Developing critical thinking skills

Feb 26, 2015

This podcast delves into the complexities of defining critical thinking, explores different theories and taxonomies, and suggests practical strategies like inverting the classroom and providing practice in ambiguous situations to enhance students' critical thinking skills.

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INSIGHT

Defining Critical Thinking

Faculty often agree students lack critical thinking skills, but struggle to define what those skills are.
Different disciplines define it differently, plus personal biases add to the complexity.

INSIGHT

Developmental Model of Critical Thinking

The developmental model views critical thinking as a phased process of intellectual maturation.
Learners progress from simplistic black-and-white thinking to nuanced contextual understanding.

INSIGHT

Learning Styles and Critical Thinking

The learning styles model emphasizes how the brain processes information through experience, reflection, and action.
While learning style categorization is debated, learning preferences influence how individuals perceive and process information.

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Tine Reimers helps us define the term critical thinking and truly start developing our students’ skills.

PODCAST NOTES

[GUEST ]

Tine Reimers

Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Specialist
Centre for Innovation and Excellence in Learning
Vancouver Island University

Critical Thinking

Defining critical thinking (and the inherent challenges when we want to improve critical thinking in our students, without actually agreeing, collectively, on what we mean)

Different disciplines define critical thinking differently than each other

Difficulty in the concrete way in how to get students to think critically in the discipline-specific way that I’m trying to develop…

HANDOUT: Taxonomy of [some] critical thinking theories

* Developmental
– what gets emphasized?
– a few of the thinkers/researchers who posit this theory

* Learning styles / bio-neurological models of thought
Article from Wired: All you need to know about learning styles…
– what gets emphasized?
– a few of the thinkers/researchers who posit this theory

* Categories of cognitive skills
– what gets emphasized?
– a few of the thinkers/researchers who posit this theory

* Processes of self (in culture and society)
– what gets emphasized?
– a few of the thinkers/researchers who posit this theory

Episode with stephenbrookfield/15

Suggestions to grow critical thinking

Invert the classroom intellectually
Give the students practice in situations of ambiguity and complexity

[Correction: I said I was listening to the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast, but I meant that I was listening to the Inside Higher Ed podcast on competency-based programs]

Each team gets a significant problem to work on
Give the same problem to all the groups in the class
Limited set of choices as right answers
Which is the best answer to this problem
Simultaneous report in the classroom
Clickers or cards in class
Why did you say D?

Next steps

Flip the classroom – all of class period is around problem solving and sticking to your guns

Rabbit holes are a way of thinking… and we don’t give our students enough chances to do that type of thinking in foundational classes.

ARTICLE: First day questions for learner-centered classrooms, by Gary Smith, University of New Mexico

Michelson and Fink’s team based learning approach

Michelson’s Team Based Learning – team task design – good for any discipline that you can do…
Chrissy Spencer talking on Teaching in Higher Ed about teaching large classes
Team based learning list serve
Team based learning site

RECOMMENDATIONS

From Tine:

On Intelligence, Jeff Hawkins
Reality is Broken, Jane McGonnigal