I’ve touched a little on critical thinking in the previous post, but it really does deserve its very own spot on the list because it is a key facet of Effective STEM classrooms.
Critical thinking is different than problem solving. Â Although related, critical thinking is much harder to both grasp and teach. Â We tend to mash them into one “thing”, but they really are quite different:
Problem Solving, according Google, is the process of finding solutions to difficult or complex issues.
Whereas Critical Thinking is defined as the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment.
So, problem solving is really the “what” and critical thinking is the “why”.  It brings us brings us back around to the CER analyses and other formative assessments that we (hopefully) have our students write.  After students brainstorm their solutions and choose one, they need to support their solution. Student will need to provide evidence (What scientific data supports your statement?), reasoning (Why/How does this evidence support your claim?) and an explanation (What conclusion can you draw?)
Read about the other Characteristics of Effective STEM Classrooms
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