Development of critical thinking of younger schoolchildren. Features of critical thinking of a younger student


Formation of cognitive activity of younger schoolchildren using the technology "Development of critical thinking

through reading and writing
Those who can really think know why they need it and are willing to put in the effort it takes to work systematically, gather information, and show some persistence when the solution isn't obvious or requires a few steps.

Diana Halpern
Relevance: At present, education faces the task of educating not only a creative, comprehensively developed person, but also a flexible one who orients himself in a constantly changing reality, ready to master fundamentally new areas and activities. It's no secret that today's graduates, who graduated from school with "good" and "excellent", are not always successful in life. To help children adapt in life, to help them become successful, a teacher today needs not only to give children ready-made knowledge, but to teach them to find this knowledge themselves and apply it in practice. Even G.K. Lichtenberg wrote: “When people are taught not what they should think, but how they should think, all misunderstandings will disappear.” In this regard, a special place is occupied by the problem of studying and developing cognitive activity. Cognitive activity is associated with the acquisition of knowledge and skills necessary to solve cognitive problems, the desire for intellectual achievements. We believe that the use of the technology "Development of critical thinking through reading and writing" (RKCHP) will contribute to the development of cognitive activity of students, develop communicative competencies, the ability to find and analyze information, teach to think objectively and diversified. The main advantage of this technology is that it helps to break stereotypes and find the right, sometimes seemingly unbelievable ways to solve problems, and not only in education. . This universal technology can significantly increase the reliability of education, because it becomes conscious and reflective, develops cognitive activity, and improves the communicative culture of the individual. The authors involved in the study of cognitive activity (B.G. Ananiev, D.B. Bogoyavlenskaya, D.B. Godovikova, T.M. Zemlyanukhina, T.A. Kulikova, A.V. Petrovsky, G.I. Shchukina and others .), believe that cognitive activity is one of the important qualities that characterize the mental development of students. Cognitive activity, formed during the period of primary school age, is an important driving force in the cognitive development of the student.

The analysis of theoretical studies, the real practice of the activities of educational institutions make it possible to identify a contradiction

Between objective needs modern society in the cognitive activity of the individual and the lack of developed methodological aspects of the process of development of cognitive activity in younger students;

Between the possibilities for the development of cognitive activity in primary school age and the low level of their implementation in school practice.

The actualization of the contradiction makes it possible to identify the research problem, which consists in the need to develop conditions, means and methods that contribute to the development of cognitive activity of younger students.

Purpose of the study: development, theoretical substantiation and implementation of the concept of the development of cognitive activity of younger students in the educational process.

Object of study: educational process carried out in elementary school.

Subject of study: the content and methods of developing the cognitive activity of younger students.

Hypothesis: the level of development of cognitive activity of students will increase if the technology of developing critical thinking through reading and writing is used in the process of teaching in elementary school.

Research objectives:

1. To analyze the degree of development of the problem of the development of cognitive activity of younger students in the psychological and pedagogical literature and school practice.

2. To identify the features of the implementation of critical thinking technology in primary school age.

3. Develop lesson plans for primary school students using critical thinking technology.

The methodological basis of the study is:

Theoretical principles of cognitive activity (B.G. Ananiev, D.B. Bogoyavlenskaya, A.V. Petrovsky, G.I. Shchukina);

Theoretical positions determining the general level of development of activity (N.S. Leites, V.D. Nebylitsin);

Ideas of humane pedagogy and personality-oriented education (Sh.A. Amonashvili, E.V. Bondarevskaya, I.S. Yakimanskaya);

Theoretical provisions of the technology of critical thinking through reading and writing (M.V. Klarin, S.I. Zair-Bek, I.O. Zagashev, I.V. Mushtavinskaya).

Research methods : theoretical level: analysis of psychological, pedagogical, methodological literature, on the research problem; empirical level: observation, questioning, conversation, study of the products of schoolchildren's activities.

Research base: MAOU secondary school No. 4, Ishim, grade 3.

Scientific novelty : a concept for the development of cognitive activity of younger schoolchildren has been developed, which is based on a system-activity approach and principles: integrity of education , focus on updating teaching methods, the use of modern educational technologies, individualization, personality-oriented learning, centralization, conformity to nature.

Practical significance: Lessons for younger schoolchildren have been developed using the technology of critical thinking, a bank of methodological techniques has been compiled that contribute to the development of students' cognitive activity. The results of the study can be used by teachers in the creation of teaching aids, in the practical activities of general education schools.

The concept of the development of cognitive activity of younger students in the educational process.

Activity is a volitional action, the psychological state of the individual, characterizing its enhanced activity.

Cognitive activity associated with the acquisition of knowledge and skills necessary to solve cognitive problems, striving for intellectual achievements.

Scientists involved in the study of cognitive activity (B.G. Ananiev, D.B. Bogoyavlenskaya, D.B. Godovikova, T.M. Zemlyanukhina, T.A. Kulikova, A.V. Petrovsky, G.I. Shchukina and others .), believe that cognitive activity is one of the important qualities that characterize the mental development of a younger student. Cognitive activity is an important driving force in the cognitive development of a younger student.

We define cognitive activity as the desire of younger students for the most complete knowledge of objects and phenomena of the surrounding world.

The concept of the development of cognitive activity of younger students is based on a system-activity approach. This approach is the methodological basis for the implementation of the Federal State Educational Standard.

The system-activity approach is based on the theoretical provisions of the concept of L.S. Vygotsky, A.N. Leontiev, D.B. Elkonina, P.Ya. Galperin, revealing the main psychological patterns of the learning process and the structure of students' learning activities, taking into account the general patterns of ontogenetic age development of children and adolescents. The activity approach proceeds from the position that the psychological abilities of a person are the result of the transformation of external objective activity into internal mental activity through successive transformations. Thus, the personal, social, cognitive development of students is determined by the nature of the organization of their activities, primarily educational.

In the system-activity approach, the category of “activity” occupies one of the key places and implies an orientation towards the result of education as a system-forming component of the standard, where the development of the student's personality on the basis of the assimilation of universal educational activities, knowledge and development of the world is the goal and main result of education.

According to A.G. Asmolov, "the process of learning is the process of the student's activity, aimed at the formation of his consciousness and his personality as a whole.

The main tasks of education today are not just to equip the student with a fixed set of knowledge, but to form in him the ability and desire to learn all his life, work in a team, the ability for self-change and self-development based on reflective self-organization.

