Thinking Critically about Critical Thinking

1. Thinking Critically aboutCritical Thinking Alicia Juarrero, PhD Professor of Philosophy Prince George�s Community College Largo, Maryland 20774 ajuarrero@pgcc.edu Association of American Colleges and Universities Conference on Pedagogies of Engagement April 15, 2005

2. Socrates� Socratic Method Bacon � method of agreement, difference, concomitant variation Descartes � Discourse on Method John Dewey � How we Think Socrates� Socratic Method Bacon � method of agreement, difference, concomitant variation Descartes � Discourse on Method John Dewey � How we Think

3. Formal and Informal Logic Formal logic = deduction Induction Informal logic Formal logic = deduction Venn Diagrams Truth Tables Deductive proofs Induction Establishing generalizations Establishing causal relationships Reasoning with Probability and Statistics Informal logic Informal fallacies Tell my hiring story Formal logic = deduction Venn Diagrams Truth Tables Deductive proofs Induction Establishing generalizations Establishing causal relationships Reasoning with Probability and Statistics Informal logic Informal fallacies Tell my hiring story

4. 1940�s Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Assessment (CTA) Drawing Inferences Recognizing Assumptions Argument Evaluation Deductive Reasoning Logical Interpretation Chauncey and Conant at Harvard (The Big Test � Nicholas Lemann) Drawing inferencesThe ability to evaluate the validity of inferences drawn from a series of factual statementsRecognising assumptionsThe ability to identify unstated assumptions or presuppositions in a series of assertive statementsArgument evalutationThe ability to determine whether certain conclusions necessarily follow from the information in given statements or premises Deductive reasoningThe ability to weigh evidence and deciding if generalisations or conclusions based on the given data are warrantedLogical interpretationThe ability to distinguish between arguments that are strong and relevant and those that are weak or irrelevant to a particular question at issue Chauncey and Conant at Harvard (The Big Test � Nicholas Lemann) Drawing inferencesThe ability to evaluate the validity of inferences drawn from a series of factual statementsRecognising assumptionsThe ability to identify unstated assumptions or presuppositions in a series of assertive statementsArgument evalutationThe ability to determine whether certain conclusions necessarily follow from the information in given statements or premises Deductive reasoningThe ability to weigh evidence and deciding if generalisations or conclusions based on the given data are warrantedLogical interpretationThe ability to distinguish between arguments that are strong and relevant and those that are weak or irrelevant to a particular question at issue

5. From Why Johnny Can�t Readto Critical Thinking 1976 (paperback edition) Rudolf Flesch�s Why Johnny Can�t Read 1983 Why Johnny Still Can�t Read PHONICS FUNCTIONAL LITERACY Reading across the Curriculum etc.PHONICS FUNCTIONAL LITERACY Reading across the Curriculum etc.

6. National Institute of Education Study �The Standardized Test Scores of College Graduates 1964-1982� (Released in January 1983) -- Cliff Adelman, Report Author Prompted by overall decline in college students� scores on the major tests used for admission to graduate and professional schools NIE Study consisted of: 550,000 students who took LSAT, GMAT, GRE (both verbal and quantitative) Adelman acknowledges difficulty of quantifying change in performance & drawing meaningful conclusions from the data Adelman controlled for Increased number of students taking tests = more candidates of lower ability Increasing proportion of minority students Large increase in female students Large increase in students whose native language is not English Adelman concludes that none of these factors correlates with decline in test performanceAdelman acknowledges difficulty of quantifying change in performance & drawing meaningful conclusions from the data Adelman controlled for Increased number of students taking tests = more candidates of lower ability Increasing proportion of minority students Large increase in female students Large increase in students whose native language is not English Adelman concludes that none of these factors correlates with decline in test performance

7. �Students who major in a field characterized by formal thought, structural relationships, abstract models, symbolic language, and deductive reasoning consistently outperform others on these examinations.� (LSAT, GMAT, GRE) Cliff Adelman, �The Standardized Test Scores of College Graduates, 1964-1982� (ED248-827) Complete report available through ERIC Document Reproduction Service Anecdotal evidence � Joel Kaplan at Morgan StanleyAnecdotal evidence � Joel Kaplan at Morgan Stanley

8. Professional/occupational disciplines do not �require the rigorous exercise of analysis and synthesis that is so often reflected on the tests.� Cliff Adelman, �The Standardized Test Scores of College Graduates, 1964-1982� (ED248-827) Complete report available through ERIC Document Reproduction Service

9. AND THEY�RE OFF!!!!

10. 1940�s Watson-Glaser CTA Test Drawing Inferences Recognizing Assumptions Argument Evaluation Deductive Reasoning Logical Interpretation

