Critical thinking is an important skill in the 21st century learning. Education’s overall goal is to produce students that will be able to think critically and not just take in things like a parrot. Of course there is a bunch of other important skills out there but this particular one stands out from the crowd. The thing about this skill is that while almost all teachers agree upon its priority in education only few really know what it really means.
Critical thinking refers to a diverse range of intellectual skills and activities concerned with evaluating information as well as evaluating our thought in a disciplined way.
All proponents of thinking skills (critical, creative,…) emphasize the relevance of thinking for many aspects of life, not just those usually associated with “thinking.” For example, the Critical Thinking Community says,“Critical thinking is the art of taking charge of your own mind. Its value is simple: if we can take charge of our own minds, we can take charge of our lives.” In another page they describe the centrality of thinking, and a common educational problem:
“Critical thinking is not an isolated goal unrelated to other important goals in education. Rather, it is a seminal goal which, done well, simultaneously facilitates a rainbow of other ends. It is best conceived, therefore, as the hub around which all other educational ends cluster. For example, as students learn to think more critically, they become more proficient at historical, scientific, and mathematical thinking. Finally, they develop skills, abilities, and values crucial to success in everyday life. …
Recent research suggests that critical thinking is not typically an intrinsic part of instruction at any level. Students come without training in it, while faculty tends to take it for granted as an automatic by-product of their teaching. Yet without critical thinking systematically designed into instruction, learning is transitory and superficial.”
Critical thinking involves logic as well as creativity. It may involve inductive and deductive reasoning, analysis and problem-solving as well as creative, innovative and complex approaches to the resolution of issues and challenges.
One of the significant aims of education is to produce learners who are well informed, that is to say, learners should understand ideas that are important, useful, beautiful and powerful. Another is to create learners who have the appetite to think analytically and critically, to use what they know to enhance their own lives and also to contribute to their society, culture and civilization.
References:
Educational Technology and Mobile Learning
http://www.asa3.org/ASA/education/think/critical.htm
By: Elsa T. Bumatay | Teacher III | Mountain View Elementary School | Mariveles, Bataan
