Critical thinking
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What is Critical Thinking?
The idea of critical thinking can be traced all the way back to the teaching practices of Socrates of ancient Greece. Today, educators affirm that one of the most important teaching goals is to promote critical thinking in the college classroom (1). Higher education scholars such as Michael Scriven believe that "training in critical thinking should be the primary task of education" (2). But what IS critical thinking? Although the concept of critical thinking seems to be constantly evolving due to minute refinements and sophistications, most proponents of critical thinking agree that it is the overall process of acquiring information and evaluating it to reach a well-justified conclusion or answer (3, 4). In general, critical thinking is the ability to demonstrate skills associated with "higher-order" reasoning, such as those proposed by Bloom in his hierarchical classification of learning behaviors (5). These higher order thinking skills include abilities such as drawing inferences from written or auditory material, reconceptualizing problems in multiple ways, evaluating evidence presented by claims, and making independent judgments about the value of ideas or materials (4). Thus, critical thinking generates purposes, raises questions, uses information, utilizes concepts, makes inferences, makes assumptions, generates implications, and embodies a point of view (5).
Why Critical Thinking?
Why would we want to perfect critical thinking skills in college students? Students must be able to think critically in order to be well educated; the ability to think is much more valuable than any other skill or information learned in college (6). Educating students to critically think ensures their competence and competitiveness in our rapidly changing modern world, a world in which today's students will have careers in disciplines that do not yet even exist (6). In the international global community, we are creating information at an explosive rate. The media literally bombards our eyes and ears with a relentless stream of persuasive articles, images, text, and ideas. Not all of this information is accurate, valuable, or beneficial. Students need to learn to separate the sense from the nonsense and do it quickly (6). Unfortunately, even at the level of higher education, most students have never been introduced to critical thinking (even in upper division courses), and therefore cannot systematically use it to empower their learning (7). By the time students are enrolled in a college-level science course, which typically demand higher-order reasoning, many students may feel as though they are being asked to speak in another language. But with practice and repetition in the classroom, students (of all ages) can not only learn to efficiently spot fallacies in the reasoning of others, but can also avoid making their own (8).
What Can We Do To Encourage Critical Thinking in the Classroom?
- Join a Collaborative Discussion among faculty, instructors, and graduate students who are interested in integrating critical thinking in the classroom
- Visit WSU's Center for Teaching and Learning Technology (CTLT) to find out about faculty and graduate student teaching and learning workshops
- promote active questioning and Student Engagement in the classroom (Clickers in Classrooms, active powerpoint lectures)
References Used on This Page
1). Yuretich, R.F., (2003). Encouraging critical thinking. Journal of College Science Teaching vol. 33, No. 3, p. 40-46.
2). Scriven, M. (1985). Critical for survival. National Forum, 55, 9-12.
3). Wikipedia. Critical Thinking
4). Scriven, M. & Paul, R. Defining Critical Thinking.
5). Bloom, B.S. (1964). Stability and change in human characteristics. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
6). Smith, R.A. (2002). Challenging Your Preconceptions: Thinking Critically About Psychology. 2nd Ed. Thomson/Wadsworth. Belmont, CA.
7). Paul, R (1995). Critical Thinking: How to Prepare Students for a Rapidly Changing World. Foundation for Critical Thinking.
8). Ruscio, J. (2006). Critical Thinking in Psychology: Separating Sense from Nonsense. 2nd Ed. Thomson/Wadsworth: Belmont, CA.