Article By Hooks: The Process Of Critical Thinking

According to Paul & Elder, “critical thinking is the art of analyzing and evaluating thinking with a vision of improving it.” Their argument for the need to utilize critical thinking is the fact that without focus, most of the thinking done by people is partial, many times uninformed, biased, distorted, and prejudiced. What is not easily recognized is the fact that the very fabric of life is

Critical thought comes from being able to find info on, ultimately know, or to understand a subject well enough to be able to teach someone else the subject. You are capable of critical thought once you have been approached on any subject and have the skills to question and interpret information and then form opinions based on what was found. Dennis Hayes “Let’s Stop Trying to Teach Students Critical Thinking” appears online, on a site called The Conversation. In this essay, Hayes presents the idea that teachers or professors should either teach politically or present a subject objectively which means teach no side. He doesn’t directly mean “stop teaching critical thinking...” he just wants teachers or professor to teach it the right way. Research,

Critical thinking means to think correctly in to find knowledge that is relevant and reliable. In terms of a liberal arts education critical thinking is crucial because a liberal arts education teaches students skills that are needed in the rapidly changing world that usually requires a lifetime of self-learning and understanding. Critical thinking is something that people usually must learn on their own; however, as a liberal arts school it is taught, so we have a better understanding of thinking critically.

This article focused on the constant debate concerning the conditions in which students develop the skill of thinking critically. Being able to use critical thinking requires knowledge of facts and concepts about the subject matter. I found this article interesting because I think it is important that students develop critical thinking skills. Most scholarly articles tend to have an abstract that summarizes the papers entirety. Due to this this article is considered scholarly.

In today’s current school systems, the question of whether or not schools are correctly teaching students the right curriculum is coming up for debate. In the Article,"Teaching Critical Thinking by Marcia Clemmitt, she goes into extensive research of the U.S. Department of Education’s crisis of standardized testing. Most learning activities include standardized testing which lacks many students to express creative and critical thinking. Critical thinking is defined as the examination and evaluation of ideas, events and arguments in their contexts which introduces students to interrogate assumptions and identifying biases (Clemmitt)Pure critical thinking involves investigating a text more than just memorizing, but to apply theirself in other ways of techniques, meaning schools should stimulate more analytical methods of teaching. This would not only free students from a sheltered test culture,but will allow students to think in a deeper,more passionate way than before.

Critical thinking is a vital task that must be done in our everyday lives. In “Becoming a Critic Of Your Thinking” found at criticalthinking.org, Dr. Linda Elder and Dr. Richard Paul explain critical thinking as “the disciplined art of ensuring that you use the best thinking you are capable of in any set of circumstances”. Even tough there are many different types of methods to achieve a better quality of critical thinking, Dr. Elder and Dr. Paul discuss four specific ones in the article. All strategies, however, force you to put yourself in an uncomfortable and difficult position to develop a better quality of thinking.

Throughout the course of the modernization of education, critical thinking has, figuratively, taken a backseat in regards to the content that is required to be taught. Oftentimes, attempts at thinking critically about a given topic are either hastily addressed or entirely dismissed seeing as they subvert from the status quo or do not ‘fit’ within an arbitrary time limit allotted by the curriculum. Students under the current education system are then subjugated to a routine in which their individual thoughts/opinions are replaced with facts/figures or ‘knowledge’. While students can excel within these academic disciplines, they are often at a loss in terms of critical thinking skills because it was not a focal point of their ‘education’.

When I began this class, I thought that critical thinking was something we do every day, something everyone does subconsciously. This, however, is not the case. As we eat, drink, walk, and even when we talk with others, we do not use critical thinking. Critical thinking is only applied when there is some thought behind it. The definition of critical thinking, which we decided upon in class, is the “desire to seek” and the “patience to doubt”. This means that if we do not have the incentive to delve deeper into a particular topic and research or if we do not have the ability to stop and doubt either ourselves or someone else, then we are not critically thinking. I read a book on critical thinking called “Thinking Thoughtfully” by Walt Thielen

Everyone knows what thinking is. It is the process of making ideas and thoughts ; however, just thinking is simply different from critical thinking. Everyone knows how to think, but not everyone knows how to think critically. For those who are critical thinkers, they are active. They don’t just believe in what they see or whatever they are told, but they know how to diagnose, assess, challenge, and improve their thoughts. Unfortunately, most of people do not typically think critically.

Critical thinking is the questioning of ideas. It is the process in which you take an argument and analyze it in order to conclude whether that argument is valid. Thinking critically is a good skill that can help others make intelligent decisions and helps them understand what to believe or not believe. Critical thinking is involved in our daily life. For example, every day we make decisions and before every decision we think critically if that is the right decision. We take into consideration the possible consequences of such decision and from that we reach a conclusion. Critical thinking involves disciplined thinking and it teaches you to think for yourself. It is personal growth and confidence that results from learning to exercise your mind to its fullest potential.

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According to Supon, one of the fundamental purposes of teaching critical thinking is to enhance the abilities of students to become critical thinkers. Corporate leaders, educational researchers, employers, and parents have continually pushed teachers to assist their students in the development of critical thinking ability. Critical thinking is a skill that ?involved not only knowledge of content by also concept formation and analysis, reasoning and drawing conclusions, recognizing and avoiding contradiction, and other essential cognitive activities? (Supon, 1998).

The importance of critical thinking has not been dismissed, actually it is one of the few things that educators can agree upon when it comes to critical thinking. Suzanne Mabrouk writes, “If we do not teach and use critical thinking skills regularly with our students, then they will not develop the ability to make informed and responsible decisions in their everyday life” (n.d., p. 3). Envision a high school English class with 25 students…half may go to college, a quarter might not even graduate, and the other quarter might seek employment immediately after high school. One thing each of these students will certainly need after high school is critical thinking skills. Critical thinking prepares students for life in a “democracy” where as workers they will need to implement critical thinking skills and become “lifelong” learners (Maiorana, 1992, p.2). Christine Pescatore expounds on what is expected of the “prepared” citizen living in a democracy by describing the critical thinking citizen as “thoughtful and responsible” (2007, p. 320). Every student that American high schools educate, regardless of race, culture, gender, socioeconomic

What is critical thinking to you? To some it may mean making wiser choices, taking time to critically analyze a situation, or to just put greater thought in your everyday life. According to Dr. Linda Elder and Dr. Richard Pauls’ article, “Becoming a Critic Of Your Thinking”, critical thinking is defined as the disciplined art of ensuring that you use the best thinking you are capable of in any set of circumstances. To us, critical thinking is a very important aspect of life and something we can all improve on. It allows us to think outside the box and put ourselves in others shoes and really look at things differently. We made sure to think about our own thinking habits while discussing these articles and to notice if we were ever being close-minded.

When defining the term “critical thinking” it can seem overwhelming and daunting, especially for young learners. In laments terms, you are teaching your student how to think for him or herself when it comes to problem solving. Instead of giving the student the answer, you give them the tools to discover the answer him/herself. Critical thinking is an important component of any classroom. No matter the age group, these skills stay with a child for the rest of his or her life. As a teacher, it is important to understand what critical thinking pertains to and how to structure part of your lesson plan around developing critical thinking skills.