developing critical thinkers
DESCRIPTION
DEVELOPING CRITICAL THINKERS. Stephen Brookfield Distinguished University Professor University of St. Thomas www.stephenbrookfield.com. CORE ASSUMPTIONS. Sincerity of Assumptions Does NOT Equate with Students’ Goodwill Good Teaching = Whatever Helps Our Students Learn - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
DEVELOPINGCRITICAL THINKERS
Stephen Brookfield
Distinguished University Professor
University of St. Thomas
www.stephenbrookfield.com
CORE ASSUMPTIONS
Sincerity of Assumptions Does NOT Equate with Students’ Goodwill
Good Teaching = Whatever Helps Our Students Learn
Best Practice is Critically Reflective – Checking Our Assumptions About Practice
Most Important Pedagogic Knowledge – How Students Experience Learning
CIRCLE OF VOICES • Each person has up to 1 minute to say
whatever they wish to say on the topic – no interruptions allowed. Once all have spoken the group moves into ..
• Open conversation: here you only talk about what someone else said in the opening round
• WHAT’S THE MOST RECENT EXAMPLE OF CRITICAL THINKING YOU’VE SEEN OR PRACTICED?
WHAT IS IT? 4 FUNCTIONS• IDENTIFYING OUR ASSUMPTIONS
• CHECKING THEIR ACCURACY & VALIDITY
• VIEWING IDEAS & ACTIONS FROM ALTERNATE PERSPECTIVES
• TAKING INFORMED ACTION - THE SURVIVAL SKILL OF ADULT LIFE
WHY FOCUS ON IT?To Take Informed Action
• Action Based on Evidence That Can be Cited & Considered By Others
• Action That Can be Explained & Justified• Action That Has Its Assumptions Known &
Checked• Action That Stands a Chance of Achieving
Its Intended Consequence• Action That’s In Our Best Interest
INFORMED ACTION = APPLYING & EXTENDING
KNOWLEDGE• Deciding that an idea or practice has utility or
‘fit’ in an area outside its original formulation• Deciding an idea or practice is indeed
appropriate for a context• Learning to recognize the cues in situations
that call forth certain ideas & practices• Understanding that informed action needs
new knowledge
TYPES OF ASSUMPTIONS
• CAUSAL - purports to explain a sequence of events
• PRESCRIPTIVE - assumptions about how we wish things to be
• PARADIGMATIC - framing, structuring assumptions viewed as obvious, natural, common sense
WHEN WE SCRUTINIZE ASSUMPTIONS WE …
• ANALYZE OUR PRACTICES & IDEAS FOR SIGNIFICANT CUES THAT CAUSE US TO JUDGE AN ASSUMPTION FITS
• MAKE JUDGMENTS CONCERNING
THE ACCURACY & RELIABILITY OF
EVIDENCE
WHEN WE SEE THINGS FROM DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTS WE ...
UNDERSTAND BETTER HOW INFORMATION FROM ONE SOURCE OR CATEGORY FITS
WITH INFORMATION FROM OTHERS
INTEGRATE OUR ACTIONS WITH THOSE OF OTHERS
KNOW HOW TO COMMUNICATE IDEAS TO OTHERS
Circular Response• 1st person responds to question for up
to a minute – no interruptions.• 2nd person responds to 1st person’s
comments, 3rd person responds to 2nd person’s comments, and so on.
• When everyone has spoken group moves into open conversation.
WHAT MOST HELPS YOUR STUDENTS LEARN CRITICAL THINKING?
WHEN IS IT BEST TAUGHT?WHEN IS IT BEST TAUGHT?
Beyond the Novice Level After Initial Assimilation When Classroom Skills and
Knowledge Have to be Applied in the ‘Real’ World
When Independent Judgment is Called For
Beyond the Novice Level After Initial Assimilation When Classroom Skills and
Knowledge Have to be Applied in the ‘Real’ World
When Independent Judgment is Called For
WHEN IS IT BEST TAUGHT?WHEN IS IT BEST TAUGHT?
When Alternative Explanations and Interpretations are Possible
When Actions, Decisions, & Judgments Need to be Informed
When Thinking on Your Feet & Improvisation is Called For
When Alternative Explanations and Interpretations are Possible
When Actions, Decisions, & Judgments Need to be Informed
When Thinking on Your Feet & Improvisation is Called For
CRITICAL INCIDENT QUESTIONNAIRECRITICAL INCIDENT QUESTIONNAIRE
Moment Most Engaged Moment Most Distanced Action Most Helpful Action Most Puzzling What Surprised You Most
Moment Most Engaged Moment Most Distanced Action Most Helpful Action Most Puzzling What Surprised You Most
CRITICAL INCIDENT QUESTIONNAIRECRITICAL INCIDENT QUESTIONNAIRE
Anonymous Report Back at Start of Next Class Responsiveness Not Capitulation Early Warning System Illustrates Diversity in Classroom Models Critical Thinking
Anonymous Report Back at Start of Next Class Responsiveness Not Capitulation Early Warning System Illustrates Diversity in Classroom Models Critical Thinking
Snowballing Share responses in pairs Pairs join to share as quartets Quartets join to share as octets At each stage groups share emerging
issues, questions & differences
Question – HOW DO YOU MODEL CRITICAL THINKING FOR YOUR STUDENTS?
WHAT STUDENTS SAY IS HELPFUL - MODELING … Seeing it MODELED & Named When Teachers Talk Out Loud Their
Assumptions Behind Practices When Teachers Do Regular Assumption
Audits – “Here are my assumptions I’m working under”
When Teachers Say When Their Assumptions are Confirmed & Challenged
MODELING …
When Teachers Use the CIQ to Check Assumptions in Front of Students
When Teachers Bring in Real Life Experience When Assumptions Were Confirmed & Challenged
In Team Teaching – When Members Take Different Positions and Clarify Each Others’ Assumptions
MODELING … When Teachers Critique Their Own
Positions - Moving Around the Classroom
When Teachers ‘Speak in Tongues’ at Different Stations in the Classroom
When Teachers Consistently Discuss Their Criteria for Judging Credibility of Authoritative Sources
WHAT SHOULD WE REMEMBER AS
TEACHERS?• Modeling, Modeling, Modeling• Resistance is Normal &
Predictable• Critical Thinking is Incremental
- Start Well Away From the Student’s Reasoning & Actions, Help them Learn Critical Protocols, and Over Time Move Closer and Closer to the Student’s Own Reasoning & Actions
WHAT SHOULD WE REMEMBER?
• BUILD A CASE USING FORMER RESISTERS WHEN POSSIBLE
• FOCUS ON SPECIFIC EXPERIENCES
• CRITICAL THINKING IS A SOCIAL LEARNING PROCESS – PEERS AS CRITICAL MIRRORS
Stephen Brookfield BooksDeveloping Critical Thinkers (1987)Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher
(1995)The Power of Critical Theory (2004)Discussion as a Way of Teaching (2005,
2nd Ed.) with Stephen PreskillThe Skillful Teacher (2006, 2nd. Ed.) All published by Jossey Bass, San Francisco Home Page: www.stephenbrookfield.com