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f e l l o w s barbara fahey's project

My learning project focuses on critical thinking skills. I hope to gain a clear and far-reaching understanding of precisely how critical thinking skills and instruction fit into the community college mission and curriculum. Specifically, I want to understand the methods that can be used to increase students' ability to think critically and to bring their critical thinking skills to bear on any task they may face. I hope to develop models that can be used by other instructors who want to teach for critical thinking. This project is based on my belief that the ability to think critically in any situation is crucial to student academic and professional success, necessary to the responsibilities of citizenship, and fundamental to living a good life. Every advancement in technology and science, every challenge to traditional perspectives and ways of life makes the ability to analyze and evaluate information and ideas more vital. As our lives become more complex and fast-paced, we are increasingly dependent on our reasoning abilities for our very survival.

Such a project entails investigating the extent to which critical thinking skills can be taught, and whether critical thinking ability and methods of teaching for it transcend discipline boundaries. My previous experience with and reading about critical thinking have made me aware of the profound divergence of opinion and evidence on such issues. It is clear that the debate concerning critical thinking skills will probably not be settled in my lifetime, so my purpose in learning about the different hypotheses is to be guided by them in making my materials as effective and as interdisciplinary as they can be. For the sake of my learning project, I am willing to assume that critical thinking can indeed be taught and that it can be usefully approached from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Once I have gained enough theoretical understanding to get started on the practical work, I will begin to modify my composition courses to meet critical thinking outcomes. I plan to bring my experience in outcomes assessment to bear on this part of my learning project, both in terms of designing materials and assignments and in terms of outcomes measurement. If I achieve favorable results, my next step will be to solicit the involvement of colleagues in English, initially, and in other disciplines later.

I really do not know what I will ultimately learn about critical thinking teaching and learning. It may be that, like language use, critical thinking must be acquired during a critical developmental period if it is to be fully realized. Or it may be that the human mind will continue to amaze us with its flexibility and potential. I'm excited about the prospect of learning about it.

see also
"Critical Thinking Project" in the Spring 2000 Labyrinth/Forum.

f e l l o w s barbara fahey's project