Critical thinking is an important factor in teaching of any subject. Any kind of professional development needs strong critical thinking skills. Therefore, the concept of critical thinking must be built into any high quality educational program.
Based on the readings from this unit and your own analysis, answer the following questions.
1. If you were to conduct a classroom session, how would you introduce the concept of critical thinking to the students? Justify with relevant examples.
2. Why do you think critical thinking is an important element in secondary education?
Your discussion should be a minimum of 250 words in length and no more than 750 words. Please include a word count. Following the APA standard, use references and in-text citations for any sources.
Dear Dr. Kadi and Colleagues,
If I were doing a classroom activity, I would introduce the concept of critical thinking to students with a hands-on exercise Films or book reviews.
This exercise has students sharpen their thinking skills to look beyond the movie or book. For example, students can team up to review and give a critical analysis of a favorite literary or creative work. The key to this exercise is that an in-depth review allows for reflection on why students are studying the material.
When a group does this exercise, it encourages lively discussions and allows all the participants to highlight several aspects of a common theme. For example, some students might explore the music, the author or director of the piece, or make assumptions about the atmosphere and time of day in which the author or actors composed or staged it (10 Critical Thinking Exercises to Improve Your Mind, 2024).
Critical thinking is the ability to comprehensively analyze information, draw informed conclusions, and make informed decisions (Cummins, 2020). It is not just a skill but a real intellectual tool that helps us better understand the world and make informed decisions. Critical thinking is not just a problem-solving skill; it shapes the way we think and cope with life's challenges. The student is becoming observant, attentive, and curious ; rational and willing to admit mistakes. Also, it is openness to new ideas, creativity, resilience in crisis situations, and resistance to manipulation and persuasion (Alsaleh, N.J. (2020).
The Foundation for Critical Thinking suggests four steps to practice critical thinking (Peterson, 2024): ask questions, seeking information, analyzing with an open mind, and communicating solutions. Critical thinkers ask questions, consider cause and effect, and think about all possible outcomes. They seek information from various sources, analyze it with an open mind, and question their own biases. Finally, they communicate solutions and present them in a way that everyone can understand.
References
10 critical thinking exercises to improve your mind. (2024). Indeed Career Guide. https://uk.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/critical-thinking-exercises
Alsaleh, N.J. (2020). Teaching critical thinking skills: Literature review. The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 19 (1).
Cummins, K. (2020, June 21). Critical thinking for teachers and students. Innovative TEACHING IDEAS.
Peterson, Deb. (2024, June 25). How to Practice Critical Thinking in 4 Steps. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/how-to-practice-critical-thinking-31722
