Teaching Critical Thinking Across the
Disciplines
Stephen Brookfield
University of St. Thomas
www.stephenbrookfield.com
Tweet: #tc5815
Finding a Common Language
• What language will communicate a commonly
shared intellectual project that will
communicate a shared understanding of what
critical thinking entails – for both students and
faculty across all disciplines?
• A process of APPRAISAL
• Appraise Accuracy / Validity of ASSUMPTIONS
• Explore ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVES
A Process of Appraisal
• Critical thinking as a process of appraisal – we
judge the accuracy & validity of assumptions
by viewing them from different perspectives
• Appraisal means sometimes our assumptions
are accurate & make sense - & here’s why
• Focusing on Appraisal means we avoid
students thinking critical thinking is a process
of always finding fault, demolition
• What We Appraise Is How Accurate Are
Procedures We Use to Establish Valid
Knowledge – thinking like a ……. ???
Someone Who Thinks Critically Can …
• Identify Assumptions Behind
Thinking & Actions
• Check Assumptions for Accuracy
& Validity
• View Ideas & Actions from
Multiple Perspectives
• Take Informed Action
An Informed Action…
• One Based on Assessed Evidence or
Experience
• One That Has Its Assumptions Known &
Checked
• One That Stands a Chance of Achieving Its
Intended Consequence
• One That has a Rationale that Can Be Clearly
Explained
Why Is Critical Thinking Difficult?
• Because it’s hard for us to see our own
assumptions without some kind of peer
assistance
• Because we don’t want to questions
assumptions – life becomes more
difficult
• Because 18-22 year olds are grappling
with their intellectual development
Developmentally 18-22 year olds are..
• Moving to ‘Formal Operations’ Stage
Starting to Think Abstractly &
Conceptually
• Can formulate hypotheses
• Understand cause & effect
• Can apply problem-solving protocols
Developmentally 18-22 year olds
struggle with…
• Dialectical thinking – holding 2 ideas in tension;
i.e. good leaders should be transparent about the
reasons for their actions –v- in some situations
the LAST thing you want is to be transparent
about your actions
• Contextuality/Relativism – behavior & action can
only be fully understood in its
historical/social/intellectual context, & context
changes EVERYTHING
Developmentally we’re headed to
adulthood
• Post-formal Operations (Jan Sinnott): adults
who can tolerate ambiguity, understand the
role of context
• Informed Commitment (William Perry): adults
who can confidently commit to a theory,
explanation, or course of action – all the while
acknowledging this will be changed &
reframed if experience convinces us to do so
Appraising Knowledge
How Students Speak
• I assume this idea is accurate because it’s what you
told me
• I assume this is the right action to fit this situation
because my experience tells me so
• I assume this is the right action to fit this situation
because that’s what I saw you do
• I assume this scholarship is legitimate because it’s in
the text
• I am going to act this way because I assume that’s what
others do in this situation
• I assume I have understood you correctly because
here’s my precis of your point
How Students Check Assumptions
4 Typical Approaches
• This assumption is accurate because it is
corroborated by my peers (Groupthink)
• This assumption is accurate because it is
corroborated by experts (Dependence on
Authority as De-Facto Correct)
• This assumption is accurate because it is
corroborated by own experience (Self-Delusion,
Denial & Blind Spots)
• This assumption is accurate because I have tested
it out (Flawed Problem Posing)
Categories of Assumptions
• CAUSAL - purport to explain a sequence
of events: retroactive or predictive
• PRESCRIPTIVE - assumptions about how
things should happen, we should
behave
• PARADIGMATIC - framing, structuring
assumptions viewed as obvious,
common sense, taken for granted
A Personal Example
• Clinical Depression is Caused by External
Circumstances
• The Way to Deal With It Is To Reason Through
It & Tell Yourself To Snap Out of It
• Medications Are For Those Too Weak To Deal
With The World
Rooted in Ideology: PATRIARCHY
(Men are to be entrusted with making decisions
by virtue of their superior rationality & logic)
A Pedagogic Example
• If I get to class early & arrange the chairs in
circles, students will feel respected when they
walk in. This will reduce the distance between
me & them, & will also create a relaxed,
congenial environment for learning
• The Circle is an Arena of Surveillance
• I am being Coerced into Speech before you
have earned the right to expect that
The Circle
• Causal: Having Chairs in a Circle creates a
Relaxed, Respectful Environment for
Learning
• Prescriptive: Good educators Create a
Relaxed Environment
• Paradigmatic: I Have Power Over My
Classroom Environment
TRADITIONS - ANALYTIC PHILOSOPHY
• ANALYTIC PHILOSOPHY – logical fallacies,
argument analysis – inductive, deductive,
analogical, inferential
• A good critical thinker is someone who can spot
flaws in arguments, identify illogical thought,
detect correct & incorrect ladders of inference
that someone has constructed, excel in debate,
speak articulately, be alert to misuse of language
& rhetorical tricks, and consistently identify
evidence for assumptions & arguments
TRADITIONS – NATURAL SCIENCE
• NATURAL SCIENCE – hypothetical-deductive
method, principle of falsifiability
• A good critical thinker is someone who can
generate a plausible hypothesis to explain a
sequence of events, can set up an experiment to
test the validity of that hypothesis, knows how to
respond if the hypothesis is disproven, and views
knowledge/theories as valid only if that
knowledge/theory is open to being disproved.