We put the following principles at the basis of creating the concept: the integrity of education, focus on updating teaching methods, the use of modern educational technologies, student-centered learning, individualization, centralization and natural conformity.

1. Focus on updating teaching methods, using modern educational technologies. This is expressed in the replacement of traditional teaching methods with interactive forms of communication teacher-student, student-student, when working in microgroups, in the use of ICT, project activities, technologies RKMCHP.

2. The principle of the integrity of education - the integrity of education is understood as the unity of the processes of learning, education, development, students, the adequacy pedagogical technologies tasks of training and education.

3. The principle of individualization - involving a comprehensive account of the level of development of the abilities of each student, the formation on this basis of a program of individual development of the personality.

4. The principle of student-centered learning.

5. The principle of centralization - means the priority of the individual. The educational process, extracurricular activities are considered as a means of personal development.

6. Principle of conformity to nature - compliance of the content and forms of training with the age characteristics of students, the construction educational process based on psychological and pedagogical recommendations and diagnostics.

The main task of the teacher is to organize learning activities in such a way that students develop needs and abilities in the implementation of the creative transformation of educational material in order to acquire new knowledge as a result of their own search. The system-activity approach involves the use of technologies aimed at developing abilities and mastering universal ways of mental activity. One of these technologies is the technology of developing critical thinking. It is based on the ideas and provisions of the theory of J. Piaget on the stages of the child's mental development; L.S. Vygotsky about the zone of proximal development and about the inseparable connection between learning and general development child;

Critical thinking(TRCMCHP) is the process of correlating external information with the knowledge available to a person, making decisions about what can be accepted, what needs to be supplemented, and what should be rejected (S.I. Zair-Bek, I.V. Mushtavinskaya).

Algorithm for the formation of critical thinking.

Stages of the lesson using the technology of critical thinking through reading and writing:


  • call,

  • comprehension (content),

  • reflection.
Task call stages on the lesson - not only to activate, interest children, motivate them for further work, but also to “bring to the surface” existing knowledge, to create associations on the issue under study. The student creates meaning for himself: “What does this mean for me?”, “Why do I need this?”. The result of this stage is either the formulation by the students of their own questions, to which they certainly want to find answers, or, depending on the methods chosen by the teacher, the students' assumptions that need further verification and clarification.

On the stages of comprehension information is being processed directly. Therefore, the main stage of the lesson involves reading informational and literary texts, structuring information, its analysis and evaluation. The methods and techniques of TRCMCHP allow you to keep the student active, make reading and listening meaningful.

On the stages of reflection information is analyzed, interpreted and creatively processed. Reflection in this case is understood as "embedding" new experience, new knowledge in the system of personal meanings. Simply put, the third phase is aimed at new material became for the student his own in the full sense of the word.

I believe that it is precisely this new structure of the lesson that corresponds to the stages of human perception: first, the younger student needs to tune in, remember what he already knows on this issue, then get acquainted with new information, then think about why he needs this knowledge and where it can be obtained. apply.

If we analyze the three described stages from the point of view of a traditional lesson, it becomes obvious that they do not represent an exceptional novelty for the teacher. They are almost always present, just called differently. Instead of a “challenge”, it sounds more familiar to the teacher: introduction to the problem or updating the existing experience and knowledge of students. And “comprehension” is the part of the lesson dedicated to learning new material. And the third stage of "reflection" is in the traditional lesson - this is the consolidation of the material, the verification of assimilation.

What is fundamentally new in the technology of critical thinking?

Elements of novelty are contained in methodological techniques that create the conditions for free development every personality. At each stage of the lesson, its methodological techniques are used. There are enough of them. The student in the learning process himself constructs, monitors, defines, uses, develops the skills of thoughtful work with information.

Critical thinking is independent thinking. When the technology of critical thinking is used in the lesson, each student formulates his own ideas, assessments and beliefs independently of the others. Students should have enough freedom to think for themselves and solve even the most difficult questions on their own.

Information is the starting point, not the end point, of critical thinking. It is thanks to critical thinking that the traditional process of cognition acquires individuality and becomes meaningful, continuous and productive.

Critical thinking begins with asking questions and understanding the problems that need to be solved. Drawing attention to problems stimulates students' natural curiosity and encourages them to think critically. Only by “fighting” with a specific problem, finding your own way out of difficult situation, the student really thinks.

Critical thinking strives for persuasive reasoning. A critical thinker finds his own solution to a problem and backs up that solution with reasonable, well-founded arguments. He also realizes that other solutions to the same problem are possible, and tries to prove that the solution he has chosen is more logical and rational than the others.

Critical thinking is social thinking. Every thought is tested and refined when it is shared with others. The formation of critical thinking in students requires a special organization of educational activities from the teacher - the organization of individual work of students, work in pairs and groups, organization of debates and discussions, as well as the publication of students' written works.

special, the main role given to the text. They read it, retell it, analyze it, transform it, interpret it, discuss it, and finally compose it. The student needs to master his text, develop his own opinion, express himself clearly, conclusively, confidently. It is extremely important to be able to listen and hear another point of view, to understand that it also has the right to exist.

popular method demonstrating the process of thinking is a graphic material organization. Models, drawings, diagrams, etc. reflect the relationship between ideas, show students the train of thought. The process of thinking, hidden from the eyes, becomes visible, takes on a visible embodiment.

Bank of methodological techniques for the implementation of technology for the development of critical thinking, contributing to the development of cognitive activity of younger students.


  • Clusters
This is a way of graphic organization of the material, which makes it possible to visualize those thought processes that occur when immersed in a particular topic. The cluster is a reflection of a non-linear form of thinking. Sometimes this method is called "visual brainstorming".

The sequence of actions is simple and logical:

1. In the middle of a blank sheet (chalkboard) write a key word or sentence that is the "heart" of the idea, topic.

2. Around "throw" words or sentences expressing ideas, facts, images suitable for this topic. (Model "planet and its satellites")

3. As you write, the words that appear are connected by straight lines with the key concept. Each of the "satellites" in turn also have "satellites", new logical connections are established.

The result is a structure that graphically reflects our thoughts, defines the information field of this topic.


  • True and False Statements

  • "Basket" of ideas, concepts, names...
This is a technique for organizing individual and group work of students at the initial stage of the lesson, when their experience and knowledge are being updated. It allows you to find out everything that students know or think about the topic under discussion. On the board, you can draw a basket icon, in which everything that all students together know about the topic being studied will be collected.

