Student Name: Sabiha Gull

Father Name: Bahawal Sher

Roll No: 0000057854

Code No: 8611

Course Title: Critical Thinking And Reflectives

Practices

Assignment No: 01

ASSIGNMENT No. 1

QUESTION:1

How can a teacher serve as a critical thinker?

How can a teacher’s critical thinking helpful to improve
teaching and learning process?

Answer
All contemporary political communication is in a specific way critical because it consists of speech acts
that normally question political opinions and practices of certain actors. Modern politics is a highly
competitive system, in which elections and warfare are ways of distributing and redistributing power. Tis
understanding of critique stands in the tradition of Kantian enlightenment that considered the Enlightenment as
an age of criticism. In contrast to Kant’s general understanding of critique, Karl Marx and the Marxian tradition
understands the categorical imperative as the need to overcome all forms of slavery and degradation and to
unmask alienation.

Tis school of thought points out a more specific understanding of being critical, namely the questioning of
power, domination, and exploitation, the political demand and struggle for a just society. Critical theory is
understood as a critique of society. Scholars in the Marxian inspired tradition employ the term “critical” to
stress that not all science is critical, but that a lot of it has a more administrative character that takes power
structures for granted, does not question them, or helps to legitimate them.

Some define critical theory as the Frankfurt School’s works, a tradition of critical thinking that originated with
the works of scholars like Herbert Marcuse, Max Horkheimer, and andTeodorW. Adorn. Herbert Marcuse was a
philosopher, born in Germany in 1898, who fled Nazi Germany to the United States in 1934, where he spent the
rest of his life. Max Horkheimer was director of the University of Frankfurt’s Institute for Social Research in
the years 1930–1959.Tis institute was the home of what came to be known as the Frankfurt School. Teodor W.
Adorn was one of the Institute’s directors from 1953 until his death in 1969. Horkheimer and Adorno also
emigrated, together with the Institute, to the United States, but unlike Marcuse they returned to Germany after
the end of World War II. Critical Theory’s starting point is the work of Karl Marx.

1
Jürgen Huberman (1984, 1987) built his approach on the classical Frankfurt School and at the same time
worked out the concept of communicative rationality, by which he went beyond the classical tradition. He
distinguishes between instrumental (nonsocial, success-oriented), strategic (social, success-oriented), and
communicative action (social, oriented on understanding).

For Huberman (1987, p. 375), critical theory questions that so-called steering media (money, power) attack “the
communicative infrastructure of largely rationalized life worlds.” (Huberman speaks of money and power as
“steering media” because he argues that these are structures that elites use for trying to control and dominate
society.) He conceives instrumental action and communicative action as the two fundamental aspects of social
praxis.

What he wants to express is that the human being is both a laboring and a communicating being. In a way,
Huberman retains the classical Marxist distinction between base and superstructure, but inverts it by putting the
stress on communication. Doubts arise if labor can be so strictly separated from communication in a dualistic
way. The 20th and 21st centuries have seen a rising importance of communicative and cultural work in the
economy. But if such activity takes on value-generating form, then culture and communication must be part of
the economy themselves, base and superstructure become integrated, and labor and communication cannot be
separated.

Communication is one of the crucial foundations of the economy: The latter is not just a system of the
production of use-values, and in class societies of exchange values. It is also a social system because production
in any society takes on complex forms beyond individual self- sustenance. The only way for organizing the
relational dimension of the economy is via communication, in the form of symbolic interaction and/or
anonymous forms of indirect communication (as for example via money, markets, the price system, etc.).

Human thought is a precondition for human communication and existence. When humans produce in the
economy, they do so with a purpose in mind, which means that they anticipate the form of the object and how it
will be put to use. The economic existence of man requires anticipative thinking just like it requires
communication. It is in these two specific senses— the importance of communication and thought— that the
economy is always and fundamentally cultural. Capitalism has had a history of the commodification of culture
and communication, especially since the 20th century.

This is not to say that culture and communication necessarily take on the form of a commodity, but that in
capitalism they frequently do so in the form of content commodities, audience commodities, and cultural labor
power as commodity. In this sense culture has been economized, or, to be more precise commoditized, that is,
put under the influence of the commodity logic. Communication is certainly an important aspect of a
domination-free society. Under capitalism, it is however also a form of interaction, in which ideology is with
the help of the mass media made available to the dominated groups. Communication is not automatically
progressive. For Huberman, the differentiation is between instrumental/strategic reason and communicative
reason, whereas for Horkheimier the
distinction is between instrumental reason and critical reason and, based on that, between traditional and critical
theory. Huberman splits of communication from instrumentality and thereby neglects to understand that in
capitalism the dominant system uses communication just like technology, the media, ideology, or labor as an
instrument to defend its rule.

