Thinking Skills are Critical for Student Success
Stephen Brookfield talks about students' need for critical thinking skills on February 25, 2004."Critical thinking is a skill that's important to success in education and in life," said Stephen Brookfield in the first of a three-part workshop series focusing on developing students' critical thinking skills.
Brookfield, an internationally recognized authority on the subject and the 2003-2004 Helen LeBaron Hilton Chair in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, spoke about critical thinking, why it is important and how instructors can begin to facilitate it in the classroom.
How Students Think Critically
According to Brookfield, when students think critically, they approach the world reflectively. They are less likely to act or make decisions out of habit. Instead, critical thinkers ask hard questions, weigh the evidence, interpret complex problems, and as a result, make truly informed and wise decisions.
Instructors As Facilitators
Brookfield said that instructors can play a role in helping students become critical thinkers by helping them probe and challenge their assumptions whenever possible. Help students check the accuracy of their assumptions by encouraging the exploration of as many different perspectives, viewpoints, and sources as possible.
Challenging Assumptions
Getting students to challenge their assumptions and think critically about them isn't always easy. The key is to start by asking students to examine the views they hold that have the least influence over who they are as individuals.
For example, Brookfield said, "Get students to look at their casual assumptions — usually these are based on cause and effect — and prescriptive assumptions, which are those that define actions in given situations."
Students have the greatest difficulty examining paradigmatic assumptions, as these are the deeply embedded beliefs that help them "see the way the world is and are the foundations of a person's thoughts," said Brookfield. Instructors may want to avoid initially delving into these issues.
"As an instructor, the goal is to encourage students to challenge assumptions and think critically about them without taking the exercise to a point where it threatens students' self-esteem and learning."
Want to learn more?
Attend the next installment of the critical thinking workshops entitled, "Holding Critical Conversations." Join the discussion from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on April 7 in the MU Campanile Room. Or check out one of Stephen Brookfield's popular books on teaching in the CELT Library, 3024 Morrill Hall.
