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Humor:
Teacher: You missed school
yesterday, didn’t you?
Pupil: Not very much!
Dear visitor,
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My answer is rooted in the call to empower our students to be
critical thinkers. I believe that to be critical thinkers, educators
need to provide students with the strategies they need. And
we need to ask more than just surface-level questions.
Questions to students must motivate them to dig up
background knowledge. They should inspire them to make
connections to real-world scenarios. These make the learning
more memorable and meaningful.
Critical thinking is a general term. I believe this term means
that students effectively identify, analyze, and evaluate content
or skills. In this process, they (the students) will discover and
present convincing reasons in support of their answers or
thinking.
You can look up critical thinking and get many definitions like
this one from Wikipedia:
“Critical thinking consists of a mental process of analyzing or
evaluating information, particularly statements or propositions
that people have offered as true.”
In my current role as director of curriculum and instruction, I
work to promote the use of 21st-century tools and, more
importantly, thinking skills. Some essential skills that are the
basis for critical thinking are:
These four bullets are skills students are going to need in any
field and in all levels of education. Hence my answer to the
question. We need to teach our students to think critically and
for themselves.
One of the goals of education is to prepare students to learn
through discovery. Providing opportunities to practice being critical
thinkers will assist students in analyzing others’ thinking and
examining the logic of others.
Understanding others is an essential skill in collaboration and
in everyday life. Critical thinking will allow students to do more
than just memorize knowledge.
So how do we do this? One recommendation is for educators
to work in-depth questioning strategies into a lesson launch.
Ask thoughtful questions to allow for answers with sound
reasoning. Then, word conversations and communication to
shape students’ thinking. Quick answers often result in very
few words and no eye contact, which are skills we don’t want
to promote.
When you are asking students questions and they provide
a solution, try some of these to promote further thinking:
Utilizing critical thinking skills could be seen as a change in the
paradigm of teaching and learning. Engagement in education
will enhance the collaboration among teachers and students.
It will also provide a way for students to succeed even if the
school system had to start over.
Critical thinking is key for many aspects of life
and an important skill for university study across
a range of disciplines. No matter what you’re
studying, you’ll likely be required to use critical
thinking to interpret and analyze information.
Strong critical thinking skills can help you form
better arguments in your assessments, as you’ll
be required to engage with materials – not just
regurgitate your textbooks.
If you’d like to improve your critical
thinking in preparation for your studies,
these strategies can help you hone
these skills to support a successful
academic life.
Don’t Believe Everything You’re Told
The first step to critical thinking is to consider more
than one point of view. It’s important to go beyond
trusting what you hear or read as the truth, because
everyone has their own opinions, motives, and
biases – even academics. When learning, you
should ask what evidence the source has to support
their argument. Consider if there may be other
possible solutions or methods. Evaluate every
side to the story or problem and the strengths and
weaknesses of these arguments to make an
informed decision.
Don’t Believe Everything You Think
It’s easier said than done, but critical thinking
requires you to leave your own opinions and biases
at the door and embrace other information. Just
because you’ve always done something a certain
way doesn’t mean it’s the right way. Question your
assumptions and beliefs. Be open to considering
different points of view and the validity of other
arguments – you just might learn something new.
Ask Questions
Not sure about something you read in your
textbook? Want your professor to elaborate on a
claim they made in a lecture? Don’t be afraid to ask.
Asking questions is a great way to not only learn
more about a topic, but also to learn new ways of
thinking about things. Questions can be the catalyst
to intelligent discussions with teachers and
classmates, where participants can exchange ideas
and learn more than what’s in their textbooks.
Research Deeper
The more information you have, the better. Doing
your own research goes hand in hand with not taking
what you’re taught at face value. Dig deeper and
take a dive down the rabbit hole – whether it’s in the
library or online. Research is your best friend when
it comes to solving problems, so get your hands on
several sources to be better prepared to form an
educated solution.
Evaluate Your Work
Critical thinking involves evaluating your work and the
strength of your arguments to determine whether
there’s room for improvement. Relying solely on
repeating what’s taught in your textbooks isn’t enough.
You need to think critically about the material and think
for yourself to craft worthy arguments supported by
evidence.
A great way to develop critical thinking skills is to
engage in conversations with other students – either
in the classroom or common areas of your student
accommodation.
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