Structures of domination do not leave communication untouched and pure, they are rather antagonistically
entangled with communication. Hagerman’s stress on communication is not immune against misuse for
instrumental purposes. The concept of communication can be critical, but is not necessarily critical, whereas the
concept of a critique of domination is necessarily critical.
Te six dimensions of a critical theory of society can also be found in Karl Marx’s works. Tis circumstance
shows the importance of his thought for any critical theory. Critical theory uses dialectical reasoning as method
of analysis:
The dialectical method identifies contradictions. Contradictions are the basic building blocks of all dialectics.
Dialectics tries to show that and how contemporary society and its moments are shaped by contradictions.
Contradictions result in the circumstance that society is dynamic and that capitalism assures the continuity of
domination and exploitation by changing the way these phenomena are organized.
In a contradiction, one pole of the dialectic can only exist by the way of the opposed pole, they require and
exclude each other at the same time. In a dominative society (such as capitalism), contradictions cause problems
and are to a certain extent also the seeds for overcoming these problems. They have positive potentials and
negative realities at the same time. Marx analyzed capitalism’s contradictions, for example:
the contradictions between no owners/owners, the poor/the rich, misery/wealth, workers/capitalists, use
value/exchange value, concrete labor/abstract labor, the simple form of value/the relative and expanded form of
value, social relations of humans/relations of things, the fetish of commodities and money/fetishistic thinking,
the circulation of commodities/the circulation of money, commodities/money, labor power/wages,
subject/object, labor process/valorization process, subject of labor (labor power, worker)/the means of
production (object), variable capital/constant capital, surplus labor/surplus product, necessary labor time/surplus
labor time, single worker/cooperation, single company/industry sector, single capital/competing capitals,
production/consumption, productive forces/relations of production.
Critical theory is connected to struggles for a just and fair society, it is an intellectual dimension of struggles:
Critical theory provides a self-understanding of a society’s self-understanding, struggles, and wishes. It can
“show the world why it actually struggles” and is “taking sides […] with actual struggles” (Marx, 1997, p. 214).
Tis means that critical theory can help to explain the causes, conditions, potentials, and limits of struggles.
Critical theory rejects the argument that academia and science should and can be value-free. It rather argues that
all thought and theories are shaped by political worldviews. Te reasons why a person is interested in a certain
topic, aligns himself/herself
with a certain school of thought, develops a particular theory and not another one, refers to certain authors and
not others, are deeply political because modern society is shaped by conficts of interests and therefore, for
surviving and asserting themselves, scholars have to make choices, enter strategic alliances, and defend their
positions against others.

In confict-based and antagonistic societies, academic writing and speaking, scholarship and science are
therefore always forms of political communication: Tey are not just discovery, knowledge construction, or
invention, but besides knowledge creation also a production and communication of knowledge about knowledge
— the political standpoints of the scholars themselves. Critical theory holds not only that theory is always
political, but also that it should develop analyses of society and concepts that assist struggle against interests
and ideas that justify domination and exploitation.

QUESTION NO.2:

Discuss in detail factors affecting social exclusion?

Answer

Two German theorists, Karl Marx (1818–83) and Max Weber (1864–1920), influenced the field of sociology,
particularly in terms of theories of social class. Both of these theorists wrote extensively on issues of social
class and social inequality, or the unequal status and access to opportunities that different groups have within a
society. Sociologists continue to use and respond to ideas that Marx and Weber developed.
Marxism, Conflict Theory, and Social Class
Marx defined class as a group of people who have the same relationship to the means of production—the
facilities and resources for producing goods—such as tools, machines, and factories. Marx wrote extensively of
the relationship between the privileged classes—the "haves," or the bourgeoisie—and the oppressed classes—
the "have nots," or the proletariat. The bourgeoisie is a class that owns property, including owning and
controlling the means of production. The proletariat is the working class, who own only their own labor.
Members of the proletariat are forced to sell their labor because they have no control over the means of
production. Marx argued that this relationship is exploitive of the working class because the surplus value
derived from work is unfairly appropriated by the bourgeoisie. In Marx's view, the economic system of
capitalism automatically creates social stratification, or class differences, in which members of different classes
are in an adversarial relationship. Sociologists incorporate Marx's ideas in an approach known as conflict
theory. Conflict theorists suggest that social inequality creates intergroup conflict—such as the rich versus the
poor— and that the different interests will cause them to be at odds as they attempt to secure their interests.
Marxist theory continues to be important in sociology, but many sociologists have expanded upon Marx's ideas
in order to apply them to postindustrial, postmodern societies of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

American sociologist Erik Olin Wright (b. 1947) elaborates on Marx's model of class structure. While Marx
analyzed society in terms of two major classes, Wright identifies four classes in the United States: capitalist,
managerial, small business, and working class. He argues that power is connected to the control of the means of
production but also control over work processes and other workers. Wright's model is less polarized than Marx's
but remains focused on questions of which groups dominate a society and which groups are oppressed.

