complete sentences. That’s the
trick, that’s how they do it, just
like your job has jargon you use
to talk to, they too, have it.
So, when I say the words -critical
thinking skills- what language
am I speaking? If any of you
are teachers, principals or educators, then you either let out a
long sigh or perhaps the standard, “Carl Jung” eye roll? What
are critical thinking skills? Raise
your hands now, don’t speak all
at once.
CRITICAL THINKING IS NOT
A SINGLE SKILL; IT IS A
COMPREHENSIVE SET OF
THINKING SKILLS, BUT ALSO
PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS
THAT ARE DEVELOPED AS
PART OF A PROCESS.
It is the process, itself; that is
the key when developing these
critical thinking skills. When I
was growing into critical thinking skills, the dominant way to
achieve them, was merely a narrative from the teacher, while
the student, or I, copied from
the board, and tried to keep up
with the discussion. Much has
changed, as critical thinking has
become paired with another
term called higher order thinking. This set of skills paired with
the thought process enables the
learner not just to sit and copy, but
to think about the words, question the statements, develop an
argument, research it and draws
a conclusion based on the set of
steps in the sequence to achieve
that outcome.
With critical thinking, educators quickly found the fallacy in
listening and thinking that for
years seemed to be the hidden
elements that left gaps in the
theories to examine, evaluate,
and to emphasize. It seemed
more like an assumption than
a conclusion. After previous formative years of read and write,
the reader/listener relationship
changed to encompass personal
experiences, educational levels,
socioeconomic
backgrounds,
cultural sensitivities, or any other
stereotypes or biases. Critical