Critical Thinking Skills for Education Students

Lesley-Jane Eales-Reynolds, Brenda Judge, Elaine McCreery, Patrick Jones, Author

• Publisher: Learning Matters
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9781446268414, 9781446268407
• eBook ISBN: 9781446293683
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Research in Education

Revised and extended to cover critical reflection and evaluation of information resources, this new edition of Critical Thinking Skills for Education Students is a practical and user-friendly text to help education students develop their understanding of critical analysis. It outlines the skills needed to examine and challenge data and encourages students to adopt this way of thinking to enrich their personal and professional development. The text helps students to develop their self-evaluation skills in order to recognise personal values and perceptions. Critical analysis, modeling, case studies, worked examples and reflective tasks are used to engage the reader with the text - building both skills and confidence. 

This book is part of the Study Skills in Education Series. This series addresses key study skills in the context of education courses, helping students identify their weaknesses, increase their confidence and realise their academic potential. Titles in this series are suitable for students on:

• any course of Initial Teacher Training leading to QTS;
• a degree in Education or Education Studies;
• a degree in Early Years or Early Childhood Education;
• a foundation degree in any education related subject discipline.

Lesley-Jane Eales-Reynolds is Pro Vice Chancellor (Education) at Kingston University.
Brenda Judge is a Senior Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Elaine McCreery is Head of Primary, Early Years and Education Studies programmes at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Patrick Jones, now retired, was Senior Lecturer in Primary Education at Manchester Metropolitan University.

1.	Critical thinking: why is it important and what is it anyway?

Introduction

In this chapter we will explore what we mean by critical thinking. You will begin to understand that critical thinking is essentially a questioning, challenging approach to knowledge and perceived wisdom. You will understand that critical thinking involves examining ideas and information from an objective position and questioning this information while being aware of the influence of your own values, attitudes, experiences, emotions and personal philosophy.

Learning outcomes

Having worked through this chapter you should have an understanding of:

• why critical thinking is important;
• the essence of critical thinking;
• the process of critical thinking;
• how your own values, experiences, emotions and attitudes impact upon your critical thinking.

Why is critical thinking important?

Employers have identified critical thinking, critical analysis and problem solving as key skills that they are seeking in graduates, but rarely find. These abilities underpin good management and leadership. Critical thinking skills will be essential to your study and your professional practice, giving you the ability to think both critically and objectively about an issue and present a well-constructed argument. Developing critical thinking skills will also equip you with some of the attributes required in entrepreneurs and in those who are able to take a sustainable approach to living and working.

So what is critical thinking?

From a very early age, we learn to question. Parents always seem to dread their small child asking them ‘why?’ because it is often an endless litany. However, this questioning is vital to help us make sense of our world and in developing our ability to think critically.

When we talk about critical thinking, we are not using the word ‘critical’ in a negative way. For example, the statement I don’t like the jacket that she’s wearing is being critical about someone’s fashion choices. However, it does not involve critical thinking. In fact, this simple statement is an example of something that must be avoided in critical thinking (i.e. biasing our judgements because of personal preferences).

Critical thinking requires us to question everything, including things that may normally be accepted de facto, such as the statement the world is round. How do you know this is true? By taking a challenging approach to knowledge and perceived wisdom, you develop your own understanding and enhance your personal knowledge of the world.

It must be remembered that critical thinking means different things to different people and it will depend on your ontological and epistemological leanings. (Ontology is the science relating to the nature of being; epistemology is the aspect of philosophy that deals with the theories relating to the sources, nature and limits of knowledge.) However, at its very basic level, critical thinking is about taking a questioning approach to everything.

To be a good critical thinker you will need to be:

• willing to question your own views and those of others (just because something is in print or on the web, it does not mean it is true);
• open-minded to the ideas and views of others;
• able to make (positive and negative) judgements;
• able to discriminate between sources of evidence and recognise their authority and authenticity;
• self-confident enough to explore and question the evidence/literature and its implications;
• able to recognise the strengths and weaknesses of your own thought processes and argument development;
• honest in facing your own biases/prejudices;
• flexible in considering alternatives and opinions;
• willing to reconsider and revise views where honest reflection suggests that change is warranted;
• able to re-present your thinking and argument in an improved form.

The process of critical thinking

A great deal of what is taught in universities is theory rather than ‘fact’. Although based on evidence that may appear to be factual, most information results from the critical thinking and interpretation that writers and researchers have drawn from their analyses of relevant data. They propose ideas to explain what is going on in the world and gather research evidence to support or refute these ideas. Actually, academic debate is founded on an exchange of ideas or theories. If one person puts forward an idea or theory, then other people will often put forward alternatives. When you, as a student writer/researcher, enter a debate, you become part of this ongoing argumentation, contributing to the body of knowledge surrounding the issue through using your critical thinking skills.

One of the most important aspects of critical thinking is personal knowledge creation. This we do by:

• identifying our existing knowledge and experiences in relation to a particular issue;
• considering our stance in relation to that issue (a reflective process which involves our emotions and values);
• collecting authoritative evidence, which may contradict or support our stance;
• critically analysing (studying its meaning, structure and validity) and evaluating (making a judgement about) that evidence;
• using it to develop our own knowledge and understanding.

This process may potentially alter our own viewpoint. Thus, critical thinking involves interpretation, analysis, evaluation, inference, explanation and metacognition (the awareness or analysis of one’s own learning or thinking processes) (Facione, 1998). These processes allow us to put forward a meaningful argument to persuade others to our point of view and thus to contribute to the collective knowledge base.

