Is the ability to think critically an important part of education? How important is it and why? Do Indian schools focus too much on rote learning and too little on critical thinking? And if so, what harm does this cause, if any? And if Indian schools focus too much on rote learning, what needs to happen for Indian students to learn how to think for themselves?
Response from:
Gowri Raman, Council Member on
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This information comes from my own knowledge.
Hi Congrats for posing a question to kindle our critical thinking!
1. I feel education must be both of learning the existing rules and also kindling the capacity of children to think further and ahead.
2. Yes, critical thinking should take an important part of education. That would enable the students on ocming out of formal education, to put it into practice, analysing the pros and cons of various issues without merely following what the others say. It will bring out the originality in them leading to innovations of various kinds and various fields. Science and technology are based on thinking and thinking critically will lead to more and more innovations.
3. Why are out students shining in the US soil? Because the freedom in the country and its higher education permits them to think and educate themselves through critical thinking. Even open book exams are part of their education, as that only forms part of reference to develop intellectual view points and derivations. Our children find their education breezy and un-constricting, providing freedom to think and anlayze. Our students have achieved academic and work place excellence there due to freedom to think that too criticaly and they are rewarded for it. Whereas we constrict them here and tell them even that they have to stick to their syllabus and ask no questions further. That is why, when there is any question in the exams inducing critical thinking, there is furore for going beyond syllabus and people even go to courts to get makrs for such questions thinking it is the mistake of the exam system!
4. Yes, our system promotes rote learning which in effect promotes one's memory to learn by heart and your success depends on your capacity to memorise and reproduce them at the right time and in right measures. That is why even product ads target memory! But the memorised lessons evaporate as soon as they leave school/college
5. Syllabus has to be changed to make them thinking. Arithmetics which are of no use should get out of syllabus as computers cater to such calculations.
6. Every lesson should be based on learning and researching. After every lesson taught in class, students should be allowed to put in tnier ideas, write opinion. Science classes must be practical demonstrations to kindle their enthusiasm. 7. Exam system should not merely test memory but contain portions to test their thinking. Projects should be allotted for woking out. Marks should be allotted to their efforts and creativity.
7. There should be funding to encourage discoveries at the higher PG level education so that students can come up with discoveries like hybrid cars like recently engineering college assignments brought out such talents. Companies should buy their ideas and pay them for adoption.
8. Jobs should be offered based on creativity during college days also.
9. Our students shine in foreign soils because every country encourages creativity, but not India. We should change the system. Let us form a core group to bring about a total rehabilitation of education system. I am prepared to head the pane. Any takers from the government?
Response from:
Anna B, Featured Member on
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This information comes from my own knowledge.
One of the reasons that instructors tend to overemphasize "coverage" over "critical thinking" is that they assume that answers can be taught separate from questions. Indeed, so buried are questions in established instruction that the fact that all assertions — all statements that this or that is so — are implicit answers to questions is virtually never recognized. For example, the statement that water boils at 100 degrees centigrade is an answer to the question "At what temperature centigrade does water boil?"
Hence every declarative statement in the textbook is an answer to a question. Hence, every textbook could be rewritten in the interrogative mode by translating every statement into a question. To my knowledge this has never been done. That it has not is testimony to the privileged status of answers over questions in instruction and the misunderstanding of teachers about the significance of questions in the learning process. Instruction at all levels now keeps most questions buried in a torrent of obscured "answers."
Critical thinking is not driven by answers but by questions. Had no questions been asked by those who laid the foundation for a field — for example, Physics or Biology — the field would never have been developed in the first place. Furthermore, every field stays alive only to the extent that fresh questions are generated and taken seriously as the driving force in a process of thinking. To think through or rethink anything, one must ask questions that stimulate our thought.
Questions define tasks, express problems and delineate issues. Answers on the other hand, often signal a full stop in thought. Only when an answer generates a further question does thought continue its life as such.
This is why it is true that only students who have questions are really thinking and learning. It is possible to give students an examination on any subject by just asking them to list all of the questions that they have about a subject, including all questions generated by their first list of questions.
That we do not test students by asking them to list questions and explain their significance is again evidence of the privileged status we give to answers isolated from questions. That is, we ask questions only to get thought-stopping answers, not to generate further questions.
Feeding students endless content to remember (that is, declarative sentences to remember) is akin to repeatedly stepping on the brakes in a vehicle that is, unfortunately, already at rest. Instead, students need questions to turn on their intellectual engines and they need to generate questions from our questions to get their thinking to go somewhere. Thinking is of no use unless it goes somewhere, and again, the questions we ask determine where our thinking goes.
Deep questions drive our thought underneath the surface of things, force us to deal with complexity. Questions of purpose force us to define our task. Questions of information force us to look at our sources of information as well as at the quality of our information.
Questions of interpretation force us to examine how we are organizing or giving meaning to information. Questions of assumption force us to examine what we are taking for granted. Questions of implication force us to follow out where our thinking is going. Questions of point of view force us to examine our point of view and to consider other relevant points of view.
Questions of relevance force us to discriminate what does and what does not bear on a question. Questions of accuracy force us to evaluate and test for truth and correctness. Questions of precision force us to give details and be specific. Questions of consistency force us to examine our thinking for contradictions. Questions of logic force us to consider how we are putting the whole of our thought together, to make sure that it all adds up and makes sense within a reasonable system of some kind.
