Critical Thinking: The Who, What, How, & Why Department of Psychology Professional Development Workshops January 15, 2004

 What is Critical Thinking?  William Perry’s Theory of Intellectual Development  Why is critical thinking important?  How do we teach critical thinking?  What are examples of critical thinking activities?

What is Critical Thinking? “The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives.” Robert M. Hutchins Critical thinking is the process of analyzing the arguments of others. It means examining the logic of such arguments. It enables people to do more than just repeat knowledge.

Features of Critical Thinking Skepticism Operational definitions Questioning of assumptions of arguments Caution in using correlational evidence Alternative interpretations No oversimplification No overgeneralization

William Perry’s Theory Perry’s theory explains how college students make sense of what they hear and experience in the college classroom. (1970, 1981) There are three major stages of intellectual development that most students progress through: DUALISTIC STUDENTS See the world as a place of absolutes. There is a single correct answer. Knowledge is seen as existing absolutely. Tend to think in terms of "right" answers The role of the professor is to provide the correct answers. MULTIPLISTIC STUDENTS Recognize that there are multiple perspectives to problems. Cannot evaluate each perspective adequately. Typical response might be "We're all entitled to our own opinions," RELATIVISTIC STUDENTS See knowledge as relative to particular frames of reference. Look for the "big picture, Think about their own thinking, may have difficulty making a decision..

IMPLICATIONS OF THE PERRY MODEL FOR CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION Dualistic students often respond negatively and question the credibility of a professor who fails to respond immediately with a firm answer. They can be confused when told there are multiple correct answers and The notion of "right answers" carries over to evaluation of students. Dualistic students want absolute correct answers. Multiplistic students wonder why their answers are not correct

More implications Working with dualistic students -challenge students to consider the validity of alternative perspectives -provide support, concrete examples and opportunities to practice more complex thinking. Working with multiplistic students -provide experience that help them distinguish between good and poor arguments -encourage students to explore knowledge together

Bloom’s Taxonomy of Thinking Skills Knowledge – facts or bits of information Comprehension – understanding what information means Application – finding a practical use for the knowledge Analysis – breaking down the knowledge into component parts Synthesis – connecting knowledge to other knowledge and devising something new Evaluation – judging knowldge

Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy Remember Understand Apply Analyze Evaluate Create Four dimensions of knowledge: factual, conceptual, procedural, metacognitive

Why is Critical Thinking Important? Critical thinking prepares students to educate themselves for the rest of their lives. Critical thinking skills are necessary for success in many fields. Critical thinkers are less likely to just go along with the crowd

How to Teach Critical Thinking Use analogies Promote interaction among students Ask open-ended questions Allow sufficient time for reflection Teach students to apply knowledge to other domains Use real-life problems Allow for thinking practice

Resources Perry, W.G. (1970). Forms of intellectual and ethical development in the college years: A scheme. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Perry, W.G. (1981). Cognitive and ethical growth: The making of meaning. In Arthur Chickering, The Modern American College, pp San Francisco: Jossey- Bass. htmlhttp://ericfacility.net/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed html