| Most of my youtube viewers seem to describe themselves somewhere along the lines of free thinking, independent minded secular humanists. Most of them have gone significantly against the grain at least once in their lives. Reflecting on that, many are so pleased to have shaken free of at least one popular concept that they now see for what it really is, and what they could have become, that they encourage others to analyze the popular opinions they hold as well. So it should come as no surprise that when I speak to that audience about the future of education the most popular terminology they throw around the in the comment section is "critical thinking," and the most popular use of that term involves the proposed magic bullet of curriculum improvement, which of course is to "teach critical thinking." Mmm doesn't that just feel good to say? Doesn't it feel good to hear? Those three little words just slip off the tongue and dance upon the eardrums of the "free thinking" community. The small, yet fundamental questions that create difficulty with the whole notion are... what the hell is "critical thinking" and how the hell does one "teach it?" Landing on a solid definition for "critical thinking" can be a bit tricky. Here are some different ways that it's been defined according to some different authorities on the matter with references provided. "Reasonable reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do" "Thinking about thinking" "The intellectually disciplined ... |