Unfortunately, most students ask virtually none of these thought-stimulating types of questions. They tend to stick to dead questions like "Is this going to be on the test?", questions that imply the desire not to think. Most teachers in turn are not themselves generators of questions and answers of their own; that is, are not seriously engaged in thinking through or rethinking through their own subjects. Rather, they are purveyors of the questions and answers of others-usually those of a textbook.
We must continually remind ourselves that thinking begins with respect to some content only when questions are generated by both teachers and students. No questions equals no understanding. Superficial questions equals superficial understanding. Most students typically have no questions. They not only sit in silence, their minds are silent as well. Hence, the questions they do have tend to be superficial and ill-informed. This demonstrates that most of the time they are not thinking through the content they are presumed to be learning. This demonstrates that most of the time they are not learning the content they are presumed to be learning.
If we want thinking we must stimulate it with questions that lead students to further questions. We must overcome what previous schooling has done to the thinking of students. We must resuscitate minds that are largely dead when we receive them. We must give our students what might be called "artificial cogitation" (the intellectual equivalent of artificial respiration).
When teachers get together and the conversation turns to the thinking ability of their students, they often complain that students exhibit a deplorable inability to think for themselves.educators are responsible for their students and there should not any fault in their side.
the primary causes that discourage thinking and encourage regurgitation are:
A. Teaching: the exclusive use of the lecture mode in the classroom,and B. Testing: the exclusive use of content based questions in the examination(essays,“objective” type,mechanical applications).
What I am saying is not as preposterous as it sounds.Let us take a brief look at the standard strategies of teaching and testing.
Teaching Strategies:
The time-honoured mode of teaching is called “lecturing”.In a lecture,the teacher speaks on a selected topic for a certain period of time. Students typically listen passively, and take down notes.The purpose of taking down notes is to commit to writing the important “points” that the teacher makes,so that students can reproduce the points in the final examination. Now, students know that they get credit for good presentation. Being students,they are not confident about their own powers of expression, so the safest bet is to express the points in words and sentences of the teacher.As a result, taking down the points turns into taking down the sentences uttered by teacher.Reproducing the points turns into reproducing these sentences. Since teacher talks non-stop,students concentrate on converting into writing the spoken words of teacher:they have no time to think through content of what teacher is saying, let alone respond to it in an intelligent critical manner.Hence,given mode of functioning that students are often forced to adopt,the lecture method has result of deactivating thinking faculty of students.
I am not saying that the lecture mode should never be used in classrooms.Lecures are useful ways of summarising or transferring knowledge, but they are not particularly useful in inculcating productive modes of independent thinking.Used exclusively in a teaching context during formative years of students,lecture method can have effect of causing the unused potential for independent thinking to weaken and disappear.
Examination or testing:
1)The Motiviation:Before we turn to design of questions in the final examination,and grading criteria,it would be useful to examine the motivation for higher education in a competitive society.Why do students seek admission to the university? Let us be honest.They want to get a good degree,in order to get well-paying jobs.In other words,the majority of humans are motivated by the *external* rewards of money,power,and prestige. It is only a handful of humans who are motivated by the *internal* reward of the joy of learning.Let us make explicit the connection between education and money:
Learning--> High marks in the exams-> Highly paid jobs-> High income
What really matters for students is how they fare in the job market.They know that what is important for the job market is the marks they get in examinations.Hence,in a highly competitive set up,we can conclude that students would concentrate exclusively on what they perceive as strategies that lead to better marks in the examination & ignore activities that do not maximise their chances in the examination.The bottom line is:
It does not matter what teachers emphasise in their teaching;students will pay attention only to those things which are directly relevant for the examination.The examination determines what students learn from a course.
Let us see how this result,when combined with the design of examination questions and marking criteria,influences student behaviour.
2).The Design of Examination Questions:Let us take a brief look at examination questions.The most favourite type of examination question, particularly in the humanities and social sciences,is the *essay*.The essay is closely tied to the “topics” listed in syllabus,and discussed in the lectures.In most subjects,activity of teaching and testing can be summed up as listing of topics in the syllabus, giving lectures on each of these topics,and asking students to write essays on some of these topics.Both students and lecturers feel secure with this routine.
Let us suppose that topic of fifth lecture in a particular course was depletion of non-renewable natural resources as a cause of social conflict.We can ask any of the following direct essay questions:“Critically evaluate proposal that depletion of non-renewable natural resources is a cause of social conflict.” “According to Austin Weider, the depletion of non-renewable natural resources is primary cause of social conflict.we can use a quotation from some author,and ask students to discuss or critically evaluate the material in the quotation.It does not matter how we phrase the question.The important cue for the student are the phrases “depletion of natural resources”, and “social conflict”.Given these cues,the student knows that what the examiner wants is a summary of lecture five.It would make no difference to the answers if the demand is stated
The so called “objective type” questions are also transparent in their demand for regurgitation.If the students have been told in the lectures that the English language has only two tenses,not three,then a question of the form “Say whether statement ‘The English language has three tenses.’is true or false.”demands nothing but regurgitation.Similarly,a question that asks students to explain what an isomer is,or give formula for the molecular structure of butane,requires the student to regurgitate the material in a chemistry textbook.
Questions which call for the application of knowledge can also push students towards regurgitation.Take,for instance,examination questions on logical fallacies.Traditional textbooks on logic often contain a chapter on examples of bad reasoning called “fallacies”.
