Critical thinking remains educational goal
Randy Hollister
2008-03-12 09:52:00
Critical thinking numbers among the most important cognitive objectives of every sound educational program. While there are many programs designed specifically to promote critical thinking, this goal can-- and should--be achieved through any subject, so long as it is approached in a manner that challenges students to think.
Key to the process are the talents and knowledge of the classroom teacher. Promoting critical thinking among students, however, requires more than a desire to do so.
Teaching students to think critically involves more than simply stating it as a goal. Assuming a teacher has the requisite skills for, and commitment to, teaching students to think critically, a teacher must also have a teaching environment conducive to supporting that goal.
A chief obstacle to the goal of critical thinking and the overall quality of instruction is the number of students per classroom. There is no doubt that as the numbers of students in elementary school classes exceed 18, the quality is affected. Teachers whose numbers of students exceed 20 acknowledge the significant impact of each additional student beyond that number. When numbers rise beyond 20, teachers often admit struggling to maintain order, let alone pursuing critical thinking with students.
Additional professional and instructional support in the classroom contributes significantly to the teacher’s ability to challenge students to think critically. The additional professional support makes it possible for each child to receive more individual attention and intellectual challenge.
Not having that support significantly limits the teacher’s ability to challenge each child in a meaningful way.
The range of the students’ abilities and readiness to learn in any classroom impacts the teacher’s ability to promote critical thinking. Simply stated, a narrower range of readiness to learn lends itself to greater focus, concentration and motivation, and contributes enormously to the goal of developing critical thinking. This is a pedagogical fact.
Given the myriad complex challenges facing our nation and world today, our educational system, more than ever before, must be committed to developing our students as conscientious, caring critical thinkers. We must dedicate our valuable educational resources to a renewed commitment to critical thinking and a truly robust, rigorous and enriched educational experience for children.
Without acknowledging and addressing the circumstances in the classroom that make the pursuit of such objectives possible, however, a teacher’s attempt to promote critical thinking among his or her students will remain an elusive goal.
The writer is headmaster of Loudoun Country Day School in Leesburg, VA.