The Importance Of Critical Thinking

[Armis]

Strategy games rely on a player’s mental capacity to outwit his opponent, this differs from most other games that primarily rely on luck (roll of the dice, and/or pick of a card) to win.  Brain games are often distinguished from strategy games in that they focus on static information you may know, and how fast you process it.  Strategy board games are affectionately considered brain games because they are often accompanied by lots and lots of meaningful thinking.

Checkers, and warri (also called mancala) are perhaps the most basic of strategy board games, these games are played more for fun than competition so they don’t often get to enjoy the ‘strategy game’ cache.  In both games all of the individual player pieces essentially have the same power, duty, and movement ability.

The board game called “Go” is very similar to checkers and warri in the power, duty, and movement ability categories, however it is often played competitively as such it is often called a strategy board game.  

Chess is the most well known of all strategy board games.  In our opinion it rises above the previously mentioned games in that various player pieces have different powers, duties, and movement abilities, these differences add a layer of complexity to the game.  

Armis is the newest member of the strategy board game family, it is distinguished from the others in many ways, so much so that we believe Armis is the first HIGH strategy board game.  Here are some major distinguishing characteristics:

1)  an asymmetric game board,
2)  5 different environments (land, air, coastal waters, deep surface waters, and deep submerged waters)
3)  some pieces have conditional powers,
4)   identical not mirrored (your right hand in the mirror is your reflection’s left hand) setup
and
5)  there are over a million ways to properly setup

Armis was created in the USA for brain game enthusiasts worldwide, it is currently played online in over 130 countries.  Some say playing Armis is like playing Chess, Checkers, Risk, and Stratego all at the same time.

.
Critical Thinking For Children

Armis is enjoyed by thinkers of all ages; the Armis for Schools Worldwide program uses Armis to help students to develop critical thinking skills at many schools around the world. .

Marilyn Price-Mitchell, PhD, of Roots of Action, said:“critical thinking skills don’t fully develop until adolescence but the foundations for good thinking develop in younger children.”  In Logical, Critical, and Creative Thinking  By T.N. Turner Pearson Turner says: “[h]elping students learn to think logically should lead them to critical and creative thought processes...” at Armis we agree wholeheartedly, we have found that children as young as 8 years old can grasp the fundamental principles of critical thinking.  

When asked: “What is Critical Thinking?” Michael Austin, author of Standards of Critical Thinking said: “... [it] is disciplined thinking that is governed by clear intellectual standards,” he continued saying: “[it] involves identifying and analyzing arguments and truth claims, ... developing your own reasons and arguments in favor of what you believe...”  Timothy Bednarz, Ph.D. in Leaders To Leaders said: “Critical Thinking is able to translate the thinking process into clear, persuasive, truthful language, which is carefully and logically crafted …  [e]very process or method is made of essential components, and critical thinking is no different ... perception, assumptions, emotion, language, argument, fallacy, logic, and problem solving.”   Closely related to Critical Thinking is Logical Thinking, according to Christina Sponias in How to Improve Logical Thinking Skills “ … logic is a particular method of reasoning … if we want to improve our logical thinking skills, we have to improve our capacity to judge reality.”

Armis is designed to teach students how to know how to know, once that is understood it is very easy to apply that knowledge process to academic environments.  At Armis we believe:

'A' students are those who know how to know and consistently apply it,
'B' students are those who know how to know but don't regularly advance it,
'C' students often don't know how to know but benefit greatly by their genuine interest in various academic subjects,
'D' students often don't know how to know and have low interest in academic subjects,
and
'F' students often don't care to know how to know,

The Armis for Schools Worldwide program enables ‘C’ and ‘D’ average student to know how to know by way of our 5 step critical thinking process.  The process readies them to be ‘A’ and ‘B’ average students in a relatively short period of time.
 