The exchange of information is carried out according to the following procedure:

1. A direct question is asked about what students know about a particular problem.

2. First, each student remembers and writes down in a notebook everything that he knows about a particular problem (strictly individual work, duration 1-2 minutes).

3. Then there is an exchange of information in pairs or groups. Students share known knowledge with each other (group work). Time for discussion is no more than 3 minutes. This discussion should be organized, for example, students should find out what the existing ideas coincided with, about which disagreements arose.

5. All information is briefly written in the form of abstracts by the teacher in the "basket" of ideas (without comments), even if they are erroneous. In the basket of ideas, you can "dump" facts, opinions, names, problems, concepts related to the topic of the lesson. Further, in the course of the lesson, these facts or opinions, problems or concepts that are scattered in the mind of the child can be connected in a logical chain.


  • Key terms

  • "Circles on the water".
The key word is the concept or phenomenon being studied. It is written in a column and nouns (verbs, adjectives, set phrases) are selected for each letter to the topic under study. In essence, this is a small study that can start in the classroom and continue at home.

  • Chamomile" Bloom.
Make up questions on the topic, taking into account their purpose.

Clarifying

(Am I right

Understood..?)

Practical Simple

(Where is it used..?)

SUBJECT

QUESTIONS

explanatory

Creative

(Why..?) (What would be..?

( causal (prognosis,

investigative assumption)

Estimated

What well..?

What is wrong..?


  • Confusing logical chains

  • INSERT
In a literal translation, INSERT from English means: “an interactive recording system for effective reading and reflections."

Reception is carried out in several stages.

Stage I: A text tagging system is proposed to subdivide the information it contains as follows:

V "tick" what is already known to students is marked;

- minus sign that is marked that contradicts their representation;

+ plus sign what is interesting and unexpected for them is marked;

? "question mark" put, if something is unclear, there was a desire to learn more.

Stage II: Reading the text, students mark individual paragraphs and sentences with the corresponding icon in the margins.

Stage III: Students are invited to systematize the information, arranging it in accordance with their notes in the following table:

IV stage: Sequential discussion of each column of the table.

Subject area of ​​use: mainly popular science texts with a lot of facts and information.

Reception contributes to the development of analytical thinking, is a means of tracking the understanding of the material.


  • Stop reading
The conditional name of the methodical method of organizing reading using different types of questions.

  • Table "Z-X-U" ("I Know - I Want to Know - I Learned")
One of the ways of graphic organization and logical and semantic structuring of the material. The form is convenient, as it provides an integrated approach to the content of the topic.

  • Table of thin and thick questions
This technique develops the ability to ask questions. The question asked by the student is a way to diagnose the student's knowledge, the level of immersion in the text. "Subtle" questions- questions of a reproductive plan that require a one-word answer.

"Thick" questions- questions that require reflection, attracting additional knowledge, the ability to analyze.


  • Table "What? Who? When? How? Why? What for?"

    What?

    Who?

    When?

    How?

    Why?

    What for?

    ...

    ...

    ...







  • Concept table
This technique is especially useful when three or more objects or events are to be compared. The horizontal is what is to be compared, and the vertical is the various features and properties by which this comparison takes place.

Comparison object 1

comparison lines

Comparison object 2

  • Interrogation
One way to work in pairs. It is used at the stage of "comprehension".

Two students read the text, stopping after each paragraph, and ask each other questions of different levels on the content of what they have read. This form contributes to the development of communication skills.


  • Fishbone (fish skeleton)
Most often used by a teacher at the stage of content when working with a text of a problematic nature. In the "head" of the scheme, the problem is written down, on the upper bones of the scheme, children write down the reasons that led to the occurrence of this problem, on the lower bones - facts confirming the presence of the above reasons, the conclusion in the "tail" of the scheme. All entries in the Fishbone chart should be short, to the point.

Cause Cause Cause

Problem Conclusion
Facts Facts Facts


  • Prediction Tree
The trunk of the tree is a theme, the branches are assumptions that are carried out in two main directions - "possibly" and "probably" (the number of "branches" is not limited), and, finally, "leaves" - the rationale for these assumptions, arguments in favor of one or another opinions.
PROBABLY POSSIBLE

Argument 3 Argument 3

Argument 2 Argument 2

Argument 1 Argument 1

How will the story end?

How will they develop

events after the final?

Sequin can be offered as an individual independent task; to work in pairs; less often as a collective work. The boundaries of the subject area depend on the flexibility of the teacher's imagination. Usually cinquain is used at the stage of reflection, although it can also be used as an unconventional form at the stage of challenge.

As experience shows, syncwines can be useful as:

1) a tool for synthesizing complex information;

2) the method of assessing the conceptual baggage of students;

3) means of developing creative expressiveness.

Rules for writing syncwine:


  • The Thinking Hat Method (Edward de Bono)
Suggests when solving a creative problem to perform one mental action at a time. The class is divided into six groups, each receives a hat. certain color and the corresponding task.

  • Letter to the teacher
The teacher invites students to write a “Letter to the teacher” (mother, alien, fairy tale hero etc).

Letter writing reminder.

1. I read a story...

2. Most memorable...

3. Liked…

4. Didn't like it...

5. My emotional state…

6. This story teaches me...


  • Essay writing
The meaning of this technique can be expressed in the following words: "I write in order to understand what I think." This is a free letter on a given topic, in which independence, manifestation of individuality, debatability, originality in solving a problem, and argumentation are valued. An essay helps students to summarize their knowledge on the topic being studied. Usually it is written right in the class after discussing the problem and takes no more than 5 minutes in time.

Expected Results:

In the process of applying the technology for the development of critical thinking, primary school students develop general educational skills, namely:

Ability to work in a group

Ability to graphically design textual material,

Ability to process available information according to the degree of novelty and significance,

The ability to generalize the acquired knowledge.

The use of critical thinking technology in primary school lessons allowed me to increase the level of cognitive activity of younger students (Appendix 2), which contributes to the formation of social success.

A large field of activity in the application of critical thinking technology in elementary school is the lessons of the surrounding world, literary reading, however, it can be successfully used in the lessons of mathematics, the Russian language, as well as technology, music and fine arts.

