Critical Thinking Flashcards

A student claims, 'My essay must be good because my friend said so.' Which critical thinking principle does this violate?

Answer: The principle that evidence should be objective and verifiable, not based solely on personal testimony

A single personal opinion, especially from someone with a personal relationship, is not objective, verifiable evidence.

Which of the following BEST distinguishes critical thinking from creative thinking?

Answer: Critical thinking evaluates and analyzes arguments using evidence; creative thinking generates new possibilities.

Critical thinking is primarily evaluative—assessing the validity and quality of ideas—while creative thinking is primarily generative.

A teacher wants to measure whether students can identify the logical structure of an argument. The BEST assessment task would be:

Answer: Ask students to identify the claim, evidence, and reasoning in a sample argument

Mapping a claim to its evidence and reasoning directly assesses understanding of argument structure.

Which scenario illustrates a teacher modeling critical thinking for students?

Answer: Thinking aloud while questioning the assumptions and evidence in a text before drawing a conclusion

Think-alouds that explicitly question assumptions and evaluate evidence make the critical thinking process visible to students.

A false dichotomy presents a problem as having only two options when more exist. Which statement is an example?

Answer: Students either love reading or they are struggling readers who need intervention.

Labeling all students as either loving or struggling with reading ignores the wide spectrum of reading attitudes and abilities.

When teaching students to evaluate arguments, a teacher emphasizes that 'strong evidence' should be:

Answer: Relevant, sufficient, and verifiable

Relevant, sufficient, and verifiable evidence meets the core standards for supporting a logical argument.

A student writes: 'The principal introduced a new homework policy on Monday. By Friday, student stress increased. Therefore, the new policy caused the stress.' Which error in reasoning does this illustrate?

Answer: Post hoc ergo propter hoc (false cause)

Post hoc reasoning incorrectly concludes that because one event followed another, the first caused the second.