critical thinking skills in teacher education: need and strategies
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AMERICAN RESEARCH THOUGHTS ISSN: 2392 – 876X Available online at: www.researchthoughts.us
http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.1431537
Volume 1 │ Issue 7 │ May 2015
Impact Factor: 2.0178 (UIF)
CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS IN TEACHER
EDUCATION: NEED AND STRATEGIES
Bonnie Amonge Crerar1, Dr. Neeta Kalita Barua2
1Research Scholar, Dept. of Education, Dibrugarh University
2Associate Professor, Dept. of Education, Dibrugarh University
Abstract: Today’s citizens need to think globally while acting locally, conscious of the fact that their
actions can have far reaching implications despite their absence. And teacher’s actions in the
classroom are pertinent to the development of future adult citizens. Human actions are nothing but a
manifestation of their thoughts, teachers being human their actions whether within or outside the
classroom too is a result of their thoughts. Present day schools no more house Monocultural
Traditional Classrooms but have been replaced by Culturally Diversified Smart Classroom where in
the main motto is ‚Sabke Saath, Sabka Vikas‛. Here no one is to be left behind on the basis of
ethnicity, race, socio-economic status, gender, exceptionalities, language, religion, sexual orientation
and geographical area. This demands that teachers impartially identify, tap-in and provide
opportunities for the development of the unique abilities of the students. For this teachers will have to
be able to carry out Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) that involves critical thinking, problem
solving and creating with critical thinking at its foundational level. In fact a 21st century teacher to
fully participate in the Global community needs to Master not only the 3R’s of reading, writing and
arithmetic, but also the 4C’s i.e. critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration. The
term ‘Master’ reminds us of the fact that effective teachers are made and not born, hence the concept of
Teacher Education. Teacher Education is a teacher preparation programme wherein one of the main
objectives is to help teachers develop the required skills to perform their task effectively in the school
and classroom, here the Critical Thinking Skills. Here Albert Einstein can be aptly quoted where he
stated: ‚Education is not the learning of facts but training the mind to think‛. The term Critical
Thinking too finds expression in the National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education 2009-10
which aims at developing teacher’s ability to think and be critical, thus producing Humane and
Professional teachers. Critical Thinking being the focal point of the present paper an attempt is made
to understand the need and means of embedding Critical Thinking in Teacher Education. As such this
paper attempts to fulfil the following objectives:
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To explain the concept of critical thinking and the steps involved.
To state the need of critical thinking in teacher education.
To suggest strategies to be adopted in developing critical thinking through teacher education.
Key Words: Critical Thinking, Value Education, Teaching Method, Knowledge,
Understanding
1. INTRODUCTION
Today’s citizens need to think globally while acting locally, at the same time being
conscious of the fact that their actions can have far reaching implications despite their
absence, unwillingness and unawareness. The teacher’s actions in the classroom are
pertinent to the development of future adult citizens or to be more precise future
human resources. Human actions are nothing but a manifestation of their thoughts;
teachers being human their actions, whether within or outside the classroom, too is a
result of their thoughts. Present day schools no more house Monocultural Traditional
Classrooms but have been replaced by Culturally Diversified Smart Classrooms where
in the main motto is ‚Sabke Saath, Sabka Vikas‛. Here no one is to be left behind on the
basis of ethnicity, race, socio-economic status, gender, exceptionalities, language,
religion, sexual orientation and geographical area. This was further reaffirmed by our
Honourable Present Prime Minister Sri Narendra Modi in his speech delivered on
Thursday, April 24, 2015 at the Global Services Exhibition in New Delhi, that India had
to move forward from becoming a hub for ‘BRAIN DRAIN’ to a hub for ‘BRAIN
GAIN’. For achieving the goal of BRAIN GAIN, the Prime minister impressed upon the
global leaders investing in education in the country, for mapping of human resources to
identify region specific talents and encourage development of region specific skills to be
able to cater to the requirement of the global community, thus procuring benefits both
at a personal and national level. Furthering the cause of Human Resource Mapping, he
drew attention to the demography of the country stating that 65% of the population was
below 35 years of age and this was going to double in the coming few years, thus
making India a young country. Viewing this scenario from a global perspective, India’s
Human Resource constituted its biggest strength and property and had to be taken care
of in India’s journey towards development. This would help India in exporting multi-
layer services to the world, Human Resource Services being one of them. From this it is
clear that most of India’s future youth are at present seated in her classrooms (K12 to
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Higher Education all inclusive) at the behest of one or more than one teacher. In
making India’s strive towards BRAIN GAIN a success, teachers’ role cannot be ignored
wherein the teacher would be expected to help each individual student become a
contributing member of society. This would demand that teachers impartially identify,
tap-in and provide opportunities for the development of the unique abilities of the
students in this context. For this teachers would have to be able to carry out certain
innovative methods to be able to materialize the Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)
that are involved in critical thinking, problem solving and creating with critical thinking
at its foundational level. In fact a 21st century learner, to fully participate in the Global
community needs to Master not only the 3R’s of reading, writing and arithmetic, but
also the 4C’s i.e., Critical thinking, Creativity, Communication and Collaboration. The
term ‘Master’ reminds us of the fact that effective leaders are made and not born, hence
the concept of mastery learning.
Teacher Education is a teacher preparation programme wherein one of the main
objectives is to help student-teachers develop the required skills to perform their task
effectively in the school and classroom, so that they may be able to help each student to
develop their personality potentials. The twenty-first century learner is supposed to be
the product of a quality education: quality education implies that every student should
be able to develop certain life-skills by the time h/she completes schooling. One of the
important 21st century life skills is development of the Thinking Skill in learners, which
includes also the Critical Thinking Skills within its various components.
