Critical Thinking

What is the importance of critical thinking?

"When we teach students to do higher-order thinking, we are not just teaching them some fancy skills useful for the flexibility and adaptability required for life in our 21st century 'information age.' We are teaching them to be human." (Brookhart, 2010, p.3)

Higher order thinking leads to transfer of skills and ideas between content areas and everyday life. Higher order thinking skills all lead to the umbrella of critical thinking and problem solving. Being proficient in critical thinking allows students to evaluate and make informed decisions on everything from what news claims to believe to what they should have for dinner.  While the general public is focused on testing and test scores, the educational community is focusing on changing day-to-day practices so that the students leave school with the skills to be successful in their personal lives and careers. Training the students to be thinkers in all content areas thus setting them up for future successes. 

Critical thinking is a way of thinking where the thinker improves the quality of thought by skillfully analyzing, assessing, and reconstructing ideas with supportive evidence. Critical thinking strategies must be explicitly taught by instructors to students so that the students can become self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective in their thinking over time. All aspects of life require such modes of thought and the science classroom is the perfect place for this mindful training to occur.  Students must be allowed time to practice and struggle with critical thinking strategies in order to achieve the desired changes in their mindfulness. 

A Video Overview:

• What is the importance of critical thinking?

Dr. Karin Hess Cognitive Matrix: Science 

• What is the rigor of the task that you are asking your students to complete?

Critical Thinking: What is it and why?

• What is the research behind the practices associated with critical thinking?