3)Grading Criteria:An additional factor that encourages regurgitation is the grading criteria implicit in the way teachers mark assignments and examinations
4)Even Thinking Teachers can Promote Regurgitation:it is safe to regurgitate,and unsafe to venture into original thinking.If the scenario that I have sketched above is even partly true,teachers have to acknowledge that the lectures,examination questions,and the marking scheme employed by a majority of teachers is a recipe for regurgitation.the educators,have no one to blame.
A Possible Solution:The first step is to change what happens in a “lecture theatre”.A lecture in which teacher speaks and the students listen can easily be replaced by a videotape.second step is to change the design of the examination questions and marks criteria.
The power to change education—for better of worse—is and always has been in the hands of teachers.
Hi anonymous, This is the question that everyone of us have to ask ourselves. We speak of changing the syllabus every now and then and even come out with announcements saying there will be "No books" hereafter and that everything will be very much critically and logically oriented. But are the steps being taken? Is there any State in India, that has iniatiated this program? Only, a few states has changed the system of marks to "Grades" which is a welcome feature.
Education must be such that it should impart both knowledge and thinking. There is a saying in tamil which goes, "Ettu surakkai karikku udavadhu." The children of this age learn without knowing the basics of them. Gone were the days when there was "Gurukulam" wherein the Guru used to teach all the basics including discipline for self and the community. But does our education system give this? All that it does is only the "DEGREE", whch can be well utilised for the career prospects. All that the classroom does is just the collection of academics and wants to see to it that their students and school outcome everyone in the district level and state level.
To show a few examples of Henry Ford and Thomas Alwa Edison... We know that they are great personalities and each were expert in their own field. How did they achieve this? It was all because of their extensive thinking and research-oriented mind. But does our education system of today give the needed research means so as to make the students curious of what they learn? Continuous education requires the ability to learn without dependency on instructors, which is, learning how to learn. Computer technicians must use self-education techniques to learn beyond the basics.
Children must be exposed to the real life situation. They must be shown the method of "Trial and error method". Allow them to make the mistakes, allow them to look for themselves, how to correct them so that they don't recur. Natural learning is assuming responsibility, asking questions, seeking answers, analyzing information, which leads to more questions. This method trains the mind to keep searching, even when a reasonable answer is found. This is the key to educating oneself without dependency on others.
It is only Project based education which increases opportunity for self-discovery. Thomas Edison, the Wright Brothers’, and Henry Ford were people who invented products that changed the way we live. They were also in conflict with the education system, but had the support of their parents. Their parents created the opportunity for them to learn on their own. As a result, these inventors developed a burning desire to learn and it was not on academic subjects.
Last but not the least, True education is based on inspiration and motivation, not memorization. Education based on standardized test (memorization) does not inspire or motivate, it serves the goals of the formal education bureaucracy.
Response from:
Usha Jain, Registered Member on
Ammas.com
Source:
This information comes from my own knowledge.
A Strategy for Instruction A central goal of many educators is to help students learn how to think more effectively. Robert Swartz (director of the National Center for Teaching Thinking) and Sandra Parks, in their book on Infusing the Teaching of Critical and Creative Thinking into Elementary Instruction, emphasize the importance of thinking, and then explain their approach to instruction: "Improving the quality of student thinking is an explicit priority of current educational reform efforts. ... Good thinking is essential in a technologically oriented, multicultural world. ... Our students must be prepared to exercise critical judgment and creative thinking to gather, evaluate, and use information for effective problem solving and decision making in their jobs, in their professions, and in their lives." "Infusing critical and creative thinking into content instruction blends features of two contrasting instructional approaches that educators have taken to teaching thinking: (1) direct instruction of thinking in noncurricular contexts and (2) the use of methods which promote thinking in content lessons." As in Approach #1 (but not #2) infusion lessons "employ direct instruction in the thinking skills and processes that they are designed to improve" but (unlike #1) "are not taught in separate courses or programs outside the regular curriculum." (Swartz & Parks, 1994) The authors also explain the difference between "methods that promote thinking... [but] remain content oriented" and methods that, in addition to promoting content learning, also use direct instruction that is designed to improve thinking. In an infusion approach there is a dual emphasis on content and process, on conceptual knowledge and procedural knowledge, on deeper understanding and improved thinking.
The framework for thinking skills employed by Swartz and Parks is similar to that in Dimensions of Thinking, but is distinctive in important ways. Because it is designed to make a direct connection with teachers — "this handbook presents a teacher-oriented approach to improving student thinking that blends sound theory and effective classroom practice" — the overall framework in Infusion of Thinking is simpler, with three categories of skills (Clarification and Understanding, Creative Thinking, and Critical Thinking) plus two types of objectives (Decision Making and Problem Solving). As in Dimensions, each skill category is expanded into a number of skills: in Infusion the 3 categories encompass 7 sub-categories and 16 skills. Overall, the coverage in Infusion is similar to that in Dimensions and IDM, but there is a difference in emphasis. In Dimensions, for example, Creative Thinking is discussed (along with Critical Thinking) in Chapter 3, but is not explicitly included in the Thinking Methods (Chapter 4) or Thinking Skills (Chapter 5). But in Dimensions, Creative Thinking is one of the 3 major categories that is then elaborated into skills: Creative Thinking involves using Multiplicity of Ideas (Fluency), Varied Ideas (Flexibility), New Ideas (Originality), and Detailed Ideas (Elaboration) to Generate Alternative Possibilities, and using Analogy/Metaphor to Combine Ideas. This explicit analysis into skills makes it more likely that, in the classroom, teachers will direct students' attention to the individual aspects of creative thinking. These "skills of creativity" are included in the discussions of creativity in Dimensions and IDM, but do not appear in either framework. However, the general category of Creative Thinking is in the Dimensions framework. And in the IDM framework, creativity occurs whenever there is a need to generate: in Generate (select or invent) Ideas for Product, Generate (acquire or construct) Product, Design (generate and evaluate) Model of Product, and Design (generate and evaluate) Experimental System. And creativity also appears in other actions, such as Defining an Objective (in IDM) or Elaborating (in Dimensions). Despite their superficial differences, however, all three frameworks agree about the characteristics and importance of creative thinking (and critical thinking and conceptual learning) and all agree that we can teach these skills more effectively, and we should.
