The first five lessons in CoRT 2 deal with five common thinking operations. Each of these is made the subject of deliberate attention so that students can use them in an organised manner: asking specific questions and looking for specific answers. The next five lessons deal with the overall organisation of thinking so that it can be used in a deliberate and productive manner. The intention is to treat thinking as an organised operation rather than a discursive ramble in which one thing leads to another. Some of the lessons in the second half refer to processes learned in CoRT 1 (BREADTH) but the lessons can still be used even if CoRT 1 has not been taught, by omitting references to it.
Foreword
Model Lesson Sequence
Lesson Notes - How to Run the Lessons
Standard Lesson Format
Lesson 1: RECOGNISE. The deliberate effort to identify a situation in order to make it easier to understand or to deal with.
Teacher's Notes, Student's Notes (A), Student's Notes (B)
Lesson 2: ANALYSE. Two types of analysis. Deliberate dividing up of a situation in order to think about it more effectively.
Lesson 3: COMPARE. Using comparison in order to understand a situation. Examining points of similarity and difference in offered comparisons.
Lesson 4: SELECT. The deliberate effort to find something that fulfills the requirements. Selecting from different possibilities.
Lesson 5: FIND OTHER WAYS. The deliberate effort to find alternative ways of looking at things.
Lesson 6: START. The practical business of starting to think about something. What is the first thing to do?
Lesson 7: ORGANISE. The practical business of organising the way a situation is to be tackled.
Lesson 8: FOCUS. Looking at different aspects of a situation, especially being clear as to what aspect is under consideration at the moment.
Lesson 9: CONSOLIDATE. What has been achieved so far? Drawing together and being clear about what has been done and what has been left out.
Teacher's Notes, Student's Notes (A), Student's Notes (B)
Lesson 10: CONCLUDE. Arriving at a definite conclusion, even if that declares that no definite conclusion is possible.