The second question I raised on my Q&A was concerning the formation of curriculum. Critical Thinking is a crucial activity for the process of education, and as such, it is important for the process of schooling to understand and account for this. But how would such accounting manifest?
It strikes me that to direct curriculum to the fostering of critical thinking is unnecessary. Critical thinking is the inevitable byproduct of quality teaching. No matter the subject material, it should be taught in such a way that requires, and will therefore improve, critical thinking. Though I do not have the means to defend it here, I would also posit that teaching in this manner would result in a higher retention rate, as contrasted to rote memorization of facts.
Question: Should critical thinking be an independent subject taught or will it necessarily be taught by quality instruction in all fields?
If, as Siegel maintains, to think critically is to be moved appropriately by reasons, then the most general of critical thinking skills will fall to logic -- the study of rational argumentation.
ReplyDelete