4.10 Chapter Activities
Chapter Takeaways
Thinking
- Your ability to think critically and creatively is a key to your success in college and in life.
- Bloom’s taxonomy provides a framework to describe the many kinds of thinking we need to do.
- Creative thinking is the process of generating new ideas, concepts, or solutions. This often involves adapting existing ideas or combining them in new ways to create a new solution.
- Problem solving is effectively achieved by applying both critical thinking and creative thinking to generate viable solutions and decisions.
Reading
- Reading, like learning, involves a cycle of preparing, absorbing, recording, and reviewing.
- In college, you will be expected to do much reading; it is not unusual to do two or more hours of reading for every hour you spend in class. In college, you are also expected to think critically about what you read.
- Active reading involves four steps:
1. Prepare for reading by scanning the assignment and developing questions for which you want to discover answers through your reading.
2. Read the material and discover the answers to your questions.
3. Capture the information by highlighting and annotating the text as well as by taking effective notes.
4. Review the reading by studying your notes, by integrating them with your class notes, and by discussing the reading with classmates.
- Think critically about what you are reading. Do you agree with what the author is saying? How does it relate to the rest of the material in the course? What does this new material mean to you in “real life”?
Special Texts and Situations
- Do all the exercises in math textbooks; apply the formulas to real-world situations.
- Look for statements of hypotheses and experimental design when reading science texts.
- History, economics, and political science texts are heavily influenced by interpretation. Think critically about what you are reading.
- Working with foreign language texts requires more time and more frequent breaks. Don’t rely on word-for-word translations.
- When reading on the Internet, be extra diligent to evaluate the source of the material to decide how reliable that source may be.
Vocabulary
- Reading and vocabulary development are closely linked. A stronger vocabulary makes reading easier and more fun; the best way to build a vocabulary is to read.
- Look for new words everywhere, not just in class.
Writing
- Successful writers in all contexts think of writing as
- a process,
- a means to learn,
- a social act.
- Paying close attention to the terms of the assignment is essential for understanding the writing approach the instructor expects and for shaping the essay.
- Using the writing process maximizes the mental processes involved in thinking and writing. Take the time to explore prewriting strategies before drafting an essay in order to discover your ideas and how best to shape and communicate them.
- Avoid the temptation, after writing a draft, to consider the essay “done.” Revision is almost always needed, involving more significant changes than just quick corrections and editing.
- Virtually all college writing builds on the ideas of others; this is a significant part of the educational experience. In your writing, be sure you always make it clear in your phrasing and use of citations which ideas are your own or common knowledge and which come from other sources.
Texas Tech University Resources
Need assistance with your writing? Visit the Writing Center.
Undergraduate Writing Center
3rd Floor Weeks Hall
806.742.2476
writingcenter.ttu.edu
The University Writing Center offers students 30-minute, one-on-one tutorials on any type of writing, including resumes, personal statements, research papers, and articles for publication.
Need help finding articles for a paper? Need a quiet place to study? Visit the Library.
University Libraries
2802 18th Street
806.742.2265
www.library.ttu.edu
The University Library’s Subject Librarians will work for you as your personal librarian! They will show you how to use all of the library’s resources to your advantage. You can also reserve study rooms as well as borrow cameras, video cameras, and voice recorders.
Chapter Review
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List the six levels of thinking described in Bloom’s taxonomy.
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2. Which thinking skill is most important for short answer quizzes? Why?
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3. Why is it important to pose some questions about the source of the material you read? What kinds of questions should you ask?
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4. What is a logical fallacy? Give an example of two types.
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5. List six words that signal a broad generalization and a recommended alternative that would resolve that problem of each.
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6. What are some ways in which you can feed your curiosity?
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7. List the four steps of problem solving.
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2. ___________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________
4. ___________________________________________________
8. How do you use critical thinking and creative thinking in solving problems?
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9. Describe the four steps of active reading.
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10.What part of a textbook should you compare with a class syllabus? Why?
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11. What time of the day should you plan to do your reading? Why?
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12. Why do you think it is important to pose some questions about the material before you read?
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13. What should you do if you are getting tired when reading?
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14. List three requirements for a good reading location.
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15. Can you multitask while doing a reading assignment? Why or why not?
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Make an Action List
Make an Action List–Thinking
Two things I will do to practice | Action | By when I expect to take the action | The expected results of that action |
My critical thinking | 1. | ||
2. | |||
My creative thinking | 1. | ||
2. | |||
My problem solving | 1. | ||
2. |
Make an Action List–Reading
Two things I will do to improve | Actions | By when I expect to take the action | How I will know I accomplished the action |
My reading comprehension/understanding | 1. | ||
2. | |||
My reading speed | 1. | ||
2. | |||
My vocabulary | 1. | ||
2. |
Make an Action List–Writing
Past Writing
My worst writing habits have been the following:
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To overcome these bad habits in college, I will take these steps:
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Writing Process
I generally rush through the following stage: (circle one)
- Prewriting
- Drafting
- Revising/proofreading
I will use these strategies to ensure that I successfully move through this stage:
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Seeking Help
I am most likely to need help in these areas of writing:
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I will use these resources if I need help in these areas in my next course paper:
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