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Humor:
Teacher: You missed school
yesterday, didn’t you?
Pupil: Not very much!
Dear visitor,
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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