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Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines

Volume 23, Issue 3, Spring 2004
The Social Dimension of Critical Thinking

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articles

1. Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines: Volume > 23 > Issue: 3
M. Neil Browne, Stuart M. Keeley

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2. Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines: Volume > 23 > Issue: 3
Bruce Davidson

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Convinced that critical thinking has value for people in Japan, the author describes his experiences introducing critical thinking to the educational scene there. Finding students to be too uncritical aboutsources of information, he began teaching and promoting it among students and colleagues. Initially, some discouraging responses came from the latter group because of Japanese social norms in largemeetings and organizations. The author has since learned to make use of less explicit approaches to presenting critical thinking to fellow teachers and students. Among students, these include treating itas a collaborative activity and as an intellectual game. It was also necessary to deal explicitly with conceptual barriers, such as student views of friendship and popularity. Generally speaking, encouraging progress has been evident in classes and in the academic community.
3. Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines: Volume > 23 > Issue: 3
Robert Garnett, Kristin Klopfenstein

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Students enter the classroom with a variety of perspectives and beliefs, adhering strongly to such beliefs that are most likely acquired from the teachings of certain authorities. Educators seeking to promote critical thinking often encounter resistance from those students who are primarily interested only in dismantling the arguments of others, as opposed to students’ being skeptical of their own beliefs as well. This paper suggests that educators can promote strong-sense critical thinking through the use of joint inquiry, striving to create an environment of greater communal learning, where students are taught how to ask the right questions and not just how to look for the right answers.
4. Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines: Volume > 23 > Issue: 3
Mary Vasudeva, Stuart Keeley

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Transferring critical thinking skills and dispositions from the classroom to our relationships is fraught with peril. The constructive infusion of criticality into interpersonal relationships, however, can greatlyenrich such relationships. An important question is how best to accomplish this enrichment process. In response to that question, we suggest the following strategies to facilitate the process of criticality in a relationship: (1) recognize potential argument frames and explore and negotiate these within the context of our relationships; (2) recognize one’s own and the other’s complex context, especially deep-seatedvalues, attitudes, and commitments; (3) frame caring as including both support and criticality and avoid treating others as “spun glass,” too fragile to partake of critical thinking exchanges; (4) apply active listening skills during critical thinking discussions. These strategies can help transform potentially adversarial interactions into positive growth experiences for all concerned.
5. Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines: Volume > 23 > Issue: 3
M. Neil Browne, Michelle Crosby

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After having achieved some level of competency in their critical thinking classes, students are often frustrated by the effects of their use of critical thinking with their friends and family. This threat to their long-standing relationships and social comfort should be addressed in our pedagogy if we are to enable critical thinking to realize its potential for effective communication. Explicit attention to the emotional component of critical thinking exchanges is a possible step towards alleviating the negative tensions that would otherwise result from the socially clumsy deployment of critical thinking. This paper offers suggestive evidence of relational frustration experienced by freshman critical thinking students and provides practical suggestions whereby criticaI thinking can nurture, rather than jeopardize social networks.
6. Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines: Volume > 23 > Issue: 3
Andrea Giampetro-Meyer

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As more professors implement critical thinking training in their classrooms, these professors not only must teach the process of critical thinking, but they must also instruct students about how to effectivelyuse their newly acquired skills. Because critical thinking tends to promote reconsideration of strong personal beliefs, students may be resistant to change, resulting in various kinds of emotions. In addition, students who have been trained to in critical thinking may experience resistance from friends and family, leading to greater interpersonal conflict. Therefore, professors should strive for greater sensitivity and understanding, responding to students’ personal needs by teaching them how to effectively and appropriately use their critical thinking skills in various environments.
7. Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines: Volume > 23 > Issue: 3
Steve Cady

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Learners who are first introduced to the process of critical thinking frequently experience a paradigm shift in their own thinking. However, such a major transition in one’s pattern of thinking may presentdifficulties when applying newly acquired critical thinking skills in social contexts. Learners may lack the confidence required for engaging in intellectual discourse, placing inhibitions on their using critical thinking. This article suggests several ways in which critical thinkers may more effectively and confidently use their skills in daily conversation.
8. Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines: Volume > 23 > Issue: 3
William Hare

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This is a brief guide to the ideal of open-minded inquiry by way of a survey of related notions. Making special reference to the educational context, the aim is to offer teachers an insight into what it wouldmean for their work to be influenced by this ideal, and to lead students to a deeper appredation of open-minded inquiry. From assumptions to zealotry, the glossary provides an account of a wide rangeof concepts in this family of ideas, reflecting a concern and a connection throughout with the central concept of open-mindedness itself. An intricate network of relationships is uncovered that reveals therichness of this ideal; and many confusions and misunderstandings that runder a proper appreciation of open-mindedness are identified.