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
Lessons
No matter the approach whether it be general, infusion, immersion, or some mixture of all, specific class content still needs to be structured and delivered to promote the practice of critical thinking skills. In a science classroom, there exist numerous activities that fulfill this requirement. Some effective literature backed examples are paraphrased by Bailin (2002). Her examples include activities such as developing an insect habitat, investigating the link between smoking and strokes, and analyzing the functionality of nuclear power. Here the focus is on scientifically relevant problems that force students to address their own conception of information rather than rely on rote application of processes. More important, however, is the fact that students are required to use sound logic and criteria to master these tasks. This expectation and demand of critical thought ensures that students use and practice the very skills teachers are trying to instill. By effectively structuring assignments, activities, and assessments teachers can ensure ample practice opportunities are provided for students to develop critical thought.
Developing an Insect Habitat
Designed for younger students, this lesson requires that students have basic information about the insects they will be housing. Students will be encouraged to:
- "Read books and view videos on habitats
- Carry out and record direct observations of various insects
- Develop a set of criteria for a good habitat based on their research
- Design a habitat for an insect of their choice
- Share and critically discuss each others’ designs in light of the criteria (Bailing 2002)"
Does Smoking Cause Strokes?
This lesson is aimed at higher level biology students which culminates with a presentation exploring the link between smoking and strokes. This provides an excellent means for:
- Analyzing the differences between correlation and causation
- Finding and using scientific literature
- Making value judgements on the relevance of scientific work to the question at hand.
Is Nuclear Power a Desirable Energy Source?
The students in this lesson would be upper level science students probably in an environmental science or ecology classroom. The goal of this lesson is to investigate the desirability of nuclear power through various scientific and layman's publications the end result being a research paper. Students will need to:
- Judge the reliability of various sources looking for instances of bias
- Demonstrate the ability to reach a logically based conclusion
- Use data to both support their claim and refute others'
- Effectively communicate their viewpoint to the remainder of the class