The article is communicating about a thirty-seven-year-old general paper teacher called Dr. Audrey Cheong Su-Wei who went to a class with an assertion jar in Hwa Chong Institution. Dr. Cheong was among the nine winners of the year's inspiring teacher of English award well known as ITEA. The teacher instructed the students to fill the jar with strips of paper containing assertions by others as part of an activity on writing such statements. The assertion jar was filled with pieces of paper that had different declarations on it, and the students were tasked with refuting them. Nevertheless, the Hwa Chong institution teacher objective was to nurture critical thinking that supports distinguished dissertation, coherent refutations, and responsible language use (Amin & Adiansyah, 2018).
According to Dr. Cheong, the idea of the assertion jar came to him when he saw how the English language was being used carelessly to sow discordance, stratify and to stereotype. Moreover, another teacher by the name of Ms. Indrance uttered that, a teacher has to masterfully apply the range of strategies to all students regardless of their background and the level of growth in the language (Amin & Adiansyah, 2018). This was to provide a room for understanding for all students so that they could enjoy English daily in the classroom and out of the class.
Dr. Cheong, applied critical thinking to consistently draw links to the real world contexts, to make learning meaningful and lively. Moreover, the practice requires both resourcefulness in addition to flexibility on the part of the tutor in curating the appropriate materials, leveraging technology, and providing opportunities for the learners to use their learning to authentic situations.
Real life situation
Fishbowl test.
This test involves setting an inner circle and an outer circle in a classroom. The students are supposed to stand as the presentation was taking place and they were presented with a question that allowed them to reflect individually for a few minutes. Students transition to the fishbowl setup after being numbered in groups. Students later facilitate a conversation while others on the outside observe without commenting (McCloskey, 2017). Once the inner group has discussed their topic, they give a chance to the other outer ring groups to evaluate the inner group process and their content. The objective of this experiment was to help students to understand how and if they use evidence, and hear the difference between giving an opinion and backing an idea with evidence.
Relation of the topic to my area of study.
My field of study in English. Critical thinking relates to my area of research as it enables students to apply and understand the connection between the ideas, determine the benefits and relevance of arguments and ideas, identify inconsistencies and errors in reasoning and also, approach problems on a consistent and systematic manner. Moreover, the news article facilitates the students with an ability to recognize, build and appraise arguments in a classroom set up.
The Importance of the assertion jar experiment.
Why did Dr. Cheong use this particular assertion jar method of critical thinking to solve his student’s problem of using English carelessly?
How does the application of the assertion jar experiment help improve student’s critical thinking capability and their understanding of English as well as its use? (Ayayo, 2017)
Conclusion
Teachers should apply their prowess in the classroom to facilitate the students with a more comprehensive understanding of what they are being taught. Therefore, critical thinking can help the students to develop their judgment, evaluate and be able to solve problems in a classroom set up. In a nutshell, such experiments facilitate the students with the ability to develop critical thinking skills that can help them enhance their academic performance.
References
Amin, A. M., & Adiansyah, R. (2018). Lecturers’ perception on students’ critical thinking skills development and problems faced by students in developing their critical thinking skills. Jurnal Pendidikan Biologi Indonesia, 4(1), 1. doi:10.22219/jpbi.v4i1.5181
Ayayo, K. (2017). Critical Thinking with Sally Student. Teaching Theology & Religion, 17(3), 221-221. doi:10.1111/teth.12204
McCloskey, A. (2017). Using fishbowl discussions to encourage post-formal thinking. PsycEXTRA Dataset. doi:10.1037/e525062013-006