He looks at why some workers might behave or think more like capitalists (the bourgeoisie) and notes how
people can belong to more than one class. His term contradictory class locations describes how people can
occupy more than one class position, based on what type of control they exercise. For example, an executive
assistant at a large corporation has a relatively high level of control compared to other administrative workers
but is also under the control of a more powerful CEO.

The executive assistant may identify more closely with the upper-class managers at the company, although
outside of work the executive assistant has less social and economic power than managers do. Wright proposes
a larger definition of the working class than Marx did, including those in occupations that involve what he terms
"mental labor" but who do not receive high salaries, such as clerical workers.

He analyzes modern types of work, arguing that levels of control tied to various occupations are crucial
markers of class in contemporary society. For instance, master electricians and architects who work at small
firms may have similar levels of income, but they hold different social positions. Their occupations grant them
different levels of control.

Like Marx, Wright is concerned with dismantling systems that oppress the working class. However, he argues
that "taming and eroding capitalism are the only viable options." Whereas Marx envisioned the end of
capitalism, Wright considers how the working class might impose reforms on oppressive state and capitalist
structures.
Weber and Social Class
Weber agreed with Marx that economic markers are important, but he advanced the idea that other factors, such
as education and occupational prestige, determine class hierarchies. Weber described class structure as being
based on three major factors: wealth (income and assets), prestige (status position), and power (ability to
achieve goals). Weber saw ownership of the means of production, including companies, as important, but he
also noted that holding a high position within a company or profession is also a means to acquire social and
economic power. For example, a high-level manager in a corporation does not own the business but does benefit
from the profits that the business generates. Owning property grants economic power, but it also grants higher
levels of prestige. Someone who owns land, for example, has social prestige. Weber pointed out that prestige
can also be gained in other ways that do not involve ownership of property or the means of production. Gifted
athletes or intellectuals can acquire prestige without owning the sports teams or universities that frame
their work. Both wealth and prestige can give individuals greater power in society. Weber saw wealth, power,
and prestige as intertwined elements of social class. Weber's multidimensional work led sociologists to use
socioeconomic status to understand class.
Influenced by Weber's theory of class, American sociologist Dennis Gilbert (b. 1943) described six separate
classes in the United States: the capitalist class, upper-middle class, middle class, working class, working poor,
and underclass. The capitalist class is defined as the most elite and powerful group. As the richest one percent of
the population, they own most of the wealth in a society, including the vast majority of stocks and bonds.
Their large investments have an impact on the rest of society, because their investment choices can have a
significant impact on the overall economy. They mostly interact with one another, remaining separated from the
other classes.
The upper-middle class is relatively wealthy and is characterized by high levels of formal education—a
minimum of a college degree and usually a graduate degree. Members of the upper-middle class work in white-
collar, fairly high-income professions. They may often purchase status symbols, including expensive homes and
vehicles that serve to identify their class status. The lower-middle class is composed of people who earn enough
to afford basic expenses.
They generally have at least a high school education and often some education beyond high school
including specialized training, some college, or a college degree. They typically work in semiskilled
professions, for instance as flight attendants or security guards.
The working class has relatively low levels of income and is employed in factories or in low- paid white-collar
professions such as retail sales workers. Members of the working class sometimes qualify for public assistance
programs, such as free or reduced lunch for children at school. The working poor are people whose incomes are
minimal and often not enough to pay basic living expenses. They often work in service jobs, which include
occupations such as food preparation workers, house cleaners, or lawn and garden maintenance workers.
Most members of the working poor do not hold high school diplomas. They may qualify for public assistance,
such as housing and food assistance programs. The underclass is a social group composed of individuals stuck
in poverty because of high unemployment, low education, or other forms of marginalization such as
homelessness. Multigenerational poverty, or poverty that lasts across several generations in a family, is also a
characteristic of the underclass. Occupations that involve stigma can also place people in the underclass.
For example, impoverished sex workers are part of the underclass, both because of poverty and because sex
workers are marginalized by society. Gilbert's model of six social classes provides a framework for discussing
social stratification in more precise terms, acknowledging that the lived experiences of members of these
groups can be quite different, although there is some overlap between groups.
Gilbert’s Model of Social Class in the United States
Capitalist class Elite, powerful; richest one percent
Upper-middle class Relatively wealthy; highly educated, work in white-collar professions
Lower-middle class Can afford basic expenses; work in semi-skilled professions
Working class Relatively low income; sometimes qualify for assistance programs
Working poor Not always able to afford basic expenses; work in service professions
Underclass Marginalized members of society; stuck in chronic poverty
Functionalism and Symbolic Interactionism
Functionalist and symbolic interactionist theories of social class focus on the social functions of class and
stratification, or on class as a factor in social identity.
In addition to conflict theory, two other influential schools of thought in sociology are
functionalism and symbolic interactionism. Functionalists think of society as composed of many parts that work
together as a whole to maintain stability. A functionalist approach to social class might analyze the roles that
class structure and social stratification play in society as a whole. From a functionalist viewpoint, stratification
works to ensure productivity and efficiency, and to ensure that all types of necessary work get done.
Thus a functionalist argument is that social stratification is both necessary and inevitable. Functionalists point
out that some jobs require more skill or training or are more important. Few people have the ability to become
highly skilled and do these important jobs. Furthermore, people have to make sacrifices, in terms of time, effort,
and money, to obtain the education, training, and experience to do these jobs. The functionalist view is that
society attaches significant rewards in the form of prestige and income to ensure that these important jobs are
filled. Doctors, for example, fulfill an important role in society. To become a doctor, a person must invest a
great deal of time, effort, and money in education and training. Society rewards this by bestowing high
levels of prestige to doctors, as well as high incomes. However, class inequality is only functional as long as it
is sustainable. When the working classes decide that society is not functioning well for them, they might seek
social change through actions such as protests and strikes. Functionalists look at how these acts contribute to
balance in a society. Symbolic interactionism strives to understand macro-level patterns (patterns found in a
whole society) by examining microinteractions (interactions between individuals). An approach using symbolic
interactionism tries to make connections between micro-level interactions and how they can help explain
macro-level patterns. Using this lens, social class and social inequality are seen as factors in how people
understand themselves and present themselves to others. For example, sociologists using symbolic
interactionism note how individual social interactions, such as those between supervisors and employees, are
shaped by people's understanding of social class in their society. A symbolic interactionist approach might
consider how
body language, greetings, personal space, use of slang, and eye contact are connected to class. Consider the
social behavior of workers in a high-end restaurant. They may use more formal patterns of speech with
customers and restaurant managers than with other workers. This behavior can be understood as a reflection of
how the restaurant workers understand their social position as well as an indication of class divisions of the
overall society.

