Practical application to the classroom
I have attempted to instill critical thinking in my students through using real life scenarios.. commercials, situational examples, etc. I'm interested in hearing methods that other instructors have utilized that seem to assist in developing students critical thinking skills.
Sean,
You have a great base from which you can help students to develop their problem solving skills. Your use of real life case histories and scenarios are extremely valuable. I use a lot of them in my classes and it is amazing to see the student growth in such a short period of time.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I have the luxury of instructing technical classes, so applying an element of critical thinking is a must. Often, I will use real life case histories or made-up scenarios and provide details for them to judge the proper course of action. Probing questions and playing devil's advocate works well in developing their problem solving skills.
Kate,
Right you are. This is how they learn to be critical thinkers and sort through the content and extract the essential components needed. This is how they build their career success.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Media analysis has worked well for me--ads, commercials, movies, etc. Students are pretty media savvy, esp. when someone's trying to sell them something. It's not much of a s strech to then apply those skills to other situations.
--Kate O'Brien
Deborah,
Good plan to get them making applications of the content that has just been shared.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
After lecturing/discussing a section of the textbook. (45 minutes or so) I hand out a packet with diagrams and key questions on the topic just discussed. Student break into small groups to complete the packet. We go over as a class then.
Norman,
You are doing such a great service for your students with this approach. You are making critical thinking an integral part of the total learning experience. By the time the course is completed the students will have a number of different ideas about how to use critical thinking.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Robin,
Great approach! The more application and relevancy opportunities you can provide the more you will be helping the students to develop their critical thinking skills. Practice, practice, practice.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
We include the concept of critical thinking in all syllabi and we begin all courses with at least one lesson on critical thinking. We address the learners as critical thinkers throughout the courses. We emphasize that the intent of the research done and the responses provided within the case study evaluations is to build their critical thinking abilities in order for them to be more relevant at work.
I like to also include students experience in the clinic, especially if they are finding it difficult to solve a reoccurring problem, this alows other students to use critical thinking to help with solving a problem.
I also give examples of client's that suffer from different problems and get students into groups to discuss the senrio and how they would go about treatment. I then follow with how I had gone about the treatment. We then use practical application.
Timing really comes into play here. Sometimes I end a class with questions or maybe begin the next class with questions that will engage their critical thinking skills. I am trying to find quick ways to integrate critical thinking questions all throughout the lectures. Making it relatable to their future careers is key to keeping their interest.
Kathryn,
I use case studies, role playing and trouble shooting all the time in my classes to get the students to think how to analyze a problem from beginning to solution. This is what they are going to do upon graduation so they need to know how they can work through problems while still in school.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I use role playing and group activities. I have the students pretend I am the client and they have to create software etc for me. I have them come up with a plan and I question them like a client would.
Vic,
Great example, thanks for sharing it with us. So true on all your comments. Students need to see the ROI from what is being taught and they need to see it in not only their career preparation but in their personal lives as well.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Chuckle... I have to keep reminding my Math students that "life is a word problem." Nobody ever stops you on the street and asks: "What is 2 plus 3?" There has to be some real-world situation that prompts you do do that calculation. I continually urge them to "make sure your answer makes sense." They can only achieve this, if they consider the real-world situation. I can't tell you how many times someone cut a 2 and 3/4ft. piece from a 9 and 1/2ft. board and ended up with a longer board than they started with ...and on to the next problem they go!
Kathy,
This is an excellent example of leveraging technology to enhance education. Very good work. Thank you for your contribution.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Rey,
Very good. Keep up the great work.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
We have been lucky to have simulator mannequins to take what is learned in the classrom and then apply in a scenario with the instructor adding new information and observing how the student responds. As they learn more, the scenario gets more difficult and decision must be made quicker. So they learn from previous attempts and become more efficient in their critical thinking and ultimately their patient care.
