Critical Thoughts about Critical Thinking Fitchburg State University Center for Teaching and Learning Summer Institute August 14, 2013 Laura M. Garofoli, PhD Associate Professor of Psychological Science

Why Be So Critical? 1. We all have different ideas of what critical thinking means, and our definitions are just as varied. 2. There is a difference between thinking skills and a thinking dispositions, and both are crucial for our students. 3. There are instructional strategies that can be used to turn our students into thinkers.

Thinking Skills  Higher-order thinking involves complex cognitive processes that APPLY and TRANSFORM our knowledge, skills, and conceptual understandings.  Most students are stuck in lower-order, reproductive thinking behaviors and lack the dispositions to pull themselves up.

Thinking Dispositions  “Tendencies to explore, to inquire, to seek clarity, to take intellectual risks, to think critically and imaginatively” (Tishman, Jay, & Perkins, 1992, p. 2)  Notice, this definition includes the term critical thinking!

Some Critical Dispositions  Open-mindedness  Analytical reasoning  Systematic planning  Intellectual curiosity  Use of reason and evidence  Metacognition - Thinking about one’s own thinking

Lower- vs. Higher-Order Thinking Bohlin, Durwin, & Reese-Weber Ed Psych: Modules 2e Copyright 2012: McGraw-Hill Publishers

Psychologists Say… “The ideal critical thinker is habitually inquisitive, well-informed, trustful of reason, open-minded, flexible, fair-minded in evaluation, honest in facing personal biases, prudent in making judgments, willing to reconsider, clear about issues, orderly in complex matters, diligent in seeking relevant information, reasonable in the selection of criteria, focused in inquiry, and persistent in seeking results which are as precise as the subject and circumstances of inquiry permit” (APA, 1990).

Can We Agree Today that…  Critical thinking is the process of evaluating the accuracy and value/worth of information and lines of reasoning.  This alone is multi-faceted.  Critical thinkers are capable of reflecting, exploring, and analyzing (skills)  Critical thinkers choose to think in advanced, sophisticated ways (dispositions)

Qualitative Dimensions of Critical Thought Bohlin, Durwin, & Reese-Weber Ed Psych: Modules 2e Copyright 2012: McGraw-Hill Publishers

Developmental Characteristics  Students are unaware of any significant problems in their thinking.  Students recognize the need for regular practice of critical thinking and take advantage of ways to practice.  Critical thinking becomes second nature as the individual becomes a “master thinker.”

Fostering Critical Thinking  Make students aware of what it means to think critically.  Direct instruction and multiple opportunities to practice are key.  Encourage students to monitor their own thinking.  Again, teach them what it means to engage in metacognition.  Use instructional strategies to help students think critically.  Well, duh!

Instructional Strategies  Directly teaching Bloom’s Taxonomy  Questioning in class discussions  With appropriate wait time (at least 3 sec.)  Classroom discussions  Guided with written requirements after  Reading and writing analysis tasks  Safety in critiquing strangers  Hypothesis testing  Inductive and deductive reasoning tasks  Argument analysis  Spacing and interleaving of practice opportunities

Extending the Life of a Discussion  Before: Start each class session with purposive discussion for which students are prepared.  Preparation includes explicit instruction about what critical skills will be targeted.  During: Break discussions into smaller parts and have students choose areas of interest.  After: Have students write summaries after discussion.  Brief, effective written assignments clearly connect to the critical skills targeted both during the discussion AND throughout the semester (interleaving).

Fighting Cognitive Obstacles  Functional fixedness – Inability to see objects in a new way  Response set – Tendency to respond to events or situations in the way that is most familiar to us  Belief perseverance – Tendency to hold onto our beliefs even in the face of contradictory evidence