Critical Thinking Exercise

Have each group write a different point of view on the board.

As a summary, have students volunteer to state their personal values and reasonable point of view at the end.

If it becomes a debate, students can get sidetracked and have difficulty going through the critical thinking process. You can also use any current complex issue in the news.

When using these exercises with your class, emphasize that they are complex and controversial issues.

Ask students to be aware of their own particular mindset and to respect views that may be different from their own.

Save your reasonable view for last and share it with the class.Ask students to respect each other’s point of view.Try to be neutral on these issues and wait until the end of the discussion to share your reasonable view.Stress the fact that there is no right or wrong answer to these situations.Each person will construct his or her reasonable view based on personal values and experiences.Wait until the groups have begun the discussion and ask for groups to volunteer to write the point of view for each topic written on the board.You might suggest that certain groups take a particular topic to match their interests.If they are complex and controversial, you will get a variety of opinions and the discussion will be interesting.This exercise works well if students respect each other’s point of view.For example, if a group is talking about religious issues, assign this group to write under the religious heading.If they are talking about the law, have them pretend to be the judge and write their answers under the legal heading.