At this point of our discussion it is pertinent to note that, with the signing of the
GATS treaty, education has become a product or commodity and teachers and their
teaching is a service catered by certain specialists to society, in other words, thus
making teachers important Human Resource Service Providers and hence viable for
export to the global community. It is through the Teacher Education Programme that
such human resources are created, hence making Teacher Education dually significant
of catering to the classrooms both locally and globally. To be effective in global context
teachers also will have to develop the 21st century skills (critical thinking being one of
them) and this is possible through teacher education programmes. Hence the
importance of Critical Thinking in Teacher Education and herein lies the significance of
the present paper. Here Albert Einstein can be aptly quoted where he stated:
‚Education is not the learning of facts but training the mind to think‛. The term Critical
Thinking too finds expression in the National Curriculum Framework for Teacher
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Education 2009-10 which aims at developing teachers’ ability to think and be critical,
thus producing Humane and Professional teachers. Thus, in order to teach their
learners to be critical thinkers, every teacher should himself first learn to be a critical
thinker - thus h/she will have to know what are the components that are included in
critical thinking and how these can be promoted in every learner.
2. OBJECTIVES
Critical Thinking in Teacher Education being the focal point of the present paper, an
attempt is made to understand the need and means of embedding Critical Thinking in
Teacher Education. As such this paper attempts to fulfill the following objectives:
1. To explain the concept of critical thinking and the steps involved in it
2. To state the need of critical thinking in teacher education
3. To suggest strategies to be adopted in developing critical thinking through
teacher education
3. METHODOLOGY
The present paper is a theoretical analysis of the related literature on the concept of
critical thinking and its place in teacher education, the literature for which was mostly
collected from internet sources.
4. CONCEPT OF CRITICAL THINKING
4.1. Historical Overview
The following overview is a summarization of the writings of the Center for Critical
Thinking and Brent Taylor Leach. Etymologically the term ‘critical’ can be traced to two
Greek words: ‘kriticos’ meaning discerning judgement and ‘kriterion’ meaning
standards, both compounding to imply the development of discerning judgement based
on standards. Confirming to its coinage, the idea of critical thinking can be traced back
to Greece some 2,500 years back to the teaching practice and vision of Socrates, a Greek
philosopher. He opined that one should not depend on persons in authority, because
despite power and high position, one might be deeply confused and irrational. He
purported that nothing should be taken at face value but be examined thoroughly by
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asking deep questions that probe profoundly into thinking before accepting them as
being true. His method of approaching truth/knowledge came to be termed as Socratic
Questioning. This was further followed by the later Greek skeptics like Plato and
Aristotle, all of whom had emphasized that things were very different from what they
actually appeared to be and only a trained mind could look beyond the appearance into
the deeper reality.
In the Middle Ages Thomas Aquinas to ensure the criticality of his thoughts
made it a point to consider and answer the criticism of his ideas as a necessary stage to
further developing them. Thus he enlightened us to the need of reasoning and its cross
examination. He highlighted the fact that a critical thinker did not always reject beliefs
but only those which lacked reason.
During the Renaissance period in England a prominent scholar, Sir Francis Bacon
was deeply concerned with the misuse of minds by humans in seeking knowledge and
that the mind cannot be safely left to its natural tendencies. In his book titled The
Advancement of Learning is argued for the empirical study of the world thus laying the
foundation for Information Gathering Process of modern science.
Some fifty years later in France, Descartes in his text Rules for the Direction of
the Mind argued for the need for a special systematic disciplining of the mind to guide
it in thinking. He argued that every part of thinking should be questioned, doubted and
tested. He developed a method of critical thought based on the principles of systematic
doubt. In the same period Sir Thomas Moore’s text Utopia makes a radical analysis and
critique of every domain of the present world.
In the Italian Renaissance, Machiavelli’s The Prince critically analysed the
political functioning of the day and paved the way for modern critical political thought.
In the 16th and 17th century England Hobbes and Locke refused to accept the
traditional picture of things considered normal in their culture. Hobbes adopted a
naturalistic view of the world in which everything was to be explained by evidence and
reasoning. Locke took up the common sense analysis of everyday life and thought. All
this led to the creation of intellectual freedom and critical thought which gave up
egocentric views of the world in favour of views based entirely on carefully gathered
evidence and sound reasoning.
Significant contribution to critical thought was made by three thinkers of the
French enlightenment: Montesquieu, Voltaire and Diderot. They all began with the
premise that human mind, when disciplined by reason, was better able to figure out the
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nature of the social and political world. Reason for them must turn inward upon itself
to examine weaknesses and strengths of thought. They valued disciplined intellectual
exchange in which all views had been submitted to serious analysis and critique.
In the 19th century, critical thought became applicable to almost every domain of
human-social, cultural, economic, biological and psychological life by Comte, Spencer,
Karl Marx, Darwin and Sigmund Freud respectively.
The 20th century has given an explicit formulation of critical thinking in
education with William Graham Sumner’s land-breaking publication Folkways. Herein
he documented the tendency of the human mind to think socio-centrically and the
parallel tendency of schools to serve the (uncritical) function of indoctrination. Unless
regulated by the best knowledge and good sense, school education would produce men
and women on one pattern, orthodoxy. Recognizing the deep need for critical thinking
in life and education Sumner, declared that, Criticism is the examination and test of
propositions offered for acceptance, to find out whether they correspond to reality or
not. Being a prime condition of human welfare, men and women should be trained and
educated in critical thinking. It is the only guarantee against delusion, deception,
superstition and misapprehension of us and our earthly circumstances. One educated in
it cannot be stampeded or swayed, can wait for and weigh evidence and can resist
appeals to their prejudices, thus producing good citizens.
