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Creative Thinking Be Creative, but... What, Why, and How Can we teach creativity? Research about Creativity CRITICAL THINKING What is critical thinking? Attributes of Critical Thinkers Why teach critical thinking? How to teach it effectively? The Logic of Critical Thinking The Ethics of Critical Thinking Problem-Solving Skills Combining Creative + Critical Multiple Intelligences & Styles Thinking Skills in Education Methods in Design & Science Problem Solving in Education
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with a foundation of critical thinking. Why? Because wise evaluation, in critical thinking, can prevent "creativity plus enthusiasm" from converting questionable ideas into unwise action. Here are two brief definitions of what it is: Critical thinking is "reasonably and reflectively deciding what to believe or do." ... Critical thinking means making reasoned judgments. Basically, it is using criteria to judge the quality of something, from cooking to a conclusion of a research paper. In essence, critical thinking is a disciplined manner of thought that a person uses to assess the validity of something: a statement, news story, argument, research, etc. {quotation from Robert Ennis, and paraphrase of Barry Beyer} A page that is brief yet rich in ideas, and is worth reading carefully, is Defining Critical Thinking by Michael Scriven & Richard Paul. You can read Our Concept of Critical Thinking from The Critical Thinking Community which offers a comprehensive Library of Articles for you to explore. Barbara Fowler has selected 19 brief definitions of critical thinking from a variety of sources, and Robert Ennis has a brief 11-point outline.
As explained in the pages above, critical thinking is essential for effective functioning in the modern world. In an essay that "takes a Socratic approach to defining critical thinking and identifying its value in one's personal, professional, educational, and civic life," Peter Facione (a dean at Santa Clara University) discusses "what and why" in Critical Thinking: What It Is and Why It Counts and concludes with a consensus statement (of experts in the field) about critical thinking and the ideal critical thinker: "We understand critical thinking to be purposeful, self-regulatory judgment which results in interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and inference, as well as explanation of the evidential, conceptual, methodological, criteriological, or contextual considerations upon which that judgment is based. [Since this includes almost all types of logical reasoning,] CT is essential as a tool of inquiry. As such, CT is a liberating force in education and a powerful resource in one's personal and civic life. While not synonymous with good thinking, CT is a pervasive and self-rectifying human phenomenon. The ideal critical thinker is habitually inquisitive, well-informed, trustful of reason, open-minded, flexible, fair-minded in evaluation, honest in facing personal biases, prudent in making judgments, willing to reconsider, clear about issues, orderly in complex matters, diligent in seeking relevant information, reasonable in the selection of criteria, focused in inquiry, and persistent in seeking results which are as precise as the subject and the circumstances of inquiry permit. Thus, educating good critical thinkers means working toward this ideal. It combines developing CT skills with nurturing those dispositions which consistently yield useful insights and which are the basis of a rational and democratic society." {you can read the "Delphi Report" consensus statement, The Executive Summary for Critical Thinking: A Statement of Expert Consensus for Purposes of Educational Assessment and Instruction, excerpts & entire report } Education in critical thinking offers an alternative to a drift toward postmodern relativism, by emphasizing that we can "distinguish between facts and opinions or personal feelings, judgments and inferences, inductive and deductive arguments, and the objective and subjective." {MCC General Education Initiatives} Critical thinking encourages us to recognize that our "rationally justifiable confidence" in a claim can span a wide range, from feelings to fact and everything in between. Three Categories of Questions explains why, because students don't recognize questions involving "reasoned judgment" (which are neither fact nor opinion), they "fail to see the difference between offering legitimate reasons and evidence in support of a view and simply asserting the view as true." You can see samples from The Art of Asking Essential Questions.
offered by Critical Thinking Web plus Mission Critical and Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum, from Hong Kong, San Jose, and Kansas City!
Thinking in Instruction." Of course, education also occurs outside schools, and most thinking occurs outside the classroom in everyday life and business (a workshop) and other areas of life.
