Critical Thinking (Part 2)

What does critically thinking involve? Though many other scholars have provided us with some insight on critical thinking, I will, very briefly, engage with the work of R. Paul, A. Binker, K. Jensen and H. Kreklau. In their work, Critical thinking handbook: A guide for remodeling lesson plans in language arts, social studies and science (1990), they have developed a list of thirty-five dimensions of critical thought. Here is a summary.

These writers conclude from their study that critical thinking involves affective and cognitive strategies. These strategies are useful, I believe, in helping us to strengthen our capacity to think critically. I will cursorily examine the affective dimension of critical thinking as presented by these scholars in this article.
 Affective strategies refer to the approaches which we may use to understand and keep in focus the emotional dimension of our thinking.

If we allow our emotions to cloud our thinking this will influence our conclusions which will, in turn, affect our decision making. Therefore, we should attempt to develop a number of skills to, as far as possible, keep our emotions at bay when we critically examine issues.
We should develop the skill of thinking independently. That is, we should learn to form our own opinions of issues after examining as much as possible of the available information on that issue. Second, we should be reflexive. We should study ourselves. We should question our motivations, our thoughts and our actions. Third, we should refrain from being judgemental. Instead, we should try to be fair. This is possible if we take into consideration all the “evidence” on the issue with which we are dealing. Fourth, we should develop the art of reasoning. That is, we must learn to analyse issues.

We have all heard people make statements which they do not substantiate with any evidence. Or, we have all, at times, made statements which we do not substantiate with any evidence. “It is my opinion,” we say with much belligerence when other more critical souls than we challenge our positions. Since it is our opinion, the statement should be unquestioned, we tell our challengers. But, we should not be unwilling to welcome challenges to our points of view. Neither should we be wary of entertaining other points of view  which are different from ours.

Part of being critical thinkers is the willingness to intellectually engage with issues even if they run counter to our accepted wisdoms. We do not have to accept/support them, if after we have critically examined them, we find them wanting.

It is all good that we have independent thoughts but we should ensure that we are not reflecting the biases of our social or other groups when we make statements. We should aim to be fair. Therefore, we should do more than a surface examination of our thoughts, motivations, influences and so on. We must learn the art of reasoning and hold back on our tendency to judge others.
Do we as teachers think critically about our students as we develop strategies to help them get the most from their schooling? Not all the time.

From my years of being a student and also being a teacher I have realised that some teachers have a tendency to negatively judge students. As one teacher puts it, some teachers tend to “look down" on students. For example, it seems that some teachers, no matter where on the socio-economic ladder they fall or have come from still equate students who come from poor circumstances with "dunceness" while those from privileged socio-economic positions they equate with "smartness".

However, “dunceness” and “smartness” run the gamut from poor students to rich students. It seems that most students who come from poor circumstances will remain in these circumstances throughout their lives as Derek Gordon, in his work on Class, Status and Social Mobility in Jamaica (1987) has shown us. This situation, however, is not as a result of any innate academic disability on the part of many of these students. This situation has arisen as a result of the persistent deprivation that has dogged successive generations.
As teachers, we need to develop the art of critical thinking. It is in mastering this art that we will truly be able to understand ourselves, students and others. After we have come to an understanding of self, students and others, then we will be able to make informed decisions on how to solve the problems in education that we face daily.

Read part 1 of this article.

 Read part 3 of this article.

 Read part 1 of this article.

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