8th annual international conference on critical thinking and education reform

Critically Thinking About Critical Thinking

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A few years ago, in an EdTechTeacher workshop, a teacher made a comment that stuck with me: “I want my students to be able to sit with a problem .”

This middle school science teacher found herself frustrated with her students’ frantic rush to just get the answer - assuming that only one existed. Instead, she wanted her students to develop the skills that would allow them to deeply examine a problem, to form new questions, and then to seek out novel solutions. In other words, she wanted her students to engage in critical thinking .

The challenge with teaching critical thinking is that it is really hard to define. Some view it as a component of inquiry. Others associate it primarily with the scientific method. The Oxford Dictionary defines critical thinking as “thinking critically,” but does not describe exactly what that may entail.

Professor Michael Fullan , advisor to the Ministry of Education in Ontario and Deeper Learning advocate, also associates critical thinking with problem solving and asserts that students should learn to use a variety of digital technologies to design, manage, and solve problems as well as make effective decisions (Fullan, 2013). However, I have recently found myself pondering the original question from that middle school teacher. I wanted to gain a better understanding of what skills ultimately led to that ability to engage in problem solving and decision making. Ironically, I found myself critically thinking about critical thinking and decided to do some research.

William Graham Sumner, a professor of sociology from Yale University, was one of the first scholars to examine the construct of critical thinking. In 1906, he sparked controversy within the field of sociology as he examined the idea of critical thinking through the framework of Darwin’s theory of evolution. Sumner advocated that critical thinking requires cultivation within an environment that would nurture its development. As students evolve in their thinking, they develop the habits of constantly weighing evidence, resisting bias, and viewing the world as something “open to unlimited verification and revision” (Sumner, 1906, p. 632).

At the 8th Annual International Conference on Critical Thinking and Education Reform, scholars Michael Scriven and Richard Paul (1987) expanded on this work and defined critical thinking as the “process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.” Based on this statement, critical thinking transcends content and context to play a role in reasoning, decision making, and problem solving. As such, critical thinking requires more than just the acquisition of information or the demonstration of problem solving or decision making skills. When students engage in critical thinking, they mitigate bias and preconceptions by thinking rationally, reasonably, and empathetically. By doing so, they acknowledge complexity and endeavor to examine it through logical analysis and deep inquiry (Scriven & Paul, 1987).

In 2016, the World Economic Forum published The Future of Jobs report . It projected that by 2020, the top skills valued by employers would be complex problem solving and critical thinking. More recently, the Worldwide Educating for the Future Index published by the Economist Intelligence Unit argued that the education systems of the future need to help students “master a suite of adaptable interpersonal, problem-solving and critical thinking skills” (Walton, 2017, p. 4). Beyond preparing students for the workforce, the Worldwide Educating for the Futures Index intimates that students need critical thinking skills to be informed members of an increasingly complex, diverse, and global society.

As Sumner stated in 1940,

"[Students] educated in [critical thinking] cannot be stampeded by stump orators and are never deceived by dithyrambic oratory. They are slow to believe. They can hold things as possible or probable in all degrees, without certainty and without pain. They can wait for evidence and weigh evidence, uninfluenced by the emphasis or confidence with which assertions are made on one side or the other. They can resist appeals to their dearest prejudices and all kinds of cajolery. Education in the critical faculty is the only education of which it can be truly said that it makes good citizens (pp. 633-634).”

Through this historical exploration of the concept of critical thinking, I confirmed one tenet that I already knew: critical thinking has been an objective of education since long before the start of the 21st century. However, it also continues to be an increasingly important skill not only to prepare students for the future of work but also for the future of society.

Fullan, M. (2013). Great to excellent: Launching the next stage of Ontario’s education agenda . Retrieved from //www.michaelfullan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/13_Fullan_Great-to-Excellent.pdf

Scriven, M., & Paul, R. (1987). A statement presented at the 8th Annual International Conference on Critical Thinking and Education Reform, Summer 1987 . Retrieved June 11, 2018 from //www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766 .

Sumner, W. G. (1906). Folkways - A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores and Morals . [html version]. Retrieved from http://www.gutenberg.org/files/24253/24253-h/24253-h.htm

Walton, N. (2017). Worldwide educating for the future index . (M. Gold, Ed.) Retrieved from The Economist Intelligence Unit: http://dkf1ato8y5dsg.cloudfront.net/uploads/5/80/eiu-yidan-prize-educating-for-the-future-wp-final.pdf

The opinions expressed in EdTech Researcher are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.

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Critical Thinking can be thought of in terms of

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Critical Thinking & Information Literacy

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Critical Thinking Defined

Critical thinking as defined by the national council for excellence in critical thinking, 1987.

