Teaching Critical Thinking
Critical thinking has been very much discussed in education, and there are many definitions of it available. (See, for example, the Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum Project at Longview Community College.) Critical thinking is, simply put, careful, skeptical, and conscious thinking; it is the sort of thinking, guided by logic and method, that academics value. Critical thinking is also the ability to view any object of study from multiple perspectives, to recognize the cultural, ideological, and cognitive frames (or schemata) we bring to understanding. While the value of critical thinking to scholarship is hardly new, only recently have we understood that critical thinking is in itself a habit and a skill, something which, like the writing process, many of our students may have to learn and practice.
A particularly useful approach to critical thinking is offered by James Lett, “A Field Guide to Critical Thinking.” Lett points out that claims, to be accepted, must be:
- falsifiable (that it, evidence that could prove the claim false must be at least conceivable)
- logical (that is, valid, with all premises leading to a conclusion being true)
- comprehensive (that is, all evidence must be entertained)
- honestly evaluated without self-deception
- replicable
- sufficient
Critical thinking skills are frequently viewed developmentally, usually according to Bloom’s taxonomy, as follows:
Knowing. Gathering and reporting information and displaying mastery of basic knowledge or course content.
Undestanding. Using facts to predict, infer, order, compare. Using knowledge in different contexts.
Appyling. Using knowledge to solve problems or do something.
Analyzing. Breaking down problems/data/facts and seeing patterns and components in order to understand the parts and how they fit together into a whole.
Creating. Generalizing about facts/knowledge across more than one situation. Seeing larger relationships, creating new knowledge, and drawing conclusions.
Evaluating. Assessing and making value judgments. Solving problems in an original way. Seeing from multiple perspectives, and using sophisticated reasoning.
To foster critical thinking skills through writing, design a sequence of writing assignments with learning objectives or outcomes that include particular critical thinking skills and follow the taxonomy. In “W” courses most students will be fairly advanced; however, although they may be quite capable of sophisticated thinking, they may nevertheless struggle when it comes to putting their thoughts on paper.
Writing fosters critical thinking in many ways. Putting words on paper helps students slow down and consider an issue in greater depth. It also demands that students express their views or opinions at some level. Even a plain explanation or review of the “facts” requires the writer to select pertinent facts, organize them in a rhetorically effective way, and present them accurately.
However, to promote critical thinking skills more fully, ask students to make an argument, take a stand, or defend a thesis. To do so in a responsible way for an academic or educated reader requires that students consider the following:
All sides of the issue. By considering all sides and showing, whether through a literature review or through discussion, that they understand the issues, student writers strengthen their own position.
Their own position. They may not even be clear on their position until they begin prewriting. Conducting research and pursuing invention techniques may challenge their initial assumptions. Teach them to be ready to alter their thesis as they explore it.
Convincing and comprehensive evidence. Writing an argument makes students ask what is convincing to an educated reader. How much evidence is enough? What kind of evidence counts, and what kind may be persuasive yet not sufficient?
Awareness of fallacies. A good argument is based on solid logic, without hasty generalizations, faulty causal attributions, misleading statistics, and so on.
Reasonableness. A reasonable writer will make concessions, show awareness of other possible arguments, and be sensitive to different perspectives. A reasonable writer will not play on emotion to excess or expect readers to assent based on his/her personality or reputation.
While every assignment cannot necessarily ask students to present a full-fledged argument, every assignment can expect students to present and defend a thesis in a reasonable and logical manner. To up the level of critical thinking even more, ask that students go beyond defense of a thesis. Encourage students to find creative solutions to problems and make defensible value judgments. Use case study assignments or challenge students to discover problems themselves. Ask for a critical analysis and proposed solutions. In short, ask for synthesis and evaluation.
The Critical Thinking Rubric, developed at Washington State University in 1999-2000, is an excellent tool for creating assignments and evaluating critical thinking skills. Student writers often express concern about expressing their own ideas. They may worry that disagreement with a professor will lower their grade, or they may believe that opinion, along with the first-person “I,” has no place in college writing. Show them that you do value their views, and that you will read with an open mind if they argue well.
Additional Resources
Chaffee, John. Thinking Critically. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1985.
Facione, Peter. Critical Thinking: What It Is and Why It Counts. California Academic Press, 1988.
Potts, Bonnie, “Strategies for Teaching Critical Thinking,” ERIC Digest (ED 385606)
Forehand, Mary. “Bloom’s Taxonomy: Original and Revised”
Teaching Strategies to Help Promote Critical Thinking. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Faculty Development.
The Foundation for Critical Thinking sponsors a web site that includes useful reading materials and announcements of conferences and related events.
