How to teach critical thinking

[Anonymous]

Nobody answered directly to my questions in the public school forum. I found this thread https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/101940.page and figured this is probably a better forum to get help from. Critical thinking & problem solving seem to be thrown around a lot nowadays, but many schools do not even know what they are. The math "problem solving" has zero word problem, only math calculations. The "critical thinking" projects are just glorified craft projects with no explanation of 'how' or 'why,' no concepts or laws behind it.

Can anyone explain what exactly "critical thinking" is? I know about the Socratic questioning method, but how do you use it and critical thinking to do something useful?

How do the schools teach it? What do you teach it with assuming it is not something that can be taught as a separate skill? How do you transfer the critical thinking skills taught in a controlled environment (classroom) to use it across the board in other subjects and in the world?

How do you teach the students what questions to ask, which statements to question (theory statement) and which statement not to (law statement)? How do you teach them information literacy and reasoning tools? Is there a program for it?

[Anonymous]

I’d look into Jo Bowler’s work. She has a lot of videos of her camps that I believe foster real critical thinking. The students are allowed to fail, encouraged to collaborate, comfortable sitting with an unanswered question, and shown how to learn from mistakes. A lot of the techniques I use in my classroom are drawn from her work. The website is www.youcubed.org

[Anonymous]

This is too many questions for me, but I will mention that Odyssey of the Mind is an amazing after school program for critical thinking. Found in lots of schools and you can always start it if your school doesn't have it. Ours was parent sponsored, not run by any teachers. It really challenged my son to think creatively, have original ideas and be a problem solver, skills that weren't being taught in elementary school. In middle school there was a deliberate shift to critical thinking, which is typically a really hard adjustment. They get so good at memorizing and learning facts, and it takes a while for them to realize they're being asked for something different.

[Anonymous]

Couple quick ideas:

-- always question the source and bias, and intentionally introduce students to multiple opposing sources addressing the same topic. Extend that to critical reviews of the source with opposing opinions. Analyze how each side supports their position. Look for and point out tricks of logic and rhetoric. Highlight ambiguity and areas where right and wrong are not clear or may not exist, when compromise is essential for action to occur. Role play and make each student argue both sides of something.

-- Teach them to use the 5 Why's technique to consider an issue or problem, especially before beginning their own critical writing piece. It helps dig down to root causes, it also identifies alternative possibilities and sometimes it changes their minds about the premise before they start to write.

-- In math, try to get them to discover formulas before you teach them formulas. Word problems help with this, as do geometry proofs, and even just playing with and questioning geometry (what is the relationship between these shapes, are there any unvarying truths about the relationships between them no matter the size, etc.). Same with science: use observation, object lessons, pre- and post- lesson experiments. Let them discover what you are planning to teach, as much as you teach lessons.

All of this takes time, great planning, and a cooperative group of curious students willing to work for the knowledge (and understanding parent who won't complain that their kids aren't being 'taught anything"). To cover a full course of knowledge that students need to be well prepared for the next level, some things will need to be taught in a more expedient manner. Bur a good dose of the slow process of discovery goes a long way.

Jane Healey wrote about the development of the very young mind and illustrated beautifully how much more a child learns when given an objective and time to explore, but is not taught how to achieve the objective. Make a tower of these 5 blocks. If one child is shown by an adult how to stack them and mimics it immediately, the child learns how to stack blocks like the adult. If the other child spends half an hour trying and failing, until eventually it figures out how to get them just right so they stay on top of each other -- which has learned more about gravity, physics, architecture, geometry, not to mention the method of trial and error, grit and determination, being set free of the fear of failure, work and reward, self-confidence and personal achievement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’d look into Jo Bowler’s work. She has a lot of videos of her camps that I believe foster real critical thinking. The students are allowed to fail, encouraged to collaborate, comfortable sitting with an unanswered question, and shown how to learn from mistakes. A lot of the techniques I use in my classroom are drawn from her work. The website is www.youcubed.org

Boaler. Autocorrect got me.

[Anonymous]

This reads like someone who has a interview for a teaching job and is looking for answers to commonly asked questions.

[Anonymous]

Teach to:
Gather all data and angles
Use data
Use stats
Ask questions
Back up premises
Know fact from opinion

[Anonymous]

I think you are confusing a lot of different concepts. Socratic inquiry (a method) and critical thinking (a skill) and problem solving (a different skill) and math problems are all different things. Often people say critical thinking when they mean problem solving or logic.

Critical thinking is being "critical of" - thinking about, challenging the truth of - an issue or argument. It involves asking, for example, who made a decision, why, who benefited, who didn't, what would have happened differently if you changed one key fact, etc. The focus is on reasoning and supporting your points: there may or may not be a correct answer. My private high school taught it well, IMO, but teachers often use "controversial" literature and historical inquiry to get at these concepts and so I think schools today are getting hammered by the culture wars when they try.

Problem solving can involve critical thinking, but usually doesn't need to. For example, logic problems are usually classified as problem solving not critical thinking -- "how do you get 3 animals across the river in 2 boat trips" may have multiple right answers but it doesn't really have a lot of room for critical inquiry.

[Anonymous]

Harkness Table.

[Anonymous]

Get used to reading both sides and the middle of an issue. Circle the superlatives and opinion sentences. Circle claims that aren’t supported whatsoever.
Check what’s left. If anything.

[Anonymous]

In history class we learned to first read the authors name and look it up for any affiliations and biases. Then read the book or article. “Lived experiences” are a double edged sword.

[Anonymous]

Attack the premises until they can no longer be attacked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Harkness Table.

Hawkness table will never work with a political leaning teacher or classroom or school. Not in literature, social studies or history classes.

[Anonymous]

Critical thinking in kids is developed over time. Requires content knowledge, logic, more content knowledge and experiences ( different from what they already know). And then comes the questions and challenges.

You can start this early with books and asking them questions about characters thoughts, intentions, prediction, inferences. Teaching the 5Ws and H.

Later you add research and deeper questions and challenges. The goal being to get them to look at things from multiple points of view and ask the questions themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you are confusing a lot of different concepts. Socratic inquiry (a method) and critical thinking (a skill) and problem solving (a different skill) and math problems are all different things. Often people say critical thinking when they mean problem solving or logic.

Critical thinking is being "critical of" - thinking about, challenging the truth of - an issue or argument. It involves asking, for example, who made a decision, why, who benefited, who didn't, what would have happened differently if you changed one key fact, etc. The focus is on reasoning and supporting your points: there may or may not be a correct answer. My private high school taught it well, IMO, but teachers often use "controversial" literature and historical inquiry to get at these concepts and so I think schools today are getting hammered by the culture wars when they try.

Problem solving can involve critical thinking, but usually doesn't need to. For example, logic problems are usually classified as problem solving not critical thinking -- "how do you get 3 animals across the river in 2 boat trips" may have multiple right answers but it doesn't really have a lot of room for critical inquiry.

OP literally asked about critical thinking AND problem solving in their post.