A statement by Michael Scriven & Richard Paul, presented at the 8th Annual International Conference on Critical Thinking and Education Reform, Summer 1987.

Critical thinking is 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 communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness.

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Critical Thinking as Defined by the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking, 1987

A statement by Michael Scriven & Richard Paul, presented at the 8th Annual International Conference on Critical Thinking and Education Reform, Summer 1987.

Critical thinking is 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 communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness.

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You’ve done some great work so far, thumbs up!  Now we are going to look at information access and evaluation, another important skill for your research skills toolbox.

Information has many facets, and it’s important to understand how these components contribute to writing your research paper. sometimes, you are looking for snippets of information that capture your thoughts or ideas. but when you  access and evaluate resources  you need to  think deeply  and  critically  about the  resource  you want to use to  support your argument  in your writing assignment., information  resources come in a  variety of formats, such as books, e-books, scholarly and peer reviewed articles, articles from trade magazines, newspapers, and, depending on your topic, streaming videos; audio files or blog posts .  but one thing they have in common is that they have  identifiable attributes  for you to consider. these attributes help you to determine if the resource is relevant to your topic., so what are these facets.

• The date the source  was published or created.
• If the article is not been published recently, you must ask yourself why you want to use it as a source. Is the material dated? Or does it offer some insight that warrants being cited (i.e., is it a classic in the field? a neglected contribution to the literature?)
• Is this part of a larger source?
• For example, is it a chapter in a book or e-book? Article in a journal or newspaper?
• What about that source tells you this?
• Article in a newspaper or trade magazine
• Book Review
• Scholarly and peer reviewed article

There are a number of questions you should ask of these different formats. If your source is from a periodical, is that source considered credible, for example, a major newspaper such as the  New York Times  or  Washington Post ? If your source is from a trade magazine, does it offer a skewed perspective, based on its position in industry or ideology? Does it show bias? If from a website, where does the site get its facts? Does it cite scholarly articles, clearly indicate its sources? Have other credible sources questioned its objectivity?

• What do you know about the author ? ( Where they   work ,  what they do ,  other sources  they’ve created, their relationship to the subject or topic?
• What else  might you find out about the author/s?

Once you identify these aspects, you need to ask some critical questions to evaluate your sources.

• What is your source about?   What is the author’s argument?  If you can’t tell from the information that’s been provided,  context or clues  within the source will help you make a reasonable guess.
• What would you say about the language  used in the source? Is it difficult to understand or fairly simple?
• Who do you think is the  audience  for your source? Why?
• What about the  visuals  in your source? For example, are the images used to  support the message ,  provide evidence , or  give you information about the author ? Are there  images  that  distract ?
• Remember that the PGCC Library Databases have been vetted by Teaching and Library faculty to ensure that the content meets the curriculum plan of the college. If you are using articles from a PGCC Library Database, you will never have to pay to access the article.

Now we are going to look at an article obtained from a library database about BLACKLIVESMATTER  and see if we can consider access and evaluation of the article based on the criteria above. This article is from PsycArticles, a PROQUEST database.

The article title is : “Participation in Black Lives Matter and deferred action for childhood arrivals: Modern activism among Black and Latino college students”

What do we know about the author/authors?

If you click on the Hyperlink for the Author’s name, you’ll find other articles that have been published by the author.

The article is published in the  Journal of Diversity in Higher Education.  If you click on the name of the Journal you will find out information about the journal. 

The 9.3 (Sep 2016): 203-215; indicates that it is Volume 9; Issue 3 dated September 2016: pages 203-215.

How can we tell that this is a scholarly and peer reviewed article? What components of this article indicate that this is a research paper?

If you look at these components, you will find that they meet the test of a scholarly and peer reviewed research article. The article uses technical terminology, and it follows a standard research format—it has an abstract, a review of the literature, methodology, results, conclusion, and references.

So, after looking at this article, you have concluded that this is a peer-reviewed research article. Next you’ll need to evaluate the source. You’ll want to consider  what this source is about . From reading the abstract above, can you  consider through what lens or perspective might this author be writing?

First, look at the language in the article. Is it  clear, concise  and  easily readable ? Based on the language, who do you think  the AUDIENCE  is for this source? Students? Researchers? Is it for the  average reader  or for someone who might want to write a research paper?

Now let’s look at the article’s presentation of data. You will find four tables that report on the study:  Study Variables by Race; BLM and DACA involvement by Race, Ethnicity and Gender; Average level of political activism; Predicting BLM and DACA Involvement . Do these tables help you understand the impact of study better? Why or Why not? 

