Links
Websites specifically focused on OCR’s A-level Critical Thinking course are a little thin on the ground. The OCR site contains the course specification and specimen exam papers, but there isn’t much else out there.
The one part of the course for which there is plenty of information on-line is the section of Unit 2 dealing with logical fallacies.
There are a number of sites that will help you to identify and expose bad reasoning, including Logical Fallacies, Michael LaBossiere’s Fallacies Introduction, and the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy’s Fallacy entry.
For some great examples of some terrible reasoning, Julian Baggini’s Bad Moves is well worth a look.
There’s also at least one site about how to use fallacies to win arguments, but I’m in two minds about whether to provide a link to it or not.
Before the internet came along, students used things called “books” as study aids. There are several of these that are written with A-level students in mind and are well worth using:
AS Critical Thinking Texts
- Roy van den Brink-Budgen, Critical Thinking for AS Level, How To Books (2005)
- Jacquie Thwaites, AS Critical Thinking for OCR Unit 1, Heinemann (2005)
- Jo Lally, Mark McBride & Dave Wells, AS Critical Thinking for OCR Unit 2, Heinemann (2006)
- Michael Haralambos & Rob Jones, Critical Thinking for OCR, Causeway (2006)
A2 Critical Thinking Texts
- Roy van den Brink-Budgen, Critical Thinking for A2, How To Books (2006)
- Tony McCabe & Jacquie Thwaites, A2 Critical Thinking for OCR Unit 3, Heinemann (2006)
- Jo Lally & Colin Hart, A2 Critical Thinking for OCR Unit 4, Heinemann (2006)
For those who prefer something more actively engaging than a book, Roy van den Brink-Budgen has published a CD-Rom covering the Unit 2 content. This can be played either through a computer as a series of multimedia lectures, or through an MP4 player as sound files. The course is wonderfully clear, and the combination of audio lectures and visual illustrations works well to ensure that the material sinks in. You can buy the CD, The Essentials of Critical Thinking, from Amazon. (It’s listed in the music section, but don’t worry: Roy doesn’t try to sing.)