Critical Thinking & Evaluation
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) student standards:
-#3 Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information
-#4 Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources
Under Alberta Education's Learning and Technology Policy Framework Policy Outcome 1: Student-Centred Learning it states:
Students use technology, online learning and digital learning to think critically: conceptualize, apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate to construct knowledge
From British Columbia's Ministry of Education's Defining Cross-Curricular Competencies:
Critical thinking is the thoughtful examination of a question for the purpose of discerning what is reasonable to believe or do in a given situation. A critical thinker is inquisitive, aware of biases, flexible, honest, persistent, willing to reconsider, and focused on inquiry and asking questions.
Students are enabled to become critical thinkers when they are asked to formulate questions, gather information, consider different points of view, and then determine a judgment or conclusion based on criteria and evidence. Teachers can foster critical thinking by providing students with challenging and ill-defined problems to solve; by guiding them to confront their own beliefs and ideas; by asking them to question, debate, draw distinctions, and perform other thinking tasks; and by encouraging them to develop critical thinking strategies specific to individual subject areas as well as those that can be transferred to new learning contexts.
-#3 Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information
-#4 Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources
Under Alberta Education's Learning and Technology Policy Framework Policy Outcome 1: Student-Centred Learning it states:
Students use technology, online learning and digital learning to think critically: conceptualize, apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate to construct knowledge
From British Columbia's Ministry of Education's Defining Cross-Curricular Competencies:
Critical thinking is the thoughtful examination of a question for the purpose of discerning what is reasonable to believe or do in a given situation. A critical thinker is inquisitive, aware of biases, flexible, honest, persistent, willing to reconsider, and focused on inquiry and asking questions.
Students are enabled to become critical thinkers when they are asked to formulate questions, gather information, consider different points of view, and then determine a judgment or conclusion based on criteria and evidence. Teachers can foster critical thinking by providing students with challenging and ill-defined problems to solve; by guiding them to confront their own beliefs and ideas; by asking them to question, debate, draw distinctions, and perform other thinking tasks; and by encouraging them to develop critical thinking strategies specific to individual subject areas as well as those that can be transferred to new learning contexts.
Suggested Reading
Ideas & Tools for Critical Thinking & Evaluation
Using Critical Thinking to Find Trustworthy Websites- video
Identifying High-Quality Sites: When can you trust what you find on the Internet?- lesson
Scams and Schemes: What is identity theft, and how can you protect yourself from it?- lesson
Feeling On Display- video
Feeling On Display: Are girls and guys judged differently when they post photos online?- lesson
Ramon's Story - Being Real Online- video
Who Are You Online? How do you present yourself to the world online and offline?- lesson
Crawling the Web: How can you best use search sites to help you find the information you need?- lesson
Deconstructing Web Pages - lesson
Cyberbullying: What's Crossing the Line?- video
Cyberbullying: When does inappropriate online behaviour cross the line to cyberbullying, and what can
you do about it?- lesson
Guide To Assessing Critical Thinking- rubric
Gr. 6-12 Critical Thinking Rubric- rubric
Research and Evaluation Family Tip Sheet
Identifying High-Quality Sites: When can you trust what you find on the Internet?- lesson
Scams and Schemes: What is identity theft, and how can you protect yourself from it?- lesson
Feeling On Display- video
Feeling On Display: Are girls and guys judged differently when they post photos online?- lesson
Ramon's Story - Being Real Online- video
Who Are You Online? How do you present yourself to the world online and offline?- lesson
Crawling the Web: How can you best use search sites to help you find the information you need?- lesson
Deconstructing Web Pages - lesson
Cyberbullying: What's Crossing the Line?- video
Cyberbullying: When does inappropriate online behaviour cross the line to cyberbullying, and what can
you do about it?- lesson
Guide To Assessing Critical Thinking- rubric
Gr. 6-12 Critical Thinking Rubric- rubric
Research and Evaluation Family Tip Sheet