Critical Thinking

At Westminster Christian Academy, we have mentioned the phrase "critical thinking" quite a bit this year. Well, what is this concept of critical thinking?

According to the Foundation for Critical Thinking, "critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness."

The question then is how do we teach critical thinking to our students? I believe there are many different ways to teach critical thinking, but one of the best and most effective ways is by way of the Socratic teaching method. In the Socratic teaching method, the focus is on giving students more questions than answers. The goal is to model an inquiring probing mind by way of example. The Socratic teaching method also focuses on the elements of reasoning in a disciplined and self-assessing way. A teacher teaching in this method should:
1. Keep the discussion focused
2. Keep the discussion intellectually responsible and stimulating
3. Periodically summarize and get students to do the same
4. Draw all students into the discussion by making the environment safe by taking hard
stances on ridicule and peer pressure
5. Demand that statements be weighty and not random
6. Promote that words have meaning and value

Another aspect of teaching critical thinking is to focus on skills over content. What I mean by this is to use content as a tool in teaching students the elements of critical thinking. One of the best expressions of critical thinking can be found in Bloom's Taxonomy; click HERE to go to a website that gives a good explanation. I believe the taxonomy should be structured a little differently, but that is a discussion for another day.

If you examine the taxonomy you will discover that there are three domains of learning. At WCA we are three dimensional teachers, teaching in ways that address all three domains of learning. And...assessment will be part of the process. It is easy to forget that to teach critical thinking you must also assess for critical thinking. These tasks are laborious but well worth our efforts.

We are commanded by our Lord to love Him with all of our mind as well as our heart, our soul, and our strength. At Westminster Christian Academy, we will strive to make sure every graduate leaves our campus prepared for the rigors of college and the arrows of the world.

Click on Foundation for Critical Thinking to go to their website. It is worth the visit.