Keeping in conformity with Sumner’s claims, Dewey (1909) further drew the
attention of educators to critical thinking, encouraging them to develop ‘reflective
thinking skills’ in children. He defined reflective thinking as ‚an active, persistent and
careful consideration of a belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the
grounds which support it and the further conclusions to which it tends‛. For Dewey
critical thinking was an active process in which people thought things through for
themselves, raised questions themselves, found relevant information themselves etc.,
thus increasing our sense of pragmatic basis of human thought.
The contribution of Piaget (1952) to the concept of critical thinking needs
mention here. He created divisions of cognitive development identified as
sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational. The
sensorimotor stage consisted of the ability to create object permanence. At the
preoperational stage the child is able to administer symbols to represent other objects in
the world, thinking remains ‘egocentric’. During the concrete operational stage the child
moves to a more non-centred thinking style capable of applying logic to thinking. It is
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only at the final formal operational stage that abstract thinking is possible. This stage of
reasoning is the developmental prerequisite of critical thinking.
Contradictory to Piaget, Vygotsky (1986) theorized that the elements of private
speech, zone of proximal development and scaffolding encouraged critical thinking.
In 1963 Kohlberg gave us a moral understanding of the concept of critical
thinking, where on reaching adulthood one’s critical thinking provided the framework
for the development of a belief system leading the individual to think for the greater
good of humanity.
Tsui (2002) implied that critical thinking required the thinker to suspend
judgement and reflect on the validity of a hypothesis.
The historical overview of the concept of critical thinking makes it clear that it is
not the brainchild of any one single person or discipline, but has developed to its
present status because of the contribution of hundreds of thinkers (of whom only a few
had been mentioned here), having its roots in philosophy, social sciences and
psychology, hence making critical thinking an eclectic concept.
5. DEFINITION AND MEANING
On reviewing the relevant literature the following oft quoted 41 definitions on critical
thinking had been identified:
Sl.
No. Source Definition
1 Dewey (1909)
‚an active, pertinent, and careful consideration of a belief or supposed form of
knowledge in the light of the grounds which support it and the further
conclusions to which it tends‛
2 Glaser (1941)
‚an attitude of being disposed to consider in a thoughtful way the problems and
subjects that come from within the range of one’s experiences, the knowledge of
the methods of logical inquiry and reasoning, and some skill in applying these
methods‛
3 McPeck (1981)
‚skillful, responsible thinking that facilitates good judgment because it (a) relies
upon criteria, (b) is self-correcting, and (c)is sensitive to context‛
4 Ennis (1985)
‚a reflective and reasonable thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe
or do‛
5 Norris (1985)
‚assessing the views of others and one’s own views according to acceptable
standards of appraisal‛
6 Meyers (1986)
‚the ability to raise relevant questions and critique solutions without necessarily
posing alternatives‛
7 Chance ‚the ability to analyze facts, generate and organize ideas, defend opinions, make
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(1986) comparisons, draw inferences, evaluate arguments and solve problems‛
8
Brookfield
(1987)
‚a process that involves identifying and challenging assumptions, becoming
aware of the importance of context in creating meaning, imagining and exploring
reflective skepticisms< a reflective dimensions, more than the cognitive activity
of analyzing arguments - it is emotive as well as rational‛
9 Glock (1987) ‚diverse cognitive processes and associated attitudes‛
10
Kurfiss
(1988)
‚an investigation whose purpose is to explore a situation, phenomenon, question,
or problem to arrive at a hypothesis or conclusion about its intellectual
developmental process that integrates all available information and that can
therefore be convincingly justified‛
11 Siegel
(1988)
‚involving the ability to assess reasons properly, and the willingness, desire and
dispositions to base one’s actions and beliefs on reasons‛
12 Tama
(1989)
‚a way of reasoning that demands adequate support for one’s beliefs and an
unwillingness to be persuaded unless support is forthcoming‛
13 Browne and
Keeley
(1990)
‚our active, purposeful, and organized efforts to make sense of our worlds by
carefully examining our thinking and the thinking of others in order to clarify and
improve our understanding‛
14 Facione
(1990)
‚process of purposeful and self-regulatory judgment, which gives reasoned
consideration to evidence, contexts, conceptualization, methods and criteria‛
15 Hickey
(1990)
‚ involving analytical thinking for the purpose of evaluating what is read‛
16
Mayer and
Goodchild
(1990)
‚active, systematic process of understanding and evaluating arguments‛
17
Mertes
(1991)
‚a conscious and deliberate process which is used to interpret or evaluate
information and experiences with a set of reflective attitudes and abilities that
guide thoughtful beliefs and actions‛
18 Schafersman
(1991)
‚correct thinking in the pursuit of relevant and reliable knowledge about the
world‛
19
Screven and
Paul
(1992)
‚the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing,
applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from,
or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication,
as a guide to belief and action‛
20 Ennis
(1992)
‚reasoned reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do‛
21 Fitzpatrick
(1993)
‚a process for determining the value of an idea‛
22
Cüceloğlu
(1994)
‚an active and organized cognitive process aiming at understanding oneself and
the events which take place in one’s environment by being aware of his or her
own thinking process, considering others’ thinking processes and applying what
