How do develop critical thinking in students?
How do we expose students to "problem solving" skills in such a way that they experience success when they have little or no critical thinking ability?
In addition, many student base their answer upon their opinions. When challenged with the "questioning approach", many shut down and refuse to explore any other possibility than their own.
Tina,
I think you are using a great approach to get your students thinking and problem solving. In the medical field there are many decisions made everyday that require the best collective knowledge and thinking of medical professionals. You are helping your students develop the skills needed to be participants in those decisions when needed.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I teach for a Respiratory Therapy program and one of the students' board exams involves making clinical decisions based upon information they choose to gather about a patient's condition. Most of them struggle with the decision making process since it requires critical thinking and "putting the whole picture together". The way I try to cultivate critical thinking in my classroom to prepare them for these clinical simulations is by regular exposure to case study scenarios throughout my lectures and group practice/discussion of clinical simulations similar to the ones on their board exams.
The best method for me has been to ask them to use the problem-solving method for a problem in their own lives. That way they can apply what they have learned to something that has value to them outside of the classroom.
Richard,
I really like the way you help your students analyze different sources that are using the same facts. I am always amazed at how depending on your perspective in relation to a situation different conclusions can be brought forth as fact.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I've been having fun with this showing students political ads and product advertisements, then working with them to deconstruct the contents. Over the years they have see so many ads that minds the falsehoods in them becomes almost automatic, and just a little push may be needed for them to clarify the differences between claims and realities. Effectively, they have more critical thinking abilities than they realize.
One fun project is to compare events, or even just what is daily reported, by different news sources. I'll show them sample web pages across the political spectrum and from countries with a whole range of governments and economies. They seem to be surprised with how many ways the same "fact" or event can be spun. I think that opens them up to be likely to question simple statements or easy solutions.
Edward,
I think you and your students will have a lot of fun with this activity. My students really get involved in the problem solving process because they like to solve problems and they get to play with Legos.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
those are great simply activities that add a fun atmosphere while learning...thanks! I will try one the legos activity in the next few weeks.
Brandi,
This creates such a visual mental picture for the learner. These are the types of examples we need to share with our students as we walk them through the problem solving process.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I really like that concept of understanding blood flow through the heart. Great example for developing critical thinking . It gives the student a chance to express themselves along with the instructor learning about how each individual process and receive information.
Ruth,
One of the fun parts of facilitating a course like this is that I get to work with professionals from so many different fields. Your example is great! Having been pre-vet and taken many science courses I worked very hard to memorize the different systems in the human body. Wish I had had you as an instructor. This example is simple, clear and understandable. This is how you get students to focus in on the topic and develop critical thinking skills. By understanding the concepts and applications they can internalize the information for later use.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I try to encourage my students to develop critical thinking in Human Anatomy and Physiology is to ask them to draw an analogy from daily life to explain a concept. One such example is called the Heart Apartment exercise in which the student compares the flow of blood through the heart to a duplex townhouse. The right apartment is the pulmonary pump, the left the systemic pump, the top floors are the atria and the lower are the ventricles. The air conditioning systems take the place of the lungs. Now I ask them to accurately place doors and flow pathways, labeling all parts with the anatomical heart terms. One important aspect of the assignments is to teach the blood flow using their diagram to another individual. This exercise is one of the best ways i have found to "fix" understanding of the blood flow through the heart in their minds.
That sounds like a fun activity to incorporate. I think as adults, you forget how to problem solve like children do in an activity like this. Sometimes watching how children play, you can actually learn something as an adult.
yes, I agree with this, they feel as though they are accomplishing something
My experience has been the contrary. Most of my students actually enjoy the questioning method. I feel like when my class has been successful, that is one of the major take-aways.
Attila,
One of the ways I approach this is to use some activities that get the students to do critical thinking and problem solving on projects such as using Legos to construct a car. Each group (3-4 students) is given a baggie with certain lego shapes in it. Then they create a car out of the blocks in a span of time. We then discuss the cars that have been built in relation to the problem that they were presented with. I also do this with masking tape, straws and newspapers. With this exercise they are to build a free standing structure as high as they can in a set time. These are fun activities but they get the students to think about how to approach reflective and creative thinking as well as problem solving. Once we are done with these activities we move on to problems in our field and they use the steps that they used when doing the activities.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
