ATSW Critical Thinking 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student claims, 'My essay must be good because my friend said so.' Which critical thinking principle does this violate?
- The principle of using multiple credible sources
- The principle that evidence should be objective and verifiable, not based solely on personal testimony (Correct answer)
- The principle of logical consistency
- The principle of avoiding emotional language
Correct 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.
Question 2: Which of the following BEST distinguishes critical thinking from creative thinking?
- Critical thinking focuses on generating novel ideas; creative thinking evaluates them.
- Critical thinking evaluates and analyzes arguments using evidence; creative thinking generates new possibilities. (Correct answer)
- Critical thinking relies on intuition; creative thinking relies on logic.
- Critical thinking is used only in math; creative thinking is used only in art.
Correct 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.
Question 3: A teacher wants to measure whether students can identify the logical structure of an argument. The BEST assessment task would be:
- Ask students to write a creative story using vocabulary words
- Ask students to identify the claim, evidence, and reasoning in a sample argument (Correct answer)
- Give students a multiple-choice quiz on logical fallacy definitions
- Have students debate a topic of their own choosing
Correct 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.
Question 4: Which scenario illustrates a teacher modeling critical thinking for students?
- Providing students with a completed graphic organizer to copy
- Thinking aloud while questioning the assumptions and evidence in a text before drawing a conclusion (Correct answer)
- Assigning students to read and summarize a chapter independently
- Lecturing students on the history of logical fallacies
Correct 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.
Question 5: A false dichotomy presents a problem as having only two options when more exist. Which statement is an example?
- Students either love reading or they are struggling readers who need intervention. (Correct answer)
- The experiment produced unexpected results, suggesting the hypothesis needs revision.
- Several studies show a correlation between sleep and academic performance.
- Both approaches have merit; the best choice depends on the context.
Correct 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.
Question 6: When teaching students to evaluate arguments, a teacher emphasizes that 'strong evidence' should be:
- Emotionally compelling and personally relatable
- Relevant, sufficient, and verifiable (Correct answer)
- Selected only from the most recent publications
- Consistent with the student's prior beliefs
Correct answer: Relevant, sufficient, and verifiable
Relevant, sufficient, and verifiable evidence meets the core standards for supporting a logical argument.
Question 7: 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?
- Hasty generalization
- False dichotomy
- Post hoc ergo propter hoc (false cause) (Correct answer)
- Appeal to authority
Correct answer: Post hoc ergo propter hoc (false cause)
Post hoc reasoning incorrectly concludes that because one event followed another, the first caused the second.
ATSW Critical Thinking 5
A student claims, 'My essay must be good because my friend said so.' Which critical thinking principle does this violate?