one has learned‛
23
Kataoka-
Yahiro
(1994)
‚a process of thinking without a single solution‛
24 Jones
(1995)
‚a cognitive process involving the primary components of analysis,
interpretation, evaluation, inference, justification and self-correction‛
25 Agnelo ‚the intentional application of rational, higher order thinking skills, such as
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(1995) evaluation‛
26 Beyer
(1995)
‚ making reasoned judgments‛
27
Richard Paul
(1995)
‚A unique kind of purposeful thinking In which the thinker systematically and
habitually imposes criteria and intellectual standards upon the thinking taking
charge of the construction of thinking guiding the construction of the thinking
according to the standards assessing the effectiveness of the thinking according to
the purpose, the criteria, and the standards‛
28
Alfaro-
Lefevre,
1996)
‚reasonable, reflective thinking that focuses on what to believe or do <
purposeful, goal-directed thinking that aims to make judgments based on
evidence‛
29
Halpern
(1996)
‚a cognitive process that involves the use of judgment and the use of reflection to
increase the probability of a desired outcome < thinking that is purposeful,
reasoned and goal directed < using skills that are thoughtful and effective for the
particular context and type of thinking task‛
30
Bickenbach
and
Davis
(1997)
‚purposeful, reasoned and goal-directed thinking – thinking involved in solving
problems, formulating inferences, calculating likelihoods, and making decisions
when the thinker is using skills that are thoughtful and effective for the particular
context and type of thinking tasks‛
31 Walkner and
Finney (1999)
‚use of the cognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirable
outcome‛
32 Demirel
(1999)
‚the ability and tendency to acquire, evaluate and use knowledge‛
33 Stancato
(2000)
‚making judgments about the truthfulness and worth of statements and ideas‛
34
Reed and
Kromley
(2001)
‚the ability and propensity to analyze complex issues and situations, to recognize
and to evaluate assumptions and alternative points of view according to
acceptable criteria, to make sound inferences and to draw reasonable conclusions
based on reliable information, and to make interdisciplinary connections and to
transfer insights to new contexts‛
35 Astleitner
(2001)
‚a mental activity of evaluating arguments or propositions and making
judgments that can guide the development of beliefs and taking action‛
36
Partnership
for 21st
Century
Skills
(P21 2002)
‚to reason effectively, use systems thinking, make judgments and decisions and
solve problems‛
37
Menkes
(2005)
‚cognitive skills that determine how well someone gathers, processes, and applies
information in order to identify the best way to reach a particular goal or navigate
a complex situation‛
38 Chaffee
(2006)
‚a purposeful, organized cognitive process that we use to understand the world
and make informed decisions‛
39 Slavin
(2009)
‚the evaluation of thorough logical and systematic examination of the problem,
the evidence and the solution‛
40
Pearson
(2009/10)
‚thinking logically with clarity and precision so that one can recognize
assumptions using an approach that is objective and accurate to evaluate
arguments focusing on information that is relevant to draw conclusions‛
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41
Critical
Thinking
Community
‚a mode of thinking - about any subject, content, or problem - in which the
thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully analyzing,
assessing, and reconstructing it. Critical thinking is self-directed, self-disciplined,
self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking. It presupposes assent to rigorous
standards of excellence and mindful command of their use. It entails effective
communication and problem-solving abilities, as well as a commitment to
overcome our native egocentrism and sociocentrism‛
The above definitions makes apparent the commonalities and differences regarding the
concept of critical thinking, which being abstract can be inferred from one’s
behaviour/reactions. However keeping in consideration the above definitions the
following can be stated regarding the meaning of critical thinking as:
‚Critical Thinking is a conscious intellectually disciplined effort towards evaluation of
any phenomena, oneself and others and making reasoned judgements prior to accepting
any belief/action; while dichotomically making an objective evaluation of one’s own
thought process‛
As such critical thinking is dualistic in nature in that it not only assesses the
information/environment but also assesses the process of assessing the information by
oneself, thus making one aware of one’s own thought process, hence metacognitive in
approach. By carrying out concept mapping of the mentioned definitions one is made
aware of the skills and dispositions expected of an individual to carry out the process of
critical thinking. Here we will discuss the core critical thinking skills and critical
thinking dispositions as identified and explained by the American Philosophical
Association Delphi Project, 1990 and Robert H Ennis, revised 2013.
6. CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS
The above-mentioned definitions are expressive of the requirement of certain cognitive
skills on the part of the individual to carry out critical thinking. The American Delphi
Project 1990, recognized six (6) cognitive skills core to the process of critical thinking for
forming and improving judgements. Each core skill further constituted sub-skills as
mentioned in the following table:
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CORE CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS : APA DELPHI PROJECT
Sl.
No. SKILL DESCRIPTION SUBSKILL
1 Interpretation
to comprehend and express the meaning
or significance of a wide variety of
experiences, situations, data events,
judgments, conventions, beliefs, rules,
procedures or criteria.
Categorize
Decode significance
Clarify meaning
2 Analysis
to identify the intended and actual
inferential relationships among
statements, questions, concepts,
descriptions or other forms of
representations intended to express belief,
judgments, experiences, reasons,
information or opinions.
