Critical Mass Centering Critical Thinking in the Classroom Marc David Sociology and Anthropology

Critical thinking skills: the “holy grail” of higher ed Dissatisfaction with previous results in activities and assignments meant to foster it All the more “disappointing” in light of how skilled, sharp, capable our students are Oft mentioned, invoked as crucial – yet “rarely” specified or taught.

What’s differs about this instructional method from other ones What’s differs about this instructional method from other ones? How was course design and execution modified from my “default” approach?

An experiment in teaching critical thinking Four elements or “pieces” to this experiment Conceptual core: center critical thinking’s “essence” Course design: craft units that “stage debates” Classroom teaching: “unpack” concepts and facilitate skill acquisition Assignments: More practice, by thinking critically in writing Plus: Some evidence of student achievement

The essential “moves” of critical thinking First piece The essential “moves” of critical thinking

Center critical thinking’s “essence” Rather than leaving critical thinking ambiguous or implicit, define and foreground its essential moves in teaching and assignments Aim: to make critical thinking the object of instruction, such that students are aware of and intentional about its cultivation Conceptual core

The “basics” of critical thinking, defined Evidence When claims and contentions are made, to what degree are they grounded in documented empirical evidence? Alternative explanations/competing theories What potentially fruitful explanations or interpretations of the material are neglected or omitted?  Does the author explicitly consider competing theories about the matter in question? Assumptions What are the assumptions that the author operates under? To what degree are these assumptions valid and accurate?

Second piece Course design

Craft units that “stage an academic debate” Assemble course materials that simulate disagreement over a “live” issue in the field: the use of a concept, a debate over interpretation, different approaches to social phenomena, etc. Aim: to create more “leverage” for students to critically assess arguments Course design

Units that facilitate critical thinking First: A monograph as “anchor text” and “main argument” Thesis-driven and argumentative Empirical, evidence-based exposition Ideally, explicitly references opposing views/competing theories Anchor Text (Main argument)

Units that facilitate critical thinking Next: shorter texts that challenge or modify claims in the main argument Best: Texts that explicitly engage anchor text’s theories/claims from alternate/competing perspectives Good: Texts whose arguments can easily be “made to speak” to the main argument n.b.: these texts may come from different disciplines or fields – but best if they “overlap” in clear ways Opposing view Anchor Text (Main argument) Opposing view

Units that facilitate critical thinking Finally: text that defines or illuminates in depth a key concept Conceptualizes an idea that is central to all positions – i.e., the debate “turns” on this “key term” Need not engage the debate as framed by the anchor text Opposing view Anchor Text (Main argument) Key concept Opposing view

Edmonds: Plastic surgery enhances women’s agency Main argument Edmonds: Plastic surgery enhances women’s agency Opposing view #1: de Beauvoir Key concept: “Agency” Opposing view #2: Bordo Alternate explanation/ case study: Shin

Maxed out n.b. – this particular course implemented a “maximal version” of the approach, i.e., after several introductory lectures . . . The entire course – four distinct units – were each structured in the same way, Such that this design, classroom activities, and assignments were “run through” four times

Third piece Classroom teaching

“Unpack” concepts and facilitate skill acquisition Structure classroom activities such that students a) are introduced to the “substance” of critical thinking and b) given opportunities to engage in it Aim: to model and practice critical thinking during class sessions Classroom teaching

Freewrite + pair and share (to enable skill-building and comfort re forwarding and testing “personal” interpretations) Exercises that require focused reflection on key claims (“Hatful of quotes,” “Quotes to affirm and challenge”) Explicit classroom discussion about quality of evidence challenges from competing theories assumptions and their validity

Fourth piece Assignments

More practice, by thinking critically through writing Building off of practice during class sessions, craft assignments that explicitly call for the evaluation of evidence, competing theories, and assumptions Aim: to practice critical thinking skills in writing Assignments

“Critical analysis” assignment prompt The task In this assignment, assess the quality of the argument made by Peter Redfield in Life in Crisis by evaluating its “basics.” By this, I mean the fundamental aspects of empirically based arguments -- the assumptions that underlie the attempt to explain the phenomenon, and the evidence marshalled to support specific claims about it. Along with assumptions and evidence, you should consider the author’s engagement with alternative explanations or competing theories about the phenomenon, either explicitly or by inference. Below is the list of questions about these three dimensions of critical analysis, from which you should respond to questions relating to at least two of them.

Evidence of student achievement Finally . . . Evidence of student achievement

I learned to critically read books and articles and to look for arguments that lack evidence. Through reading more critically and considering the strengths of other authors, I learned how to structure my own convincing arguments and improve my own papers. The requirement that I examine these assumptions made by authors has caused me to develop a skill that will allow me to better examine the various forms of literature that I encounter in my college career, and also has a great deal of applicability when examining the actions that people take. I feel like the most valuable lessons I learned from this course came from my peers. Hearing others’ thought processes, listening to their opinions and examples, and being able to question and confirm ideas helped in my understanding of the topics.