Critical Thinking: Definitions and Dispositions

1. Critical Thinking: Definitions and Dispositions Library Instruction Round Table Program ALA/CLA Conference Toronto, Ontario June 22, 2003 Craig Gibson

2. What is Critical Thinking? • Classic definitions: “reasonable reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do” (Ennis) “thinking that assesses itself” (Center for Critical Thinking) Craig Gibson

3. What is Critical Thinking? • Classic definitions: “the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing,and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communications, as a guide to belief and action” (Scriven & Paul) Craig Gibson

4. Critical Thinking Definitions:Common Elements • Self-discipline, self-assessment • Standards for thinking • Meta-level of thinking: more than just skills or abilities • Thinking as a basis for informed action Craig Gibson

5. Barriers to Critical Thinking • (Think-Pair-Share) Craig Gibson

6. Philosophers -normative standards -formal reasoning and logic -”intellectual virtues” Psychologists -empirically based -informal reasoning -thinking processes -expert-novice distinctions Critical Thinking: the Two Traditions Craig Gibson

7. Critical Thinking: Other Issues • Is critical thinking “generic” or discipline-specific? • How does critical thinking relate to learning “basic” skills? • How does critical thinking support the learning of concepts? • How does critical thinking relate to “constructivism?” Craig Gibson

8. Critical Thinking Principles(Richard Paul) • Knowledge is an “achievement”; • Students must be actively engaged in learning process • Multiple perspectives are important in solving problems • Students should learn standards for assessing the quality of their own thinking Craig Gibson

9. Critical Thinking: Another Perspective • Tell about a time when you knew you were thinking critically. What caused you to think that way? (Think-Pair-Share) Craig Gibson

10. Critical Thinking Dispositions • What is a disposition? --different from (or larger than) abilities or skills --tendencies to think, act, behave in a certain way under given conditions (David Perkins, Shari Tishman, Robert Ennis, Stephen Norris) Craig Gibson

11. Critical Thinking Dispositions: A Triad • Sensitivities: alertness to appropriate occasions for using critical thinking • Inclinations: the tendencies to actually behave in a certain way, to use critical thinking • Abilities: capabilities and skills required to carry through and think critically (Shari Tishman, Albert Andrade) Craig Gibson

12. Thinking Dispositions: A List • 1. The disposition to be broad and adventurous • 2. The disposition toward sustained intellectual curiosity • 3. The disposition to clarify and seek understanding • 4. The disposition to be planful and strategic Craig Gibson

13. Thinking Dispositions: A List (cont’d) • 5. The disposition to be intellectually careful • 6. The disposition to seek and evaluate reasons • 7. The disposition to be metacognitive • (Shari Tishman, Eileen Jay, David Perkins) Craig Gibson

14. Dispositions,Information Literacy, and Kulthau’s Process Approach “Broad and adventurous”: topic exploration “Sustained intellectual curiosity”:persistence “Seek understanding”: seeking meaning “Planful and strategic”: search strategies Craig Gibson

15. Creating a Culture of Thinking Assumptions: --Critical thinking develops in an “immersive environment” --Critical thinking needs social supports --Critical thinking depends upon models and standards --Critical thinking is not just skill development, but acculturation (Shari Tishman, David Perkins) Craig Gibson

16. Teaching Thinking Dispositions • Create a culture of thinking -provide exemplars of critical thinking dispositions -provide explanations of thinking dispositions -create opportunities for interactions that promote critical thinking dispositions -teach the disposition directly (Tishman, Andrade) Craig Gibson

17. Critical Thinking Dispositionsand the “One Shot” • (Exercise) Craig Gibson

18. Resources • Center for Critical Thinking (1996). Three Definitions of Critical Thinking. [Online]. Available at http://www.criticalthinking.org/University/univlibrary.library.nclk • Ennis, Robert (1992). Critical Thinking: What is it? Proceedings of the 48th Annual Meeting of the Philosophy of Education Society, Denver, Colorado, March 27-30. Craig Gibson

19. Resources • Paul, Richard (1990). What Every Person Needs to Survive in a Rapidly Changing World. Rohnert Park, CA: Center for Critical Thinking and Moral Critique. • Scriven, Michael, and Paul, Richard. (1996). Defining Critical Thinking: A Draft Statement for the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking. [Online]. Available at http://www.criticalthinking.org/University/univlibrary/library.nclk. Craig Gibson

20. Resources • Tishman, Shari; Jay, Eileen; and Perkins, David (1992). Teaching Thinking Dispositions: From Transmission to Enculturation. [Online]. Available at http://learnweb.harvard.edu/alps/thinking/docs/article2.html • Tishman, Shari, and Andrade, Albert (n.d.) Thinking Dispositions: a Review of Current Theories, Practices, and Issues. Available at http://learnweb.harvard.edu/alps/thinking/docs/Dispositions.htm Craig Gibson