QUESTION NO.3:

Explain in detail the models of cooperative learning. How

does cooperative learning helpful for developing critical
thinking among students?

Answer

Cooperative teaching and learning has been a popular area in educational circles for more than a
decade. This area gained its strength with the emergence of two major schools of thought one is
“Constructivism and the other is “Connectivism”. Researchers and practitioners have found that students
working in small cooperative groups can develop the type of intellect ual exchange that fosters critical and
creative thinking and productive problem solving.

Cooperative teaching is a successful strateqv in which small teams, each Students have always congregated
together to perform and learn. Rat there is a growing recognition that combined with whole group instruction
and individual learning, cooperative learning should be a customary part of the classroom instruction. Student
communication makes cooperative learning meaningful. To accomplish their group’s task, students must
exchange ideas, make plans, and propose solutions. Thinking through an idea and presenting it collectively can
be very helpful and understood by others in a better way. Such interaction promotes
intellectual growth. The exchange of different ideas
and viewpoints can enhance the growth and inspire broader thinking. It is the teacher’s job to persuade such
exchanges and organize the students’ work so their communication is on-task and creative. In addition to
academic growth, cooperative learning helps in students’ social
development. Students’ lives are full of interactions with friends and
family members and their futures will find them in jobs that require cooperation. The skills that are
essential for productive group work in the classroom are relevant for today and the future. Cooperative
learning is a successful teaching strategy in which small groups, with students of different ability levels, use a
variety of learning activities to improve their understanding. Each member of a team feels responsible for
learning what is being taught and also for helping group fellows thus creating an atmosphere of achievement.
Cooperative classroom activities result in students striving for mutual uplift so that all group members:

1. · benefit from each other's efforts.