The lessons built and conducted by me using the technology of "critical thinking" taught the children to ask questions themselves and made them active participants in the educational process. The roles of the teacher and students have changed, the students in my lessons do not sit passively, but are the main characters: they think, remember, share, reason, read, write, discuss. My role is mainly coordinating! Forming critical thinking in children, I try not to lead them “by the hand” to the answer, not to give them ready-made answers to emerging questions, but gradually and gradually teach children to see problems, raise questions and find ways to get answers to them. I learn with the children, I learn from the children.

My perspectives:


  • provide students with the opportunity to independently carry out learning activities, set learning goals, seek and use the necessary means and methods of achievement, control and evaluate the process and results of activities;

  • create conditions for the development of the individual and its self-realization on the basis of readiness for lifelong education, competence to "teach to learn", tolerance of life in a multicultural society, high social mobility;

  • to ensure the successful assimilation of knowledge, skills and abilities and the formation of a picture of the world and competencies in any subject area of ​​knowledge.

  • to study new methods of technology for the development of critical thinking; continue to build a bank of methodological ideas.

Literature


  1. Asmolov, A. G. System-activity approach in the development of new generation standards / A. G. Asmolov // Pedagogy M.: 2009 - No. 4. - C18-22.

  2. Vedernikova, L.V. General Pedagogy in Schemes and Tables: textbook. allowance [Text] / L.V. Vedernikov. - Ishim: Publishing house of IGPI im. P.P. Ershova, 2007. - 312p.

  3. Gromyko, Yu. V. Designing and programming the development of education [Text] / Yu. V. Gromyko. M.: Moscow Academy of Education Development, 1996. - 546 p.

  4. Zair-Bek, S.I. The development of critical thinking in the classroom: A guide for the teacher [Text] / S.I. Zair-Bek, I.V. Mushtavinskaya.- M.: Enlightenment, 2004.

  5. Zankov, L.V. Selected pedagogical works / L.V. Zankov. M., 1990.

  6. FGOS standards.

  7. Schukina, G.I. Activation of cognitive activity of students in the educational process / G.I. Schukin. Proc. allowance. - M.: Enlightenment, 1979. - 160 p.

Page 1

Sections: elementary School

Where they think alike
nobody thinks too much!

The school should prepare the child for life, form an active life position. Therefore, in my opinion, every teacher, when planning his activity, must make a choice and clearly answer the question: how does he see the child - a person who fulfills, without hesitation, the requirements of elders, or a thinking person, capable of making independent decisions, answering for your actions.

I am for a thinking, creative, purposeful student. I, like all teachers, want an atmosphere of creativity to reign in the lesson, so that students can compare and associate, think about problem situations and offer a way out of them, being able to defend their own opinion. To do this, of course, you need to think creatively.

Scientists note that in our rapidly changing time, which is associated with the rapid growth of information, the volume of human knowledge in the structure of thinking is increasing at a high rate.

But from the point of view of mastering logical laws, the process of thinking proceeds, as a rule, spontaneously. The productivity of the mental activity of schoolchildren, unfortunately, remains far behind their capabilities and does not fully meet the challenges of modern education.

Therefore, I believe that the development of the mental activity of younger students is an urgent problem that needs to be addressed. Working with children of primary school age, I was in search of such methods and techniques of work that would improve the mental abilities of students and would allow them to think more productively and creatively.

Can we teach creative thinking? It is impossible to answer unequivocally, since the creative possibilities of the child are laid in early childhood. To create conditions for the development of those who are open to creativity is already a big deal. And those who were not weighed down by intellectual and creative development in preschool age, we can teach critical thinking through search.

One of the innovative methods that allow achieving positive results in the formation of the mental activity of younger students is technology for the development of critical thinking.

Critical thinking skills-oriented teaching involves more than just students actively seeking information to learn, but something more: relating what they have learned to their own experience, and comparing what they have learned with other research in the field. Students have the right to question the reliability or authority of the information received, check the logic of the evidence, draw conclusions, construct new examples for its application, consider the possibilities of solving the problem, etc.

The purpose of this technology is to develop the mental skills of students, which are necessary not only in studies, but also in everyday life (the ability to make informed decisions, work with information, analyze various aspects of phenomena, etc.).

The methodological aspect of the formation of critical thinking lies in the fact that this technology is a system of strategies that combine techniques academic work by types of educational activities. This technology involves the use of three stages (stages) in the lesson: challenge stage, semantic stage and reflection stage, each of which has its own tasks.

At each stage of the lesson, I use certain methods of work that help to include students in joint activities.

On phase call it is: story-speculation by keywords, by title; graphic systematization of the material (clusters and tables), true and false statements, confused logical chains, vocabulary work, looking at illustrations. Information obtained in the course of joint work is listened to, recorded, discussed.

The first take is cluster"bunch". Working with the “bunch” cluster is very simple and accessible to all children. Our topic of the lesson is the center, and rays depart from this center - large semantic units, i.e. terms, concepts. I use this technique at all stages of the lesson. Compiling a cluster is important for the development of thinking and helps to systematize the material before getting to know the text. Thoughts arising from the discussion of the topic are arranged in a certain order, these headings are located around the main topic. From each heading there can be branches that form a “bunch”. Reception "brain attack" contributes to the creation of more "clusters". The more ideas students express, the higher will be the interest in the topic under study. Brainstorming is a kind of mental warm-up, a joint search for a group solution. And in the cluster, with the help of arrows, connections between the concepts under consideration will be revealed.

My students use this technique with great pleasure. I will give the cluster technique that I use in the lesson of the world around me, when studying themes “What surrounds us”(Grade 3 EMC “Harmony”, textbook by O. T. Poglazova, V. D. Shilin)

I. Call stage. Purpose: updating existing knowledge, awakening interest in obtaining new information


Lesson " The world” Grade 3, “Soil”

Reception “True and False Statements”

Let's play game “Do you believe that…” Everyone has a table on their desk, like on a blackboard. I will read the questions, and you put in the first line plus if you agree with the statement, and minus if you do not agree. The second line will remain empty for now.

… wind can destroy mountains?
… fall leaves in autumn damage the soil?
… 1cm of soil is formed in 300 years?
… the burrows of animals living in the soil destroy it?
… are plants involved in soil formation?
… soil and stone are relatives?
… the soil is our breadwinner?

- Today, during the lesson, you will refer to the table and see how right you were.

- We are speaking the soil. But what is soil?

Reception “Basket of Ideas”

Group work. Each group, after a preliminary discussion, expresses their assumptions:

The soil is...

