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2. Critical Thinking in Learning

2.1 Review

• A critical thinker has more effective way in dealing with problems than a non-critical thinker.

• To be a critical thinker, one may
 clarify his/her thinking
 stick to a unique point
 ask questions
 become reasonable.

• Critical thinking, according to Paul (1992), is defined based on two things:
1) Critical thinking is not just thinking, but thinking which entails self-improvement.
2) It is self-improvement (in thinking) by using standards (that assess thinking) to raise their level of thinking to “perfection” or quality.


• To help Students assessing their thinking, the teacher can develop their reasoning abilities in
 having a purpose
 forming questions
 collecting data
 making assumptions
 having a point of view
 drawing a conclusion
 proposing consequences.



2.2 Issues in critical thinking in learning


Paul (1992) states the relationship between critical thinking and other issues:

• The teachers should teach their students reasonably and to be rewarded based on their good reasoning.

• The assessing teacher should have clear reasoning criteria that show system of evaluation.
• Effective instruction includes critical thinking, communication skills, problem solving, creative thinking, collaborative learning, and self-esteem in which critical thinking should be the basic element for the other elements.

• Critical thinking requires intellectual curiosity as the latter helps broaden, deepen, sharpen our minds, and accordingly, leads to knowledge.

• Thus, good instruction should evoke children’s curiosity in asking questions. These questions should be met with logical answers and not with glib answers.

• Schools should prepare their students to be productive. They should transform job skills in way that makes students trained for the practical work.

• Good instruction should meet level of intellectual standards that
- require the student to recognize clarity in contrast to unclarity;
- distinguish accurate from inaccurate accounts;
- decide when a statement is relevant or irrelevant to a given point;
- identify inconsistent positions as well as consistent ones,
- distinguish well-evidenced accounts from those unsupported by reasons and evidence;
- tell good reason from bad.

• Higher-order thinking of extended reasoning essay assessments and long-term assessments of authentic performance are better than lower–order thinking of multiple choice machine-graded assessment.


2.3 Active learning

• To change a passive learning to an active one, the learning process should involve four main activities: two kinds of experience are “observing” and “doing” and two kinds of dialogue are “dialogue with self” and “dialogue with others”

Experience of: Dialogue with:


DOING SELF





OVSERVING OTHERS
Dialogue with self:

When a learner addresses questions about a topic: what they think, what they should think, or what they feel about the topic. It is “thinking about my own thinking”

Dialogue with others:

When the student has the chance to be involved in dialogue situations with practitioners or experts either in class or outside class.


Observing:

When a learner watches or listens to someone else “Doing” something that is related to what they are learning about (e.g. observing natural, social, or cultural phenomena being studied).
Observing
 
“direct”
the learner observing the real world DIRECTLY,
e.g. observing poverty through contacting the low income people

“vicarious”
indirect observation

to watch a movie involving poor people



Doing:

When the learner does something: design a reservoir dam (engineering), design and/or conduct an experiment (natural and social science), make an oral presentation (communication), etc.





To result in active learning, the teacher must implement the above model using the following ways: (see pp. 29-30)

1. Expand the kinds of learning experiences you create.

◦ Create small groups of students and have them make a decision or answer a focused question periodically.
◦ Find ways for students to engage in authentic dialogue with people other than fellow classmates who know something about the subject (on the web, by email, or live)
◦ Have students keep a journal or build a “learning portfolio” about their own thoughts, learning, feelings, etc.
◦ Find ways of helping students observe (directly or vicariously) the subject or action they are trying to learn and/or
◦ find ways to allow students to actually do (directly, or vicariously with case studies, simulation or role play) that which they need to learn to do.

2. Take advantage of the “power of interaction”


Verifying learning activities and interacting all the four modes of learning will result in more positive educational impact.

For example,
 if students write their own thoughts on a topic (Dialogue with Self)  then they engage in small group discussion (Dialogue with Others)  then they observe the phenomena or action (Observation)  then they practice doing the action (Doing)

Such sequence of learning activities will give a better insight of what the learner has learned and what he still needs to learn and will give the teacher and the learners the advantage of the Power of interaction.

3. Create dialectic between experience and dialogue

Creating dialectic between experience and dialogue can maximize the likelihood that the learners will experience significant and meaningful learning.

Thus, the teacher should creatively set a dialectic of learning activities in which students move back and forth between having rich new experience (whether DOING or OBSERVING) and engaging deep, meaningful dialogue (whether with SELF or with OTHERS).


Summary




Reading fro this lecture:
pp.12-8; 28-30