Now let’s return to the language of the article and see if we can tell if this article  pro-BLACKLIVESMATTERS or not? How can you tell?  Are there  clues in how the abstract  is written that help you to  infer the author’s position ? For example, does this statement from the article give you a perspective as to the direction of the article, “ Two 21st century sociopolitical movements that have emerged to counteract racial/ethnic marginalization in the United States are BLM and advocacy for DACA legislation. BLM activists seek legislative changes to decrease the negative (and often life threatening) effects of discriminatory practices in our justice and political systems ”.

Your analysis of the author’s attitude involves you interpreting the article’s tone—in the preceding sentence, the author does not use language to undermine BLM—it doesn’t say “claims to” or “reportedly” or “seemingly” in describing the impact of the movement. It does not use charged political rhetoric to suggest BLM’s worsens marginalization or to undercut its assertions about the level of discrimination.

Then you have judge the usefulness of the source:

If you are writing about the  influence of the BLACKLIVESMATTER  movement and  activism , is this article  good for your paper ? Why or Why not?

Let’s look at the abstract, where the article claims that “ Political activism is one way racially/ethnically marginalized youth can combat institutional discrimination and seek legislative change toward equality and justice. In the current study, we examine participation in #BlackLivesMatter (BLM) and advocacy for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) as political activism popular among youth.”

First, determine whether the article may provide evidence to support your argument. This involves paying close attention to the article’s thesis and to its supporting evidence. What  do you think the  article  is  saying overall ? What is the  takeaway ? How does it relate to your own argument? This involves considerable reflection on your part.

For example, does this statement argue your topic?  “Finally, scholars suggest that experiencing racial/ethnic discrimination likely contributes to greater participation in political activism as a mechanism to mitigate future instances of discrimination (Hope & Jagers, 2014; Hope & Spencer, in press)”. That really depends on what  your  thesis is. You may find that this conclusion is too broad, and you may then refine your own position. In an engagement with scholarly articles, you may be forced to think more clearly about your own position.

Secondly , you must determine how much research has been done on this topic.  Where does this article fit in the overall field of scholarship? You can’t simply assume that one article has vanquished all others from the field of intellectual battle. In this analysis, you must examine the article’s limitations:  What wasn’t included or  what was missing  from the article? Have you seen other articles that challenge the author’s perspective? Do you want—for example—to see evidence of political activism actually leading to change? Or is the article’s claim too weak? After all, the sentence above simply says it’s one way to seek change, not the most effective.

Remember, research is a process. You want to find the best scholarly articles not only to support your own claims, but to challenge your assumptions and help refine your conclusions. As we’ve seen, that involves determining whether an article appears in a respectable scholarly journal—as citing weak and unprofessional sources destroys your credibility and offers no real challenge. Instead, you should exercise your analytical and argumentative skills on the best scholarship available. 

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What is Critical Thinking?

I have found that critical thinking has been described as follows:

“Critical thinking is 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 communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness…”

~ A statement by Michael Scriven & Richard Paul, presented at the 8th Annual International Conference on Critical Thinking and Education Reform, 1987. 

“Critical thinking is self-guided, self-disciplined thinking which attempts to reason at the highest level of quality in a fair-minded way.

~ Linda Elder, September, 2007

Both of the above statements put forth that critical thinking is a disciplined process as opposed to thinking that is more automatic in nature. 

This is not to say that critical thinking is something we roll out on special occasions.  We use critical thinking skills in everyday activities such as purchasing decisions large and small, deciding between job offers and where to live. We gather information, review what we have learned in terms of what we are looking for and then make a decision.

If we use critical thinking skills every day why are we not using these same skills in our public dialog, in being better informed and making better decisions?

Your constructive comments are welcome.

The Fair-minded Thinker

Comments are closed.

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Article citations more>>.

Scriven, M. and Paul, R. (1987) Defining Critical Thinking. 8th Annual International Conference on Critical Thinking and Education Reform. http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766

has been cited by the following article:

TITLE: Using Education to Enhance Gender Equality in the Workplaces in China

KEYWORDS: Gender Equality , Female , Workplace , Means of Education

JOURNAL NAME: Open Journal of Social Sciences , Vol.7 No.9 , September 27, 2019

ABSTRACT: As the economy develops and people’s aspirations grow in China, Chinese women are more aware of gender inequality in the workplaces. Though the working conditions have been greatly improved, Chinese women are still discriminated and underestimated in the labor market and many of them have to give up their rights and opportunities when they are facing the dilemma of work and personal life. To enhance gender equity in the workplaces, this article discusses the factors leading to the unequal situation and focuses on the means of education to improve young people’s awareness of gender equality and their ability to deal with gender inequality in the workplaces. During the research, we designed a workshop on gender equality education and delivered it to fellow college students. In this article, the teaching plan of the workshop will be explained in detail and the students’ feedback is recorded.