… Earth
… vegetable land
… substance
... land, not water
… habitat, home of animals

Summing up the work of the groups. All assumptions are recorded on the board.

Setting lesson goals.

Children do not have a clear answer to this seemingly simple question. From the contradictions that have arisen, the goal of the lesson is formulated - to find a scientific answer to the question of what soil is.

Reception “Thick and Thin Questions”

Next, the guys discuss in a group what else would be interesting to know about the soil. Among the questions of interest to the children were the following: Where did the soil come from? What does it consist of? Is there a lot of soil on Earth? Where on earth is there no soil? Can the soil disappear? I suggest looking for answers in different sources of information and returning to them in subsequent lessons.

Reception "Catch the mistake"

I prepare a text containing erroneous information in advance, and I invite students to identify the mistakes made. It is important that the task contains errors of 2 levels:

  • explicit, which are quite easily identified by students based on their personal experience and knowledge;
  • hidden, which can be established only by studying new material.

Students analyze the proposed text, try to identify errors, argue their conclusions. I propose to study the new material, and then return to the text of the task and correct those errors that could not be identified at the beginning of the lesson.

Lesson “The world around us” Grade 3, “Winter changes in nature and in human life”

I propose the following text: “Winter has come. The sun is rising higher in the sky. The day in January begins to decrease. The air temperature is always above zero. Eight-pointed snowflakes sparkle everywhere. Fir-trees grow green between golden larches. All the birds have flown south. Only swallows peck the mountain ash together. The wolves went into hibernation. All the trees have shed their leaves. Ice is already on the rivers.”

Stage understanding is aimed at maintaining interest in the topic while working directly with new information, gradual progress from knowledge of the “old” to the “new”. This is facilitated by active reading methods: a strategy “Reading with stops”, reception “Tree of predictions”, search for answers to the questions posed in the first part of the lesson.

Reception Implementation Scheme “Reading with stops” as follows:

  • the teacher's story about his personal experience with this work (no more than 3-4 minutes);
  • discussion of the title. Why is it called this way? What can happen in a story with such a title?
  • the main stage: the teacher pre-selects 2-3 stops in the text, depending on the size of the text. During these stops, questions are asked that help arouse interest in further reading, involve various aspects of thinking in the work, and analyze the means of a work of art. When working with questions, I use the classification of the American psychologist Benjamin Bloom (Appendix 1).

Such a classification helps to teach children to independently ask “thin and thick” questions to the text. I work in pairs, groups and individually.

Reading with stops contributes to the development of thoughtful reading skills, makes it possible to assume the development of further events, to show imagination. Using this technique, we come with the guys to understand the main idea of ​​the text.

When answering questions, children make assumptions about the content, talk about their associations, feelings, expectations, what was confirmed from the assumption and what was not, and explain their answers. The use of this technique opens up opportunities for a holistic vision of the work, allows you to understand the character of the protagonist, sympathize with him, immerse him in his inner world.

For example, after reading the first part of V. Oseeva's story “Why?” (Grade 3, textbook by O. V. Kubasova EMC “Harmony”), when the main character “blamed” his guilt for the broken cup on the dog, I ask the question, why did the boy do this? Watching my students in the process of discussion, I see how their eyes burn with a desire to read the story to the end, to understand why the boy did this: he let his friend down.

I listen to the opinions of the guys and agree with them. Interestingly, during the discussion, even those children who usually prefer to remain silent begin to speak. Children learn to listen to each other, to defend their point of view. In my opinion, this method of work is the main sign of meaningful and thoughtful reading, stimulating students of different levels of thinking who have different vocabulary.

After the first or second stop when working with plot texts, I use reception "Tree of predictions". On the arrows - connection lines - students write down explanations for their versions, so they learn to argue their point of view, to connect their assumptions with the data of the text. The topic that is written in the “trunk” should contain a question addressed to the future, for example, “How will the story end?”, “Will the main character be saved?”, “Who will help the hero?” other. Children really like to make a “prediction tree”. When using this technique, you must remember the following: do not use the technique more than once in a lesson; all versions must be argued based on the proposed text, and not on their conjectures, fantasies; after reading the text, the children return to their assumptions and look at which of them came true and which did not, and why.

The reading process is always accompanied by student actions (marking, tabulation, journaling) that allow you to track your own understanding. The student gets the opportunity to think about the nature of the object being studied, as he correlates old and new information, he learns to formulate questions, determines his own position. Under the guidance of the teacher and with the help of his comrades, the child answers the questions that he himself put to himself in the first stage.

To stimulate attentive reading, I use the method "Reading with Markup". In total, 10-15 minutes are allotted, individual reading. Here you can use reception "Insert" - text marking technique, when students mark what is known, what contradicts their ideas, what is interesting and unexpected, what they want to know in more detail . When working with text in this technique, two steps are used: reading with notes and filling out the table "Insert".

Step 1: While reading the text, students make notes in the margins: “V” - already knew; “+” – new; “-” - thought differently; “?” - I do not understand, there are questions.

And if there are no problems with the first “V” and “+” signs, then the guys do not see a reason for doubt or, moreover, for additional study. The value of such a task is to give an opportunity to doubt what is written (most of the students accept any text as an axiom). To doubt is a reason for more careful reading and checking your knowledge on this issue, it is an opportunity for bold entry into polemics.

Step 2: Filling in the “Insert” table, the number of columns of which corresponds to the number of marking icons.

The world around, 3rd grade, “Air”.

At the “Comprehension” stage, children are looking for an answer to the questions: what is air? What is its meaning?

Independently read the article in the textbook.

Reception "Insert"

Checking understanding and initial consolidation.

What was familiar to you from what you read?

What new did you learn from this text?

Who has questions about the text? What remains unclear?

Literary reading, Grade 3, “Italian fairy tale “Gifts of the Fairy of Krenskoye Lake”. (Grade 3, textbook by O. V. Kubasova UMK “Harmony”)

Reception table “ZHU”

Before compiling the characteristics of the protagonist of the fairy tale Francesco, we fill out the table

Using the information in the table, it is easier for students to compose a complete characterization of the hero, to express their attitude towards Francesco.

Reception “Concept table” useful when comparing objects is expected. The horizontal is what is to be compared, and the vertical is the criteria by which the comparison takes place.

The world. Grade 4, “Natural areas. Tundra”.

