Creating Critical Thinkers Samantha Emswiler M.A. Philosophy, University of Miami
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Transcript of Creating Critical Thinkers Samantha Emswiler M.A. Philosophy, University of Miami
CreatingCritical
Thinkers
SamanthaEmswiler
M.A. Philosophy,University of Miami
“A pupil from whom nothing is ever demanded which he cannot
do, never does all he can.”
J.S. Mill
Step One: Recognizing the extent of the
problem with lack of critical thinking skills
U.S. 2-year Institutions Average on TER Proficient Marginally Not Proficient
2013 4 % 14% 82%
How do students across the U.S. do on the standard critical thinking test
given to high school students and students in the first two years of
college?
Being a good critical thinker prepares one for being a better citizen, a better student and a better future employee.
‘93% of employers agree that “candidates’ demonstrated capacity to think critically, communicate clearly, and solve complex problems is more important than their undergraduate
major.”’
StepTwo: Recognizing the importance
of creating good critical thinkers
Employers want someone who can:“ Come ready to work the first day Communicate and think critically
Work in teams Use technology
Speak multiple languages Think and communicate globally”
Inquiry is being carried out right now by
students, scholars, researchers, and
teachers all over the world ... their inquiry
extends from what was in the past, through
what is going on right now to what is likely in
the future.
Becoming a critical thinker is valuable because it means
joining the worldwide,
multicultural quest for truth.
Teaching critical thinking gives students the skills
they will need to engage in good academic inquiry, to become part of the global
community and to participate well in
democratic institutions and processes.
Step Three:Begin by teaching
what critical thinking is and how a
good critical thinker behaves
What is Critical Thinking?
It is a set of intellectual skills and psychological
habits that make it easier to
a) solve problems wellb) discover truths and
c) communicate clearly.
What are good critical thinkers like?1) Good critical thinkers are rational, curious persons who seek the truth: they value truth as the ultimate goal of inquiry. They seek out information, including contrary evidence, to test (verify or falsify) their own beliefs and reasoning. Their goal is to find the truth not confirm their own opinion. They recognize that they could be wrong. They are open to revising their reasoning.
2) Good critical thinkers are open-minded, fair and
empathetic: They value other people and can imagine
another person’s point of view, assumptions, values and reasoning. They
practice intellectual humility and recognize what they do not know.
3) Good critical thinkers are intellectually
autonomous, strong and courageous:
They think for themselves in spite of adversity; they persevere in their inquiry and reasoning through obstacles such as
social pressure.
Step Four:Teach what critical
thinkers AVOID such ascommon bad habits of
mind and common forms of
bad reasoning
Critical Thinkers Avoid Egocentric and Sociocentric Bias:
1) Critical thinkers DO NOT use egocentric bias in place of good reason.
Examples of egocentric bias:“It is true because.... I believe it.”
“It is true because I want to believe it/it is in my interest to believe it.”
“It is true because I have always believed it”
2) Critical thinkers DO NOT use sociocentric bias in
place of a universal, cross-cultural, fair-minded
perspective.Sociocentric bias occurs when people uncritically
accept certain beliefs and prejudices because that is
the authoritative or dominant view of their social group (religion,
nation, etc..).
Step Five: Teach analytic skills and standards of good reasoning as well
* From pamphlets from The Foundation for Critical Thinking
www.criticalthinking.org
Two exercises to use to enhance analytic skills and standards of reasoning from The Foundation for Critical Thinking:
Exercise One: teach how to test thought for
intellectual rigor:1. Is what is being
claimed clear, precise, relevant and accurate?
2. Is it logical and comprehensive?3. Does it convey enough depth and
breadth for the issue at hand?
4. Is it fair-minded and significant?
Exercise Two: Teach how to analyze elements of
reasoning including point of view, assumptions,
information it presents, problems it tries to resolve,
inferences, purpose, concepts, implications and
consequences
More Exercises to Increase Critical Thinking:
1) Use Socratic Questioning about Concepts to
Continually Engage the Students in Thinking about
Course Material
2)Encourage and Reward Intellectual
Virtuesa) Curiosity
b) Fair-mindednessc) Logical Skills
d) Empathye) Subtlety in Reasoning
f) Clevernessg) Perseverance
h) Good Judgmenti) Objectivity
3) Give assignments that are graded purely
on content of thought
4) Teach them basic logic:a) How to identify an
argumentb) what logical terms imply
about claimsi. categorical terms (all, no,
some…)ii. sentential logic terms (if-
then, not, and, or, if and only if)
c) teach them the difference between induction and
deduction and standards for good arguments
Weblinks for additional resources for critical thinking:
1) Common fallacies on fallacyfiles.org http://www.fallacyfiles.org/introtof.html
2) teachingphilosophy's channel on youtube:a) on fallacies http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY7g6a1A4KM&list=PLFGHE1xQFhhxVI2LmT2yhT_huBZQqsXUA&index=2b) on what critical thinking is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oAf3g5_138
3) The Foundation for Critical Thinking offers free sources for the student and educators to explorehttp://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/college-and-university-students/799http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/college-and-university-faculty/798
4) Hong Kong University's opencourseware on critical thinkinghttp://philosophy.hku.hk/think/