The Foundation for Critical thinking has sent me a notice of their new fee-based membership to the Center for Critical Thinking Community Online (CriticalThinkingCommunity). It offers many perks, such as access to its library of books and videos, all produced by the Foundation. One can also receive news, a blog written by two senior fellows of the Foundation, the opportunity to post your research, and so forth. Continue reading “Opportunity to Join Critical Thinking Community–With a Caveat”
Questions: Our Secret Weapon
Alison King, in her article “Designing the Instructional Process to Enhance Critical Thinking across the Curriculum,”* relates the story of physics Nobel Prize winner Isidor Rabi. When he returned from school, he said his mother would not ask what had he learned, but rather what good questions had he asked that day. He said it had a profound influence on his learning. We teachers can do the very same with our pupils. Here’s how. Continue reading “Questions: Our Secret Weapon”
Can You Spot Fake News?
Fake news is everywhere, it seems. Such chicanery succeeds because many of us don’t have tools to help us tell the difference. Peter Facione, in his article “Ten Ways To Spot Fake News,” outlines a Credibility Test, consisting of 10 yes/no questions that can signal a dubious source. I am abbreviating his ideas here, but you can find the article on his blog: https://www.insightassessment.com/BLOG/Ten-Ways-to-Spot-Fake-News. Continue reading “Can You Spot Fake News?”
Asking ‘Why’ and ‘What If’
The New York Times’ Warren Berger suggests that critical thinking can get a boost if you ask the powerful questions “why” and “what if.” As questions proliferate, you are likely to get some good answers. Asking ‘why’ and ‘what if’.
Convincing Someone When Facts Are Not Enough
Michael Shermer tries to sort out what happens when people turn a deaf ear to the facts we know to be “true.”
When Facts Fail.
Why Chinese students struggle with critical thinking in U.S. universities
When Facts Backfire
In the January issue of Scientific American, Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic magazine, wrote “When Facts Backfire.”
Continue reading “When Facts Backfire”
Fake Academic Journals? I’m shocked!
My book is out!
Critical Thinking Now: Practical Teaching Methods for Classrooms around the World
Today’s curricula can (and should) incorporate critical thinking methods because they are the means by which people best understand, learn, and retain higher level concepts. Contrary to what many professional trainers assume, teaching critical thinking is not achieved by shoveling facts at an audience through lecturing or multiple choice testing. It requires sustained, finely tuned teaching and assessment methods. This book lays out a blueprint to do just that. Specifically, it outlines the necessary components of a critical thinking classroom and provides assessment techniques and ample exercises adaptable to any student’s field, age, or level of education.
Often not considered are those learners schooled in a non-Western culture and not proficient in the presenter’s language. These audiences can create invisible barriers to instruction. Without understanding these pitfalls, trainers invite frustration and failure, and risk wasting everyone’s time and money because they were unaware any problem existed. The book addresses these linguistic, cultural, and cognitive obstacles and suggests several solutions, whether you teach these students on your home turf or theirs.
Click Rowman & Littlefield for more information. Happy critical thinking!
Think they understand? Ask ’em.
`
Quizzes and tests are time-honored methods of finding out about student learning beyond what you think they know. But there is a quicker, informal, non-graded way to do that by asking them. Although it could be done every class session, I do it after I teach a certain skill and always at midterm so I can refine my teaching. I give them half sheets of paper and ask to tell me: Continue reading “Think they understand? Ask ’em.”
