Ellen,
I like your approach. The key is being able to be objective as you look at facts. Many students seem to just want to grab facts and stick them into the middle of a problem and hope there is a solution there somewhere. By thinking through and analyzing the facts they will be able to make decisions that lead to solutions.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
From my perspective, I think critical thinking is characterized by an objective look at facts. These facts are then weighed and the thinker interprets them to answer the question.
There are two parts to this definition that make it difficult. The first is the ability to discern facts from someone's interpretation of the acts. Evidence if this is seen every time we turn on the news. The other difficulty is that in our interpretation- we will always be prejudiced by our background understanding.
Ronnie,
This is an important skill set to have. The more they know about why something works the better prepared they will be to select options in relation to solving a problem. Depth of knowledge with help with application of knowledge.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Daniel,
So true. I struggle constantly with my students in terms of doing valid research to secure information about a situation. They don't want to invest the time and effort it takes to secure and analyze the information they get to make a decision in terms of possible solutions to presenting problem.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree. I try to insure that the students know it is important to not only know how but why something works the way it does. This way they have the chance to really make the right decision when diagnosing a problem.
Unfortunately, I think most of us deal with this all too often. Students who are growing up in the computer age have grown too used to getting answers in .062 seconds (thanks Google) and seem to believe they will never need critical thinking skills.
Alex,
Well said. Taking in information of all kinds and then sorting through it helps students to be able to gain experience and develop their critical thinking skills.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Alex,
You make a very good point about why the question was asked in relation to the context and situation that is being presented. Understanding the context goes a long way in helping students to be able to come up with viable solutions.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Patience and attitude are definitely key characteristics of a critical thinker. Also, I believe the ability to create analogies to help understand a task or idea is a characteristic as well. Even at a point when an analogy fails, this may give a deeper explanation, or prove the level of understanding of both new knowledge and old.
I'll agree with your statement as it applies to basic questions, but many times I'll ask the student why he or she is asking the question.
If a student has made a wrong turn in his or her thought process, some questions/answers become irrelevant.
Carlos,
This is such an important part of the learning and growth process. Students need be able to sort through information and then come up with solutions after they have considered consequences.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
A critical thinker will question what they are told and analyze the situation based on facts not emotion.
Paul,
This is a good way for a person to develop his or her critical thinking skills. They need to sort through the information, seek additional input and then decide what the course of action should be.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I believe that a characteristic of a critical thinker is one that doesn't take the words of others at face value. They do a lot of research to discern truths for themselves than just beliefs of someone else. It is important to find out for ourselves and take the time to do so before making quick decisions.
Lawrence,
This is why we need to offer learning experiences that helps students to explore all options and think outside of the box. If we don't our students will be short changed in their education and not be the problem solvers we want them to be. They need to learn how to work for their answers to problems that are presented to them because this is what they are going to encounter once they enter the workplace.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
The ability to explore all options-think outside the box.
And one comment was that students seem to want things "handed" to them. We find more and more students reluctant to pick up a textbook to complete required reading/assignments as they would much more want to experience it on a computer.
Zachary,
Like your definition. Simple and clear for students to understand and work toward in terms of becoming critical thinkers themselves.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Someone that is able to see all the parts of the puzzle and think outside the box to solve it.
I agree with your thoughts on patience. Students these days (especially from the milleneals) are to used to instant gratification. It makes it harder to get them to put in the effort it takes to learn things thouroughly.
Ruthie,
Very good point and one that we instructors need to work through with the students. We need to help them see the value of critical thinking and how it can benefit their career development as well as academic success.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