Mission: Critical (from San Jose State University in California's Silicon Valley) has a well organized Main Menu with information and activities in three areas The Basics, Analysis of Arguments, Fallacies and Non-Rational Persuasion and you can explore their Home Page. Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum (from Longview Community College in Kansas City) aims for "an application of logical concepts to the analysis of everyday reasoning and problem-solving." The main content is in six pages: Critical Thinking Core Concepts (supplemented by Truth Tables), Informal Fallacies (which are interesting because they make a direct connection with everyday experience); Facts, Opinions and Reasoned Judgements; Statistical Arguments; Charts & Graphs and Visual Trickery. You can also explore other pages, starting with the Home Page and moving on to the Table of Contents which provides an overview of topics in the six main pages and also has links to other pages about teaching, software, and deduction, plus resources for critical thinking in specific disciplines (psychology, philosophy, law, political science, english, music, math, automotive, office systems, nursing, writing, and reading), and more.
deny that someone is engaged in critical thinking on the grounds that one disapproves ethically of what the person is doing. What critical thinking means, why it is of value, and the ethics of its use are best regarded as three distinct concerns." { from Critical Thinking: What It Is and Why It Counts } Richard Paul describes two beneficial dispositions that are encouraged (but not guaranteed) by critical thinking education: "Fairminded thinkers take into account the interests of everyone affected by the problem and proposed solutions. They are more committed to finding the best solution than to getting their way." And a critical thinker "has confidence that, in the long run, one's own higher interests and those of humankind at large will be best served by giving the freest play to reason,... despite the deep-seated obstacles in the native character of the human mind and in society as we know it." Yes, reason is useful, it is noble and desirable, it should be highly valued and carefully developed. But we should keep things in perspective, regarding what reason can accomplish. Probably most of us will agree with Paul (about the value of critical thinking) but also with the majority of experts, who conclude that becoming skilled at critical thinking does not guarantee that this powerful tool will always be used for the benefit of others. { What are the relationships between Critical Thinking and Worldviews? }
A DISCLAIMER: The internet offers an abundance of resources, so our main challenge is selectivity, and we have tried to find high-quality pages for you to read. But the pages above don't necessarily represent views of the American Scientific Affiliation. As always, we encourage you to use your critical thinking skills to evaluate everything you read.
The area of THINKING SKILLS has sub-areas for Thinking Skills in Education and Life: Effective Problem-Solving Methods Critical Thinking in Education and Life Creative Thinking in Education and Life This links-page for Critical Thinking in Education and Life, produced by Craig Rusbult, is http://www.asa3.org/ASA/education/think/critical.htm copyright 2001 by Craig Rusbult, all rights reserved All links were checked and fixed on December 9, 2008.
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Critical thinking is a rich concept that has been developin years. The term "critical thinking" has its roots in the mid here overlapping definitions, together which form a subst conception of critical thinking.
Critical Thinking as Defined by the National Council Thinking, 1987 A statement by Michael Scriven & Richard Paul for the {presented at the 8th Annual International Conference on Education Reform, Summer 1987}.
Critical Thinking: Where to BeginLearn the Elements and StandardsCollege and University FacultyCollege and University StudentsHigh School TeachersJunior High School Teachers (6-9)Elementary Educators (46)Elementary Educators (K-3)Professional and Personal DevelopmentNursing and Health CareScience and EngineeringHome School (Grades K-12)
THINKER'S GUIDES BOOKSTORE: THINKER'S GUIDES Set of Twenty One Thinker's GuidesClinical ReasoningIntellectual StandardsA Glossary of Critical Thinking Terms and ConceptsCritical Thinking: Concepts & ToolsAnalytic ThinkingThe Human MindEducational FadsThe Art of Socratic QuestioningHow to Detect Media Bias & PropagandaHow to Study & Learn a discipline (for students)Active & Cooperative LearningCritical & Creative ThinkingCritical Thinking Competency Standards (For Educators)Engineering ReasoningEthical ReasoningFallacies: The Art of Mental TrickeryHow to Improve Student Learning (For Those Who Teach)How to Read a Paragraph The Art of Close ReadingHow to Write a Paragraph: The Art of Substantive WritingScientific Thinking (For Students and
Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined p skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, s evaluating information gathered from, or genera experience, reflection, reasoning, or communic and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on values that transcend subject matter divisions: precision, consistency, relevance, sound eviden breadth, and fairness.
It entails the examination of those structures or implicit in all reasoning: purpose, problem, or q assumptions; concepts; empirical grounding; re conclusions; implications and consequences; o viewpoints; and frame of reference. Critical thin responsive to variable subject matter, issues, a incorporated in a family of interwoven modes o scientific thinking, mathematical thinking, histor anthropological thinking, economic thinking, mo philosophical thinking.
Critical thinking can be seen as having two com information and belief generating and processin based on intellectual commitment, of using thos behavior. It is thus to be contrasted with: 1) the retention of information alone, because it involv which information is sought and treated; 2) the of skills, because it involves the continual use o use of those skills ("as an exercise") without ac
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