Critical Thinking

The article I read on critical thinking, Critical Thinking- Why is it so hard to teach?- provided some interesting insight into how the mind works. I actually thought the idea of teaching critical thinking to students is a little bit of an oxy moron: How can we teach students to think, when research has shown countless times that everyone learns differently? As I read more of the article, I began to think that the best way to show a student how to critically think would be to let them think for themselves. The main component of critical thinking is that it is self-directed; otherwise, it is not critical thinking. But is it possible to teach students how to think? It is not our job as teachers to think for our students, or even tell them what the most important factors are in problem solving. These can all be subjective things. It is our job as teachers to give students the opportunities to think critically for themselves. We must incorporate the higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy into our teachings. We must present our students with authentic instructions. We must ask kids questions to get them thinking, the “what if?” and “why do you think?” questions that will allow them to sit and think about what they think. About how they feel. Also, we must interest them in what they are learning. This will give them a reason to think about the material. J+Kids always ask, “Why do we need to know this?” Without an answer, they have no reason to consider the information relevant, and will not see a reason to think about it.

I think the best way to foster thinking is to assign group projects, such as webquests or group debates. This gives students the ability to solve a problem, and also work as a team to solve it. The saying, two heads are better… Well, I believe that to be entirely true. But, the teacher is just one person. How can a student learn to think from different angles when they are only guided by the teacher’s train of thought? I do believe the teacher should participate and facilitate the students’ thinking, but the bulk of the work should be done by the kids. Everyone has a different perspective to offer. Why not let the kids teach each other how to think critically? Teachers should foster higher levels of thinking in all subject areas. But, I believe the best way to do it is to plant the seeds and give them water, then watch the flower grow.