Which of the following provide scope to develop critical thinking skills? (a)…
2024
Which of the following provide scope to develop critical thinking skills?
(a) What role did the Yamuna play in the layout of the Mughal city at Shahjahanabad?
(b) What is the purpose of press conference? How does the press conference help you get information on what the government is doing?
(c) Differentiate markets with illustrative examples.
(d) It is necessary for the civil servants to be politically neutral. Explain.
(e) Availability of water is a major factor affecting the settlement pattern. Discuss.
Choose the correct option:
- A.
Only (a), (b), (c) and (d)
- B.
Only (b), (c), (d) and (e)
- C.
Only (a), (b), (d) and (e)
- D.
Only (a), (c), (d) and (e)
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Bloom's Taxonomy separates lower-order thinking -- remembering, understanding, and applying an already-known fact or classification -- from higher-order, critical thinking, which requires analysing a cause-effect relationship, justifying a claim with reasons, or evaluating how something functions. A question builds critical thinking only when answering it demands analysis, justification, or evaluation; a question that only asks for recall or illustration of a known classification stays at the comprehension/application level.
Applying this to each part of the question:
Item | What it asks the learner to do | Cognitive demand |
|---|---|---|
(a) Yamuna's role in Shahjahanabad's layout | Explain the cause-effect link between a geographic feature and an urban planning decision | Critical thinking -- analysis |
(b) Purpose and use of a press conference | Explain a mechanism and evaluate how it helps citizens learn what the government is doing | Critical thinking -- analysis |
(c) Differentiate markets with examples | Recall an existing classification of markets and illustrate it with examples | Comprehension / application, not analysis |
(d) Political neutrality of civil servants | Justify a normative requirement with reasons | Critical thinking -- analysis/evaluation |
(e) Water availability and settlement patterns | Discuss the cause-effect link between resource availability and settlement choice | Critical thinking -- analysis |
So (a), (b), (d) and (e) each require analysing a cause-effect relationship or justifying a claim with reasons, which is what builds critical thinking. Item (c) only asks the learner to recall a market classification already taught and illustrate it with examples -- a comprehension-level task, not an analytical one.
Checking the other combinations offered confirms the same gap in each:
Only (a), (b), (c) and (d): correctly keeps three genuine analysis items -- (a), (b) and (d) -- but still treats the market-differentiation recall task (c) as if it needed the same critical thinking.
Only (b), (c), (d) and (e): correctly keeps three genuine analysis/discussion items -- (b), (d) and (e) -- but again carries the market-differentiation recall task (c) along with them.
Only (a), (c), (d) and (e): correctly keeps three genuine analysis items -- (a), (d) and (e) -- but still folds in the market-differentiation recall task (c) as though it were equivalent.
The questions that provide scope to develop critical thinking skills are (a), (b), (d) and (e) -- confirmed by the CBSE/CTET Paper 2 (July 2024) official final answer key.