Critical Thinking
I love the fact that "common sense" was mentioned when talking about critical thinking. One thing that I have learned that common sense isn't so common, so encouraging someone to think through a problem or situation is helping them to develop critical thinking characteristics.
Courtney,
Right you are. This is going to be an increasing challenge in terms of helping students to stop, reflect and then propose solutions without just going to the phone for answers. This in of itself is common sense which seems to be lacking in a lot of situations today.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
There are times in which common sense and critical thinking are necessary to think through a problem. Sometimes it takes engaging prior knowledge and recalling prior experiences to come to the right conclusion. In society today, it is easier to just Google the answer on your smart phone than to take a second and really consider the question and possible answers.
Lindsey,
Good point and one that many students today seem to overlook. Critical thinking and problem solving abilities greatly enhance the value a person brings to the workplace so the more expertise in these areas the more opportunities.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I appreciate that critical thinking is focused on fact and truth as opposed to emotion and feeling. While all aspects are important their appropriate use are invaluable to the individual using them.
Richard,
Your analysis of how critical thinking can be developed and what some of the connections are is right on. Students need help in realizing just how they can develop their problem solving and critical thinking skills. One of the big ways is to develop a sequence of methods to work through situations and explore all types of alternatives.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
It is certainly true that "common sense is not very common". I see this a lot in the classes that I teach. Often I will see a student struggling with a project. When I offer help - and the light bulb turns on for them - they'll say "I guess that's why you're the teacher". I find it interesting how people's minds process things differently. What seems "common" to some is completely abstract for others. I would think that in this age of video games, critical thinking would be a strong attribute of today's youth (puzzle solving often requires critical thinking), but that doesn't seem to be the case. Obviously, video games and reality are kind of far apart, but the thought processes in problem solving are the same, are they not?
Germain,
There is a saying "that to teach is to learn twice, once as a student and twice as the teacher". Using experienced students to teach novice students is a good model to use because everyone involved benefits. I use this model a lot in my classes and my novice students can't wait until their second year so they get to teach the new students coming in. A win win for everyone.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Germain,
Good comments about how facilitate the development of critical thinking skills and how they can be used in career development.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
The students who shut down actually lose out on the opportunity to learn more, because they don't also become "teachers" to the ones without similar background.
It's often the case that the more novice students in the class will respond to the more expert students (when they become "teachers") with comments that go in unexpected directions. This forces the more expert students to think further, communicate more, and grow.
Remember, there are those who say common sense is relative to the sum of a person's prior experience: formal and informal learning, and all the cultures with which they identify (personal, professional, etc.). So, it isn't easy to find any "common" sense. Better to teach formal critical thinking (though there is no certainty it will take for the long term, of course).
Tiffany,
Good analysis concerning how critical thinkers think. From my experience you are right in relation to how we perceive "common sense". Common sense in reality is using critical thinking skills to come up with a solution after looking at different options and then selecting one that fits that situation.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Common sense is much more fun than knowledge. They say ignorance is bliss, so does that mean knowledge is misery? In my experience, a student wh "knows everything", or is "highly knowledgeable", shuts down when it is time to discuss a topic they feel they already know. In the end, not only have they expanded upon what they thought they knew, but they have also made it impossible for them to understand a new concept. People who are critical thinkers, have the ability to look at a situation or topic and build upon what they already know. They are able to look at a situation from different angles and make the best choice.
Patricia,
To follow up on comments about common sense I recently saw the title of a book that really says a lot about common sense. The title is "Why do People With IQs of 140 Work for People With IQs of 115?" The simple answer is common sense. Keep using your common sense and sharing your knowledge with your students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I could not have said this any better. I tell my students that I was blessed with common sense and not knowledge. I enjoy group projects where all ideas are shared. I even learn from the students by opening my mind to new approaches toward problem solving.
Joe,
You sure can.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
critical thinking is nessacery not just common sence,but the two togather you can come up with the right answer most of the time.
Andrew,
I think varied opportunities to explore and problem solve as children really enhances the ability to problem solve. This is a personal opinion based upon observation I don't have scientific data to support this. What I do have is having been raised on a remote farm and my own children being raised on our ranch experience that says being so far from town and resources you need to be able to use common sense and problem solve to survive. As a result these common sense skills have been transferred to many settings resulting in good results. Currently I spend my time being a consultant telling individuals and companies how to solve their problems using, (you guessed it) common sense.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Is common sense something learned through life? If it is, is it possible as a society that we hover over our children now compared to the good old days where kids kind of roamed free causing this?
Marvis,
Well said about common sense. Common sense seems to have left the minds of many people in all walks of life. If we just stop reflect and then strive to find a solution we generally can work through any problem.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