More information about the National Center for Teaching Thinking, an organization devoted to helping teachers improve the way they teach thinking, is available at their website, which includes What is Infusion? (it's an introduction to their teaching approach) and several infusion lessons. {as with other italicized links, these pages will open in a separate new window}
Four Frames of Knowledge The remainder of this section, which describes another interesting approach to education in conceptual knowledge and procedural knowledge, is quoted from an early version of a proposal (Rusbult, 1996) for my Ph.D. dissertation:
In an effort to encourage the development of instructional techniques that will help students develop a deep understanding of content and thinking skills, Perkins & Simmons (1988) propose an integrative model with four mutually interactive frames of knowledge: content, problem solving, epistemic, and inquiry. After describing each frame in detail, along with examples that illustrate the detrimental effects of ignoring some frames during instruction, or of treating the frames in isolation from each other, the authors — based on their theory that "people learn much of what they have a direct opportunity and some motivation to learn, and little else" — recommend that "instruction should include all four frames... and should involve explicit articulation by teachers and/or students of the substance of the frames and their interrelationships."
Some relationships between content and process are explicitly characterized in the Perkins-Simmons model with its four interactive frames of knowledge. In science these frames can be described in terms of thinking skills: the content frame is learning scientific theories, problem solving involves using these theories, the epistemic frame is evaluating theories, and the focus of inquiry is inventing theories. With this formulation, one way to explicitly articulate "the substance of the frames and their interrelationships" — and to pursue the educational benefits that may ensue — is to show how the frames operate in the context of science. This is what my model of Integrated Scientific Method (ISM) will do. [note: Since my dissertation was about ISM and its use in the analysis of instruction, the focus here is on ISM, but most of what is said also applies to IDM.]
Response from:
Swati Gupta, Registered Member on
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This information comes from my own knowledge.
Generating Skills that "add information beyond what is given" are "essentially constructive, as connections among new ideas and prior knowledge are made by building a coherent organization of ideas (i.e., schema) that holds the new and old information together." Predicting is usually done "by assessing the likelihood of an outcome based on prior knowledge of how things usually turn out" to produce "a statement anticipating the outcomes of a situation." Inferring involves "going beyond available information to identify what reasonably may be true. ... Deductive reasoning is the ability to extend an existing principle or idea in a logical manner; inductive reasoning refers to making generalizations and logical statements based on observation or analysis of various cases." The skill of "generate, by using logic and creativity" (from Dimensions) appears on the left side of the IDM diagram above, because predicting (in Dimensions) is the four-step process of producing predictions (in IDM), and inferring (in Dimensions) occurs in the retroductive logic (in IDM) that creatively generates a theory (by aiming for predictions that match known observations) or a product-idea (by aiming for predictions that match your goals for a product). { Retroduction is discussed in the context of "Goal-Oriented Invention of Products" in A Detailed Overview of Design Method. }
Evaluating Skills are used to "assess the reasonableness and quality of ideas." Establishing Criteria is "setting standards for judging the value or logic of ideas. These criteria are rational principles derived from culture, experience, and instruction." Verifying (or falsifying) can be the result of evaluating "the truth of an idea, using specific standards or criteria of evaluation." Identifying Errors "involves detecting mistakes in logic, calculations, procedures, and knowledge, and where possible, identifying their causes and making corrections or changes in thinking." The action of establishing criteria (in Dimensions) is setting goals (in IDM), and verifying (in Dimensions) corresponds (in IDM) to evaluate theory and (if we stretch the scope of Dimensions to include more than just theories) evaluate product. The action of identifying errors is implicit in IDM; if evaluation leads you and another person to reach different conclusions, then either one of you has made an error, or each of you has reached a valid "alternative conclusion."