TRADITIONS – CRITICAL THEORY
• CRITICAL THEORY – uncovering power dynamics,
identifying hegemony &pushing back against
ideological manipulation
• A critical thinker is a student who is constantly asking
questions about power dynamics in the classroom, in
the wider community, and in the discipline. They
question who decides what counts as legitimate
knowledge & frequently challenge teachers authority &
the authority of experts in the field. They consistently
link classroom work to broader issues of social justice
& equity
TRADITIONS - PRAGMATISM
• PRAGMATISM – experimental pursuit of
beautiful consequences (democracy)
• A critical thinker is someone who is always
open to rethinking positions & considering
new perspectives. They view their actions as
contingent & open to improvement &
refinement. They regard experience as an
important guide to action & see the future as
open. Teachers often work pragmatically
When Are Students Ready to Think
Critically?
• When they have some grasp of the
“Grammar” of a Subject (R.S. Peters)
• Content Grammar – the building blocks
of knowledge, fundamental concepts
• Epistemological Grammar – the criteria
used to judge good & bad scholarship,
establish legitimate & illegitimate
knowledge
Question
•What most
helps students
to think
critically?
What Students Say …
• By Instructors MODELING,
MODELING & MODELING
• When It’s Sequenced – Begin by
Learning Protocols & Over Time
Apply These to Our Own Reasoning
• Social Learning Process – Peers as
Critically Reflective Mirrors
Critical Incident Questionnaire (CIQ)
• MOMENT MOST ENGAGED AS
LEARNER
• MOMENT MOST DISTANCED
• ACTION MOST HELPFUL
• ACTION MOST CONFUSING
• WHAT SURPRISED YOU MOST
HOW ADMINISTERED?
•
•
•
•
•
Last 5 minutes of Class
Anonymous
Frequency Analysis of Main Themes
Reported Out at Start of Next Class
Disclose How Results Confirm or Challenge
Your Assumptions / Provide New Perspectives
• Disclose Any Changes You Will Make
• Negotiation NOT Capitulation
Assumptions Inventories - Teachers
• Here’s the Assumptions I’m Working Under
(Causal, Prescriptive, Paradigmatic)
• Here’s Why I Think they’re Accurate & Valid –
Evidence / Expert Corroboration
• Here’s How My Assumptions have been
Confirmed / Deepened
• Here’s How My Assumptions have Been
Challenged
• Here’s the New Assumptions I’ve Discovered
Assumptions Inventories - Teachers
When Constructing this Argument as a Scholar
or Taking This Action as a Practitioner here’s:-
• The Evidence That Was Most
Accessible to Me
• The Evidence I Took Most Seriously
• The Evidence Most Open to Question
Assumption Inventories -Teachers
In Assessing My Argument or Action:
• Here’s Where I Judge Further Inquiry
is Needed
• Here’s How I Judge the Learning To
Fit Clinical Practice
• Here’s My Assumptions That Could
Not Be Checked Adequately
• Here’s a Different Way I Could Have
Thought / Acted
Assumptions Inventories - Students
As I completed this assignment, here’s…
• Assumptions I held about the topic that were
confirmed / strengthened / deepened
• Assumptions I held about the topic that were
challenged / disturbed
• New perspectives or interpretations of the
topic I considered
• The most pressing questions about the topic
I’m left with
Ending With Questions
• At the end of a lecture or discussion you end by
asking yourself (& students via tweeting) ….