Before we explore these elements of critical thinking in a little more depth, I should insert a note of caution. There are many interpretations of the meaning of the term ‘critical thinking’ and many proposals as to the skills and attributes required to be a good critical thinker. These vary by discipline, distinguishing what is thinking and what is implementation of thinking or practice and country of origin. You will find that the language used in different disciplines to explain the same phenomenon will often differ. This has led to a lack of consensus across disciplines as to exactly what constitutes critical thinking and what skills students need to demonstrate in order to be good critical thinkers. However, a critical evaluation of precisely what is meant by this language can lead to the identification of a core set of skills and attributes that are the same at a fundamental level regardless of discipline.

In the references and further reading section of this chapter you will find other articles, books and websites that give a range of descriptions of critical thinking skills and how they vary within disciplines. We have chosen Facione’s framework since it covers the fundamental skills which have been identified by a range of authors, as well as informing one of the most widely used standardised tests of critical thinking skills – the California Critical Thinking Skills Test.

Interpretation

When we read something, our understanding of what we read is dependent upon our own experiences and existing knowledge. Think of a small boy learning to read the sentence:

John has a ball.

If the boy has never seen a ball, he will not understand the meaning of the sentence. Similarly, imagine you meet a woman and you ask her what she does, and she replies:

I’m an immunologist.

You may have some understanding of what immunology is, but not necessarily what an immunologist actually does. However, if you work in a clinical laboratory, you are likely to have worked with an immunologist and so will have some understanding of what the role entails.

If you have no understanding of something you hear or read, then you cannot critically analyse it or evaluate its worth in relation to your existing knowledge or that of your wider community. Thus, the first step in interpretation is understanding. Having understood something it is necessary to be able to express its meaning or significance, i.e. your interpretation of what you have read, and this will be coloured by your prior knowledge, values and personal experiences (including emotions). So, for example, you read an article in the newspaper about global warming – is it real or not? The article seems to put forward some persuasive arguments against its existence. However, you have been to Greenland and seen the glaciers melting at an unprecedented rate – are you likely to believe the article or seek to find fault with its logic and argumentation because your personal experience suggests it is wrong?

Practical task

Find an article in a newspaper and read it initially to see if you understand what it is about in general. Then see if you can identify the data upon which the writer has drawn to create his/her interpretation. Explore your own interpretation and what it is that the writer is trying to persuade you to believe. Do you agree with his/her interpretation? If not, why not?

When you have done this exercise, reflect on what it has taught you, or what it has enabled you to develop further through practice.

Analysis

In order to be able to think critically about a particular subject, it is necessary to carry out a detailed examination of the elements that comprise it, in order to facilitate understanding or discussion of the subject. This examination allows you to try to find meaning in the information or data, and this is the process of analysis.

How many times have you heard people say: Just give me the facts. However, facts are only someone else’s interpretation of the information/data, and they will be coloured by the individual’s own agenda. A good example of this is in advertising where, in order to persuade you to buy its product, a company will quote the proportion of people interviewed who thought the product actually did make them younger, or slimmer or fitter. We’ll talk more about persuasion and opinion in a later chapter.

Reflective task

What is wrong with the following statement?

76 per cent of people asked thought taking X for 6 weeks made them more intelligent.

You need to analyse exactly what this statement is telling you. What other information would you want before you might consider investing in, or using, the product?

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The process of analysis should enable you to identify both the actual relationship between statements and the intended relationship – these may not always be the same thing. For example:

• Statement 1. An independent survey was undertaken to canvass the opinion of people about the closure of the car park.
• Statement 2. The decision to close the car park was approved by a majority.
• Conclusion. The closure of the car park was the result of an unbiased majority opinion.

These statements are intended to imply that the closure of the car park was democratically agreed in an unbiased way, i.e. the closure of the car park was the result of an unbiased majority opinion. However, what does it really tell you? The survey was independent – but independent of whom or what? What does it mean by ‘independent’? This can be open to a range of interpretations in this context. Who were the people who were canvassed? Also, the decision to close the car park was approved by a majority. Who were these people – the same ones that were canvassed or those attending a meeting about the closure of the car park? How were they chosen to take part? How many of them were there? Thus the actual relationship between these statements is not as clear as might be assumed. The survey may have been truly independent (unbiased) but it does not say that the survey demonstrated that the majority of people canvassed approved the decision. Although this is a rather superficial example, it does demonstrate the need for you to question everything constantly. Do not assume that because something comes from an authoritative source it is beyond criticism.

Evaluation

When you have understood what you have read and analysed exactly what it is telling you, then you need to evaluate whether or not the evidence or argumentation used to persuade you to a particular point of view is valid or not.

Evaluation is the process during which you make a decision about the contribution an existing source of knowledge can make to your argument or discussion. For example, when researching a particular issue or subject, you may discover information that is contradictory to your own understanding or to that provided by other sources. Do you abandon your argument in favour of the contradictory one or do you ‘stick to your guns’? If the latter, how are you going to persuade others to your point of view?

Imagine that you are required to write an essay on a topic that necessitates exploring the existing literature on the subject. Having undertaken a search on the web or in the library, you have identified a number of resources that appear to have relevance to the topic. Some of these contradi...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• The authors
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Critical thinking: why is it important and what is it anyway?
• 2 Developing a critical mindset: deconstructing argument
• 3 Information (digital) literacy
• 4 Analysing data and interpreting findings
• 5 Developing your critical thinking skills: reading critically
• 6 Developing critical thinking through writing
• 7 Analysing your own writing
• 8 Assessing criticality
• 9 A critical thinking community
• 10 Critical thinking in the professional context
• Index