The skills in the next three categories — organizing, analyzing, and integrating — are useful for gaining a deeper understanding of concepts: Organizing Skills are used to "arrange information so it can be understood or presented more effectively." Comparing is "identifying similarities and differences between or among entities." Classifying is "grouping items into categories on the basis of their attributes." Ordering is "sequencing entities according to a given criterion." Representing occurs when "a learner makes information more meaningful and cohesive" by "changing its form to show how critical elements are related." Encoding is the process of organizing information in memory so it can be recalled. Analyzing Skills "are used to clarify existing information by examining parts and relationships." A thinker can identify Attributes and Components ("the parts that together constitute a whole"), Relationships and Patterns (that can be "causal, hierarchical, temporal, spatial, correlational, or metaphorical" or...), and Main Ideas (plus key details). When applied to a theory, analysis helps us understand. When applied to an argument, analysis helps us think about the credibility of assumptions, observations, reasonings, and claims. As partners of analyzing skills, Integrating Skills involve "putting together the relevant parts or aspects of a solution, understanding, principle, or composition... by building meaningful connections between incoming information and prior knowledge, incorporating this integrated information into a new understanding." Summarizing "is combining information efficiently into a cohesive statement." Restructuring "is changing existing knowledge structures to incorporate new information. Because of new insights, the learner actively modifies, extends, reorganizes, or even discards past understandings. ... This recasting of ideas is a major part of conceptual growth, and ultimately of cognitive development." In IDM the focal point for all of these skills is theory, which is defined broadly so it includes organized systems of concepts in science (physical, biological, social, economic,...) and in math, business, and other areas, and also interpretations of events in real life (in current or historical situations) and in fiction. IDM can help students understand how theories are constructed (by inference), why they are accepted or rejected (due to evaluation), and how they can be useful (for predicting) during the process of solving problems in many types of design. Because IDM is closely related to ISM (Integrated Scientific Method) and because scientific method is the process of designing theories the potential educational value of IDM-and-ISM in promoting the learning of theories (i.e., concepts, principles, comprehensions,...) is further enhanced. IDM and/or ISM can also help students understand the relationships between conceptual knowledge (gaining a deeper, more accurate understanding of concepts and situations) and procedural knowledge (in a wide variety of activities that include, but are not limited to, the production and utilization of conceptual knowledge).
As discussed above, there is a close connection between the thinking skills and methods in IDM and in Dimensions of Thinking: A Framework for Curriculum and Instruction. Thus, it seems likely that IDM could be smoothly integrated with the type of "education in thinking" recommended by the authors of Dimensions and by many other educators. Because it provides a common context that is shared by many areas, the transitive nature of IDM (which connects with many areas, thus connecting them with each other) might help students understand the similarities between thinking methods in different areas of the curriculum, and might promote a transfer of skills from one area to another.
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a b, Registered Member on
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This information comes from my own knowledge.
Education plays a very important part in our life. It brings an all-round dvelopment of an individual and dispels ignorance. It is very necessary for moving ahead in life.
Rote learning is widely used in the mastery of foundational knowledge. Examples include, phonics in reading, the periodic table in chemistry, multiplication tables in mathematics, anatomy in medicine, cases or statutes in law, basic formulas in any science, etc. Rote learning, by definition, eschews comprehension, however, and consequently, it is an ineffective tool in mastering any complex subject at an advanced level. However, rote learning is still useful in passing exams. If exam papers are not well designed, it is possible for someone with good memorization techniques to pass the test without any meaningful comprehension of the subject. However, learning the context of a particular topic can make the subject more memorable.
Critical thinking calls for a persistent effort to examine any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the evidence that supports it and the further conclusions to which it tends. It also generally requires ability to recognize problems, to find workable means for meeting those problems, to gather and marshal pertinent information, to recognize unstated assumptions and values, to comprehend and use language with accuracy, clarity, and discrimination, to interpret data, to appraise evidence and evaluate arguments, to recognize the existence (or non-existence) of logical relationships between propositions, to draw warranted conclusions and generalizations, to put to test the conclusions and generalizations at which one arrives, to reconstruct one's patterns of beliefs on the basis of wider experience, and to render accurate judgments about specific things and qualities in everyday life.
Critical thinking is important, because it enables one to analyze, evaluate, explain, and restructure our thinking, decreasing thereby the risk of acting on, or thinking with, a false premise. However, even with the use of critical thinking skills, mistakes can happen due to a thinker's egocentrism or incorrectly extending ones own belief system beyond its reasonable limits or failure to be in possession of the full facts. In addition, there is always the possibility of inadvertent human error.
Critical thinking is about being both willing and able to think. Ideally one develops critical thinking skills and at the same time the disposition to use those skills to solve problems and form good judgments. The dispositional dimension of critical thinking is characterological. Its focus in developing the habitual intention to be truth-seeking, open-minded, systematic, analytical, inquisitive, confident in reasoning, and prudent in making judgments. Those who are ambivalent on one or more of these aspects of the disposition toward critical thinking, or who have the opposite disposition [biased, intolerant, disorganized, heedless of consequences, indifferent toward new information, mistrustful of reasoning, imprudence]are less likely to engage problems using their critical thinking skills. The relationship between critical thinking skills and critical thinking dispositions is an empirical question. Some have both in abundance, some have skills but not the disposition to use them, some are disposed but lack strong skills and some have neither.
characteristics of such a thinker:
* uses evidence skillfully and impartially * organizes thoughts and articulates them concisely and coherently * distinguishers between logically valid and invalid inferences * suspends judgment in the absence of sufficient evidence to support a decision * understands the difference between reasoning and rationalizing * attempts to anticipate the probable consequences of alternative actions * understands the idea of degrees of belief * sees similarities and analogies that are not superficially apparent
Response from:
Geetha Gopakumar, Council Member on
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This information comes from my own knowledge.
The primary aim of education should be of developing intelligence, to boost the thinking. The current system right from KG classes is to by-heart everything and re-producing it on test. The importance of reading text books and other supporting books is rare. Learning by-heart whatever written in copies which are written by intellectuals without explanations and without giving time for students to think deeply is not a pattern now. To develop thinking skills are practical, observation techniques, comparing, discussions and inference methods should be applied.
Psychological research indicates that metalogical understanding first appears about age six and continues to develop for many years. Its development involves processes of reflecting on one's inferences, coordinating them with each other, and interacting with other thinkers.
