THE IMPORTANCE OF CRITICAL THINKING
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READING/WRITING AND CRITICAL THINKING
One major problem the world faces today is people's ability to critically think, analyse, and conclude. The world would be a much better place if everyone were equipped with these essential skills for decision-making and problem-solving. Racism, hate, conflicts and wars would greatly diminish as a result of a more informed and empathetic population.
Teachers, please encourage students
The primary aim is encouraging students to observe themselves and others in the critical process. We want students to be able:
To know the difference between reliable and unreliable observations and statements of facts.
To observe objectively and thoroughly and to collect sufficient factual or textual evidence.
To identify patterns or relationships in what they have observed or discovered in their reading.
To infer and to assume carefully.
To form opinions even while keeping an open mind.
To create arguments and to develop a skill in presenting them clearly
What is critical thinking?
Critical thinking is reflecting carefully on each speech, reading or writing activity; in this process, students improve and sharpen their thinking skills. Providing our students with exciting reading materials does not ensure that our students will be better thinkers. Merely absorbing new information without challenging the opinions of the writers or the teachers of the materials the students are reading does not constitute critical thinking; students must be active learners who question what they are reading and their perceptions and beliefs.
Fundamentals of Critical Thinking
(1) Observations from which students discover
(2) Facts from which (or absence of which) students make
(3) Inferences that students can test for validity and make
(4) Assumptions from which they can form
(5) Opinions based on which students can develop
(6) Arguments to challenge and critically analyze others arguments.
READING/WRITING AND CRITICAL THINKING
Kinds of Critical Thinking: Bloom's Taxonomy
one of the most influential critical thinking models is Bloom's Taxonomy of Higher Thinking. Bloom categorized thinking into the following six processes:
- Knowledge
- Comprehension
- Application
- Analysis
- Synthesis
- Evaluation
According to Bloom, students must master one thinking level before moving on to the next. We can't expect our students to evaluate knowledge if we haven't first required them to understand, apply, analyses, etc. Courses employing critical thinking pedagogy consider Bloom's theory, giving students practice in some of the "lower" essential thinking skills before moving them on to the more difficult tasks of the higher thinking processes.
What do we do?
Throughout the course, students are asked to read articles, essays, reports, and short stories; they discuss the content and write essays synthesizing the information. Students receive a considerable amount of help in the writing process.
Example: Students read the following short stories:
The Answer Is No by Naguib Mahfouz
The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
The Open Window by Saki
The Story of my Life (Chapter 1) by Helen Killer
The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant
The students are given questions to reflect upon. They discuss the purpose and details of each story and write essays in which they synthesize information from two or more of the stories and express their own feelings and thoughts.