Background Information

• Summary of Workshop in April 2008• Stephen Brookfield• Teachers College, Columbia

University• Supported by CETL

How to engage students so that critical thinking can occur & relationships can build

• Don’t you want to see hands flying up?

•Don’t underestimate the classroom set up.•How will you teach this material best?•Do you let students know what to expect?• Who are you? •Do you like questions?•What are their expectations for this class?•Give them a work autobiography•It helps to connect you with the students in a variety of ways that could be unforeseen

More on pre-class set-up

•Have the best interest of the learner at heart•Relationships help you learn•Model developing relationships if you want student to do the same

Definition of Critical Thinking

• Reflections requires that participants intentionally examine or evaluate their actions or experience to uncover factor or assumptions regarding a particular problem or project.

• Critical refection- takes reflection to a deeper level by “peeling the onion” on faulty assumptions that have been socially, culturally, and uncritically assimilated over time.

Critical Thinking Process

• What assumptions do learners walk into the classroom with?

• Help them identify their assumptions and then ask if they are accurate and valid

• Take alternative perspectives

• Take informed action

Example : those that can’t teach

Types of assumptions• Paradigmatic (Framing and

Structuring) the dominant culture• Prescriptive (What should happen?)

environmental accepted norms i.e. this college will give me a good education.

• Causal (What does happen) i.e. if I cheat then I will get caught.

• Explicit- what we know already• Implicit- assumptions we are not

aware of.

• Paradigmatic (Framing and Structuring) the dominant culture

• Prescriptive (What should happen?) environmental accepted norms i.e. this college will give me a good education.

• Causal (What does happen) i.e. if I cheat then I will get caught.

• Explicit- what we know already• Implicit- assumptions we are not

aware of.

How are assumptions developed

• Our life experience• From those we come in contact with• Our peers experiences• Collogues perceptions• Theory

Examples of questions to engage students in critical thinking:

• What information (or evidence) do you have to support that statement (or fact or assumption…)?

• What does the problem mean to you

• It sounds what you are saying…

• Would it make any difference if it were a different time, person or place?

• What could you do differently?

• What is stopping you from…?

• Do you think that?• What can you do to

make the problem different?

• What have you learned that is different than what you know?

• How do you react to that?

Purpose of Critical Thinking

• Using reason and analysis to take informed action to:

• Challenge Dominant ideology• Uncover power• Recognize and counter power• Learn and practice democracy• Practice liberating tolerance• Overcome alienation and privatization

• Using reason and analysis to take informed action to:

• Challenge Dominant ideology• Uncover power• Recognize and counter power• Learn and practice democracy• Practice liberating tolerance• Overcome alienation and privatization

Phases of critical thinking

• Discover the assumptions that guide our decisions, actions and choices

• Checking the accuracy of these assumptions by exploring as many different perspectives, viewpoints and sources as possible

• Making informed decisions that are based on these researched assumptions

Example of use of critical thinking

• Critical conversation-A focused conversation to which one person’s experiences examined sympathetically but critically by colleagues. An umpire watches for judgmental comments. As questions are asked, assumptions reported, and alterative interpretations proposed; learners focus on giving descriptive feedback and on exploring unacknowledged power dynamics.

• Critical conversation-A focused conversation to which one person’s experiences examined sympathetically but critically by colleagues. An umpire watches for judgmental comments. As questions are asked, assumptions reported, and alterative interpretations proposed; learners focus on giving descriptive feedback and on exploring unacknowledged power dynamics.

Examples of questions

• Student telling me in Intro to Social Work class that all people in poverty are lazy and addicted to drugs

• Have class write questions down like:– Asking her where did she get that

information? –What evidence did she have from her

personal life that had her “know” this fact?

End of class questions/exercises

• What was the most confusing idea• The most poorly explained idea• The least clear idea• What do you think you know now

that you didn’t know last week?• The most important idea insight was• The question that most needs

addressing?

• What was the most confusing idea• The most poorly explained idea• The least clear idea• What do you think you know now

that you didn’t know last week?• The most important idea insight was• The question that most needs

addressing?

Resources

• Brookfield’s website: http://www.stephenbrookfield.com/