The Academics of Critical Thinking
Every institution of learning is rooted on a logical-thinking foundation. critical thinking is used to make a good system better. According to Logical, Critical, and Creative Thinking  By T.N. Turner Pearson Allyn Bacon: “[w]hen evaluation is based on analysis, as it normally is, then critical thinking involves often complex logical reasoning. Critical thinking requires comparing a personal [institutional, or corporate] set of experiences and values to current experiences, newly encountered data, and decision- and judgment-demanding situations.”  Meagan Meehan in The importance of critical thinking says: “[h]omeschoolers have an advantage for learning critical thinking skills because they can largely make their own curriculum and incorporate critical thinking lessons into it”  

[Armis]

The Academics of Critical Thinking

Every institution of learning is rooted on a logical-thinking foundation. critical thinking is used to make a good system better. According to Logical, Critical, and Creative Thinking  By T.N. Turner Pearson Allyn Bacon: “[w]hen evaluation is based on analysis, as it normally is, then critical thinking involves often complex logical reasoning. Critical thinking requires comparing a personal [institutional, or corporate] set of experiences and values to current experiences, newly encountered data, and decision- and judgment-demanding situations.”  Meagan Meehan in The importance of critical thinking says: “[h]omeschoolers have an advantage for learning critical thinking skills because they can largely make their own curriculum and incorporate critical thinking lessons into it”  

To us it really doesn’t matter if the education is institutional or home grown, the importance is acquiring the skills.  Here are our 5 steps to critical thinking during Armis game play juxtaposed with the same steps in relation to academic success:

1) Analysis and Assessment
2) Planning
3) Risk Assessment
4) Action
and
5) Reaction, Effect, and Experience

1) Analysis and Assessment - before you start any endeavor is important to know the rules that govern it.  For Armis you should read the rules; the equivalent for any level of school is reading the syllabus.

Then familiarize yourself with the environment, for Armis that means knowing the game board and player pieces; for school that mean knowing your teacher/professor, classmates, school building/campus, and key faculty (Principal, Dean, Advisers).

Now that you know what you are expected to do and where you are expected to perform the next step is to assess values so that you properly budget your efforts and resources.

2) Planning - In Armis there are over a million ways to properly setup , so after a setup is formed you should map and manage offensive and defensive strategies; for school you do the same with respect to an offensive strategy, the defensive strategy is less academic and more social. However, if it can impact your academic performance in a meaningful way it must be factored into your planning.

3) Risk Assessment - this is where you say "What if?", not just "What if he does?", but also "What if she doesn't?" for the game it is weighing probabilities that a player will do, or not do, certain actions; for school it has more to do with what can happen if you don't do as expected or planned. Not only on the macro level: 'what if I don't graduate', but also on the micro level: 'what if I oversleep, barely eat, or fail to exercise', 'what if I skip a class, or a homework assignment?'.

4) Action - for Armis this is where you make your move; for school this is where you: participate in class, hand in homework, take a test, and/or submit a paper.

and

5)  Reaction, Effect, and Experience - for Armis it is as much how your opponent’s reacts (or lack of reaction) as much as what effect that specific move has on the rest of the game. For school it is about how the instructor and class respond to your class participation, the teacher's feedback on a homework assignment or term paper, your professor’s feedback on a paper, as well as your academic ranking.  

Everything counts, as such the information that make up 1 - 5 including your opponent’s move, we consider to be a single whole experience.  Each move you make should be made with the intelligence of your experience. Likewise, everything you do, or don’t do, during your time in school impacts your academic success.


continued at: http://www.armisgame.com/Home/armis-for-schools-worldwide/critical-thinking

[Bit_Happy]

I am looking forward to having time to check this out.
I used to have so much more free time...

[Swordsoffreedom]

I am looking forward to having time to check this out.
I used to have so much more free time...

Work Classes Homework Assignments Projects

They do take a lot of time that said I still like to read these type of threads so keeping it as something to look forward to later
Love watchlists

Guess I'll throw in a concept
Locked in decision making

[Sindelar1938]

This is a topic close to my heart

As I have a 2 year old at home, I am figuring out how to best stimulate him and foster critical thinking ability

[Armis]

This is a topic close to my heart

As I have a 2 year old at home, I am figuring out how to best stimulate him and foster critical thinking ability

Whoa, a 2 year old, now that early.

We start early with bright 8yr old, but 10yr should be learning critical thinking in school


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-D99w85sCs0

[jarhed]

Armis(the game) will fade into oblivion. A failed attempt at re-inventing chess, pointless.

[Armis]

Armis(the game) will fade into oblivion. A failed attempt at re-inventing chess, pointless.

Everything will fade into oblivion, including but not limited to Armis, Chess, all games, the earth, this universe ... so what's your point?


If I had a nickel for every time someone looked at the game and said "chess".

