LEVEL 3 – LOOKING FOR THE HOLY GRAIL?

LEVEL 3 – LOOKING FOR THE HOLY GRAIL?

… and then they lived happily ever after Piret Paju

AGENDA

Some samples from BILC descriptors (productive skills)Competences LearningReality

BILC LEVEL 3 SPEAKING

Can use the language to perform such common professional tasks as answering objections, clarifying points, justifying decisions, responding to challenges, supporting opinion, stating and defending policy.

LEVEL 3 WRITING

Can convey abstract concepts when writing about complex topics (which may include economics, culture, science, and technology) as well as his/her professional field. The relationship and development of ideas are clear, and major points are coherently ordered to fit the purpose of the text.

DEANNA KUHN & her The Skills of Argument (1991)

A majority of people cannot, even when prompted, reliably exhibit basic skills of general reasoning and argumentation. Even if humans were naturally inclined to think critically, it would still be difficult to master because it is what cognitive scientists call a “higher-order skill.” That is, critical thinking is a complex activity built up out of other skills that are simpler and easier to acquire.

RANGE OF COMPETENCES

General competences – not specific to language, but which are called upon of all kinds, including language activities.

Communicative language competences – which empower person to act using specifically linguistic means.

GENERAL COMPETENCES

Declarative knowledgeSkills and know-how“Existential” competenceAbility to learn

LINGUISTIC COMPETENCES

Lexical competenceGrammatical competenceSemantic competencePhonological competenceOrthographic competenceOrthoepic competence

THEY ARE INTERRELATED

One doesn’t come without another at least not for level 3 Level 2 can be

“street-wise” and fluent

Level 2 can be linguistically correct but ….

PROCESS

LEARNING Planned process Formal study in an

institutional setting

ACQUISITION Observation or

intuition Without torture Learning takes

place without formal teaching

HOW DO LEARNERS LEARN?

With regard to ability to learn, learners develop their study skills and heuristic skills and their acceptance of responsibility for their own learningImportance in studies of cognition and learning is growing and this is addressed to the development of skilled thinking or critical thinking

COGNITIVE SKILLS OF CTAPA Delphi Study (Facione, 1990)

Interpretation – categorization, decoding significance, clarifying meaning

Analysis – examining ideas, detecting and analysing arguments

Evaluation – assessing claims and arguments Inference – quering evidence, conjecturing alternatives,

drawing conclusions Explanation –stating results, justifying procedures, presenting

arguments Self-monitoring -- self-examination and correction Information seeking, Discriminating, Predicting, Applying

Standards, Logical reasoning (Nursing Delphi Study, Scheffer & Rubenfeld, 2000)

HOW DOES IT WORK?

HOLISTIC APPROACH

Critical Listening = monitoring how we listen Critical Thinking = disciplined, self-directed,

thinking about thinking Critical Writing = requires disciplined

thinking, expression of disciplined thinking Critical Reading = inner dialogue with writer,

enter point of view of writer Critical Speaking = others gain in-depth

understanding of speaker’s perspective

FINAL REFLECTIONS

Critical thinking is both a process and an outcome Critical thinking involves reflection in knowing and in action and

self monitoring Critical thinking is composed of specific traits or dispositions

and cognitive skills. Critical thinking is a diagnostic reasoning and professional or

clinical judgment. Critical thinking can be supported in Reflective Practice Critical thinking is based on a triggering event or situation, a

starting point, scaffolds, processes, and outcomes that make up a continuous or iterative feedback loop

.

Californian Critical Thinking Skills Test measures 5 skills Interpretation Analysis Evaluation Inference Explanation

Metacognition is not measured by the test

.

Scores were significantly correlated with College grade point average NO of English courses taken in high

school (native speakers!) Reading ability

METACOGNITION

Is a potential bridge to bring together educators and researches who work on developing skilled thinking

But like many other intellectual skills – they do not develop to the level we would like …

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

AcademicsIsolated from the demands of classroom, pure joy of knowledge

PractitionersNeed methods that

work and QUICKLY

WHO DO WE DEAL WITH 

  Realist Absolutist Multiplist Evaluativist

Assertions are COPIES of an external reality

are FACTS that are correct or incorrect in their representation of reality

are OPTIONS freely chosen by and accountable only to their owners

are JUDGMENTS that can be evaluated and compared according to criteria of argument and evidence

Knowledge comes from an external source and is certain

comes from an external source and is certain but not directly accessible, producing false beliefs

is generated by human minds and therefore uncertain (WHATEVER!)

is generated by human minds and is uncertain but susceptible to evaluation

Critical thinking is UNNECESSARY is a VEHICLE for comparing assertions to reality and determining their truth or falsehood

is IRRELEVANT Is valued as a VEHICLE that promotes sound assertions and enhances understanding

.

MANY ADULTS REMAIN ABSOLUTISTS OR MULTIPLISTS FOR LIFE. ONLY AT THE EVALUIST LEVEL ARE THINKING AND REASON RECOGNISED AS ESSENTIAL SUPPORT FOR BELIEFS AND ACTIONS.

THANK YOU…

AND DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?