Nancy Burkhalter

Feb 14 Lecture: Critical Thinking Skills Among Students

The AILACT Speakers Forum February 14, 2025, 11:00 US Eastern TimeZoom Link: https://wisconsin-edu.zoom.us/j/7153464115 “Mindware: A New Way of Thinking about Critical Thinking” By Prof. John Eigenauer Abstract: The general lack of critical thinking skills among students and the populace at large has long been lamented and substantiated. Books are legion about the brain’s fallibility, andContinue reading “Feb 14 Lecture: Critical Thinking Skills Among Students”

My Book Wins GOLD!

Many, many thanks to the Independent Publishers of New England (IPNE) for bestowing a GOLD award for my book, Critical Thinking Now! Practical Teaching Methods for Classrooms Around the World! The jacket copy states: Today’s curricula can (and should) incorporate critical thinking methods because they are the means by which people best understand, learn, andContinue reading “My Book Wins GOLD!”

Water Your Brain with Upcoming Critical Thinking Talks

The Association for Informal Logic and Critical Thinking (AILACT) presents talks every first Friday. On January 10 at 1pm (ET) (this one was delayed), Catarina Dutilh Novaes will present Against ‘Reason Supremacism’ in Democratic Politics. Go to https://ailact.wordpress.com for lots of information and downloadabale access to the second edition of Studies in Critical Thinking J.Continue reading “Water Your Brain with Upcoming Critical Thinking Talks”

Critical Thinking in the Workplace

The skinny: Critical thinking is a strange bird: We all know it when we see it, but its definition is hard as heck to pin down. So, when employers say they want their employees to be critical thinkers, how’s that working out for them? This link to a 2024 article from Insight Assessment explains withContinue reading “Critical Thinking in the Workplace”

What Skills Are Employers Looking for Now?

The attributes that employers are looking for are changing. AILACT (Association for Informal Logic & Critical Thinking https://ailact.wordpress.com/) has posted several articles about this topic. The upshot is that their emphasis in hiring is less on technical skills and more on soft skills (including many that are subsumed under critical thinking): https://www.naceweb.org/talent-acquisition/candidate-selection/the-key-attributes-employers-are-looking-for-on-graduates-resumes In descending orderContinue reading “What Skills Are Employers Looking for Now?”

A Defense against Misinformation?

What Should Students Get Out of a Course on Critical Thinking?

Peter Facione (www.measuredreasons.comhas researched, written about, and taught critical thinking for over 50 years. Below are 11 skills Facione hopes students will acquire from a course focused on critical thinking: Facione also offers an array of material he calls Skill Builders, Deep Dives, and Mindset Boosters for teachers and students at https://insightbase.com/products.

Video about Disinformation, Denialism, and the Assault on Truth

I belong to AILACT (Association for Informal Logic & Critical Thinking https://ailact.wordpress.com/). Every month, a speaker talks about an issue in critical thinking. The one posted below by Lee McIntyre, Research Fellow, Center for Philosophy and History of Science, Boston University, was particularly interesting. Here is his description of the topic: “Disinformation is the scourgeContinue reading “Video about Disinformation, Denialism, and the Assault on Truth”

How Can You Change Someone’s Mind

This short TED-Ed talk by Hugo Mercier (4:27 minutes), How Can You Change Someone’s Mind, talks about three elements that will help when you want to discuss delicate or controversial topics. The three elements are 1) shared beliefs, 2) trusted sources, and 3) values. His presentation is elegant but goes fast. But it is anContinue reading “How Can You Change Someone’s Mind”

Conference Opportunities

Dear critical thinker: I am posting to alert you to two upcoming (soon!) conferences that might interest you. The Critical Thinking Consortium (tc2.ca) will hold a zoom call on leadership on May 13. To register: go to http://Register and pay for the conference. It is a very active organization and has many resources (some areContinue reading “Conference Opportunities”