Day Seven: Encouraging Critical Thinking

In general, the definition of critical thinking is "self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking that entails effective communication and problem-solving abilities" and it is believed that critical thinking belongs to the category of higher-level thinking skills because it is an intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. From this point of view, what is the role of critical thinking in your course and how would you like to apply it?

Today we are going to think about these questions. Try to find out the answers by reading the articles provided and some of you might want to search more information from the Internet.

Upon completion of this module, you will be able to:

Describe the online instructional strategies necessary for the development of sound Critical Thinking in your online course.

"Effective questioning strategies guide asynchronous discussions and promote critical interaction. Blanchette (2001) found that asynchronous discussions allow for a higher level of cognitive questions that encourage critical thinking. Learners have more time to process questions and develop responses, and the learner's cognitive level of response often matches the cognitive level of the questions asked. Higher level cognitive and affective questions encourage learners to interpret, analyze, evaluate, infer, explain and self regulate. According to Wilson (2002) there are four types of questions that encourage learners to use higher levels of cognitive, or affective, processes for critical thinking. They are convergent, divergent, and evaluative questions. Blanchette (2001) found that evaluative questions were asked most often in asynchronous discussions. Divergent and evaluative questions generated the most interaction, and evaluative questions provided the greatest motivation for discussion." (Excerpted from Critical Thinking in Asynchronous Discussions by Greg Walker)

Types of Critical Questions

Examples

Questions of clarification

Could you give me an example?

Is your basic point ___or___?

Questions that probe assumptions

You seem to be assuming ___

How would you justify taking this for granted?

Is this always the case?

Questions that probe reasons and evidence

How could we go about finding out whether that is true?

Is there reason to doubt that evidence?

Questions about viewpoints or perspectives

How would other groups or types of people respond? Why? What would influence them?

How would people who disagree with this viewpoint argue their case?

Questions that probe implications and consequences

What effect would that have?

If this and this are the case, then what else must also be true?

Questions about the question

To answer this question, what questions would we have to answer first?

Is this the same issue as ____?

Socratic questioning
Socratic questioning fosters an inquiring, critical thinking. It focuses on asking students questions designed to make them think in depth about the subject at hand, rather than providing them with answers. For example:

What do you mean when you use that word?

What alternative interpretations might be made from this data/information?

What evidence supports that statement? Is it from a reliable source?

How did you arrive at that conclusion?

What other conclusions might be reasonable?

Encouraging Independent Thought
Students frequently enjoy sharing their perspectives, which can lead to interesting conversations. Here are a few ways to encourage them:

Pose questions that have more than one answer.

Show alternate methods for solving problems.

Organize debates.

Have students describe to what extent their points of view differ from those of the instructor, other students, or the author.

Ask students to provide additional, or even opposing, perspectives.

Promote metacognition
By asking students to review their own learning, we help them improve their understanding as well as their study skills and self-knowledge. Here are a few methods you can use to encourage students to examine their thought processes:

Give written assignments that require rewriting.

Use learning logs.

Have students explain the assignment and its purpose.

Have students document their progress.

Let students discover concepts for themselves. Have students assess their own work.

Additional Reading: Effective Techniques of Questioning

Facilitator Fostering Critical Thinking:

The role of a facilitator in helping to improve students' critical and creative thinking are to:

analyze their own thinking processes and classroom practices and provide reasons for what they do;
be open-minded, encouraging students to follow their own thinking and not simply repeat what the teacher has said;
change their own positions when the evidence warrants, being willing to admit a mistake;
consistently provide opportunities for students to select activities and assignments from a range of appropriate choices;
exhibit genuine interest, curiosity and commitment to learning;
undertake the organization and preparation required to achieve learning goals;
seek imaginative, appropriate and ethical solutions to problems;
be sensitive to others' feelings, level of knowledge and degree of sophistication;
show sensitivity to the physical elements which contribute to a stimulating learning environment through the physical arrangements and displays they provide or facilitate;
allow for student participation in rule setting and decision making related to all aspects of learning, including assessment and evaluation.