– Before you are scientific articles about the tundra zone, on the pages of the textbook you will also find useful information, and we will write down our observations and comparisons in the “Conceptual Table”

Teacher: What will we compare and what lines of comparison will we choose?

For work, the class is divided into groups: each group works with its own line of comparison.

The final stage of the lesson stage of reflection (or reflection). This is the “moment of truth”, when it becomes clear whether the work was organized correctly, whether the answers to the questions that appeared at the call stage were received. At the stage of reflection, not only logical conclusions are important, but also emotional experiences. I use both oral and written methods of reflection. These are tasks such as:

  • Exercise “From the opposite” - children are invited to complete the following task: What would happen if ... ...
  • Exercise "Sinkwine"
  • Compilation of a dictionary according to the text of the work
  • Essay writing
  • Study on selected issues

The use of such tasks allows children to formulate their thoughts more clearly, to better remember what they have learned. Having considered the techniques of critical thinking technology most commonly used in their work, I would like to note that they contribute to better memorization of the studied material, the development of cognitive activity, and activate the activity of students in the lesson. Children learn not only to master information, but also to consider it from different points of view, critically evaluate, comprehend, apply.

So, in my opinion, the technology for the development of critical thinking helps to build joint activities with students so that search and creativity make it possible for each student to realize himself. The discoveries made in the classroom as a result of the search imperceptibly become a habit for children. And it is dear to me that my students willingly cooperate with me in comprehending the world of knowledge.

Literature:

    Zair-Bek S.I., Mushtavinskaya I.V. Development of critical thinking in the classroom / S.I. Zair-Bek., I.V. Mushtavinskaya. – M.: Enlightenment, 2011. – 223 p.

    Mushtavinskaya I.V. Technology for the development of critical thinking in the classroom and in the system of teacher training / I.V. Mushtavinskaya. - St. Petersburg: KARO, 2009. - 144 p.

Features of critical thinking of a younger student

At primary school age, there is an intensive development of the intellect of children. Such mental functions as thinking, perception, memory develop and turn into regulated voluntary processes.

The thinking of a child of primary school age is at a transitional stage of development.

During this period, the transition from visual-figurative thinking to verbal-logical, conceptual thinking takes place. Verbal-logical thinking is formed gradually during the primary school age.

Jean Jacques Piaget, who studied children's thinking, found that the thinking of a child of 6-7 years old has the following features:

1) ideas about the space of the main properties of things have not been formed, i.e. they do not understand the principle of conservation

2) the inability to take into account several features of an object at once and compare their changes - centering: children tend to pay attention to only one, the most obvious characteristic of an object for them, ignoring the rest.

The phenomenon of centration determines the inability of the child to take into account the point of view of other people; his own view of the world seems to him the only true one.

These features of children's thinking are clearly demonstrated by Jean Piaget's classic experiments using conservation tasks:

The subject, showing him the objects shown in the figure on the left, was asked if these objects were the same (Is the number of beads in both rows the same? Is the water level in both vessels the same? Is the clay in two lumps the same?). Then, before the eyes of the subject, the shape of one of the objects was changed: 1) one row of beads is placed at large distances from each other, and the second row is not changed; 2) water from one vessel is poured into a vessel of a different shape (for example, narrower); 3) one of the lumps of clay is rolled into a long sausage.

After this, the subject was asked again: Are these two objects the same now? Is the number of beads in the two rows the same? Is the water in two vessels the same? Are the clays in the sausage and in the lump the same?

The child may indicate that, in his opinion, there are more objects placed in a row if they are arranged at large intervals; that in one vessel the amount of liquid has become less; that a piece of plasticine, in his opinion, decreases if it is rolled out of a ball into a “sausage” or a strip.

The correct solution of these problems shows that the child's thinking corresponds to the stage of concrete operations. Children who do not cope with these tasks are at the preoperative stage of thinking.

Particular difficulties arise in younger students in establishing cause-and-effect relationships. It is easy for a younger student to establish a connection from cause to effect than from effect to cause. This can be explained by the fact that when inferring from cause to effect, a direct connection is established. And when inferring from a fact to the cause that caused it, such a connection is not directly given, since the indicated fact can be a consequence of the most different reasons that need to be analyzed specifically. Thus, with the same level of knowledge and development, it is easier for a younger student to answer the question: “What will happen if the plant is not watered?” Than to the question: “Why did this tree wither?”

As learning activity is mastered, mental operations become less related to a specific practical activities or visual support.

In the course of training, children master the techniques of mental activity, acquire the ability to act in the mind and analyze the process of their own reasoning.

Mastering analysis begins with the child's ability to single out various properties and signs in objects and phenomena. To develop this skill, it is necessary to show children the method of comparing one object with others that have different properties.

For the development in children of the ability to distinguish various properties, it is useful to look for the causes of phenomena (why does a duck swim, but not a chicken?), to disassemble proverbs and sayings (like water off a duck's back), riddles (which is heavier than 1 kilogram of iron or a kilogram of fluff).

Each mental action in its development goes through a series of stages. It starts with an external practical action with material objects, then the object is replaced by a scheme, then the action is performed in terms of loud speech, then with pronunciation to oneself, and finally the action becomes mental.

By the end of primary school age, the following groups can be distinguished among children:

1) Theorists - children who easily solve problems verbally;

2) Practice - children who need reliance on visibility;

3) Artists are children who have vivid imaginative thinking.

Cognitive activity and curiosity of the child are constantly aimed at learning about the world around and building their own picture of this world. Thinking is inextricably linked with speech. The more active the child is mentally, the more questions he asks and the more diverse these questions are.

Primary schoolchildren use the widest typology of questions: what is it?, who is it?, why?, why?, for what?, from what?, is there?, does it happen? ?, what?, what will happen if?, where?, how much

As a rule, when formulating a question, children of primary school age imagine the real situation and how they act in this situation.

Children's judgments are usually sporadic and based on personal experience. Therefore, they are categorical and usually refer to visual reality. When explaining something, the younger student prefers to reduce everything to the private and loves to read books with a plot full of all sorts of adventures.

All these data testify to a large qualitative shift in the thinking of the schoolchild as compared with the thinking of the preschooler; at the same time, they reveal the limits of this new stage of thinking; thought still with difficulty goes beyond the comparison of immediate facts; complex systems of mediation are still inaccessible to it.