2. · recognize that all group members share a common goal.
3. · realize that one's performance is mutually caused by oneself and one's team members.
4. · jointly celebrate when a group member is recognized for achievement.
Relative to .students taught individually; cooperatively taught students to show higher academic achievement,
determination, better high-level reasoning lower anxiety and stress, greatest motivation, grgater
ability to view .

CRITICAL QUESTION-ANSWE R FORUMS

Articles on the subject of classroom questioning often begin by invoking Socrates. Researchers and other
writers concerned with questioning techniques seem to want to '‘ remind us that questioning has a long and
venerable history as an educational strategy. And indeed, the Socratic method of questions and answers to
challenge assumptions, expose contradictions, and lead to new knowledge and wisdom is an undeniably
powerful teaching approach. In addition to its long history and demonstrated effectiveness, questioning is also
of interest to researchers and practitioners because of its widespread use as a contemporary teaching technique.
Research indicates that questioning is second only to lecturing in popularity as a teaching method and that
classroom teachers spend anywhere from thirty- five to fifty percent of their instructional time conducting
questioning sessions.

A question is any sentence which has an interrogative form or function. In classroom settings, teacher questions
are defined as instructional cues or stimuli that convey to students the content elements to be learned and
directions for what they are to do and how they are to do it. The present review focuses on the
relationship between teachers' classroom questioning behaviors and a variety of student outcomes, including
achievement, retention, and level of student participation.

This means that certain other subtopics within the general area of questioning are excluded from the present
analysis. It does not deal, for example, with the effects of textual questions or test questions, and it is only
incidentally concerned with methods used to impart study skills, including questioning strategies, to students.
Questioning plays a critical role in the way instructors structure the class environment, organize the content of
the course and has deep implications in the way that students assimilate the information that is presented and
discussed in class. Given that questioning can be a tremendously effective way to teach, and recognizing that
teachers are willing to engage in the process of asking questions while instructing.
Numerous researches indicate that teachers largely have been asking the wrong questions. The focus
has been primarily on questions regarding the specific information students In such an
investigation
l) one asks questions to identify the reason or reasons for the investigation
2. questions are asked to direct been discovered the search for information and to synthesize what has
3. The conclusions resulting from investigations are evaluated vs questions.

QUESTION NO.4:
How can a happy, pleasant and contented reflect on his/her
students? Discuss in a group and present your critical
analysis?
Answer
Formative evaluations are most effective when they are done frequently and the information is used to effect
immediate adjustments in the day-to-day operations of the course.
 provide day-to-day feedback that can be applied immediately;
 provide useful information about what students have learned without the amount of time required for
preparing tests, reading papers, etc.; allow you to address student misconceptions or lack of
understanding in a timely way;
 help to foster good working relationships with students and encourage them to understand that teaching
and learning are on-going processes that require full participation.
 help develop self-assessment and learning management skills;
 reduce feelings of isolation, especially in large classes;
 increase understanding and ability to think critically about the course content;
 foster an attitude that values understanding and long-term retention;
 show your interest and support of their success in your classroom.
 Course-related knowledge and skills
 student attitudes, values, and self-awareness
 Reactions to instruction methods
Following is a chart that indicates what the CAT is intended to evaluate, its name, how each is conducted, what
to do with the information you collect, and an estimate of how much time is required to complete it.
I. Techniques for Assessing Course-Related Knowledge & Skills
A. Assessing Prior Knowledge, Recall, and Understanding
The CATs in this group focus on assessing declarative learning – the content of a particular subject.
Background Knowledge Probe: Short, simple questionnaires prepared by instructors for use at the beginning
of a course or at the start of new units or topics; can serve as a pretest
Focused Listing: Focuses students’ attention on a single important term, name, or concept from a lesson or
class session and directs students to list ideas related to the “focus” Misconception/Preconception Check:
Intended to uncover prior knowledge or beliefs that may hinder or block new learning; can be designed to
uncover incorrect or incomplete knowledge, attitudes, or values

Empty Outlines: In a limited amount of time students complete an empty or partially completed
outline of an in-class presentation or homework assignment

Memory Matrix: Students complete a table about course content in which row and column headings are
complete but cells are empty
Minute Paper: The most frequently used CAT; students answer 2 questions (What was the most important

thing you learned during this class? What important question remains unanswered?) Muddiest Point:
Considered by many as the simplest CAT; students respond to the question "What was the most unclear or
confusing point in (lecture, homework, discussion)?"
B. Assessing Skill in Analysis and Critical Thinking
The CATs in this group focus on analysis—the breaking down of information, questions, or problems to
facilitate understanding and problem solving.

Categorizing Grid: Student complete a grid containing 2 or 3 overarching concepts and a variety of related
subordinate elements associated with the larger concepts
Defining Features Matrix: Students categorize concepts according to the presence or absence of important
defining features

Pro and Con Grid: Students list pros/cons, costs/benefits, advantages/disadvantages of an issue, question,
or value of competing claims
Content, Form, and Function Outlines: In an outline form, students analyze the “what” (content), “how”
(form), and “why” (function) of a particular message (e.g. poem, newspaper story, critical essay); also called
“What, How, & Why Outlines
Analytic Memos: Students write a one- or two-page analysis of a specific problem or issue to help inform a
decision-maker
C. Assessing Skill in Synthesis and Creative Thinking
The CATs in this group focus on synthesis — stimulating the student to create and allowing the faculty to
assess original intellectual products that result from a synthesis of course content and the students’
intelligence, judgment, knowledge, and skills.
One-Sentence Summary: Students answer the questions “Who does what to whom, when, where, how, and
why?” (WDWWWWHW) about a given topic and then create a single informative, grammatical, and long
summary sentence
Word Journal: Involves a 2 part response; 1st the student summarizes a short text in a single word and 2nd
the student writes 1-2 paragraphs explaining the word choice
Approximate Analogies: Students simply complete the 2nd half of an analogy—a is to b as
? is to ?; described as approximate because the rigor of formal logic is not required
Concept Maps: Students draw or diagram the mental connections they make between a major concept
and other concepts they have learned
Invented Dialogues: Students synthesize their knowledge of issues, personalities, and historical periods into the
form of a carefully structured illustrative conversation; students can select and weave quotes from primary
sources or invent reasonable quotes that fit characters and context
Annotated Portfolios: Students assemble a very limited number of examples of creative work and supplement
them with their own commentary on the significance of examples

D. Assessing Skill in Problem Solving

The CATs in this group focus on problem solving skills — recognizing different types of problems,
determining the principles and techniques to solve them, perceiving similarities of problem features, and being
able to reflect and then alter solution strategies.
Problem Recognition Tasks: Students recognize and identify particular problem types
What’s the Principle?: Students identify the principle or principles to solve problems of various types
Documented Problem Solutions: Students track in a written format the steps they take to solve problems as if for
a “show & tell”
Audio- and Videotaped Protocols: Students work through a problem solving process and it is
captured to allow instructors to assess metacognition (learner’s awareness of and control of thinking)

E. Assessing Skill in Application and Performance

The CATs in this group focus on students’ application of conditional knowledge – knowing when and where
to apply what they know and can do.

Directed Paraphrasing: Students paraphrase part of a lesson for a specific audience demonstrating
ability to translate highly specialized information into language the clients or customers can understand
Application Cards: Students generate examples of real-world applications for important principles,
generalizations, theories, or procedures
Student-Generated Test Questions: Students generate test questions and model answers for critical
areas of learning

