Understands and applies the basic principles of presenting an argument
1. Understands that when people try to prove a point, they may at times select only the information that supports it and ignore the information that contradicts it
2. Identifies techniques used to slant information in subtle ways
3. Identifies the logic of arguments that are based on quantitative data 3
4. Identifies or seeks out the critical assumptions behind a line of reasoning and uses that to judge the validity of an argument
5. Understands that to be convincing, an argument must have both true statements and valid connections among them
6. Uses tables, charts, and graphs in constructing arguments 3
7. Analyzes the effectiveness of arguments based on the extent to which they rely on facts versus opinions 1
Overarching Standard 2:Making Connections
Effectively uses mental processes that are based on identifying similarities and differences (compares, contrasts, classifies)
1. Uses a comparison table to compare multiple items on multiple abstract characteristics
2. Identifies abstract patterns of similarities and differences between information on the same topic but from different sources
3. Identifies abstract relationships between seemingly unrelated items
4. Identifies the qualitative and quantitative traits (other than frequency and obvious importance) that can be used to order and classify items
Overarching Standard 3:Scientific Inquiry
Understands and applies basic principles of hypothesis testing and scientific inquiry
1. Identifies and critiques studies in which data, explanations, or conclusions are presented as the only ones worth considering
2. Tests hypotheses statistically
3. Presents alternative explanations and conclusions to one's own experiments
4. Gathers and analyzes field data using spatial sampling (e.g., place a transparent grid of squares on maps to count whether two characteristics such as corn production and hogs that are hypothesized to be spatially related coexist within the grid cells
Overarching Standard 4:Problem Solving
Applies different trouble-shooting and problem-solving techniques
1. Applies trouble-shooting strategies to complex real-world situations
2. Understands that trouble-shooting almost anything may require many-step branching logic
3.Trouble-shoots common mechanical and electrical systems, checking for possible causes of malfunction, and decides on that basis whether to make a change or get advice from an expert before proceeding
4. Engages in problem finding and framing for personal situations and situations in the community
5. Represents a problem accurately in terms of resources, constraints, and objectives
6. Provides summation of the effectiveness of problem-solving techniques
7. Reframes problems when alternative solutions are exhausted
8. Examines different options for solving problems of historical importance and determines why specific courses of action were taken
9. Evaluates the feasibility of various solutions to problems; recommends and defends a solution
Overarching Standard 5: Decision Making
Applies decision making techniques
1. Analyzes decisions that were major turning points in history and describes how things would have been different if other alternatives had been selected
2. Analyzes current or pending decisions that can affect national or international policy and identifies the consequences of each alternative
3.Uses a decision-making grid or matrix to make or study decisions involving a relatively large number of alternatives and criteria
4. Uses a balance sheet to evaluate the costs and benefits of various alternatives within a decision
Overarching Standard 6: Reasoning
Understands and applies basic principles of logic and reasoning
1. Understands the differences between the formal and informal uses (e.g., in everyday situations) of the logical connectors; "if...then," "not," "and," "or"
2. Analyzes the deductive validity of arguments based on implicit or explicit assumptions
3. Understands the difference between formal and informal uses (e.g., in everyday situations) of the terms "sufficient" and "necessary"
4. Understands the formal meaning of the logical quantifiers: "some," "none," and "all"
5. Understands that formal logic is mostly about connections between statements and that these connections can be considered without attention to whether the statements themselves are true or not
6. Understands that people sometimes reach false conclusions either by applying faulty logic to true statements or by applying valid logic to false statements
7. Understands that a reason may be sufficient to get a result but may not be the only way to get the result (i.e., may not be necessary), or a reason may be necessary to obtain a result but not sufficient (i.e., other things are also required; some reasons may be both necessary and sufficient)
8. Understands that logic can be used to test how well any general rule works
9. Understands that providing a general rule to be false can be done by finding just one exception; this is much easier than proving a general rule to be true for all possible cases
10. Understands that logic may be of limited help in finding solutions to problems if the general rules upon which conclusions are based do not always hold true; most often, we have to deal with probabilities rather than certainties
11. Understands that once a person believes a general rule, he or she may be more likely to notice things that agree with that rule and not notice things that do not; to avoid this "confirmatory bias," scientific studies sometimes use observers who do not know what the results are supposed to be
12. Understands that very complex logical arguments can be formulated from a number of simpler logical arguments
13. Identifies counter examples to conclusions that have been developed
1 - English Language Arts
2 - Math
3 - Science
4 - Social Studies
