criticalthinking

criticalthinkingCritical thinkingIn recent years “critical thinking” has become something of a buzz word not only in education circles but also in economy orany other areas. For many reasons, educators have become very interested in teaching “thinking skills” of various kinds incontrast with teaching information and content. Of course, you can do both, but in the past the emphasis in most people?steaching has been on the teaching ne thinks. It is our nature to do so. But much of our thinking, left to itself, is biased,distorted, partial, uninformed, ordownright prejudiced. Yet the quality of our life and that of what we produce, make, or build depends precisely on the qualityof our thinking is costly, both in money and in quality of life. Excellence in thought, however,must besystematically al thinking is that mode of thinking—about any subject, content, or problem—in which the thinker improves the quality ofhis or her thinking by skillfully taking charge of the structures inherent in thinking and imposing intellectual standards uponthem.1 what is critical thinking and its history1.1 John Dewey and ‘reflective thinking’In fact, people have been thinking about …critical thinking? and have been researching how to teach it for about a hundredyears. In a way, Socrates began this approach to learning over 2000years ago,but John Dewey, the American philosopher,psychologist and educator, is widely regarded as the …father?of the modern critical thinking tradition. He called it …reflectivethinking? and defined it as:Active, persistent, and careful consideration of a belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds whichsupport it and the further conclusions to which it express this in more familiar language, he is saying that what matters are the reasons we have for believing somethingand the implications of our beliefs. It is no exaggeration to say that critical thinking attaches huge importance to reasoning, togiving reasons and to evaluating reasoning as well as possible.1.2 Edward Glaser, building on Dewey’s ideasEdward Glaser, co-author of what has become the world?s most widely used test of critical thinking, the Watson-GlaserCritical Thinking Appraisal,defined critical thinking as:(1)an attitude of being disposed to consider in a thoughtful way the problems an subjects that come within the range of one’sexperience;(2)Knowledge of the methods of logical enquiry and reasoning;(3)Some skill in applying those al thinking calls for a persistent effort to examine any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of evidence thatsupports it and the further conclusion to which it tends1.3 Robert Ennis-a widely used definitionOne of the most famous contributors to the development of the critical thinking tradition is Robert Ennis; his definition, whichhas gained wide currency in the field, is:Critical thinking is reasonable, reflective thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe or Dewey?s definition, this definition needs no further explanation because the words are familiar to us.1.4 Richard Paul and ‘thinking about your thinking’Richard paul gave a definition of critical thinking which looks rather different from the other definitions given above. It is:Critical thinking is that mode of thinking-about any subject, content or problem-in which the thinker improves the quality of hisor her thinking by skilfully taking charge of the structures inherent in thinking and imposing intellectual standards upon definition is interesting because it draws attention to a feature of critical thinking on which teachers and researchers in

the field seem to be largely agreed, that the only realistic way to develop one’s critical thinking ability is thr ough ‘thinkingabout one’s thinking’, and consciously aiming to improve it by reference to some model of good thinking in that domain.1.5 A final definition of critical thinkingOne last definition is worth reviewing. Michael Scriven has recently argued that critical thinking is an …academiccompetency? akin to reading and writing? and is of similarly fundamental importance. He defines it thus:Critical thinking is skilled and active interpretation and evaluation of observations and communications, information is unusual to include explicit reference to …observation?in a definition of critical thinking, but what one sees or hears oftenrequires interpretation and evaluation and this may well require the use of critical thinking skills. Scriven takes the term?information?to refer to factual claims, and the term …communications?to go beyond information to include questions,commands, other linguistic utterance, signals, etc. Finally …argumentation?consists of language presenting reasons forconclusions. Perhaps the most striking feature of this definition is the way it recognizes that …observations? can be mattersfor critical summarize all the contents mentioned above, picture can best describe the core critical thinking skills:Why would it be of value to you to have the cognitive skills of interpretation, analysis, evaluation, inference, explanation, andself-regulation?Why would it be of value to you to learn to approach life and to approach specific concerns with the affectivedispositions listed above. Would you have greater success in your work? Would you get better grades? To answer thesequestions, let?s come to the next part-w hy is critical thinking of value.2 w hy is critical thinking of valueActually the answer to the grades question, scientifically speaking, is very possibly, Yes! A study of over 1100 collegestudents shows that scores on a college level critical thinking skills test significantly correlated with college GPA.2 It has alsobeen shown that critical thinking skills can belearned, which suggests that as one learns them one?s GPA might well improve. In further support of this hypothesis is thesignificant correlation between critical thinking and reading comprehension. Improvements in the one are paralleled byimprovements in the other. Now if you can read better and think better, might you not do better in your classes, learn more,and get better grades. It is, to say the least, very plausibleBut what a limited benefit - better now college level technical and professional programs have a half-life ofabout four years, which means that the technical content is expanding so fast and changing so much that in about four yearsafter graduation your professional training will be in serious need of renewal. So, if the only thing college is good for is to getthe professional training and credential you want for some job, then you should know that what you are getting has a verytime limited should be other al thinking is the process of purposeful, self-regulatory judgment. This process reasoned consideration to evidence,context, conceptualizations, methods, and is an understanding of the methods, principles, theories and ways of achieving knowledge which are proper to thedifferent intellectual realms. There is an encounter with the cultural, artistic and spiritual dimensions of life. There is theevolution of one?s decision making to the level of principled integrity. There is the realization of the ways all our lives areshaped by global as well as local political, social, psychological, economic, environmental, and physical forces. There is thegrowth that comes from the interaction with cultures, languages, ethnic groups, religions, nationalities, and social classesother than one?s own. There is the refinement of one?s humane sensibilities through reflection on the recurring questions ofhuman existence, meaning, love, life and death. There is the sensitivity, appreciation and critical appraisal of all that is goodand to all that is bad in the human condition. As the mind awakens and matures, and the proper nurturing and educationalnourishment is provided, these others central parts of a liberal education develop as well. Critical thinking plays an essentialrole in achieving these thing else? What about going beyond the individual to the community?