Human Tableau or Class Modeling: Students transform and apply their learning into doing
by physically modeling a process or representing an image.
Paper or Project Prospectus: Students create a brief plan for a paper or project based on your guiding
questions
II. Techniques for Assessing Learner Attitudes, Values, and Self-Awareness
A. Assessing Students’ Awareness of Their Attitudes and Values
The CATs in this group are designed to assist instructors in developing students’ attitudes, opinions, values, and
self-awareness within the course curriculum.
28. Classroom Opinion Polls: Students indicate degree of agreement or disagreement with a
statement or prompt
29. Double-entry Journals: Students record and respond to significant passages of text
30. Profiles of Admiral Individuals: Students write a brief description of the characteristics of a person they
admire in a field related to the course
31. Everyday Ethical Dilemma: Students respond to a case study that poses a discipline-related ethical
dilemma
32. Course-related Self-Confidence Surveys: Students complete an anonymous survey indicating their
level of confidence in mastering the course material
B. Assessing Students’ Self-Awareness as Learners
The CATs in this group help students articulate their goals and self-concepts in order to make
connections between their goals and those of the course.
33. Focused Autobiographical Sketches: Students write a brief description of a successful learning
experience they had relevant to the course material
34. Interest/Knowledge/Skills Checklists: Students complete a checklist survey to indicate their
knowledge, skills and interest in various course topics
35. Goal Ranking and Matching: Students list and prioritize 3 to 5 goals they have for their own
learning in the course
36. Self-Assessment Ways of Learning: Students compare themselves with several different “learning styles”
profiles to find the most likely match
C. Assessing Course-Related Learning and Study Skills, Strategies, and Behaviors
The CATs in this group assist students in focusing attention on the behaviors they engage in when trying to learn.
37. Productive Study-Time Logs: Students complete a study log to record the quantity and quality of time
spent studying for a specific course
38. Punctuated Lectures: Students briefly reflect then create a written record of their listening level of a
lecture. Repeat twice in the same lecture and 2- 3 times over 2 to 3 weeks
39. Process Analysis: Students outline the process they take in completing a specified assignment
40. Diagnostic Learning Logs: Students write to learn by identifying, diagnosing, and prescribing
solutions to their own learning problems
III. Techniques for Assessing Learner Reactions to Instruction
A. Assessing Learner Reactions to Teachers and Teaching
The CATS in this group are designed to provide context-specific feedback that can improve teaching within a
course.
41. Chain Notes: On an index card that is distributed in advance, each student responds to an open- ended
prompt about his or her mental activity that is answered in less than a minute
42. Electronic Survey Feedback: Students respond to a question or short series of questions about the
effectiveness of the course.
43. Teacher-designed Feedback Forms: Students respond to specific questions through a focused feedback
form about the effectiveness of a particular class session
44. Group Instructional Feedback Technique: Students respond to three questions related to their learning
in the course (basically, what works, what doesn't, and how can it be improved)
45. Classroom Assessment Quality Circles: A group or groups of students provide the instructor with ongoing
assessment of the course through structured interactions
B. Assessing Learner Reactions to Class Activities, Assignments, and Materials
The CATS in this group are designed to provide instructors with information that will help them
improve their course materials and assignments.
46. RSQC2 (Recall, Summarize, Question, Connect and Comment): Students write brief statements that
recall, summarize, question, connect and comment on meaningful points from previous class
47. Group-Work Evaluation: Students complete a brief survey about how their group is functioning and
make suggestions for improving the group process
48. Reading Rating Sheets: Students complete a form that rates the effectiveness of the assigned readings
49. Assignment Assessments: Students respond to 2 or 3 open-ended questions about the value of an
assignment to their learning
50. Exam Evaluations: Students provide feedback about an exam’s learning value and/or format
 QUESTION NO.5:

Explain in detail David Kolb’s experimental

cycle?

Answer
David Kolb published his learning styles model in 1984 from which he developed his learning style inventory.
Kolb's experiential learning theory works on two levels: a four-stage cycle of learning and four separate learning
styles. Much of Kolb’s theory is concerned with the learner’s internal cognitive processes. Kolb states that
learning involves the acquisition of abstract concepts that can be applied flexibly in a range of situations. In
Kolb’s theory, the impetus for the development of new concepts is provided by new experiences. “Learning is
the process whereby knowledge is created through the
transformation of experience”. Kolb's experiential learning style theory is typically represented by four stage
learning cycle in which the learner 'touches all the bases':

1. Concrete Experience - the learner encounters a concrete experience. This might be a new
experience or situation, or a reinterpretation of existing experience in the light of new concepts.
2. Reflective Observation of the New Experience - the learner reflects on the new
experience in the light of their existing knowledge. Of particular importance are any
inconsistencies between experience and understanding.
3. Abstract Conceptualization - reflection gives rise to a new idea, or a modification of an
existing abstract concept (the person has learned from their experience).
4. Active Experimentation - the newly created or modified concepts give rise to
experimentation. The learner applies their idea(s) to the world around them to see what
happens.
Effective learning is seen when a person progresses through a cycle of four stages: of (1) having a concrete
experience followed by (2) observation of and reflection on that experience which leads to
(3) the formation of abstract concepts (analysis) and generalizations (conclusions) which are then (4) used to test
a hypothesis in future situations, resulting in new experiences.

Kolb (1984) views learning as an integrated process with each stage being mutually supportive of and feeding
into the next. It is possible to enter the cycle at any stage and follow it through its logical sequence.
However, effective learning only occurs when a learner can execute all four stages of the model. Therefore, no
one stage of the cycle is effective as a learning procedure on its own.
The process of going through the cycle results in the formation of increasingly complex and abstract ‘mental
models’ of whatever the learner is learning about.
Learning Styles
Kolb's learning theory (1984) sets out four distinct learning styles, which are based on a four-stage learning
cycle (see above). Kolb explains that different people naturally prefer a certain single different learning
style.
Various factors influence a person's preferred style. For example, social environment, educational experiences, or
the basic cognitive structure of the individual.
Whatever influences the choice of style, the learning style preference itself is actually the product of two pairs
of variables, or two separate 'choices' that we make, which Kolb presented as lines of an axis, each with
'conflicting' modes at either end.
A typical presentation of Kolb's two continuums is that the east-west axis is called the Processing
Continuum (how we approach a task), and the north-south axis is called the Perception Continuum
(our emotional response, or how we think or feel about it).
Kolb believed that we cannot perform both variables on a single axis at the same time (e.g., think and feel). Our
learning style is a product of these two choice decisions.
It's often easier to see the construction of Kolb's learning styles in terms of a two-by-two matrix. Each learning
style represents a combination of two preferred styles.
The matrix also highlights Kolb's terminology for the four learning styles; diverging, assimilating, and
converging, accommodating:

Active Reflective
Experimentation Observation
(Doing) (Watching)

Concrete Experience Accommodating Diverging (CE/RO)

(Feeling) (CE/AE)

Abstract Converging (AC/AE) Assimilating (AC/RO)

Conceptualization
(Thinking)

Learning Styles Descriptions

Knowing a person's (and your own) learning style enables learning to be orientated according to the preferred
method.
That said, everyone responds to and needs the stimulus of all types of learning styles to one extent or another -
it's a matter of using emphasis that fits best with the given situation and a person's learning style preferences.
Here are brief descriptions of the four Kolb learning styles:
Diverging
These people are able to look at things from different perspectives. They are sensitive. They prefer to watch
rather than do, tending to gather information and use imagination to solve problems. They are best at viewing
concrete situations from several different viewpoints.
Kolb called this style 'diverging' because these people perform better in situations that require ideas-
generation, for example, brainstorming. People with a diverging learning style have broad cultural interests
and like to gather information.
They are interested in people, tend to be imaginative and emotional, and tend to be strong in the arts. People with
the diverging style prefer to work in groups, to listen with an open mind and to receive personal feedback.
Assimilating
The assimilating learning preference involves a concise, logical approach. Ideas and concepts are more
important than people.
These people require good clear explanation rather than a practical opportunity. They excel at understanding
wide-ranging information and organizing it in a clear, logical format.
People with an assimilating learning style are less focused on people and more interested in ideas and abstract
concepts. People with this style are more attracted to logically sound theories than approaches based on
practical value.
This learning style is important for effectiveness in information and science careers. In formal learning
situations, people with this style prefer readings, lectures, exploring analytical models, and having time to think
things through.
Converging
People with a converging learning style can solve problems and will use their learning to find solutions to
practical issues. They prefer technical tasks, and are less concerned with people and interpersonal aspects.
People with a converging learning style are best at finding practical uses for ideas and theories. They can solve
problems and make decisions by finding solutions to questions and problems.
People with a converging learning style are more attracted to technical tasks and problems than social or
interpersonal issues. A converging learning style enables specialist and technology abilities. People with a
converging style like to experiment with new ideas, to simulate, and to work with practical applications.
Accommodating
The Accommodating learning style is 'hands-on,' and relies on intuition rather than logic.
These people use other people's analysis, and prefer to take a practical, experiential
approach. They are attracted to new challenges and experiences, and to carrying out plans.
They commonly act on 'gut' instinct rather than logical analysis. People with an accommodating
learning style will tend to rely on others for information than carry out their own analysis. This
learning style is prevalent within the general population.
Educational Implications
Both Kolb's (1984) learning stages and cycle could be used by teachers to critically evaluate the
learning provision typically available to students, and to develop more appropriate learning
opportunities.
Educators should ensure that activities are designed and carried out in ways that offer each
learner the chance to engage in the manner that suits them best.
Also, individuals can be helped to learn more effectively by the identification of their lesser
preferred learning styles and the strengthening of these through the application of the
experiential learning cycle.
Ideally, activities and material should be developed in ways that draw on abilities from each
stage of the experiential learning cycle and take the students through the whole process in
sequence.
McLeod, S. A. (2017, October 24). Kolb - learning styles and experiential learning
cycle. Simply Psychology. www.simplypsychology.org/learning-kolb.html
APA Style References
Kolb, D. A. (1976). The Learning Style Inventory: Technical Manual. Boston, MA: McBer.
Kolb, D.A. (1981). Learning styles and disciplinary differences, in: A.W. Chickering (Ed.)
The Modern American College (pp. 232–255). San Francisco, LA: Jossey-Bass.
Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and
development (Vol. 1). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Kolb, D. A., & Fry, R. (1975). Toward an applied theory of experiential learning. In C.
Cooper (Ed.), Studies of group process (pp. 33–57). New York: Wiley.
Kolb, D. A., Rubin, I. M., & McIntyre, J. M. (1984). Organizational psychology: readings on
human behavior in organizations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.