Armis is as much a 'reinvention' of Chess as Chess is a reinvention of Checkers and Checkers a reinvention of Mancala.  Each one is a strategy games where players' rely on intelligence over luck to win, checkers is more complex than mancala, Chess is more complex than Checkers, and Armis is more complex than Chess.  

With Chess, Checkers, and Manchala there is only a single mirrored setup on a symmetric board , with Armis there are over a million ways to set-up, the setup is identical not mirrored and it is played on an asymmetric board.   Here's a comparison chart to give you a better appreciation of the difference between some of the more popular strategy games:   https://sites.google.com/site/armisboardgame/Home/comparison.jpg.  IMO, #3  is wrong because a mirror image is not "Identical" to the image it is reflecting; your left hand is your mirror image's right hand, with Armis the setups are actually identical.  

It took Chess about 100 years to reach 130 different countries, it took Armis 3 years.  Some of the smartest schools around the world are using Armis:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOKnExcoCQ4

[jarhed]

If you can best me in chess I'll help spread the gospel that is Armis.
How about it, best out of three? I'm a blitz player if that makes any difference.

[Armis]

If you can best me in chess I'll help spread the gospel that is Armis.
How about it, best out of three? I'm a blitz player if that makes any difference.

hahahaha, although I know how to play chess I'm not a chess player.

Here are two important things for you to know:

1) Regular chess and Blitz chess involves two totally different skill sets for the exact same game.  Those who play Blitz chess will beat regular chess players 90% of the time, because of that major skill set development difference.

2) Chess was designed for pensive play, not for ordinary thinking, and not for our highest level of thinking.  Blitz chess taps into the higher levels of thinking, when you are playing blitz chess you are playing with your your sub consciousness mind.  Armis is designed to be played on that level, Armis is designed to develop higher level thinking.

With Armis you could play 24/7 for the rest of your life and never use the same setup twice; when you are playing with pieces that have conditional powers, could push, fly, swim, dive, board, sacrifice, issue friendly-fire, and or cause mass destruction you know you are not playing Chess by any stretch of the imagination.

With that said, I'll give you $50 if you could beat me more than once out of seven game challenge.  That is an OPEN challenge which will last forever.


 



 

[Bit_Happy]

critical thinking
noun
disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by evidence.

My brain is a bit rusty...

[jarhed]

If you can best me in chess I'll help spread the gospel that is Armis.
How about it, best out of three? I'm a blitz player if that makes any difference.

hahahaha, although I know how to play chess I'm not a chess player.

Here are two important things for you to know:

1) Regular chess and Blitz chess involves two totally different skill sets for the exact same game.  Those who play Blitz chess will beat regular chess players 90% of the time, because of that major skill set development difference.

2) Chess was designed for pensive play, not for ordinary thinking, and not for our highest level of thinking.  Blitz chess taps into the higher levels of thinking, when you are playing blitz chess you are playing with your your sub consciousness mind.  Armis is designed to be played on that level, Armis is designed to develop higher level thinking.

With Armis you could play 24/7 for the rest of your life and never use the same setup twice; when you are playing with pieces that have conditional powers, could push, fly, swim, dive, board, sacrifice, issue friendly-fire, and or cause mass destruction you know you are not playing Chess by any stretch of the imagination.

With that said, I'll give you $50 if you could beat me more than once out of seven game challenge.  That is an OPEN challenge which will last forever.


 

One dislike I have about chess is the length of time players require to make a single move. Usually I have other things to do, like making sure my porn collection is intact, reading etherium's whitepaper, allowing girls to go wild, etc

Blitz remind us we all must one day die and there's not enough time in a single day to ponder all possible moves.

I'll look into Armis, eventually.

[Armis]

critical thinking
noun
disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by evidence.

My brain is a bit rusty...

according to wiki:
Critical thinking, as defined by the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking, is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action


I think including "open-minded" without qualification may be doing both phrases: Critical Thinking and open-minded a disservice. Those who are 'open minded' or being 'open minded' are simply being receptive to info, perhaps to some greater degree than expected or may be ordinarily considered reasonable.  Where as 'critical thinking' has more to do with the processing of the information AFTER it is received.   If anything 'critical thinking' is more closed than open, in that it seeks a solution based on knowns, and is less apt to 'consider everything'.