course, and to join with other teachers of critical thinking courses to participate in teaching and learning about using critical thinking as the basis of curriculum.

5. Do all seven "universal" or essential standards (precision, clarity, accuracy, logic, relevance, depth, breadth) have to be addressed in each course?

Yes, but with varying degrees of emphasis. In a semester course it might be overwhelming to be asked to consider all seven standards; focusing on those best suited to the students' maturity and to the discipline in which they are reasoning might be more effective.

6. Do students need to learn all elements of reasoning in each course?

Yes, because the eight elements form a "logic": a systematic way to reason, and as such an essential skill in critical thinking courses.

7. How do I propose a course and what happens next?

Please bring your proposals, questions, and ideas and join in our discussions. For the past year, we have been evaluating our own classes to determine what it means to teach students to think critically; we have valued this conversation as an opportunity to practice critical thinking. We envision that this process will continue when teachers present proposals, and that they will regard their course proposals as ways to open a dialogue with other teachers interested in pursuing similar ends. Eventually, proposals will go to the Curriculum Committee and to departments for approval.

8. Can I propose a moral, spiritual, ethical, critical thinking course?

The Curriculum Committee would like us to keep the groups distinct. We recognize that the act of critical thinking is, in itself, a highly moral act, and that effective moral thinking may require critical thinking, but we will save that discussion for another time.