Examine ideas
Identify arguments
Identify reasons and claims
3 Inference
to identify and secure elements needed to
draw reasonable conclusions; to form
conjectures and hypotheses; to consider
relevant information and to reduce the
consequences flowing from data,
statements, principles, evidence,
judgments, beliefs, opinions, concepts,
descriptions, questions or other forms of
representations
Query evidence
Conjecture alternatives
Draw conclusions using
inductive or deductive
reasoning
4 Evaluation
to assess the credibility or statements or
other representations that are accounts or
description of a person’s perception,
experience, situation, judgments, belief or
opinion; and to assess the logical strength
of the actual or intended inferential
relationships among statements
descriptions, questions or other forms of
representations
Assess credibility of claims
Assess quality of arguments
that were made using inductive
or deductive reasoning
5 Explanation
to state and to justify that reasoning in
terms of the evidential, conceptual,
methodological, criteriological and
contextual considerations upon which
ones results were based; and to present
ones reasoning in the form of cogent
arguments
State results
Justify procedures
Present arguments
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6 Self-regulation
self-consciously to monitor ones cognitive
activities, the elements used in those
activities and the results educed,
particularly by applying skills in analysis,
and evaluation to one’s inferential
judgments with a view towards
questioning, confirming, validating or
correcting either ones reasoning or ones
result
Self-monitor
Self-correct
Source: APA Reports Expert Consensus Statement on Critical Thinking
Prior to the Delphi project, Robert H Ennis had come up with his paper ‚A Taxonomy
of Critical Thinking Dispositions and Abilities‛ (1987) and has since then been revising,
the latest accessible being of 2013. Ennis used the term ‚abilities‛ as synonymous to
‘skills’ which according to him should be used by an individual to carry out critical
thinking. He identified 15 core critical thinking abilities/skills and 3 facilitative abilities/
skills non-constitutive but contributive to the performance and improvement of critical
thinking as classified under 5 categories and each core skill demanded sub-skills
/criteria/ activities as evident in the following table:
CRITICAL THINKING ABILITIES/ SKILLS : ENNIS 2013
CATEGORY Sl.
No.
SKILL SUBSKILLS/ CRITERIA/ ACTIVITIES
1
Focus on a question
a. Identify or formulate a question
b. Identify or formulate criteria for judging
possible answers
c. Keep the question and situation in mind
2
Analyze arguments
a. Identify conclusions
b. Identify reasons or premises
c. Identify simple assumptions (see also
Ability #13)
c. Identify and handle irrelevance
d. Determine the structure of an argument,
possibly with a diagram
e. Summarize
Such as:
a. Why?
b. What is your main point?
c. What do you mean by....?
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B
A
S
I
C
C
L
A
R
I
F
I
C
A
T
I
O
N
3
Ask and answer clarification
questions
d. What would be an example?
e. What would not be an (close) example?
f. How does that apply to this case (describe a
case, which appears to be a counterexample)?
g. What difference does it make?
h. What are the facts?
i. Is this what you are saying:______________?
j. Would you say more about that?
4
Understand and use "graphs &
maths"
a. Read graphs, scatterplots, tables, bar charts,
etc.
b. Do and understand arithmetic and other
elementary mathematics, such as percentages
c. Understand the concepts of correlation,
standard deviation, and statistical significance
of:
(1) Correlation: the degree to which two
variable vary together
(2) Standard deviation: very roughly, the
amount of variation in a group of numbers
(3) Statistical significance: Commonly a
difference between mean scores is judged
statistically significant if a certain amount of
difference could not have happened by
chance more than at a chosen level. Often
one time out of a hundred is the chosen level,
but five times out of a hundred is sometimes
chosen. The latter is easier to attain.
B
A
S
E
S
F
O
R
5
Judge the credibility of a source
Major criteria for judging (but not necessary
conditions):
a. Expertise
b. Lack of conflict of interest
c. Agreement with other sources
d. Reputation
e. Use of established procedures
f. Known risk to reputation (i.e., the source’s
knowing of a risk to reputation, if wrong)
g. Ability to give reasons
h. Careful habits
6
Observe, and judge observation
reports
Major criteria (but not necessary conditions,
except for the first) include these:
a. Minimal inferring involved
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D
E
C
I
S
I
O
N
b. Short time interval between the observation
and the report
c. Report by the observer, rather than someone
else (that is, the report is not hearsay); crucial
in the courts
d. Provision of records
e. Corroboration
f. Possibility of corroboration
g. Good access
h. Competent employment of technology, if
technology applies
i. Satisfaction by observer (and reporter, if a
different person) of the credibility criteria in
Ability #5 above
7 Use existing knowledge
a. background knowledge, including (with
discretion) internet material
b. their knowledge of the situation
c. their previously established conclusions
I
N
F
E
R
E
N
C
E
8 Deduce, and judge deduction
a. Basic criterion: An argument is deductively
valid, if and only if, denial of the conclusion
contradicts the assertion of the premises.
b. Class logic
c. Conditional logic
d. Interpretation of logical terminology,
including
(1) Negation and double negation
(2) Necessary and sufficient condition
language
(3) Such words as "and", "only", "if and only
if", "or", "some", "unless", and "not both"
e. Qualified deductive reasoning (a loosening
for practical purposes)
a. To generalizations (enumerative induction).