Mastering them characterizes the next stage in the development of thought. Operating already at this stage with diverse concepts of things, phenomena, processes, the child's thinking is thus prepared for the realization of the concepts themselves in their properties and relationships. Thus, within this stage of thinking, prerequisites are created, opportunities for the transition to the next stage. These possibilities are realized in the child as he masters the system of theoretical knowledge in the course of education.

When a child enters school, the entire system of relations with the surrounding reality is restructured: he enters into new relationships with the world, his activity becomes socially significant. A teacher appears in the life of a first grader - a representative of culture, a carrier and translator of patterns of behavior and new forms of knowledge. The transition to educational activity is carried out against the background of a contradiction that arises within the social situation of the child's development: the preschooler "outgrows" the developing potential of the role-playing game, the relationships that he developed with adults and peers "about the game." More recently, relationships regulated by the playing role, playing rules, were the source of the child's development, but now this situation has exhausted itself. The attitude to the game has changed, the preschooler understands more and more clearly that he occupies an insignificant position in the social environment. Increasingly, he has a need to perform “necessary” and “important” work for others, and this need develops into the internal position of the student. The child acquires the ability to "go beyond" the specific situation and look at himself as if from the outside, through the eyes of an adult. That is why the crisis that occurs during the transition to schooling is called the "crisis of the loss of immediacy."

The change in the content of a child's life occurs due to a change in the leading activity, which was the role-playing game in preschool age. To form the prerequisites for a new leading activity - educational - board games with rules that are close to it in content and form are especially effective. When mastering the higher forms of play activity, the child is reoriented with end result on the ways of completing the task, since only actions mediated by patterns and rules lead to success and gain in the long run. The game remains significant for the child throughout the entire primary school age, but now it is no longer the leading type of activity. In educational activities, the relationship with an adult (teacher) necessary for the further development of the child is most fully represented, and through training the student gets the opportunity to learn the basics of theoretical knowledge, which in this age period are the source of his development. Educational activity determines the nature of all activities of a younger student: gaming, communication, etc.

At the beginning of learning, the child has only a desire to learn, which is not even a learning motivation in the proper sense of the word. The main components of learning activities are performed by the teacher. Gradually, all actions become jointly divided, then they are performed by students on their own, the teacher only offers tasks and samples.

V.V. Davydov believes that it is within the educational activity of a child of primary school age that the basic psychological neoplasms characteristic of him arise: educational and cognitive interest, arbitrariness of cognitive processes and reflection of his own actions.

The development of arbitrariness and imagination in elementary school contributes to the formation of other neoplasms of primary school age: a meaningful analysis of the object, aimed at identifying the essential relations of the task, reflection - the student's focus on the method of action, planning - setting goals, building actions, predicting the result, search and choice optimal solution. The prerequisites for the development of these neoplasms are the ability of children to see the integrity of the context of the situation and the ability to take a “point” outside, to maintain a supra-situational position.

According to the provisions of L.S. Vygotsky on the formation of higher mental functions, to the end elementary school perception and memory of students become arbitrary, conscious, mediated. In the course of training, further intellectualization of mental processes takes place. Children learn general way actions, cause-and-effect relationships, learn to highlight the essential, build conclusions and logical chains. The thinking of children develops, gradually becoming theoretical. Especially significant in the development of thinking is the formation internal plan actions and reflection (awareness of oneself as a subject of activity, awareness of the ways of carrying out activities).

The perception of the child is changing, developing into an organized orienting-research activity. Thinking changes the nature of perception, which is intellectualized. Becomes organized, meaningful and the memory of students. The task of remembering is clearly distinguished, for which various methods and means are used, the most important of which is speech. It becomes more and more arbitrary, conscious, the vocabulary increases, the semantic content of speech units, the grammatical design of the statement becomes more complicated. The graphic activity of students is developing in all its components, on the success of which much depends on learning.

Self-control and self-esteem, which are formed through the internalization of external control and evaluation, also become neoplasms of primary school age.

The personality of the student also changes. Based on the arbitrariness of behavior, self-control and self-esteem, formed in educational activities, the way of self-regulation changes, self-consciousness arises and develops. First, the child is aware of himself in terms of his school success. In relation to an adult, he is not yet critical, an adult for a child is a model of behavior. Gradually, criticality towards adults increases, interest in communication with peers increases.

The characteristic features of developed critical thinking are: appraisal, including the value side of assessment, openness to new ideas, reflection on the grounds of one's own critical judgments. Learning critical thinking actions involves mastering such skills as: apply arguments in disputes, look at old ideas from a new point of view, distinguish facts from assumptions, distinguish a reasonable value judgment from an emotional one, highlight causal relationships and detect, if any, errors in them. , see inconsistencies and errors in the material being studied and find rational ways their elimination.

The study of the phenomenon of "critical thinking" shows that this species thinking can develop spontaneously, but spontaneous development does not ensure the formation of critical thinking at a high level. Only in the process of learning activity can such structural elements of this type of thinking as the search for possible irregularities be formed; vision of positive and negative aspects in the object of knowledge; distinguish subjectively derived value judgment from judgment based on facts; search for ways to justify the detected errors. Thus, the development of critical thinking should be carried out in conditions associated with the solution of educational problematic tasks.

Sensitive to learning activities associated with the formation of the above listed structural elements of critical thinking, as studies show, are younger adolescents. It should be emphasized that the content and organization of the teacher's work, for example, with younger adolescents, associated with the formation of a focus on the critical assimilation of the information received and teaching the correct formulation of critical judgments, can also contribute to the solution of other pedagogical tasks, such as teaching students how to independently acquire knowledge. and rational inclusion of the results of educational work in the upcoming activities. In our case, we are talking about the formation of the focus of thinking of younger adolescents on:

Detection of factual errors in texts;

Find and present arguments to support your claims;

Prevention different kind errors in their judgments;

Verification and reconciliation of information in accordance with established facts;

Identification of established and assumed facts;

Rejection of statements without appropriate grounds.

Naturally, when teaching, for example, the listed mental actions, one must not forget that any training aimed at improving students' ability to think is aimed at putting into practice what they have learned. Therefore, it is necessary to use problem-cognitive tasks in educational activities that make it possible to prepare students for the application of the formed skills in solving various problems outside of school in real life situations.

Development of critical thinking of younger students

In what case does the teacher want to use new methods and techniques in his lessons, does he try to organize learning activities differently than usual? There are many options. Here is a conscious desire to move away from the usual patterns, and a desire for self-education, and curiosity in front of the unknown. In the course of self-education, I mastered the RKM technology

RKM technology (critical thinkin ) is developed at the end XX century in the USA (C. Temple, D. Steele, K. Meredith). It synthesizes the ideas and methods of Russian domestic technologies of collective and group ways of learning, as well as cooperation, developmental learning; it is general pedagogical, oversubject.

