Critical Thinking: Developing Your Child's Critical Thinking Skills

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Hi,
Of late, education experts and academic counselors have been observing a major flaw in the educational systems practiced across all the elementary schools in the world- that most of the students are trained to think critically only when they are in their high school or colleges! Thus children who are passing out of basic and elementary schools simply fail while thinking critically and are, therefore, unable to think critically about a range of things and the way in which they are depicted or represented. The basic fact that the educators, parents and teachers do not believe training children in primary critical thinking is a worrying factor.

Not too long ago, there was disturbing news about quite a lot of students participating in a learning experiment who believed in “an octopus that lives on tree” (in a fictional website created to make fake and feel things real, life-like and believable). Apparently, it was made as an essential part of an experiment where college and high school students were asked to visit the site and evaluate/analyze, whether it was a reliable source of information. Most web readers are consistently weak at judging or evaluating whether information provided to them is trustworthy.

In one significant study, Donald J. Leu, who researches literacy and technology at the University of Connecticut, asked 48 students to look at a spoof and tricky Web site about a mythical animal species known as the “Pacific Northwest tree octopus.” Nearly 90 percent of them sadly missed the joke and decided that the site a reliable source. Those experiments showed that a number of students do not think critically even when website is presented with a number of so-called 'scientific' data and 'fake' photo. If children acquire critical thinking skill, they will not simply believe everything they read.

Critical thinking skills are absolutely essential while training our children. Experts suggest that every child in the age bracket of 5 and 15 should know how to correctly and precisely formulate and construct an argument; should know to differentiate an argument from fluff and why she or he shouldn’t be believing in all types of information or details they are provided. Thus, it is quite imperative that we teach our children how to think critically. I hope you have a great week ahead. Take care!

Thought for today:
"You cannot change anything in your life with intention alone, which can become a watered-down, occasional hope that you'll get to tomorrow. Intention without action is useless." - Caroline Myss

Best Regards,
Andrew Loh
Andrew Loh
Publisher & Editor, BrainyZine
andrew @ brainy-child.com

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Develop Your Child's Critical Thinking Skills
Critical thinking skills in children are quite essential and sometimes, mandatory for their success in classroom as well as personal life. Teaching critical thinking skills involves a series of steps that focuses on empowering your child to change the present mindset and equip it with highly beneficial techniques and methods.

Teaching Critical Thinking Skills to Children
Teaching critical thinking skills to your children involves a series of action based lessons and strategies that urge your child to take a number of beneficial and positive actions. Here are some useful methods and techniques that help you teach your child critical thinking skills.

Building Thinking Skills- Critical Thinking skills for reading, writing, math, science (Level 1(Grades 2-3) (Building Thinking Skills)
By Sandra Parks, Howard Black

The #1 selling Thinking Skills program in the world--Building Thinking Skills(r) helps students develop the broad range of analytical skills they'll need to improve academic performance, score higher on standardized tests and college entrance exams.

Lollipop Logic: Critical Thinking Activities
By Bonnie Risby

What a tantalizing treat for young minds! Seven different thinking skills--relationships, analogies, sequences, deduction, inference, pattern decoding, and critical analysis--are presented in a format designed to appeal to the pre-reader. Lollipop Logic employs visual and pictorial clues to introduce and reinforce high-powered thinking. This one-of-kind tool gives wings to pre-readers and non-readers.

This unique book introduces complex thinking skills without the fetters of lexical meaning. Lollipop Logic is the perfect instrument for many young learners. It is simple to use and simpler for youngsters to understand. Best of all, it alleviates the encumbrances of reading ability for young minds ready to soar into the stratosphere of thinking skills far beyond their reading levels.

Music Shown to Facilitate the Development of Neurons in the Brain
Natural News Sep 23, 2008

The Music, the universal language of mood, emotion and desire, connects with us through a wide variety of neural systems. Researchers have discovered evidence that music stimulates specific regions of the brain responsible for memory, language and motor control. They have located specific areas of mental activity linked to the emotional responses elicited by music.

Television & Computer Effects on Learning and Emotional Intelligence
e News Media Sep 21, 2008

Having visual electronics in kids’ bedrooms decreases the amount of time families spend together, increases the risk of early exposure to pornography and children acting out sexually, decreases the number of family dinners, and decreases the amount of social play time with other young people. The negative impact of this is apparent in school as well.

Memory Development in Children
Pulashti Sep 15, 2008

Many experts believed earlier, that children did not possess any memory skills till they were eight or nine months old, but many parents have been giving contradictory statements based on their experiences. Recently with the development of technology and latest research into a baby's memory it is found that a baby's long-term-memory can be as long as 24 hours when it is just 6 weeks old and up to four months at sixteen months old. This proves that even a baby has specific memory.

Is Your Child Ready to Learn?
Bahamas Journal Sep 16, 2008

Children are born ready to learn. The infant learns through each experience. Each time she is held, each time she is fed, each time she hears your voice, and sees your facial expression, it is a learning experience. Over the last twenty years much has been reported about young children and how they learn through brain research findings.

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