To understand matters/subjects and points should be prepared in line of pragmatic/practicing method. This would enable students for effective thinking. Not of bye-hearting everything and getting marks on re-producing it on exams. Hence an integrated method of curriculum and also teaching approach/method should be developed that can develop creative thinking and intellectualism that can be converted and make in practice real-life situations by and large. For such a pattern in a country an integrated/unified curriculum with teaching and testing and valuation patterns is necessary. Different kinds of curriculum and different types of learning and teaching patters should be restricted. Observation means to finding skills of students in particular subject, branch, technical skills etc. which are acquired through genetics and boosting techniques should be provided. Change the old style of following text books to modern information technology patters – availing latest information and technology which are now a days at reached upto our finger tips. Visual method of studies is the best way to explain and elaborating things and subjects. Also, through exhibitions and discussions will be ever memorable for children and to activate their brain than self reading and by-hearting and re-produce techniques. Valuation and assessment system need basic change. The current examination/test valuation method is that those who re-produced an answer as given in the class by a teacher will get maximum marks while some intelligent students who not bye-hearted it, instead, prepared themselves and adding some things new is being demoralized by giving low marks. His/her capacity of understanding and the his/her skill of generating new themselves should be appreciated and weightage should be given to them than that of who re-produced it by by-hearting it. This means recognize the relevance and the skills of alternative assumptions and perspectives, critical thinking etc. Hence our examination/testing system should not merely based on memory testing but testing their thinking, deep knowledge and Projects based which can creative to boost up their intelligent mind, assessing power, their understandings, creativity. All these points to be added and make it applicable step by step right from primary class levels to graduate, post graduate courses and in the professional/technical education courses. Means we shouldn’t be intended to produce clerks which needs no skills, instead to develop active and creative thinking future generation who can able to compete with real life problems and technology development with deep understanding, pragmatism and to compete with the fast developing world and new issues arising side by side.
Response from:
Rahul Gupta, Registered Member on
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Source:
This information comes from my own knowledge.
An Integrated Framework for Thinking
A central goal of education is helping students learn how to think more effectively. In our efforts to achieve this goal, one valuable teaching tool is the system of problem-solving methods used in design and science, as represented in my models of Integrated Design Method (IDM) and Integrated Scientific Method (ISM), which are two aspects of an integrated framework for thinking. There are two objectives for IDM-and-ISM: to allow an accurate description of methods (of what designers and scientists think and do when they are solving problems) and to be useful for education.
Integrated Design Method (IDM) is a model for problem solving. It is a logically organized framework for thinking: IDM is an integrated system that shows how different aspects of thinking are related and how they can be effectively coordinated. Another level of integration occurs when IDM provides a "common context" by showing that similar thinking skills and methods are used in a wide variety of activities. If IDM is used in a wide variety of areas, then (especially when teachers call attention to the transitive logic that "if science uses IDM and history uses IDM and music uses IDM, then the thinking methods used in science and history and music are related") students will recognize that much of what they are learning in one area of school can be transferred to other areas and can be used in practical real-life situations. Comparing Two Frameworks
To illustrate the unifying potential of IDM, this page begins by examining Dimensions of Thinking: A Framework for Curriculum and Instruction (1988, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development), an excellent book written by seven educators: Marzano, Brandt, Hughes, Jones, Presseisen, Rankin, and Suhor. A summary of Chapters 1-4 and (in a little more depth) Chapter 5 will show — in the purple-colored text — how actions in Dimensions of Thinking are related to actions in Integrated Design Method, and how these two "frameworks for thinking" are compatible and mutually supportive, and how IDM could serve as a unifying structure for our teaching of thinking skills and methods:
In Dimensions, Chapter 1 — Thinking as the Foundation of Schooling — emphasizes the centrality and importance of thinking in education.
In Chapter 2, the authors define metacognition as "being aware of our thinking as we perform specific tasks and then using this awareness to control what we are doing." { All quotations in this section are from Dimensions of Thinking. }
Chapter 3 explains how creative thinking and critical thinking operate as a cooperative team: "They complement each other, share many attributes,... and both are necessary to achieve any worthy goal." Creativity is "the ability to form new combinations of ideas to fulfill a need," to produce ideas that will be useful. Critical thinking, defined broadly, is "reasonable, reflective thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe or do." { It is important to recognize that "critical thinking" is just "evaluative thinking" that is not necessarily negative and does not always lead to criticism. Critical thinking can also lead to an enthusiastically positive conclusion about the idea being evaluated. }
Chapters 2 and 3 of Dimensions describe two broad functions of IDM: to promote metacognitive "thinking about thinking" and to provide a structure that shows how creativity and criticality can be fluently combined in problem solving.
Chapters 4 and 5 distinguish between a skill and a process: "What we call thinking skills are simpler cognitive operations such as observing, comparing, or inferring." A thinking process "involves using a sequence of skills intended to achieve a particular outcome." A process "orchestrates numerous skills" and is directed toward achieving an objective. Compared with a skill, a process "is broader in scope, and takes a longer time to complete."
Chapter 4 describes three types of Thinking Process: Knowledge Acquisition by Concept Formation, Principle Formation, and Comprehension; and Knowledge Production or Knowledge Application by Problem Solving, Decision Making, Research (Scientific Inquiry), Composition ("the process of conceiving and developing a product"), or Oral Discourse (dialog).
