CreatingCritical

Thinkers

SamanthaEmswiler

M.A. Philosophy,University of Miami

“A pupil from whom nothing is ever demanded which he cannot

do, never does all he can.”

J.S. Mill

Step One: Recognizing the extent of the

problem with lack of critical thinking skills

U.S. 2-year Institutions Average on TER Proficient Marginally Not Proficient

2013 4 % 14% 82%

How do students across the U.S. do on the standard critical thinking test

given to high school students and students in the first two years of

college?

Being a good critical thinker prepares one for being a better citizen, a better student and a better future employee.

‘93% of employers agree that “candidates’ demonstrated capacity to think critically, communicate clearly, and solve complex problems is more important than their undergraduate

major.”’

StepTwo: Recognizing the importance

of creating good critical thinkers

Employers want someone who can:“ Come ready to work the first day Communicate and think critically

Work in teams Use technology

Speak multiple languages Think and communicate globally”

Inquiry is being carried out right now by

students, scholars, researchers, and

teachers all over the world ... their inquiry

extends from what was in the past, through

what is going on right now to what is likely in

the future.

Becoming a critical thinker is valuable because it means

joining the worldwide,

multicultural quest for truth.

Teaching critical thinking gives students the skills

they will need to engage in good academic inquiry, to become part of the global

community and to participate well in

democratic institutions and processes.

Step Three:Begin by teaching

what critical thinking is and how a

good critical thinker behaves

What is Critical Thinking?

It is a set of intellectual skills and psychological

habits that make it easier to

a) solve problems wellb) discover truths and

c) communicate clearly.

What are good critical thinkers like?1) Good critical thinkers are rational, curious persons who seek the truth: they value truth as the ultimate goal of inquiry. They seek out information, including contrary evidence, to test (verify or falsify) their own beliefs and reasoning. Their goal is to find the truth not confirm their own opinion. They recognize that they could be wrong. They are open to revising their reasoning.

2) Good critical thinkers are open-minded, fair and

empathetic: They value other people and can imagine

another person’s point of view, assumptions, values and reasoning. They

practice intellectual humility and recognize what they do not know.

3) Good critical thinkers are intellectually

autonomous, strong and courageous:

They think for themselves in spite of adversity; they persevere in their inquiry and reasoning through obstacles such as

social pressure.

Step Four:Teach what critical

thinkers AVOID such ascommon bad habits of

mind and common forms of

bad reasoning

Critical Thinkers Avoid Egocentric and Sociocentric Bias:

1) Critical thinkers DO NOT use egocentric bias in place of good reason.

Examples of egocentric bias:“It is true because.... I believe it.”

“It is true because I want to believe it/it is in my interest to believe it.”

“It is true because I have always believed it”

2) Critical thinkers DO NOT use sociocentric bias in

place of a universal, cross-cultural, fair-minded

perspective.Sociocentric bias occurs when people uncritically

accept certain beliefs and prejudices because that is

the authoritative or dominant view of their social group (religion,

nation, etc..).

Step Five: Teach analytic skills and standards of good reasoning as well

* From pamphlets from The Foundation for Critical Thinking

www.criticalthinking.org

Two exercises to use to enhance analytic skills and standards of reasoning from The Foundation for Critical Thinking:

Exercise One: teach how to test thought for

intellectual rigor:1. Is what is being

claimed clear, precise, relevant and accurate?

2. Is it logical and comprehensive?3. Does it convey enough depth and

breadth for the issue at hand?

4. Is it fair-minded and significant?

Exercise Two: Teach how to analyze elements of

reasoning including point of view, assumptions,

information it presents, problems it tries to resolve,

inferences, purpose, concepts, implications and

consequences

More Exercises to Increase Critical Thinking:

1) Use Socratic Questioning about Concepts to

Continually Engage the Students in Thinking about

Course Material

2)Encourage and Reward Intellectual

Virtuesa) Curiosity

b) Fair-mindednessc) Logical Skills

d) Empathye) Subtlety in Reasoning

f) Clevernessg) Perseverance

h) Good Judgmenti) Objectivity

3) Give assignments that are graded purely

on content of thought

4) Teach them basic logic:a) How to identify an

argumentb) what logical terms imply

about claimsi. categorical terms (all, no,

some…)ii. sentential logic terms (if-

then, not, and, or, if and only if)

c) teach them the difference between induction and

deduction and standards for good arguments

Weblinks for additional resources for critical thinking:

1) Common fallacies on fallacyfiles.org http://www.fallacyfiles.org/introtof.html

2) teachingphilosophy's channel on youtube:a) on fallacies http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY7g6a1A4KM&list=PLFGHE1xQFhhxVI2LmT2yhT_huBZQqsXUA&index=2b) on what critical thinking is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oAf3g5_138

3) The Foundation for Critical Thinking offers free sources for the student and educators to explorehttp://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/college-and-university-students/799http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/college-and-university-faculty/798

4) Hong Kong University's opencourseware on critical thinkinghttp://philosophy.hku.hk/think/