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Critical Thinking

Learning Objectives Self-Check

Read through the following statements/questions. You should be able to answer all of these after reading through the content on this page. I suggest writing or typing out your answers, but if nothing else, say them out loud to yourself.

Describe 3-4 things that you can do to think critically about information you encounter.

How many times have you been asked to "think critically" about an issue? Have you ever stopped to think what that really means? I think most of us innately understand what it entails, but it is difficult to put into words. I must admit that I am guilty of asking that of students without clearly outlining what I expect, but that ends today for this course! Please take a minute or two to fill out the poll below before continuing.

Fill out the poll below

• Click to respond to the following: "Define critical thinking."
• After you enter your answer, click here to see the real-time results . You can go back to this page at a later time to see results as well. All answers are anonymous to the other students.
• See results from past course sections.

Suggested Reading

What better source to look to for critical thinking advice than the Foundation for Critical Thinking? This is hands-down the best summary of critical thinking that I have seen. You are welcome to read the following, but I summarize the key points below.

• " Defining Critical Thinking ." The Foundation for Critical Thinking.

There is a lot to unpack here. Let's take a look at it again, with key elements indicated in bold. It is all important, really, but a few things stand out. I have numbered the paragraphs to assist in the analysis below.

Critical Thinking as Defined by the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking, 1987 A statement by Michael Scriven & Richard Paul, presented at the 8th Annual International Conference on Critical Thinking and Education Reform, Summer 1987. (1) Critical thinking is 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 communication , as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness . (2) It entails the examination of those structures or elements of thought implicit in all reasoning : purpose, problem, or question-at-issue; assumptions; concepts; empirical grounding; reasoning leading to conclusions; implications and consequences; objections from alternative viewpoints; and frame of reference . Critical thinking — in being responsive to variable subject matter, issues, and purposes — is incorporated in a family of interwoven modes of thinking, among them: scientific thinking, mathematical thinking, historical thinking, anthropological thinking, economic thinking, moral thinking, and philosophical thinking. (3) Critical thinking can be seen as having two components: 1) a set of information and belief generating and processing skills, and 2) the habit, based on intellectual commitment, of using those skills to guide behavior. It is thus to be contrasted with: 1) the mere acquisition and retention of information alone, because it involves a particular way in which information is sought and treated; 2) the mere possession of a set of skills, because it involves the continual use of them; and 3) the mere use of those skills ("as an exercise") without acceptance of their result s. (4) Critical thinking varies according to the motivation underlying it. When grounded in selfish motives, it is often manifested in the skillful manipulation of ideas in service of one’s own, or one's groups’, vested interest. As such it is typically intellectually flawed, however pragmatically successful it might be . When grounded in fair-mindedness and intellectual integrity, it is typically of a higher order intellectually, though subject to the charge of "idealism" by those habituated to its selfish use . (5) Critical thinking of any kind is never universal in any individual ; everyone is subject to episodes of undisciplined or irrational thought. Its quality is therefore typically a matter of degree and dependent on, among other things, the quality and depth of experience in a given domain of thinking or with respect to a particular class of questions. No one is a critical thinker through-and-through, but only to such-and-such a degree, with such-and-such insights and blind spots, subject to such-and-such tendencies towards self-delusion. For this reason, the development of critical thinking skills and dispositions is a life-long endeavor. Source: The Foundation for Critical Thinking

Let's look at these paragraphs one at a time:

• Critical thinking requires skilled evaluation of information using all manner of analytical and observational tools at your disposal. Regardless of what you are analyzing, you should use the same or similar set of skills . Critical thinking transcends the subject material.
• Critical thinking requires self-evaluation of what you know and do not know, your assumptions, the scientific basis of the problem at hand, and an analysis of the results . One aspect of this is looking at issues from viewpoints different than your own, to the extent possible.
• Critical thinking requires more than just "knowing things" and having information processing skills. You must apply this knowledge and these skills, and accept the results, whether they are the results you had hoped/expected or not .
• If you are seeking selfish (subjective) motives, you may be able to think critically, but the results will usually be flawed. You must approach the issue with "intellectual integrity," which really refers to the above three points ( thorough analysis and acceptance of the results ).
• No one knows everything, and everyone is subject to bias by virtue of being limited in knowledge and experience . You can be an extremely skilled critical thinker but are limited by your knowledge and experience in the topic at hand. The best critical analysis may arrive at an incorrect conclusion due to this. The flip side of this is that the more you know about, experience, and objectively analyze a piece or type of information, the more likely you are to arrive at a sound conclusion. As stated in the article: " The development of critical thinking skills and dispositions is a life-long endeavor ."