The essence of IDM, its main function and purpose, is to serve as a framework for understanding and mastering the applications of knowledge that occur in problem solving, decision making, research, and composition. But IDM can also be useful in promoting the production and acquisition of knowledge, as explained in the discussion of Chapter 5 that follows.
Chapter 5 examines 21 thinking skills in 8 categories. After a brief description of the skills in each category (slightly rearranged by me) I'll explain how the skills in Dimensions are related to actions in IDM.
Focusing Skills are used to stimulate and guide action "after an individual senses a problem, an issue, or a lack of meaning." Focusing can take the form of Defining Problems (to clarify what, why, who, when,...), Setting Goals (to "establish direction and purpose") or Formulating Questions (to "clarify issues and meaning through inquiry; good questions focus attention on important information and are designed to generate new information").
Information-Gathering Skills are "used to bring to consciousness the content to be used for cognitive processing." The information "may already be stored, or may be newly collected." Recalling is retrieving old information from long-term memory. Elaborating "involves adding details, explanations, examples, or other relevant information from prior knowledge in order to improve understanding." Observing is obtaining new information "from the environment... through one or more senses."
As explained in an outline of IDM , the process of design begins by recognizing a problem (which, broadly defined, is an opportunity to make things better or to prevent things from getting worse) and defining an overall objective. Following this, you can define goals for the desired characteristics of the product, strategy, or theory that is the objective. As defined in Dimensions of Thinking, the Focusing Skills deal primarily with defining the objective(s) that will motivate and guide all actions during the process of design.
The first action — which begins before objectives are defined because observational information provides the basis for recognizing that a problem/opportunity exists — is to gather information. Dimensions emphasizes that information can be old or new. In IDM these two ways to gather occur in the SEARCH mode (to remember old observations) and TEST mode (to produce new observations).
Response from:
kishor Jagirdar, Council Member on
Ammas.com
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This information comes from my own knowledge.
The spirit of enquiry orginates with critical thinking and that is what the purpose of effective teaching .But most of the schools focus on the erudition and information loading with loads of homework and knowledge transfer.This sets the path for students to learn to identfy things ...liske what is a computer or what who is TIPU SULTAN and our history...culture etc.But it doesnt give enough space for them to assimilate and start questioning by connecting one fact of knowledge with another and developing their own mental faculties and perceptions.Only after this is doen do the teacher recognise the fact that the thinking nees correction and show the right way to analyse and infer.
But the education system of today is more IQ based and there is information explosion and the pace at which one has to learn is too random.
Critical thinking is essential to develop children into strong individuals and enable them to recognise the difference between right and wrong, otherwise the very foundation of education is self deafeating .
We have over the years learnt of our ancient history and learnt from only alien point of view .Why is our history not from the angle of our own realities ?.
This kind of approach is heling create a generation of Nerds and it is devoiding our children of total psychological development .We are building our children in a narraow lane which dictates what to think and not to think and stunts oun independent qualitative thinking.
Critical thinking is a necessary for a scientific way of living and thinking and approach each aspect of our life towards actions and reactions with spiritual guidances as well.But we see that we are churning a generation of high potential individuals who cannot know how to apply their abilites and remain sidelined...whether its in the Olympics or in international arena with servitude attitude.
Response from:
Anonymous , Council Member on
Ammas.com
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This information comes from my own knowledge.
Education plays an important role in the progress of an individual’s mind and country. Ignorance and poverty are major speed-breakers in the swift developing country and can be overcome easily through education.Education tames the astray mind, nurturing its capabilities the same way training builds a clever dog. Education helps in the modification of the basic human behavior and helps in earning to live, without education one cannot be mature emotionally.it is the basic need of a human being to be educated in order to lead an intellectual and beautiful life full of ethics and beauty of thoughts.
Rote learning is a learning technique which avoids understanding of a subject and instead focuses on memorization. The major practice involved in rote learning is learning by repetition. The idea is that one will be able to quickly recall the meaning of the material the more one repeats it.
Critical thinking consists of mental processes of discernment, analysis and evaluation. It includes possible processes of reflecting upon a tangible or intangible item in order to form a solid judgment that reconciles scientific evidence with common sense. In contemporary usage "critical" has a certain negative connotation that does not apply in the present case.Though the term "analytical thinking" may seem to convey the idea more accurately, critical thinking clearly involves synthesis, evaluation, and reconstruction of thinking, in addition to analysis.
Critical thinkers gather information from all senses, verbal and/or written expressions, reflection, observation, experience and reasoning. Critical thinking has its basis in intellectual criteria that go beyond subject-matter divisions and which include: clarity, credibility, accuracy, precision, relevance, depth, breadth, logic, significance and fairness.
What is Critical Thinking? No one always acts purely objectively and rationally. We connive for selfish interests.? We gossip, boast, exaggerate, and equivocate.?It is "only human" to wish to validate our prior knowledge, to vindicate our prior decisions, or to sustain our earlier beliefs. In the process of satisfying our ego, however, we can often deny ourselves intellectual growth and opportunity.?We may not always want to apply critical thinking skills, but we should have those skills available to be employed when needed.
Critical thinking includes a complex combination of skills.? Among the main characteristics are the following: Rationality We are thinking critically when we
* rely on reason rather than emotion, * require evidence, ignore no known evidence, and follow evidence where it leads, and * are concerned more with finding the best explanation than being right analyzing apparent confusion and asking questions.
Self-awareness We are thinking critically when we
* weigh the influences of motives and bias, and * recognize our own assumptions, prejudices, biases, or point of view.