The RCMCHP technology is an integral system that forms the skills of working with information in the process of reading and writing. It is aimed at mastering the basic skills of an open information space, developing the qualities of a citizen of an open society, included in intercultural interaction. Critical thinking is one of the types of human intellectual activity, which is characterized by high level perception, understanding, objectivity of the approach to the surrounding information field.

The name of the technology may seem cumbersome, but not a single word can be removed. Reading and writing are the basic processes by which we receive and transmit information, therefore, it is necessary to teach students to read and write effectively. This is not about the primary teaching of writing and reading, as happens in the primary school, but about thoughtful, productive reading, in the process of which information is analyzed and ranked by significance.

Emphasis of the goals of RCM technology

- Formation of a new style of thinking, which is characterized by openness, flexibility, reflexivity, awareness of the internal ambiguity of positions and points of view, the alternativeness of decisions made.

- The development of such basic personality traits as critical thinking, reflexivity, communication, creativity, mobility, independence, tolerance, responsibility for one's own choice and the results of one's activities.

- Development of analytical, critical thinking.

Taskteach students:

1. Highlight cause-and-effect relationships;

2. Consider new ideas and knowledge in the context of existing ones;

3. Reject unnecessary or incorrect information;

4. Understand how different pieces of information are related;

5. Highlight errors in reasoning;

6. Make a conclusion about whose specific value orientations, interests, ideological attitudes reflect the text or the speaking person;

7. Avoid categorical statements;

8. Be honest in your reasoning;

9. Identify false stereotypes leading to incorrect conclusions;

10. Detect prejudiced attitudes, opinions and judgments;

11. To be able to distinguish a fact that can always be verified from an assumption and personal opinion;

12. Question the logical inconsistency of spoken or written language;

13. to separate the main from the essential in the text or in speech and be able to focus on the first.

- Formation of a reading culture, which includes the ability to navigate information sources, use different reading strategies, adequately understand what is read, sort information in terms of its importance, “screen out” secondary information, critically evaluate new knowledge, draw conclusions and generalizations.

- Stimulation of independent search engine creative activity, launching the mechanisms of self-education and self-organization.

Peculiarities

Not the amount of knowledge or the amount of information is the goal of education, but how the student is able to manage this information: to search, in the best possible way appropriate, find meaning in it, apply in life.

Not the appropriation of "ready" knowledge, but the construction of one's own, which is born in the learning process.

The communicative-active principle of teaching, which provides for a dialogue, interactive mode of classes, a joint search for solutions to problems, as well as "partnership" relations between the teacher and students.

The ability to think critically is not looking for flaws, but an objective assessment of the positive and negative sides in a cognizable object.

Simple and excessive generalizations, stereotypical words, clichés, clichés, unsupported assumptions are not always accurate and can lead to the formation of stereotypes.

The words “everyone”, “no one”, “always”, “always” and generalized assumptions like “Teachers do not understand children”, “Young people do not respect old people” and other similar expressions lead to misconceptions, so you should use the words “some”, "sometimes", "sometimes", "often".

Lesson organization. The organization of the educational process resembles the collective way of teaching A.G. Rivin - V.K. Dyachenko, since the basis is the work of students in dynamic pairs and groups.

Various combinations of these forms (“cross”, “zigzag”, etc.) are widely used.

The text is given a priority role: it is read, retelled, analyzed, transformed, interpreted, discussed, and finally composed.

The student needs to master his text, develop his own opinion, express himself clearly, conclusively, confidently. It is extremely important to be able to listen and hear another point of view, to understand that it also has the right to exist.

The role of the teacher is mainly coordinating.

A popular method of demonstrating the process of thinking is the graphic organization of material. Models, drawings, diagrams, etc. reflect the relationship between ideas, show students the train of thought. The process of thinking, hidden from the eyes, becomes visible, takes on a visible embodiment.

Technology "Development of critical thinking » refers to the frame type. A kind of framework in which the lesson fits is the so-called basic model of technology, which consists of three stages (stages): the challenge stage, the semantic stage and the reflection stage.

Each phase has its own goals and objectives, as well as a set of characteristic techniques aimed first at activating research and creative activity, and then at comprehending and generalizing the acquired knowledge.

The first stage - "call", during which students activate their previous knowledge, arouse interest in the topic, determine the goals of studying the upcoming educational material.

Second stage - "comprehension"- meaningful, during which the direct work of the student with the text takes place, and the work is directed, meaningful. The reading process is always accompanied by student actions (marking, tabulation, journaling) that allow you to track your own understanding. At the same time, the concept of "text" is interpreted very broadly: it is a written text, a teacher's speech, and video material.

Third stage - "reflection"- reflections. At this stage, the student forms a personal attitude to the text and fixes it either with the help of his own text or his position in the discussion. It is here that an active rethinking of one's own ideas takes place, taking into account the newly acquired knowledge.

Such a lesson structure, according to psychologists, corresponds to the stages of human perception: first you need to tune in, remember what you know about this topic, then get acquainted with new information, then think about why you need the knowledge gained and how you can apply it.

Each stage has its own goals and objectives, as well as a set of characteristic techniques aimed first at enhancing research, creative activity, and then at comprehending and generalizing the acquired knowledge.

In this technology, unlike the traditional one, the roles of teachers and students are changing. The students do not sit passively, listening to the teacher, but become the protagonists of the lesson. They think and remember to themselves, share reasoning with each other, read, write, discuss what they read. The role of the teacher is mainly coordinating.

From the point of view of a traditional lesson, these stages do not represent an exceptional novelty for the teacher. Instead of a “challenge”, it is more usual for a teacher to introduce a problem or update the existing experience and knowledge of students. And “comprehension” is the study of new material. The third stage in the traditional lesson is to consolidate the material, to test the assimilation of knowledge.

So what is fundamentally new in the technology of critical thinking? The element of novelty is the methodological methods of educational work, which are focused on creating conditions for the free development of each individual. Each stage of the lesson uses its own methodological techniques. There are enough of them. Each technique and strategy in critical thinking aims to unleash the creative potential of students. Reflection is the most significant stage, because this is where it happens creative development, awareness of newly acquired information.