Exercising Your Critical Thinking Skills

In today’s world, where digital assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google can provide instant answers to nearly any question, the ability to think critically is more important than ever. Teaching students how to think, not just what to think, has become essential to education.

In Episode 270 of our podcast, we dive deeper into this topic with Dr. Emily Fyfe, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Indiana University. Dr. Fyfe and her colleagues have recently published groundbreaking research titled, “A Scalable, Versatile Approach for Improving Critical Thinking Skills,” which offers fresh insights into how we can enhance our critical thinking abilities.

The Study: A Closer Look

Dr. Fyfe explains that this research was inspired by a troubling observation: Many people, regardless of their education level, could be more proficient in critical thinking. “Just because you are educated, or have attended a class or even graduated from college, doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a better critical thinker,” says Fyfe. “That’s a problem we wanted to address.”

In their study, all participants began with a pre-test and received basic training on critical thinking principles. Then, they were divided into three groups:

1. Critical Thinking Practice Group: This group engaged in targeted exercises designed to strengthen critical thinking skills.
2. Non-Critical Thinking Practice Group: Participants in this group underwent exercises unrelated to critical thinking.
3. Control Group: This group received no additional practice after the initial training.

Following the exercises, all participants took a post-test. The results showed that those who participated in the critical thinking practice significantly improved from their pre-test scores. In contrast, the other groups showed minimal gains.

Why It Matters

These findings underscore the importance of actively practicing critical thinking rather than assuming it develops passively through general education. To hear more about Dr. Fyfe’s research and why it’s crucial to exercise our critical thinking muscles, tune in to Episode 270 of the Class Dismissed podcast. You can find it on your favorite podcast app or iTunes.

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