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Teaching Critical Thinking
Dr John Peters
Academic development andpractice
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Session blurb
This session will share the way in we
already, often implicitly, address critical
thinking and offer some alternative
ideas and practical exercises for
embedding the teaching of critically
thinking skills in subject programmes.
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Learning Outcomes
Offer definitions and models of critical thinking
Explore reasons for teaching critical thinking
Make more explicit current support for student
critical thinking
Consider the possibilities of explicitly teaching
critical thinking
Deploy practical exercises to support studentlearning of critical thinking skills
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What is critical thinking?
Reviewing from different perspectives in order toformulate own personalised judgement / view pointand to be able to apply it to the matter in hand andengage in development
Stepping back & recognising different perspectives
Comprehending & valuing different viewpoints
Appreciating someone elses viewpoint and logic butnot necessarily agreeing
Being able to underpin your argument with evidence
Reviewing and developinga constant cycle ofreflection and adaptation
Analysistaking things to pieces
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What is critical thinking?
an ability to present, evaluate, and
interpret data, to develop lines of
argument and make sound judgements.
QAA, Framework for Higher Education
Qualifications, Certificate level
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Issues
Requiring
Defining
Teaching Learning
What do we do already?
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Defining Critical Thinking 1
Critical thinking is about uncovering the
truth by attacking and removing all that
is false.
Therefore its reactive, destructive and
adversarial
It is thus a small part of thinking and toomuch emphasis is already placed on it
(De Bono, 1993)
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Defining Critical Thinking 2
Critical thinking is a rational and
purposeful attempt to use thought to
move towards a future goal (Halpern
1984 in Brookfield, 1987)
Therefore it is productive, positive,
open, engaged and humble (Brookfield,
1987)
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Defining critical thinking 3
Four traditions of critical thinking
Analytical philosophy & logic
psycho-analytical & personal criticality Ideology critiquecritiquing the dominant
ideology and challenging hegemony
Pragmatic constructivism
(Brookfield 2005)
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Components of critical thinking
Identifying and challenging assumptions:notice differences between assumptions andexperience
Awareness & exploration of context:everything is contextual
Imagining and exploring alternatives:divergence & diversity
Analysis, judgement, resolution & action
Reflective scepticism: particularly to claims ofuniversal truth Brookfield 1987
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An example of reactive critical
thinking
Christopher
Columbusdiscovered
America in 1492
Discuss?!?
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Teaching critical thinking 1
Identifying arguments Structure, logic, consistency & reasoning
Identifying assumptions
premises & connotations Identifying flaws in arguments
False analogies, emotive, tautology,misrepresentation
Providing evidenceAuthentic, valid, reliable, robust & current
Cottrell (2005)
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Ideas for teaching the application
of critical thinking to the work of
others
Reading texts using structured critical
thinking questions Analysis then evaluation
Assessing example assignments
.
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So whats an argument?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teMlv
3ripSM
Could this be used with students?!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teMlv3ripSMhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teMlv3ripSMhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teMlv3ripSMhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teMlv3ripSM8/10/2019 Teaching Critical Thinking 2009 and Notes
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An Example of Constructive
Critical Thinking
An argument: an attempt to persuade byoffering reason[s] and a conclusion
Reason: Students are not very good at critical
thinking Conclusion: So we should teach critical
thinking skills
Two key questions
Is the reason acceptable / valid / well-founded?
Does the conclusion follow logically from thereason?
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Issues
No evidence of the assertion
Issue of struggling with academic critical
thinking
Its the context and constraints that are the
problemconfidence?!
Reason doesnt follow
We need to know why?
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Constructing a better
argumentWe should teach critical thinking skillsbecause or better
Students should learn to be critical thinkers
because... or better still, perhaps,
We should encourage student to value and
deploy critical thinking because....
Because its fundamental / a good thing /
makes them better professionals / learnersBecause itll get them a good degree and a
job
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Helping others think critically
Recognise that questioning assumptions can be
threatening and emotional
Model assumption analysis
Encourage critique of assumptions in assignments Encourage critique of our own work
Encourage self-evaluation
Model risk taking
Model openness, hold real conversations
Encourage divergence & creativity
Brookfield
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Ideas for teaching the application
of critical thinking to own work
Self assessment
Peer assessment
Argument construction in sessions More non-team sport should be done in
schools because
Nurses should engage in CPD because
Germany was responsible for the second
world war because
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De Bono, 5 stage general structure
TO: focus & objectives, define the problem
LO: look around, explore, gather information,
examine factors, assess context
PO: generate possibilities, speculations,
options, ideas, propose alternatives
SO: compare, sift, check & decide
GO: action plan
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Teaching creativity
Sternberg, R. & Williams, W. 24Teaching for creativity: two dozen tips
http://www.cdl.org/resource-
library/articles/teaching_creativity.php
Norman Jackson, Tackling the wickedproblem of creativity in HE
http://www.surrey.ac.uk/sceptre/documents/TACKLINGTHEWICKEDPROBLEM09.pdf
http://www.cdl.org/resource-library/articles/teaching_creativity.phphttp://www.cdl.org/resource-library/articles/teaching_creativity.phphttp://www.surrey.ac.uk/sceptre/documents/TACKLINGTHEWICKEDPROBLEM09.pdfhttp://www.surrey.ac.uk/sceptre/documents/TACKLINGTHEWICKEDPROBLEM09.pdfhttp://www.surrey.ac.uk/sceptre/documents/TACKLINGTHEWICKEDPROBLEM09.pdfhttp://www.surrey.ac.uk/sceptre/documents/TACKLINGTHEWICKEDPROBLEM09.pdfhttp://www.surrey.ac.uk/sceptre/documents/TACKLINGTHEWICKEDPROBLEM09.pdfhttp://www.surrey.ac.uk/sceptre/documents/TACKLINGTHEWICKEDPROBLEM09.pdfhttp://www.cdl.org/resource-library/articles/teaching_creativity.phphttp://www.cdl.org/resource-library/articles/teaching_creativity.phphttp://www.cdl.org/resource-library/articles/teaching_creativity.php8/10/2019 Teaching Critical Thinking 2009 and Notes
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