Enhancing Students Critical Thinking Skills

[attachment=16049]
Critical thinking is a form of problem solving, but a major difference between the two is that critical thinking involves reasoning about open-ended or “ill-structured” problems, while problem solving is usually considered narrower in scope. […] Thus, in critical thinking, the goal is not to find and execute a solution but to construct a plausible representation of the situation or issue that could be presented in a convincing argument. […] The process of developing support for a position most clearly distinguishes critical thinking from problem solving. (28-29, emphasis original)


Citing Joanne Kurfiss on promoting critical thinking in disciplinary courses, John Bean identifies three of her major points:
• Problems, questions, or issues are the major points of entry into the subject and a source of motivation for sustained inquiry.
• Courses are assignment centered rather than text and lecture centered. Goals, methods, and evaluation emphasize using content rather than simply acquiring it.
• Students are required to justify their ideas in writing or other appropriate modes. (88)


co-curricular example
Student consultants working for the McGraw Center at Princeton have the opportunity to address “good problems” and to use critical inquiry skills developed in the classroom in a co-curricular setting. With the guidance of a professional consultant, these student consultants meet with other undergraduates to help them hone the reading, note taking, time management, and exam preparation skills necessary to be successful at Princeton. In weekly meetings, student consultants share details of their consultations, reflect on the choices they made in those consultations, invite comment and critique, and then synthesize the discussion to determine what changes, if any, they would make to their practice in subsequent consultations.