ABOUT CRITICAL THINKING
Critical thinking can be defined as the ability to think logically and rationally and establishing a reasonable relationship between opinions. A person who possesses essential skills of thinking can:-
- Establish a connection between the concepts and ideas.
- Ask the right questions pertaining to the subject and differentiate between the necessary and unimportant details.
- Understand the ideas and figure out their relevance and the message being conveyed.
- Identify the purpose behind an idea and comprehend its meaning.
- Can recognize the inconsistencies in the message and find out the errors in it.
- Devise a way of approaching a problem methodologically, step by step.
- Analyze their perception of the concepts and information.
Critical thinking helps a person to interpret a problem in the best possible way and arrive at a suitable conclusion. Critical thinking can get affected under various circumstances such as anger, joy, or sadness. Our mood and surrounding atmosphere can significantly influence our thinking capabilities. Critical thinking skills can be developed through practice and observation.
IMPORTANCE OF CRITICAL THINKING IN A CLASSROOM
In schools, the foundation of any concept can be entrenched in the students. By adopting the critical thinking approach towards learning, the students can improvise their analytical and logical reasoning skills. Critical thinking does not only develops a person’s ability to critique things, but it also aids an individual to arrive at a proper conclusion. Young minds of the students have an enormous potential to learn skills that can stay with them throughout their lifetime. Hence, by introducing them to the critical thinking process in school, they can benefit in all the sectors of the real world. Here is a list of few benefits that a student can get through the critical thinking process in schools:-
- Helps the students to make correct decisions.
- Also enhances the problem-solving abilities of the students.
- Students become more creative.
- Critical thinking abilities also help a student in time management as they can plan.
- Critical thinking also helps the students to become better judge of the things being presented to them. They learn to differentiate between what is right and what is wrong.
- Students who have critical thinking abilities can adapt well in the later stages of their life. Universities and corporations demand such skills in their students or workers.
- Even in everyday life problems, the students become better at handling situations.
These critical thinking skills of the students can also be extended to the community. The critical thinking skills can enable the students to:-
- Evaluate their opinions and approach towards various services and issues related to education, economics, society, and healthcare.
- Become aware and a responsible citizen.
- Engage in social activities and help the people in need.
- Understand the role and importance of different sections of the community.
- Students also learn about the political and economic contributions to the country and make an opinion about these things.
HOW TEACHERS CAN IMPLEMENT CRITICAL THINKING IN CLASSROOMS
Teachers are the primary managers of the classrooms and students. It is the responsibility of a teacher to implement various things in a school. Educators and teachers can do the following to ensure a critical thinking learning approach in the class:-
- Foremost, a teacher should understand the basic idea and concepts behind the critical thinking approach. Only then it can be implemented in a classroom.
- Being open to the students’ ideas and paying attention to their concerns.
- Help the students to participate in the discussions and debates.
- Provide students with the necessary information and indulge them in activities that require them to think critically.
- Let the students figure out some things on their own first rather than dictating the solutions to them.
- Indulge them in regular feedback.
- Adopt the practical approach in learning as students learn better when they experience things.
- Present problems to the students and ask them about their action plan to tackle the situation. This will develop their problem-solving as well as decision-making abilities.
- Arrange activities outside the classroom. In an open environment, students learn new things.
- Encourage the students to be open to new ideas and concepts. Also, help in building their cognitive thinking abilities and teach them to respect the feelings and opinions of others.
- Teach the students about different cultures and traditions. This will broaden their perspective of the world.
The teaching and learning approach has advanced through the years and has become more efficient. Constant efforts are being made every day to instill better skills in the students to help their spiritual, psychological, physical, and intellectual development. The critical thinking approach is also an essential part of this change and hence should be included in the learning process all around the globe.
