Teaching+Critical+Thinking

CRITICAL THINKING

Defining Critical Thinking

Helping students to develop abilities to think critically is at the heart of the Quebec Education program (QEP). Critical thinking occurs in problem-solving situations that require the ability to make reasoned judgments about actions to take or what to believe. The problematic situation implies that there may be doubt as to what action would be the most appropriate to take within the specific situation.

The need to form a reasoned judgment occurs in many kinds of problem-solving situations that involve different disciplines. For example, language arts calls upon readers and writers to re- spond to literature, to understand texts, and/or to make use of strategies to improve a perform- ance or a production. Opinions and interpretations must be justified and supported by examples. Other disciplines such as social studies, mathematics and science require problem-solving skills and reasoned judgments. Students are called upon to demonstrate the quality of thinking re- quired to pose and solve problems, to reach sound decisions, to identify and resolve issues, to plan and conduct thoughtful inquiries, among others. Students look at the both the merits and short- comings of alternatives in order to arrive at reasoned judgment.

Students are also called upon to self-evaluate and peer-evaluate performances, calling upon an ability to think critically about criteria and expectations. The quality of thinking expected of students may be manifested by the following characteristics: • accuracy and adequacy of information • sensitivity to bias • clarity of key concepts • consideration of alternate points of view • assessment of evidence provided to support a position

Developing a Community of Critical Thinkers

Critical thinking develops through the interaction of the members of a community who work together to define and respond to problems and issues. Working cooperatively and collaboratively, they rely on each other to complement thinking and understanding, learning to confer, inquire, debate, critique and evaluate.

Teaching Critical Thinking

Teachers can structure instruction in such a manner so as to create this type of community of learners: • include opportunities to think through problems and issues, not merely recall solu- tions • allow moments to confer, inquire, debate, and critique collaboratively • include self and peer-evaluation as part of the assessment process • model critical thinking strategies such a seeking clarification, rejecting inadequate evidence, etc. • integrate critical thinking tasks into meaningful lessons that require students to assess the reasonableness of plausible options or alternative conclusions, that is, those that require more than recall or rote application of strategies, uninformed guessing or simple statements of preference. • provide students with the knowledge and skills required to resolve problems requiring critical thinking: - to gather sufficient information about a topic - to develop criteria for forming judgments or considering alternatives - to learn to use critical thinking vocabulary such as inference, direct observation, generalization, conclusion, bias, point of view, etc, - to use skills such as making decisions, organizing information and role-taking - to develop an open-minded, critical attitude • practice the skills of critical thinking in meaningful, purposeful contexts stemming from curriculum content

Critical Challenges

Teachers can support the development of critical thinking by designing teaching and learning situations that incorporate one or more of the following tasks: • to assess the merits/shortcomings of a person, product or performance • to judge from among two or more options (teacher-provided or student-generated) which one best meets the identified criteria • to transform a product or performance in light of additional information or a new focus, perspective, genre, etc. • to suggest and justify a proposed solution, explanation or interpretation to a confusing or enigmatic situation • to develop a product that meets a given set of criteria or conditions • to perform or undertake a course of action that merits a given set of criteria or conditions

Reference: McDiarmid, Tami, Rira Manzo, and Trish Musselle. 1996. Critical Challenges for Primary Students. Vancouver, B.C.: Pacific Education Press, Simon Fraser University, Faculty of Education 1996 ISBN: 0-86-491-147-5