• What’s been missing from this analysis?
• What most needs further scrutiny?
• What are the chief critiques of what I’ve been
saying?
• What unresolved questions am I left with?
• What are the most troubling questions we’ve
raised today?
‘Speaking in Tongues’
• 3-4 signs posted around the auditorium,
each reflects a distinct theory/analytical
framework
• When you stand under a sign you speak
ONLY in the language & perspective of
that theory
• When students ask questions you go to
different stations & answer them ONLY
from that perspective
What do YOU think professor?
• You give 2 or 3 Answers – Only 1 Represents Your
Actual Opinion
• Students Vote on Whether They Think Answer A),
B) or C) is Correct
• Students Assemble in Groups Based on their
Responses – all A’s, all B’s & all C’s
• In Answer Groups they Discuss Why They Chose
Their Particular Answer
• Class Assembles & Groups Give their Reasons
• You Disclose Which Was Your Actual Opinion
Instructor Point-Counterpoint
Models
• Productive Questioning
• Respectful Disagreement
• Different Perspectives
• Perspective Taking
• Thoughtful Silence
Structured Devil’s Advocacy
•
•
•
•
The Clint Eastwood Chair
Here’s information that’s inconvenient for
your argument
What about these ethical / philosophical
issues you ignored?
What would you say to this criticism?
Here’s an assumption that bears further
examination
Chalk Talk
• Instructor writes a question in the middle of the
board
• 5-10 minutes of silence is declared
• Students write responses to the question on the
board whenever they feel ready
• Students & instructor draw lines between similar
comments & add reactions &
comments/questions
• Ends when board is full or posting stops
• Students photo board & post on Blackboard
What Stops It? No Scaffolding
• Definitions, Explanations & Examples of CT
Provided in the Syllabus – Same Definition
Embedded in School Wide Program & Course
Descriptions
• Assessment Rubrics Distributed Containing
Examples of Critical Thinking Participation
• Post Examples of Good (& Bad) Student Work
Where Critical Thinking is Evident
• Each Assignment Provides an Example of CT
• All Assignments Ask Students to Identify &
Research Assumptions
Critical Thinking Rubric
To What Extent Did You….
• Provide evidence to confirm or challenge your
argument
• Identify assumptions you held about the topic
that were confirmed and challenged
• Introduce a new idea, perspective or piece of
relevant information
• Ask question(s) that led to a new line of
analysis
What Stops It? No Scaffolding
• Assignments Ask Students to Judge Validity
of Different Sources Used – web sites,
textbooks, wikipedia, etc.
• Assignments Ask Students to Spot the
Deliberate Error (1 per unit / module)
• Assignments & Activities Use Common
Language of Assumptions - Causal,
Prescriptive, Paradigmatic
• Assignments Contain Example (s) of How
the Instructor Has Thought Critically About
the Topic
What Stops It? No Scaffolding
• Assignments Ask Students to Summarize
Assumptions that Have been Confirmed
&/or Challenged
• Asks Students to Report New Perspectives
or Viewpoints
• End By Asking Students To Raise at least
Two Questions about the Topic that the
Assignment has Generated
What Stops It? No Scaffolding
• Intro. Course for All Incoming Freshmen
• Begins with Generic Real-Life Scenarios
(reasons for applying to the university,
expectations of what it means to be a student,
future goals, assumptions regarding workload,
assessment etc.).
• Branch into Subject Specific Examples
• Provides Videos of Former Students Talking
About How Critical Thinking Manifested Itself
in Their Studies
• Provides Videos of Faculty Explaining How
They Apply Critical Thinking in Work & Life
Assessing Critical Thinking
• Pre-test / Post test (Simulations, Scenarios)
• Student Critical Thinking Audits
• Standardized Tests (Ennis-Weir, New Jersey,
California, CAAP, Watson-Glaser)
• Learning Journals Re. Applications in Practice
• Multiple Choice Questions in Each Unit
Specifically on Assumptions / Evidence