Broad considerations:
(1) Typicality of data, including valid
sampling where appropriate
(2) Volume of instances
(3) Conformity of instances to the
generalization
(4) Having a principled way of dealing with
outliers
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9
Make and judge inductive
inferences and arguments
(Enumerative and Best-
Explanation Induction)
b. To explanatory hypotheses and conclusions:
(1) Major types of explanatory conclusions
and hypotheses, showing how broadly this
type of inference and argument applies:
(a) Specific and general causal claims
(b) Claims about the beliefs and attitudes of
people
(c) Interpretation of intended meanings
(d) Historical claims that certain things
happened (including criminal accusations)
(e) Reported definitions (Ability #11b1)
(f) Claims that some proposition is an
unstated, but used, reason (Ability #13b3)
(2) Characteristic investigative activities:
(a) Designing and doing experiments,
including planning to control variables
(b) Seeking evidence and counterevidence,
including statistical significance, correlations,
mean differences, and standard deviations
(c) Seeking other possible explanations
(3) Rough criteria, application of which
requires judgment. The first four are essential,
the fifth desirable:
(a) The proposed conclusion would explain or
help explain the evidence
(b) The proposed conclusion is consistent with
all known facts
(c) Competitive alternative explanations are
inconsistent with facts
(d) A competent sincere effort has been made
to find supporting and opposing data, and
alternative hypotheses
(e) The proposed conclusion seems plausible
and simple, fitting into the broader picture
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I
N
F
E
R
E
N
C
E
10
Make and judge value judgments,
taking into account
a. Background facts
b. Consequences of accepting or rejecting the
judgment
c. Prima facie application of acceptable
principles
d. Alternatives
e. The need to balance, weigh, decide
A
D
V
A
N
C
E
D
C
L
A
R
I
F
I
C
A
T
I
O
N
11
Define terms, and judge
definitions
by using appropriate criteria (Four basic
dimensions: form, stance, content, and use)
a. Definition form:
(1) Synonym form (one word = another
word)
(2) Classification form (genus-differentia),
(items properly labeled by a term (a noun) are
members of a class and are differentiated from
other members of the class)
(3) Range form (like classification, but with
imprecise boundaries)
(4) Equivalent-expression form (term being
defined is embedded in a larger expression,
which is equated with another expression)
(5) Operational form (like equivalent-
expression, but the second expression
describes an operation and a consequent
observation; can be strict (as in behaviorism)
or loose), (Ennis, 1964, 1969b)
(6) Example and non-example form (non-
examples sometimes being particularly
informative)
b. Definitional stances (report, stipulate,
express a position):
(1) Report a meaning (criteria: the five
criteria for an explanatory hypothesis in
Ability #9b3)
(2) Stipulate a meaning (criteria:
convenience, consistency, avoidance of
equivocation)
(3) Express a position on an issue (positional
definitions, including "programmatic" and
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"persuasive" definitions), (criteria: all
dispositions and abilities
c. Content of the definition
d. Uses of a definition:
(1) Teach or learn a language
(2) Provide a convenient label for something
(3) Be a premise in an argument
12
Handle equivocation
appropriately
(equivocation being the exploitation of a shift
in meaning), both when deliberate and when
not deliberate (the latter being called "impact
equivocation" (having the impact of
equivocation))
13
Attribute and judge unstated
assumptions (an ability that
consists of both basic clarification
and inference)
a. Pejorative flavor (implication of
dubiousness or falsity): commonly but not
always associated to some degree with the
other types of assumptions; criteria are to be
found in Abilities #5 through #9 above
b. Types:
(1) Presuppositions (required for a
proposition to make sense)
(2) Needed assumptions (needed by the
reasoning to be at its strongest (though not
logically necessary); see Inferences (Abilities 8
to 10 above)
(3) Used assumptions are consciously or
unconsciously used by the assumer (judged by
hypothesis-testing criteria (Ability #9b3)
14
Think suppositional
Consider and reason from premises, reasons,
assumptions, positions, and other
propositions with which one disagrees or
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about which one is in doubt, without letting
the disagreement or doubt interfere with one's
reasoning
15 Deal with fallacy labels
Employ, recognize, and appropriately react to
"fallacy labels" in discussion and presentation
(oral and written). Examples of fallacy labels
are "circularity," "bandwagon", "post hoc",
"equivocation", "non sequitur", and "straw
person‛.
a. Fallacy labels are often convenient ways for
those conversant with the vocabulary to
communicate the nature of a believed flaw in
some thinking (e.g., "post hoc").
b. They can be intimidating, though actually
relatively uninformative, to those not
conversant with the language (e, g., "non
sequitur")
c. Fallacy labels often pick out a problem, but
sometimes activities that fit a fallacy label are
not fallacious, for example, appeal to authority
and circularity. Some appeals to authority are
appropriate, and deductively valid arguments
are literally circular.
b. Criteria and principles for judgments
underlying the appropriate use of fallacy
labels appear in Abilities 1-14 above. But there
does not appear to be an intuitive
comprehensive summary of critical thinking
concerns in fallacy language.
F
A
C
I
L
I
T
A
T
I
V
E
16 Be aware of, and check the quality
of, own thinking (metacognition)
17 Proceed in an orderly manner
appropriate to the situation:
a. Follow problem solving steps
b. Monitor one's own thinking (that is, engage
in metacognition)
c. Employ a reasonable critical thinking
checklist
18
Deal with rhetorical strategies:
Rhetorical strategies can be useful
in critical thinking to help make a
reasonable critical thinking
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A
B
I
L
I
T
I
E
S
position more persuasive. It can
also be useful to be aware of
rhetorical strategies in order not
to be fooled by them, or even to
be persuaded by them when the
rhetorically-effective position is
no better than, or is worse than,
another position.
On reviewing the above critical thinking skills it can be remarked that the individual
becomes both the subject as well as the object of critical thinking. However while the
Delphi project regards Self- regulation constitutive of critical thinking skills Ennis’s
Taxonomy regards it as facilitative to the carrying out of critical thinking. Compared to
the Delphi project the Ennis Taxonomy is a more elaborate description of the skills and
their integrated and interrelated function. Both state the importance of delayed
judgement and a methodological approach to either accepting or rejecting a belief or
action. As opposed to the Delphi project the Ennis taxonomy includes the use of
numerical reasoning (arithmetic and statistics) for a better clarification of issues at hand,
beginning from everyday life to the cosmological world. Further one is to judge not
only the credibility of the source but also the credibility of the person responsible for the
source on the basis of certain criteria. The Taxonomy in fact is a replica of the steps
required to be followed in the carrying out of research work, with a warning to the
discrete use of internet sources in the forming of judgements, because thoughts become
actions. The importance of language in critical thinking cannot be ignored and hence its
judicious use and understanding.