Critical Thinking Strategies:

Excerpted from Facilitating Online Learning: Effective Strategies for Moderators by George Collison, Bonnie Elbaum, Sarah Haavind, and Robert Tinker (Atwood Publishing: Madison, WI, 2000).

The role of a facilitator in helping to improve students' critical and creative thinking

Think of tasks that would let students link concepts in your course to their personal experiences.

Example: In your own words, explain why a learned behavior is less resistant to extinction if it is reinforced regularly rather than only occasionally. Illustrate your explanation with an example from your own life.
Ask students to teach difficult concepts in your course to a new learner.

Example: Explain the difference between "reliability" and "validity" in the construction of an assessment instrument. Invent your own examples.
Think of controversial theses in your field (for thesis-support assignments or believing/doubting exercises).

Example: "The overriding religious view expressed in Hamlet is an existential atheism similar to Sartre's." In your argument summarize fairly and respond reasonably to opposing views.
Think of problems, puzzles, or questions you could ask students to address (old essay exam questions are often excellent here).

Example: You are an accountant in the tax department of Kubiak, Kartcher, and Elway, CPAs. Last Saturday morning you were in Winchell's Donuts, as is your norm. Just as you finish reading Doonesbury and start on your second apple fritter, a gentleman sits down beside you. He introduces himself as Fred O. McDonald, a farmer from up in the valley. He says he recognizes you as "that CPA who frequents the donut shop." Fred has a problem and asks tax advice from you. Here is Fred's problem: Last Tuesday farmer McDonald planned to remove stumps from a pasture. So, he drove out to the pasture, lit a stick of dynamite and tossed it near the base of a stump. Fred's playful dog Boomer saw his master throw the "stick" and scampered to fetch it. Boomer picked up the stick. Fred yelled at the dog. Boomer, thinking he was going to be punished, ran under Fred's pickup truck. Boomer dropped the dynamite stick. The dog escaped harm just as the truck was totally destroyed by the blast. Fred wonders if he can deduct the loss of the truck for tax purposes. Write a letter to Fred O. McDonald to answer his question.
Think of ways to give students raw data (such as lists, graphs, tables, etc.) and ask them to write an argument or analysis based on the data.

Example: To what extent do the attached economic data support the hypothesis "Social service spending is inversely related to economic growth"? First create a scatter gram as a visual test of the hypothesis. Then create a verbal argument analyzing whether the data support the hypothesis.
Think of opening "frame sentences" for the start of a paragraph or short essay; students have to complete the paragraph by fleshing out the organizational structure predicted by the frame.

Example: To solve the problem of homelessness in America, we must realize that not all homeless fit intothe same category. In fact, we ought to specify X categories of homeless people. First [develop with details]. . . . Second [develop with details]. . . . Third [?] Fourth [?]
Think of ways to ask students to role-play unfamiliar points of view (imagine X from the perspective of Y) or to encounter "what if" situations.

Example: Assume that Nike has invented a space suit that will let you run and throw freely enough to play baseball on the moon. Lay out the dimensions for a baseball park on the moon and justify your park design by explaining how the reduced gravity and the lack of atmosphere will affect the pitching, batting, base running, and fielding.
Select several important articles in your field, put them on reserve in the library, and ask student to write 100-word or 250-word summaries or abstracts of them. (Or ask students to write a summary of one of your lectures.)

Example: Write a 250-word summary of the attached article from Scientific American. Your summary should make the main ideas of this article clear to someone who hasn't read it.
Think of a controversy in your field and ask students to write a dialogue between characters with different points of view.

Example: "In order to reduce the illegitimacy rate in the United States, the federal government should enact Charles Murray's proposal that welfare payments to single mothers be eliminated." Write a mini play in which two or more characters of your choice disagree about the above proposal. Make their arguments reflective and rational.
Create cases that place students in a realistic situation relevant to your discipline where they must reach a decision to resolve a conflict.

Example: Based on the attached case, explain what course of action you would take and justify your decision with a reasoned argument.

Now Post in the Discussion Forum on Encouraging Critical Thinking.

Follow this door to Day Eight: Interacting With Your Students