Constraints and fallacies in teaching criitical thinking, and frames for teaching critical thinking

1. ELT 738 CRITICAL THINKING
CREATING THE ENVIRONMENT
CONDUCIVE TO CRITICAL THINKING
Teacher Behaviour and Frames for Teaching Critical Thinking
Stefan Rathert

2. “School is indeed a training
for later life not because it
teaches the 3 Rs* (more or
less) but because it instills the
essential cultural nightmare
fear of failure, envy of
success, and absurdity”
(Henry, 1963, p. 305).
*Reading, writing and arithmetic

3. WHAT KIND OF SCHOOL DO WE WANT?
WHAT KIND OF SCHOOL PREVAILS?
•transmitting predetermined •raising or pursuing questions
information about ideas
•teaching discrete skills in •integrating information into
structured settings existing knowledge
•impeding controversy •incorporating different
•rewarding “right” answers perspectives
•challenging doctrines
no teaching for critical thinking teaching for critical thinking

4. What factors • contextual
impede constraints
critical • teacher fallacies
thinking?
What factors • frames for
promote teaching critical
critical thinking
thinking?

5. FACTORS THAT IMPEDE CRITICAL THINKING (Cornbleth, 2001)
focus on
school rules
simplifying no tolerance
of contents for
to avoid questioning or
controversy Law and innovation
Order
Climate
control by
defensive
principals, senior
teaching
teachers, parents

6. FACTORS THAT IMPEDE CRITICAL THINKING (Cornbleth, 2001)
focus on
community, sc
hool or teacher
culture
change not
maintaining
likely (but
possible over
Conservative the status
time) climate quo
questioning
of cultural
norms not
desired

7. FACTORS THAT IMPEDE CRITICAL THINKING (Cornbleth, 2001)
censorship
caused by law
and order and
conservative
climates
impedes affects subject
incorporation Climate of contents, mat
of diverse
perspectives Censorship erials, method
s
wish to avoid
conflicts leads to
self-censorship

8. FACTORS THAT IMPEDE CRITICAL THINKING (Cornbleth, 2001)
assumption that
an educational
setting is highly
problematic
Climate
learner is
pathologized, i.e. of learners are
regarded as
personally
responsible for pathology incapable of critical
the problems and thinking
pessimism
focus on
“basics”
and drill

9. FACTORS THAT IMPEDE CRITICAL THINKING (Cornbleth, 2001)
dominance
of student
testing and
public
traditional school
instructional ranking
strategies to
prepare
students for
tests emphasis on
standardized test
Competitive
climate
avoidance of tests do not
innovative assess ability
instructional to think
strategies critically but
to memorize

10. Such climates…
… generate “the essential
cultural nightmare fear of
failure, envy of success, and
absurdity” (Henry, 1963, p.
305).

11. Fallacies obstructing the teaching of thinking
(adapted from Sternberg and Spear-Swerling, 1996)
The teacher is the Thinking is the
teacher and the students’ job and
student is the only the students’
student. job.
There is a correct
program for the
implementation of
critical thinking.

12. Fallacies obstructing the teaching of thinking
(adapted from Sternberg and Spear-Swerling, 1996)
What really Classroom
counts is the discussion is a
right answer. means to an end.
Mastery-learning
principles can be
applied to
learning to think.

13. Frames for critical thinking
(Duran, Limach and Waugh, 2006; Martinez, 2006; Pithers and Soden, 2000; Sternberg and Spear-Swerling, 1996; Udall and Daniels, 1991)
Teaching through
Determining learning Addressing different
questioning and
objectives kinds of thinking
scaffolding
• define • critical - analytic • stimulate/challenge
expected/required thinking learners’ ideas
learner behaviour • creative – synthetic • enable students to
• target behaviours in thinking develop thinking
high order thinking • practical - skills (instead of
contextual thinking direct instruction)

14. Frames for critical thinking
(Duran, Limach and Waugh, 2006; Martinez, 2006; Pithers and Soden, 2000; Sternberg and Spear-Swerling, 1996; Udall and Daniels, 1991)
Employing Providing feedback
Reflecting own
metacognitive and assessment of
teaching
approaches learning
• monitoring and • monitor • assessment
control of thought classroom through teacher
• helps raise interaction and • create
awareness activities opportunities for
• get student self-assessment
feedback

15. REFERENCES
Cornbleth, C. (2001). Climates of constraints/restraint of teachers and
teaching. In: Stanley, W.B. (Ed.). Critical issues in social studies research
for the 21st century, pp. 73-96. Greenwitch, CT: Information Age
Publishing.
Duran, R., Limbach, W. and Waugh, W. (2006). Critical thinking framework
for any discipline. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in
Higher Education 17/2, 160-166.
Foley, J. (1994). Scaffolding. ELTJournal 48/1, 101-102. doi:
10.1093/elt/48.1.101
Henry, J. (1963). Culture against man. New York: Random House.
Martinez, M. E. (2006). What is metacognition? Phi Delta Kappa 87/9, 696-
699.
Pithers, R.T. and Soden, R. (2000). Critical thinking in education: a review.
Educational Research, 42/3, 237-249.
Sternberg, R.J. and Spear-Swerling, L. (1996). Teaching for thinking.
Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association.
Udall, A.J. and Daniels, J.E. (1991). Creative active thinkers. 9 strategies for a
thoughtful classroom. Chicago: Zephyr Press.

16. Thank you very much
for your attention.