Honesty We are thinking critically when we recognize emotional impulses, selfish motives, nefarious purposes, or other modes of self-deception. Open-mindedness We are thinking critically when we
* evaluate all reasonable inferences * consider a variety of possible viewpoints or perspectives, * remain open to alternative interpretations * accept a new explanation, model, or paradigm because it explains the evidence better, is simpler, or has fewer inconsistencies or covers more data * accept new priorities in response to a reevaluation of the evidence or reassessment of our real interests, and * do not reject unpopular views out of hand.
Discipline We are thinking critically when we
* are precise, meticulous, comprehensive, and exhaustive * resist manipulation and irrational appeals, and * avoid snap judgments.
Judgment We are thinking critically when we
* recognize the relevance and/or merit of alternative assumptions and perspectives * recognize the extent and weight of evidence
In sum,
* Critical thinkers are by natureskeptical. They approach texts with the same skepticism and suspicion as they approach spoken remarks. * Critical thinkers areactive, not passive.? They ask? questions and analyze. They consciously apply tactics and strategies to uncover meaning or assure their understanding.? * Critical thinkers do not take an egotistical view of the world. They areopento new ideas and perspectives.? They are willing to challenge their beliefs and investigate competing evidence.
Critical thinking enables us to recognize a wide range of subjective analyses of otherwise objective data, and to evaluate how well each analysis might meet our needs. Facts may be facts, but how we interpret them may vary.
By contrast, passive, non-critical thinkers take a simplistic view of the world.
* They see things in black and white, as either-or, rather than recognizing a variety of possible understanding. * They see questions as yes or no with no subtleties. * They fail to see linkages and complexities. * They fail to recognize related elements.
Non-critical thinkers take an egotistical view of the world
* They taketheirfacts as the only relevant ones. * They taketheir ownperspective as the only sensible one. * They taketheir goalas the only valid one.
Response from:
raghavan yr, Council Member on
Ammas.com
Source:
This information comes from my own knowledge.
rote learning is the skeleton/bare bones around which logic, reason, imagination, critical thinking is built. the basic knowledge cannot change but reasoning can depending upon the environment, culture, tradition ,habits and moods. what we do not know already but find it is called discovery, either by chance, reasoning, methodical study, investigation or other means. critical reasoning is not every one's forte even though the person may be highly knowledgeble or educated, and it differs from person to person depending upon their learning and perception. you take any book like VEDAS, Science texts, bible, Quran, the original contains knowledge of the perceptors, but there are hundreds and thousands of commenteries , explanation each claiming the authors view as the correct one. The only one that is right is the knowledge from of the original, all the rest are applications of the time period in which they were commented upon. It is like which is better Science or Engg or Medicine, . Engg and Medicine are application s of science , and are not independent but part and parcel. Similarly critical reasoning or thinking can be developed over a period of time and age and will keep changing based on new insights and inputs . critical reasoning is like the archery lessons to Pandavas, only arjun could spot his target, where as all others could see a bigger or wider canvas or picture, and they could not follow it in their their future life. Laying greater emphasis on critical thinking/reasoning is making a child grow too fast without the neccessary inputs. the child has to evolve from child to and informed adult so as to differeniate between "Wheat and chaff" easily giving reasons thereto. Can a computer differentiate a thief from a genuine user without being programmed for it. how many days and effort goes into the programme , yet there are flaws and glitches. we have to surmount it and stive towards perfection, and minimise the theft,spam,etc
Yes!! the ability to think critically is very important part of education. We would not have known the earths gravity if scientists did not think critically. And also there no invention if there is no thinking. Too much thinking is also harmful to mankind. Thinking must be balanced. Critical thinking about anything gives us how to live. First Indian schools need to stop soon feeding and start teaching only so that students gets chance to think and develop their own way of learning. Teachers should guide them but not give them every point so that the student will follow it but do not think .Students should get more exposure to subjects which makes them think.
Response from:
ashok vundavalli, Council Member on
APOnline
Source:
This information comes from my own knowledge.
No ability to think critically is not part of education system prevailing in India. It is very important to think critically because in life one will face many situations when one needs to take decisions critically in crunch situations. If education makes this as a practice life will be made easier. There are a very few Indian schools that follow this approach. Indian schools need to make this as a practice to Keep the students sharper which inturn will change the fate of the country in to a bright and fruitful future.
Response from:
kiran kumar, Council Member on
Ask Agent
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This information comes from my own knowledge.
In this type things our government has to take care more..in every tv channels they must give Ads about importance of education .
evry person in india must know the importance of education . mainly rural area ... in rural areas of india many poor people are not educated .so they r also not knowing the updated technology so govt of india has to provide free schools and they must communicate with the people to know the importance of the education and the advantages they can make through it ... so for people govt has to keep efforts and provide free education facilities with high quality.
Response from:
sangeeth kumar, Featured Member on
APOnline
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This information comes from my own knowledge.
No, Critical thinking is not possible for all students except those whic are naturally made for it.Nothing so important it is.Primary aim of education to anyone is earning money in proper way(in society). Almost all schools in India (except few) don't cares what students unerstanding,the only looks at how much marks he got. At certain point every knows about that.But difference is in the intervals.
Response from:
Pooja Arora, Registered Member on
AnswerPod
Source:
This information comes from my own knowledge.
The ability to think critically is most important part of education and our education system does focuses on that aspect also. But on the other rote memorization is also important. Imagine yourself trying to solve multiplication questions and you have not learnt tables.
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