Critical Thinking
Presented in class by Mac Dennis and Millissa Ravenblade
critical_thinking_presentation.pptx |
Class Lesson - Newspaper BridgeOn the Seventh of August in 2018, Mac and Millissa tested the classes ability to use critical thinking in order to CONSTRUCT a newspaper bridge. We decided that the class could only use newspaper and No tape was allowed! The bridge needed to hang between to points without touching the ground and support it's own weight! |
That's right only newspaper! Milissa started this experiment by dispersing the newspapers evenly to the five members of the class which included the Professor. We noticed that only one of the other students saw there sources as their own and started working on a section of the bridge alone. The rest of the class teamed up to pool resources. We did have tape with us for a second round just in case the class split into more definable groups. The class had an intense sense of camaraderie though, and refused to splinter.
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The one sole student decide to roll her newspaper page in to tight straw cylinders and the rest of the class choice the twist method. The twist method seemed to offer an easy solution to connecting the sections of newspaper. They wanted to make their section as long as possible. About twenty minutes into the experiment the main group tested the bridge's ability to stay together. The bridge was supported by two tables on each side. They pinched the ends between edges of the table sets. This allowed them to let go of the bridge for a few seconds before disaster struck; the middle section of the bridge, unable to support the weight from both ends, disconnected from its hastily attached end pieces.
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The twisting method was not enough to support the bridge structure. Thankfully, the team saw the individual student was using thin strips of newspaper to tie different straws together, which proved to be sturdier, and provided much needed support to the bridge as a whole. The other members of the class adapted the new method to the failing bridge. At that time, we imitated the real world in that an arbitrary limitation was placed on the project; we took all unused newspaper away. Only the paper that was already committed to the use of the bridge could be used. This led to a small discussion on what section of the bridge would be replaced by the lone student's section. They then used the removed section as paper to create ties for fasteners between multiple sections. We allowed them to work for about 15 more minutes before the final stress test. They tested the bridge multiple times only to find more and more weak spots. Finally they had a bridge! It collapsed at the very top, and a sigh of sadness and "I am so done with this came over the group."
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Mac and I led a discussion on the experience for the class. We told them why we handed out the paper evenly. This was to show equality and see how each individual would handle their resources. The class as a whole did not see the resources as theirs, except the one lone student. The main question from the class was "Why did you take away the unused paper?" Mac and I took turns to explain we were trying to stimulate real life situations. The best explanation was that the government funding the bridge simply packed up camp and left! This is an actual problem for people in third world countries. In a simpler situation, management changes at work can throw a wrench in the workings, knowing that things can change based on the bosses whim. Ultimately, this project yielded that the class was an incredibly diverse group of thinkers, but we can work much better as a group than individually.
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QUESTIONs
- How do you uses critical thinking to solve problems in you daily today lives?
- Do you use it at work?
- How has critical thinking changed your life, or not?
- Could critical thinking be used to aid social responsibility, communication, and diversity?
- Can you think of a moment in your life were applying critical thinking would have altered the outcome?
- Can you see other's using critical thinking to solve problems?