11. Post 2000 �Definitions� of Critical Thinking Is open-minded and mindful of alternatives Tries to be well informed Cares �to get it right� Cares to present a position honestly and clearly Cares about the dignity and worth of every person Has the ability to focus on a question from www.criticalthinking.com These are all listed before �analyzing arguments, deduce and judge deduction, or induce and judge inductionThese are all listed before �analyzing arguments, deduce and judge deduction, or induce and judge induction

12. More characteristics of �Critical Thinking� (so-called) Includes �lateral� � creative thinking �Critico-creative� thinking Imagining and evaluating alternative scenarios Looking at issues from different points of view Thinking �outside the box�! Refer to syllabus from uflThinking �outside the box�! Refer to syllabus from ufl

13. Efficacy of Undergraduate Critical Thinking Courses Tim van Gelder�s (Melbourne, Australia) 2000 work-in-progress Conclusions: Difficult to make a convincing case that these one-semester CTA courses (versus a traditional formal logic course)make an appreciable difference Serious need for more and better research on this issue Survey of courses on �Critical Thinking,� �Informal Logic,� �Introduction to Reasoning� Survey of courses on �Critical Thinking,� �Informal Logic,� �Introduction to Reasoning�

14. K-12 Science & Math Education Conventional wisdom on teaching Science: Best way to give K-12 a deep and enduring understanding of science is through �discovery learning� (as opposed to �direct instruction�) 7th grade Math �Visual math�: imagine squares and cubes of different sizes the better to grasp number systems not based on 10 Wall Street Journal, December 10, 2004 New mathNew math

15. Lack of controlled (�clinical�) studies David Klahr of Carnegie Mellon University on �discovery-based learning�: �Studies� showing that students in active, discovery-based learning classes �do better than� kids in a drill-and-memorize class do not include controls Teachers assigned to discovery-based classes are usually creative and very knowledgeable. If you had the same teacher do traditional instruction, might the students do just as well? NO STUDIES DONE! Needed: An educational FDA! WSJ Dec 17, 2004 Learning centered � hands on 1990�s � the Decade of the BrainLearning centered � hands on 1990�s � the Decade of the Brain

16. Neurological research & learning Initially research was mostly about learning disorders, or brain development in general US Congress declares 1990�s �The Decade of the Brain� 1996 � Conference co-sponsored by the Charles A. Dana Foundation and Education Commission of the States: http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/11/98/1198.htm �There is a chasm between what scientists accept as proven fact and what the public, teachers and administrators believe.� ADHD ? medications (hypomania?) Dyslexia Alzheimer�s & other dementias Start of school hours Can�t blame initial approach � always easier to study the pathological cases for insight into normal functioning ADHD ? medications (hypomania?) Dyslexia Alzheimer�s & other dementias Start of school hours Can�t blame initial approach � always easier to study the pathological cases for insight into normal functioning

17. 1997 National Research Council Report Mainly focused on math & science education US Spends $400 billion a year on K-12 education but �Education does not rest on a strong research base� �In no other field are personal experience and ideology so frequently relied on to make policy choices, and in no other field is the research base so inadequate and little used.� Quote from Sharon Begley�s column Wall Street Journal, December 10, 2004

18. Neurological Research on Memory Procedural Learning � at the basis of skills and habits -- Declarative Memory � hippocampus and entorhinal and perirhinal cortices implicated Hippocampus combines information coming from all sensory modalities Declarative Memory � Episodic (autobiographic) -- who you are, where you come from, what you had for breakfast this morning Semantic memory � abstract facts, relationships, the meaning of words, et c. Declarative Memory � Episodic (autobiographic) -- who you are, where you come from, what you had for breakfast this morning Semantic memory � abstract facts, relationships, the meaning of words, et c.

19. Short vs long-term memory Working memory � over tens of seconds � prefrontal cortex involved Central executive + visual buffer & phonological loop for language Long-term memory � converts chemical memory to structural memory

20. �When an axon of cell 1 is near enough to excite a cell 2 and repeatedly and persistently takes part in firing it, some growth process or metabolic change takes place in one or both cells such that 1's efficacy, as one of the cells firing 2, is increased.��Cells that fire together wire together�Donald Hebb (1949) Room for both rote memorization and Room for both rote memorization and

21. More on Neurology It�s not just the cortex � emotions play a crucial role (thalamus and hypothalamus) Antonio Damasio Descartes�s Error (1994) Role of emotional arousal and attention (information has to be perceived as something that matters) fMRIfMRI

22. Daniel Kahneman & Amos Tversky Reasoning involving risk � very different when it involves losses than when it involves gains ? Neuroeconomics Caudate Nucleus (where trust is located) Nucleus Accumbens (where error prediction is) assume they had just won $30 and were offered a coin-fip upon which they would win or lose $9. Seventy percent of the students opted for the coin-flip. When other students were offered $30 for certain versus a coin-flip in which they got either $21 or $39 a much smaller proportion, 43%, opted for the coin-flip. Kahneman won Economics Nobel in 2002assume they had just won $30 and were offered a coin-fip upon which they would win or lose $9. Seventy percent of the students opted for the coin-flip. When other students were offered $30 for certain versus a coin-flip in which they got either $21 or $39 a much smaller proportion, 43%, opted for the coin-flip. Kahneman won Economics Nobel in 2002

