Have you ever wondered if critical thinking can be taught?
Critical thinking is certainly teachable, as has been proven by many years of research. Like with other skills—for example, swimming or playing an instrument—some people may have more natural ability when it comes to critical thinking, but that does not mean that it cannot be improved through teaching.
Not only can critical thinking be taught but it can also be measured. This article will explore how critical thinking can be taught and, more importantly, how it can be taught most effectively.
Can critical thinking be taught?
The “can critical thinking be taught” debate is not a new one, although it has gained particular steam in the past forty years. A report in 1983 called A Nation At Risk claimed that most seventeen-year-olds in America failed to think critically enough to carry out relatively basic tasks like writing persuasive essays or making reasonable inferences based on provided information.
As a result of this report, the country’s educators attempted to fix this problem by focusing on how to best improve critical thinking among the country’s youth. Unfortunately, little hard evidence suggested that the programs and curricula developed really changed things for the better.
By 2015, however, an analysis published in the Review of Educational Research considered 341 different studies on whether or not critical thinking is teachable, coming to the conclusion that yes, effective strategies do indeed exist for the teaching of critical thinking skills.
The main problem, leading many skeptics to pronounce that critical thinking simply cannot be taught, is the way in which this important skill is taught. The primary failure is owed to the problem of “transferability,” that is, students have difficulty taking the generic critical thinking skills they are taught and applying them to other imagined and real-world scenarios they face.
So, to the question, “Can critical thinking be taught?”, the answer is a resounding yes, if taught correctly. The next section will examine the best ways to teach critical thinking and avoid the transferability problem.
How can critical thinking be taught?
Give yourself time
First of all, you need time to think! Try setting aside at least fifteen minutes a day so that you can just stop and think and allow yourself to process what’s going on in your life and in your mind rather than letting everything simply happen.
By reflecting on your day, or contemplating what lies ahead on a given day, you better prepare yourself to improve not only your critical thinking skills but your life in general.
Give your students ample class time to reflect on a certain issue or scenario and this will allow them the time needed to begin critically thinking on their own.
Intentionality
Critical thinking is challenging. It doesn’t come naturally to everyone and nearly everyone can benefit from critical thinking training. As such, it needs to be an intentional process that promotes not only learning but using these skills to reinforce them.
By practicing the taught critical thinking skills, students will hone their ability to transfer what they learn in one example or application onto others, thus crucially overcoming the transferability problem.
Critical thinking attitude
As much as one tries, teaching critical thinking is itself challenging and requires that the student have an open and eager attitude to learning. This attitude, which can also be referred to as “disposition,” means that students change their mentality toward problems.
Rather than seeing problems or concepts as impenetrable obstacles, students need to learn to take a more open disposition that allows them to properly confront the problem and come to a solution. Healthy skepticism is an important part of a strong critical thinking disposition as critical thinking requires asking questions and remaining open to multiple perspectives.
It can help to teach students—and encourage them—to confront complex problems or tasks, reject impulsive thoughts or behaviors, favor non-dogmatic approaches (that is, keep an open mind), and make self-assessments (and change course if needed) to arrive at a more correct or nuanced position.
Overcoming the transferability problem
Essential to overcoming this frequent problem faced by students of critical thinking—the transferability problem—is understanding how to find similarities in different contexts.
Most people—most of the time—only engage with problems or scenarios at a surface level. Critical thinking, however, requires diving into problems on a deeper level. Understanding what researchers term as the “deep structure” of an issue allows us to make connections between different scenarios more easily.
Depending on the discipline one is in, it may make sense to teach students certain scenarios that prove more relevant to their projected career choices. It’s a good idea as well to catalog and teach the main “deep structures” that come into play in that given field or niche so students gain exposure to the critical thinking they will require. This will lessen the need for transference in general.
Self-assessments
To know thyself, as Socrates said, is a noble challenge. Many of us are afraid—for any number of reasons—to make an honest assessment of our thinking and behaviors. This practice, though—also known in the field as “metacognition”—is essential for students of critical thinking.
By teaching students how to make objective self-assessments, they will begin to challenge their natural assumptions and any cognitive biases that they may unknowingly possess. As such, it is also helpful to outline some of the major cognitive biases that exist—for example, confirmation bias, the bandwagon effect, risk compensation, status quo bias, and stereotyping, to name just a few.
Wrapping up
So, can critical thinking be taught? Absolutely. But that doesn’t mean that it’s easy.
By giving your students the necessary time to reflect, by focusing on critical thinking exercises with intention, by taking the proper critical thinking attitude (or disposition), working consciously to overcome the transferability problem, and making frequent self-assessments, your students will slowly but surely enhance their critical thinking skills.
If you have trouble, don’t fret! Luckily, there are many critical thinking resources to be found for free online, as well as countless books to be purchased, that will help you on your journey to learn and/or teach critical thinking skills.
References
https://www.readingrockets.org/article/critical-thinking-why-it-so-hard-teach
https://productiveclub.com/improve-critical-thinking-skills/
Critical Thinking Can Be Learned. Here’s The Evidence-Based Way How.
