So What is Critical Thinking & Why Should

I Take It Seriously?Stephen Brookfield

University of St. Thomas,Minneapolis-St. Paul

www.stephenbrookfield.com

What is Critical Thinking?

• Critical Thinking Lies Behind Every Decision & Action We Take in Life, Such As ….

• Who to date• What true friendship looks like

• Which courses to take (& which to avoid)• Which instructors are the best

• Who to trust• How faith is lived day to day

Assumptions

• All these decisions are based on Assumptions • Assumptions are the rules & judgments we

use to guide our decisions & actions Examples• You can trust people if they keep their

promises & listen carefully to you – an assumption derived from personal experience

• An instructor is good because your peers recommend her or him – an assumption derived from your peer group’s authority

Critical Thinking - A Survival Tool

• So thinking critically is a survival tool we need to get through life

• Everybody does it – you don’t need a college degree to think critically

• If you can’t think critically your actions & decisions through your life will be based on habit, luck or because someone else has told you what to think & do

LET’S CONCRETIZE – “Smarts”

• My Assumption: I am not smart • Evidence: I failed my college entrance tests• Action: There’s no point reapplying for college WHAT PERSPECTIVE COUNTERED THIS?A family friend in college admissions told me that the main qualities for succeeding in college were not intelligence or talent but: DETERMINATION / ORGANIZATION * Action – ‘back door’ local Technical college

LET’S CONCRETIZE – “Friendship”

• Assumption: Loyalty is the most important characteristic of a good friend

• Evidence: Times in high school, college & adulthood when I have been in trouble & my friends dropped everything in their lives to help & support me

• Contrary Perspectives: none to convince me• Actions: I judge people’s worth by how they

behave in times of trouble, not ease

LET’S CONCRETIZE- “Depression”• Assumptions: My depression is best treated by

telling myself to ‘snap out of it’ • Drugs are for those too weak to cope with life• Evidence: Logical thinking, Societal norms• Contrary Perspective: Seeing the effect of my

untreated depression on my family • Family & friends - seek professional help• Actions: Viewing depression as chemical

imbalance in the brain treated by meds (as is my acid reflux & cholesterol)

LET’S CONCRETIZE – “Racism”• Assumptions: I am not a racist & treat

everyone the same regardless of color• Evidence: Personal conviction, Church, Politics• Contrary Perspective: Being told by students &

colleagues of color that I’m ‘race-blind’• Action: Understanding my micro-aggressions

Action: Vigilance against micro-aggressions• Action: Accepting I have learned racism so

well I will never ‘cleanse’ myself of it

In Academic Study You Think Critically When You….

• Explore different viewpoints and perspectives on the theories and concepts you are studying

• Assess the evidence for hypotheses and arguments & decide that some are more accurate than others

• Develop your own independent judgments & arguments that you can defend

• Can apply information or thinking learned in one course to new areas of study

Let’s Concretize – “1st Class Speech”

• Call me Stephen – friendly atmosphere• I look forward to teaching – I learn so

much from my students• My job – help you realize what you know• Questions – encouraged but I don’t know

all the answers / gifts for learning• Mistakes – richest moment in learning• Unexpected Event – pool our wisdom

Picture the Scene

1st Class Speech

• Call me Ingrid• I love teaching Intro. to Rafting 101 – I

learn so much from my students• My job – help you realize what you know• Questions are welcomed but I don’t

know all the answers / gifts for learning• Mistakes – 3 mistakes last time on this

stretch of the river• Unexpected Event – form into groups

Questions …

• When do you think you have done critical thinking in your life?

• What decisions or actions have you taken where you wish you had thought more critically?

• What does critical thinking look like when you’ve seen it happen….

In a friend’s actionsIn a TV show

In a film