They also provide a good approach to critical thinking:

A well cultivated critical thinker: raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely; gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret it effectively; comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against relevant criteria and standards; thinks open mindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognizing and assessing, as need be, their assumptions, implications, and practical consequences; and communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems. Source: The Foundation for Critical Thinking

The following is a brief explanation of each aspect:

• raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely; ( Did you deeply contemplate the information and ask relevant questions that help you verify it? This aspect really puts the "critical" in "critical thinking" - you should think like a scientist and question everything, even if the information reinforces your existing beliefs. )
• gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret it effectively; ( Pretty self-explanatory. Search for information from reliable outside sources that helps you evaluate the information. Consider hypotheticals that test the validity of the information. )
• comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against relevant criteria and standards; ( Use logic to arrive at conclusions, based on the information that you have gathered and considerations you contemplated. As you did above, test these conclusions with reliable sources and standards. )
• thinks open mindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognizing and assessing, as need be, their assumptions, implications, and practical consequences; ( Think about the information and your conclusion from the perspective of someone who thinks the information is wrong and/or approaches it from a different perspective. The more alternative perspectives, the better. )
• communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems. ( Self-explanatory. If possible, do not just arrive at the conclusion on your own! Talk through it with others. )

This is all very good advice when reading through the material in this course. I am asking you to apply these principles as much as possible. Keep an open mind, and try to analyze information using evidence, logic, reason, and with an eye on alternative viewpoints. Try to recognize the limitations of your knowledge, and attempt to be self-critical with regards to biases and limited worldviews that you have. Embrace discussion with others, and try to approach discussions with the intent of learning from each other to come to a reasonable conclusion, not to convince the other person that you are correct . This is particularly important because some of the material that follows is considered controversial in some circles, largely because it does not fit with certain worldviews and social/political modes of thinking. Please do your best to look at things as objectively as possible.

To be clear, I do not claim to know all of the answers and recognize that I have limitations in knowledge. The ideas presented in this course are based on reliable evidence, but many of the issues are not clear-cut and are thus open to substantive discussion. As noted in the Orientation, respectful dialogue is encouraged, and often the best way to learn is to discuss things with someone that does not agree with you. I hope that we can have good, substantive discussions throughout this course.

One last thing and this probably goes without saying but I'll say it anyway: critical thinking should be "systematically cultivated," as stated in the reading, and applied constantly. It is useful for every human endeavor, and certainly, can and should be applied beyond this course.

Optional (But Strongly Suggested)

Now that you have completed the content, I suggest going through the Learning Objectives Self-Check list at the top of the page.

• Arts & Humanities
• Communications

Defining Critical Thinking

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Critical Thinking

Defining critical thinking.

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Join us for the...

World's longest-running annual conference on critical thinking.

The 35th International Conference on

Critical Thinking and Educational Reform

July 25-30, 2015

Preconference July 25-26  

DoubleTree Hotel

Berkeley, CA

Conference Theme:

Cultivating World Justice and Freedom of Thought 

Through Educational and Social Reform

• Roundtable Discussions after lunch
• Employing Socratic Questioning as a Means to Cultivating the Intellect and Freeing the Mind…   Dr. Gerald Nosich 
• The Inherent Fallibility of Human Memory and Some Core Implications for Teaching and Learning… Dr. Elizabeth Loftus and Dr. Linda Elder
• Helping Students Deal with Bad Habits of Mind that Impede Their Learning and Their Development as Thinkers… Dr. Brian Barnes 
• For Administrators: Fostering a Substantive Conception of Critical Thinking Throughout Teaching and Learning… Dr. Paul Bankes
• Concurrent sessions - To be announced a few weeks prior to the conference.  Concurrent sessions are one hour in length. Most sessions are conducted by faculty and administrators who have been working with critical thinking concepts and principles for several years, bringing critical thinking into the individual classroom or across the curriculum. 

DAY FOUR Thursday morning (July 30)

• Teaching Students to Pursue Transformative Concepts within Academic Disciplines… . Dr. Gerald Nosich
• The Philosophy of Richard Paul and Some Core Implications for Teaching and Learning … Dr. Paul Bankes and Dr. Brian Barnes 
• Creating Lifelong Critical Thinkers: Integrating the Paulian Critical Thinking Approach Into a General Education Program ... Dr. Amanda Hiner, Winthrop University
• Understanding the Inherent Barriers to Freedom of Thought and the Emancipated Mind…. Dr. Linda Elder