\u201cBecause critical thinking<\/strong> is an essential 21st<\/sup> century skill, we know our students need to develop critical thinking skills<\/em>. If we want to create a school program or a class or a curriculum to foster critical thinking, what guidance can you give us?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Happily, we don\u2019t have to imagine. At last week\u2019s Learning and the Brain conference in New York, I asked a distinguished group of cognitive psychologists* exactly that question.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll try to summarize that half-hour conversation here.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s start at one end of the spectrum, with the most optimistic ways to answer the question:<\/p>\n First<\/strong>: we know what critical thinking is<\/em>.<\/p>\n Dr. Laura Portnoy, for instance, considers critical thinking the ability to support claims with evidence and reason<\/strong>.<\/p>\n If I claim that \u201cthe earth orbits the sun,\u201d I should be able to cite evidence supporting that claim. And I should be able to explain the logical process I use to make conclusions based on that evidence.<\/p>\n Dr. Ben Motz agrees with that foundation, and adds an important step: critical thinkers recognize and avoid logical fallacies<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Second<\/strong>: we know how to foster<\/em> critical thinking.<\/p>\n The specifics of an answer probably vary by age and discipline. However, we\u2019ve got specific curricular strategies<\/a> to help us foster critical thinking among students.<\/p>\n Dr. Laura Cabrera, with this truth in mind, offers a specific bit of advice: start early<\/em>.<\/p>\n If we want students to grow as critical thinkers, we shouldn\u2019t wait until their sophomore year in high school. Kindergarten would be a fine place to start.<\/p>\n All these optimistic answers, however, quickly give way to grittier \u2013 perhaps more realistic \u2013 assessments of the situation.<\/p>\n First<\/strong>: because critical thinking is so complicated, no precise definition holds true in a broadly useful way. In other words \u2013 politely speaking \u2013 we can\u2019t exactly define it.<\/p>\n Second<\/strong>: This definition problem has terrible implications.<\/p>\n If we can\u2019t define<\/em> critical thinking, broadly speaking, then we can\u2019t determine a consistent way to measure<\/em> it.<\/p>\n And if we can\u2019t measure<\/em> it, we have no (scientific) way of knowing if our \u201ccritical thinking program\u201d helps students think critically.<\/p>\n Third<\/strong>: In fact, if we can\u2019t measure students\u2019 critical thinking skills right now<\/em>, we might not realize that they\u2019re already good at it.<\/p>\n Dr. Dan Willingham \u2013 author of the well-known Why Don\u2019t Students Like School<\/em> \u2013 made this point at the beginning of our conversation. \u201cWhy,\u201d he asked, \u201cdo you think your students have a critical thinking problem? What measurement are you using? What do you want them to do that they can\u2019t do?\u201d<\/p>\n In other words: it\u2019s not obvious we should<\/em> start a critical thinking program. Because we can\u2019t measure students\u2019 abilities, we just don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n Dr. Derek Cabrera made this point quite starkly: \u201cMy advice about starting a critical thinking program is: don\u2019t.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n Even if we could measure critical thinking, as it first seemed we could, teachers might not want to give it disproportional attention.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/braindevs.net\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Laura-Cabrera.png\")
<\/a>The resulting conversation offered practical suggestions, provocative assertions, and a surprising amount of humor.<\/p>\nOn the One Hand\u2026<\/h2>\n
<\/a>A comprehensive list of logical fallacies goes on for pages, but critical thinkers typically question their own beliefs aggressively enough to avoid the most common mistakes.<\/p>\nOn the Other Hand\u2026<\/h2>\n
<\/a>In cognitive psychology terminology, as Dr. Derek Cabrera put it, \u201ccritical thinking has a construct validity problem.\u201d In fact, the five psychologists on the panel \u2013 professors all \u2013 don\u2019t agree on a definition.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nDon\u2019t Start Now<\/h2>\n