How do you Teach Critical Thinking?
Just as there are many reasons for teaching critical thinking there are varying methodologies to teach critical thinking skills ranging from teacher approaches, lesson planning, and school-wide initiatives.
- Classroom Approaches: The General, Infusion, and Immersion Approaches
- Bailin's Lessons Adapted for Critical Thought
- Kassem's CRTA School-wide Model
Classroom Approaches
The General Approach
Just as there are many reasons for teaching critical thinking there are several approaches to teach critical thinking skills. One of the simplest avenues is to offer courses specifically designed with that aim. In this general approach, the class objectives center on teaching critical thought with content being used simply as fodder for that goal (Geerstsen, 2003; Ennis, 1989). The general approach is not grounded in any particular content areas such as science or math but rather has open to it any information. While commonly used, the usefulness of these types of classes has not been found to improve critical thinking skills in undergraduate programs where they are commonly found (Facione, 1990). These types of classes remain popular, a fact which can probably be attributed to the ease of which schools can institute them and claim a focus on critical thinking skills (Moore, 2004). However, the general approach is not without merit and can prove beneficial when used correctly conjunction with other strategies.
The Infusion and Immersion Approaches
Aside from general type approaches are the infusion and immersion methodologies. Here content is an important aspect of learning and students learn not only relevant information, but how to think about it (Ennis, 1989; Bailin, 2002). Here students are encouraged to build familiarity and confidence with subject matter while building thinking skills in particular disciplines, a practice which has been linked to greater acquisition and application of critical thinking techniques (Willingham, 2008; Moore, 2004). The difference between infusion and immersion is the level of which students are involved in their own metacognition. In the infusion methodology, students are explicitly instructed in proper thought processes and what constitutes the proper mental strategy for reaching a conclusion (Harpaz, 2011). In other words, students are expressly taught how to think, what processes they should use, and how best to reach a rational inclusion. Conversely, in immersion practices, the end result is the same as students are still expected to practice and apply their critical thinking skills, but strategies are not overtly taught (Ennis, 1989). Instead, these skills are modeled and encouraged to develop more organically while reaching the same end. In either case, it is important to note that alongside metacognitive skills the students are learning content and are being initiated into the ways of knowing of their respective disciplines. In essence, this allows two tasks to be completed at once, each augmenting and reinforcing the other a practice that maximizes not only content learning, but critical skill acquisition.