Critical Thinking in the Classroom…and Beyond

2020

Critical thinking in the classroom is a common term used by educators. Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing and evaluating information gathered from or generated by observation, experience, reflection, reasoning or communication as a guide to belief and action (``Scriven, 1996”). The challenge, of course is to create learning environments that promote critical thinking both in the classroom and beyond. Teaching practicing critical thinking provides adults with the opportunity to embrace and take charge of their learning. Typically, students who implement critical thinking skills approach the courseware in a more thoughtful and effective manner, ask more challenging questions and participate in the learning process more intensely. To promote the critical thinking among the students various types of teaching strategies can be used by the teacher in the classroom.

English Language Teaching , 2014

Developing critical thinking since the educational revolution gave rise to flourishing movements toward embedding critical thinking (CT henceforth) stimulating classroom activities in educational settings. Nevertheless the process faced with complications such as teachability potentiality, lack of practical frameworks concerning actualization of CT tasks, and transferability obstacles, as well as lack of a homogeneous model of conceptualization of CT among educators. The present study made an effort to represent a comprehensive model of CT for educators drawn on the contemporary literaturein order to indicate a uniform delineation of the construct and to offer a comprehensive model of CT for the intention of making boosting learners' capability of CT possible.

2021

Rq, 1995

The critical thinking movement is now at the forefront of educational reform in the United States and elsewhere. This major initiative seeks to transform education in all disciplines and at all levels. Although not new, the movement has gathered strength in recent years as a result of increasing concerns among employers, educators, and public officials that students are not learning the thinking and reasoning skills needed to manage the complexity of contemporary life. Indeed, many feel critical thinking ability (along with creative thinking) may well be the most important characteristic of the successful individual in the next century Interest in critical thinking is not new among librarians. Even though library literature abounds with references to critical thinking, such references often lead only to brief discussions with imprecise definitions of the term. In part, this is due to the complexity and difficulty of understanding the controversies within the movement. These controversies center on three issues: the differences between the conceptions of critical thinking held by psychologists and philosophers; the confusion of critical thinking with an entire cluster of related thinking processes; and the extent to which critical thinking is generic or discipline specific. This column will review these controversies and then analyze their impact in the field of instruction.

Critical thinking is the ability to analyze and evaluate information because critical thinkers raise vital questions and problems, formulate them clearly, gather and assess relevant information, use abstract ideas, think open-mindedly, and communicate effectively with others. Critical thinking is a very important skill required by everyone in every setting. It helps them deal with all types of problems more effectively ranging from those inside to those outside the classroom.

CEPS Journal : Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, 2017

Critical thinking is currently considered to be a vital skill, since the individual is supposed to be able to critically evaluate situations, give arguments for his/her opinions and evaluate the arguments of other people, identify other people's manipulative behaviour, pose problem-based questions, and develop his/her mental capabilities. Critical thinking is significant, as it enables a person to make better quality personal decisions, increases the chance of success in achieving goals and solving problems, and enlarges autonomy and effectiveness of coping with different circumstances. Researchers emphasise that critical thinking is the precondition of maintaining social democracy. It helps the individual and the society in confronting social problems and solving them. In the field of education we wonder to what extent it is possible to teach and learn critical thinking-in a direct or indirect way. Which means can the teacher use in order to facilitate critical thinking in his/her students? To what extent can problem-based instruction contribute to the development of critical thinking? Which competences does the teacher need in order to be able to facilitate critical thinking in his/her students, and what kind of teacher education will ensure at least basic knowledge needed for the enforcement of the concepts of critical thinking? Critical thinking is strongly connected to the teacher's reflection of (his/her own) practice, which is a prerequisite for quality teaching and teacher's professional development. In the focus of this issue, there are six contributions by authors from Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, and Finland. Four refer to the development of critical thinking in school contexts (either from the teachers' or the students' points of view) and two refer to the process of teacher education. Within the school context, we can facilitate critical thinking through teaching compulsory and optional subjects, extracurricular activities, and through other forms of school work (e.g. culture, science, technical and sports days; field trips; etc.). It is critical that the teacher familiarises students with different skills of critical thinking and introduces suitable strategies into instruction wisely and intentionally. In their article, What is Needed to Develop Critical Thinking in Schools, Lidija Radulović and Milan Stančić discuss how education for critical thinking is conceptualised. Their paper presents an analysis of the predominant approach to education for critical thinking through implementation of special programmes and methods, and an attempt to establish different approaches to education for

The aim ofthis paper is to clarify what is involved in the notion of teaching for critical thinking and identify some of the challenges that this notion faces. The paper is divided into two sections. Section one attempts to clarify the notion of teaching for critical thinking by focusing on and analyzing the assumptions and practical implications oftwo contrasting teaching situations. Section two identifies and briefly comments on some of the common challenges that face those who take the ideal of critical thinking seriously.

Critical thinking includes the component skills of analyzing arguments, making inferences using inductive or deductive reasoning, judging or evaluating, and making decisions or solving problems. Background knowledge is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for enabling critical thought within a given subject. Critical thinking involves both cognitive skills and dispositions. These dispositions, which can be seen as attitudes or habits of mind, include openand fair-mindedness, inquisitiveness, flexibility, a propensity to seek reason, a desire to be wellinformed, and a respect for and willingness to entertain diverse viewpoints. There are both general-and domain-specific aspects of critical thinking. Empirical research suggests that people begin developing critical thinking competencies at a very young age. Although adults often exhibit deficient reasoning, in theory all people can be taught to think critically. Instructors are urged to provide explicit instruction in critical thinking, to teach how to transfer to new contexts, and to use cooperative or collaborative learning methods and constructivist approaches that place students at the center of the learning process. In constructing assessments of critical thinking,

1997

practice” (1991, p. 354). Research in the U.S. supports these observations. For example, Su’s (1990) study, based on interviews with 112 educators, found that although teachers stated that they valued critical thinking they did not implement it in their classrooms. Similarly, in her study of a three-year project to foster critical thinking in social studies, McKee (1988) found that teachers spent only four percent of class time on reasoning activities.