6.1. CRITICAL THINKING DISPOSITIONS
Generally by ‚Disposition‛ is meant a person's inherent qualities of mind and character
and both Ennis and the Delphi project agreed that it was not sufficient possessing
critical thinking skills but also the critical thinking disposition to use them. The Delphi
experts stated that only a person having a ‚critical spirit‛ was more apt to use the skills.
By critical spirit they did not mean to be negative but one in possession of a probing
inquisitiveness, a keenness of mind, a zealous dedication to reason and a hunger or
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eagerness for reliable information. As such critical thinking demanded a fearless
attitude to consistently pursue one’s goal. Both Ennis and Delphi project had given us
some critical thinking dispositions that an individual had to possess to carry out critical
thinking. Let us first consider the critical thinking dispositions as listed by the Delphi
project:
1. Inquisitiveness with regard to a wide range of issues.
2. Concern to become and remain well informed.
3. Alertness to opportunities to use critical thinking.
4. Trust in the processes of reasoned inquiry.
5. Self confidence in one’s own abilities to reason.
6. Open-mindedness regarding divergent world views.
7. Flexibility in considering alternatives and opinion.
8. Understanding of the opinions of other people.
9. Fair mindedness in appraising reasoning.
10. Honesty in facing one’s own biases, prejudices, stereotypes or egocentric
tendencies.
11. Prudence in suspending, making or altering judgments.
12. Willingness to reconsider and revise views where honest reflection suggests that
change is warranted.
Let us now consider Robert H Ennis’s view. He defined disposition as a tendency
to do something, given certain conditions. The list provided according to Ennis is more
amenable to use in teaching.
1. Seek and offer clear statements of the thesis or question
2. Seek and offer clear reasons
3. Try to be well informed
4. Use credible sources and observations, and usually mention them
5. Take into account the total situation
6. Keep in mind the basic concern in the context
7. Be alert for alternatives
8. Be open-minded
a. Seriously consider other points of view
b. Withhold judgment when the evidence and reasons are insufficient
9. Take a position and change a position when the evidence and reasons are
sufficient.
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10. Seek as much precision as the nature of the subject admits
11. Seek the truth when it makes sense to do so, and more broadly, try to ‚get it
right‛ to the extent possible or feasible.
12. Employ their critical thinking abilities and dispositions.
The importance of critical thinking disposition lies in the fact that even if a person
possesses critical thinking skills, might let them grow dull being too tired, too lax or too
frightened. It is a rational impulse/ drive/ will/ inclination to involve oneself in the
process of quality thinking.
7. STEPS IN CRITICAL THINKING
Despite numerous suggestions regarding steps we shall consider for our purpose
IDEAS: A 5-Step Critical Thinking Problem-Solving Process by Peter Facione and Carol
Ann Gittens: 2013. The mnemonic IDEA is a 5 step critical thinking process easy to
understand and easy to apply. Each step calls for patient investment of time on the part
of the individual in making well-reasoned reflective and yet timely decisions, yet savvy
enough to avoid paralysis by analysis. The 5 step is as follows:
IDEAS - A 5 Step Critical Thinking and Decision Making Process
1 I IDENTIFY the problem and Set Priorities.
2 D DEEPEN Understanding and Gather Relevant Information.
3 E ENUMERATE Options and Anticipate Consequences.
4 A ASSESS Situation and Make a Preliminary Decision.
5 S SCRUTINIZE the Process and Self-Correct As Needed.
Although presented as 5 steps one is not bound to go all the way through IDEAS to
correct one’s own thinking. The process can fold back on itself whenever realization of
adjustment occurs.
8. NEED OF CRITICAL THINKING IN TEACHER EDUCATION
Teacher education is responsible for preparing and improving both prospective and in-
service teachers. Teachers are core to the success of micro and macro level programmes
and hence it is crucial that they develop critical thinking skills. The following points
state the need of critical thinking in teacher education:
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1. Gary Howard (1999) had commented that we can’t teach what we don’t know. In
order to teach critical thinking to the students, they themselves will have to have
a strong grounding in critical thinking both theoretically and practically.
2. To be sensitive to changing classroom demography.
3. To make effective integration of technology in dissemination of course content &
effective achievement of educational and national goal.
4. To develop sense of social justice among the teachers who would further
promote the same within the classroom.
5. To develop the ability of global literacy so as to be capable of embracing diversity
‚Literate citizens in a diverse, democratic society should be reflective, moral and
active. They should have the knowledge, skills and commitment needed to act to
change the world to make it more just. (Banks, J. A., 2003)
6. Due to information explosion teachers will have to make discrete choice of
information and hence be skeptical in choosing the information for classroom
instruction. To be capable of separating misinformation from genuine knowledge
and to distinguish scientific research from poorly supported claims.
7. To face the complex problems of future personal and professional life by
developing strategies of action research.
8. Since language is pertinent to critical thinking, teachers educated in critical
thinking will develop the general ability as well as the discipline specific ability
to communicate information effectively to the students.
9. Since critical thinking demands a continuous effort for refinement of one’s
knowledge it helps a teacher to become lifelong learner which is infact an
important characteristic of an effective teacher.
10. To develop the ability to meet the obligations of the teaching profession.
11. To contribute towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
12. To make education for sustainable development a success.
13. To gain autonomy as a teacher and carry out self-directed learning.
14. Help teachers maintain their mental health through a better understanding of
self and others.
Critical thinking is an essential component of successful living within a Democratic
country which should strongly suffice for its incorporation into Teacher Education.
Dewey had already made strong claims regarding the strong bond between critical
thinking and the success of democratic process. He had mentioned that prejudice
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towards minority students was very automatic with teachers coming from the
dominant culture, thus expecting poor performance on their part which in turn did
affect their performance. This low expectation also became a means of preventing the
minority group from becoming educated and assuming power or influence in society.
Paulo Freire’s work Pedagogy of the Oppressed is a fierce reassertion wherein he makes
democratic proposals to help men and women develop their power to perceive critically
their experience in the world in which they find themselves and come to see the world
not as static but in continuous transformation.
9. STRATEGIES TO DEVELOP CRITICAL THINKING THROUGH TEACHER
EDUCATION
On review of the existing literature, the researchers had come to understand that
critical thinking is linked to the Constructivist mode of teaching and learning. But the
step by step process mirrors Behaviourism, hence seeking for a blend of teacher-centred
and student-centred instruction. Following are some of the identified strategies that can
be followed to develop critical thinking through teacher education:
1. As an independent discipline: Solon’s (2001) study suggested that one was more
likely to benefit when enrolled in a critical thinking course independent of other
disciplines.
2. Embedding critical thinking across the teacher education curriculum: This
demands that critical thinking be infused into the curriculum with regard to its
content, pedagogy and assessment. This would however demand faculty
development and revision of content to include critical thinking for student
teachers to make use of.
3. Mixed approach: This approach had been endorsed by both Robert H Ennis and
Sternberg, i.e. offering critical thinking as a separate course and embedding it in
the entire teacher education course.
4. Regular dialogue with wait time: Teacher educators should conduct regular
Student- Teacher and Student- Student dialogue in class session, while modeling
high-order questioning together with the application of wait time, and then
reflect on the used strategies with the student teachers.
5. Infusing Critical Pedagogy into Teacher Education: We cannot deny the
existence of power politics in the field of education with the dominant
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dominating the oppressed who in turn allow themselves to be dictated by the
majority. This in turn blinds one to reality, thus obstructing the achievement of
democracy in the true sense. Critical pedagogy can be infused into teacher
education by asking student teachers to question their own ideologies, the
consequences of their actions, the role of politics and culture in shaping
education, the creation and effect of various policies etc. This will help create
teachers who will question their beliefs and actions before actualizing them in
the classroom.
6. Concept mapping: Teacher educators can use concept mapping while providing
instruction on any topic or idea.
7. Thinking out loud: Teacher educators can act as critical thinking models to
student teachers by thinking out loud in the form of seeking further information
with regard to seminar presentations and assignments. This will provide
students with a more clarified means to using critical thing in improving ones
knowledge and understanding.
8. Group collaboration: Student teachers should be provided opportunities for
group collaboration like discussion, case studies, task-related group work, and
peer reviewing debates. This is effective in promoting critical thinking because:
a. An effective group has the potential to produce better results than any
individual.
b. Students are exposed to different perspectives while clarifying their own
ideas.
c. Stimulates interest and increases an understanding and knowledge of the
topic.
9. CATS (Classroom Assessment Techniques): This technique provides scope for
using classroom assessment to assess, monitor and thus foster critical thinking
among learners, such as teacher educator asking student teachers to assess their
contribution to classroom discussion.
10. Ambiguity: To avoid spoon feeding ambiguous material (such as pictures,
graphs and data) is provided to student teachers for sorting out.
11. Simulation: Rush et al had opined that learners’ abilities in decision making and
problem solving was best improved through repeated experiences or practices
with thinking as related to specific knowledge domains. Simulation as an
educational method provided opportunity to structure learning systematically
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thus acquiring deep content knowledge and facilitating the development of
critical thinking. Micro Teaching skills in teacher education provided much
scope for practicing critical thinking beginning from writing instructional
objectives to assessment of learning outcome.
12. Use of Information Communication Technology: According to Tinio (2003), ICT
offers a wide range of technologies and other resources that can be used to
create, communicate, store, disseminate and store information. For instance the
teacher educator can ask students to prepare a review: of a piece of news either
printed news or media generated, ads on Television or radio, films, serials,
documentaries etc. On the other hand the World Wide Web (WWW) provides
opportunity to collaborate and share information through blogs, wikis and social
networks. Teacher educators can create blogs and ask student teachers to
comment on the topic under discussion. Wikis provides scope for collaborative
learning as anyone with access to the internet can edit, add and modify the
information provided, thus creating a sense of community belongingness. This
site provides further direction to other for more information seeking. However
here the teacher educator will have to seek membership of the concerned page.
Social network sites to provide an opportunity to develop student teachers
critical thinking. For this teacher educator must at first join one such site and
then can form a group of student teachers by sending them request to join the
group. For this the student teachers would also be expected to join the social site.
They can then be asked to post comments and critique others comments as well
with regard to certain topics. This contributed to group discussion where
members blended their ideas and experiences with others to create learning, thus
reducing feelings of isolation by fostering a sense of social presence.
10. CONCLUSION
Today we are living in a fast pacing, conflicting and dangerously complex world.
Teacher Education being responsible for creating Human Resources which in turn
would be responsible for creating future Adult Human Resources, cannot ignore the
need of including critical thinking within its ambit. For this teacher educators would
have to focus more on the process rather than the output and on student teachers
thinking rather than on their learning. That the student teachers practice critical
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thinking, teacher educators will themselves be required to exhibit it in their interaction
with the students. With this approach students would be likely to appreciate and
develop the critical thinking skills thus equipping them to function in and contribute to
the global community.
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