23. Walter Freeman�sHow Brains Make up their Minds (2001) Neurological encoding of the meaning of the stimulus incorporates both the history of learner and his/her previous experience with the stimulus

24. Pseudoscience: What you don�t want Neurological studies taken out of context �Right brain/left brain� Emotional Intelligence �Brain-based� learning �Blink� Still too early �I�m a right brain person!� Preliminary research taken as definitive �I�m a right brain person!� Preliminary research taken as definitive

25. Cognitive Science National Science Foundation Initiatives: Integrative Cognitive Science � launched Oct 2, 2003 Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Science Centers for Learning Research Interdisciplinary The Science of Learning Centers program (SLC) offers awards for large-scale, long-term Centers that will extend the frontiers of knowledge on learning of all types and create the intellectual, organizational, and physical infrastructure needed for the long-term advancement of learning research. Centers will be built around a unifying research focus and will incorporate a diverse, multidisciplinary environment involving appropriate partnerships with academia, industry, all levels of education, and other public and private entities. Catalyst awards will also be made during the initial years of the program. Catalyst awards are designed to enable partnership-building and research activities�that facilitate interdisciplinary approaches to questions that require multiple areas of expertise.The Science of Learning Centers program (SLC) offers awards for large-scale, long-term Centers that will extend the frontiers of knowledge on learning of all types and create the intellectual, organizational, and physical infrastructure needed for the long-term advancement of learning research. Centers will be built around a unifying research focus and will incorporate a diverse, multidisciplinary environment involving appropriate partnerships with academia, industry, all levels of education, and other public and private entities. Catalyst awards will also be made during the initial years of the program. Catalyst awards are designed to enable partnership-building and research activities�that facilitate interdisciplinary approaches to questions that require multiple areas of expertise.

26. Neil Postman�s 1985Amusing Ourselves to Death Focused on impact of television on public discourse Main point applies to the effect of image-based culture on critical thinking Images present one thing after another, not logical relationships So even Sesame Street (or Educational Videos) actively discourage formal thought, structural relationships, abstract models, symbolic language, and deductive reasoning Images present one thing after another, not logical relationships So even Sesame Street (or Educational Videos) actively discourage formal thought, structural relationships, abstract models, symbolic language, and deductive reasoning

27. The Trouble with Information Technology Written texts come with habits of critical readership built in to centuries of civilization -versus: Rules of the programmed world, which are clearcut, offering constrained choices. Minimum: Who, What, When, where, why and how �I just ignore that� Accustoms us to manipulating systems whose core assumptions we may not understand and that may not be true Minimum: Who, What, When, where, why and how �I just ignore that� Accustoms us to manipulating systems whose core assumptions we may not understand and that may not be true

28. �How Computers Change the Way we Think� Sherry Turkle �Ideas being carried from information technology are not ideas from computer science like procedural thinking, but more likely to be embedded in productivity tools like Power Point presentations� In the 1980�s Turkle surveyed psychological effects of computational objects in everyday lifeIn the 1980�s Turkle surveyed psychological effects of computational objects in everyday life

29. �Central project for higher education should be creating programs in information-technology literacy, with the goal of teaching students to interrogate stimulations in much the same spirit, challenging their built-in assumptions� Sherry Turkle �How Computers change the way we Think� Chronicle of Higher Education Jan 30, 2004

30. Problems with Power Point! �The standard PowerPoint presentation elevates format over content, betraying an attitude of commercialism that turns everything into a sales pitch.� Edward Tufte (Yale) �The Cognitive Style of Power Point� magine a widely used and expensive prescription drug that promised to make us beautiful but didn't. Instead the drug had frequent, serious side effects: It induced stupidity, turned everyone into bores, wasted time, and degraded the quality and credibility of communication. These side effects would rightly lead to a worldwide product recall. magine a widely used and expensive prescription drug that promised to make us beautiful but didn't. Instead the drug had frequent, serious side effects: It induced stupidity, turned everyone into bores, wasted time, and degraded the quality and credibility of communication. These side effects would rightly lead to a worldwide product recall.

31. �The truth is that we know very little about reasoning and how to teach it. The one thing we thought we knew�namely, that formal discipline is an illusion�seems clearly wrong. Just how wrong, and therefore just how much we can improve reasoning by instruction, is now a completely open question.�Lehman, D.R., Lempert, R.O., & Nisbet, R.E. (1988) The effects of graduate training in reasoning: Formal discipline and thinking about everyday-life events. American Psychologist 431-442. a PowerPoint slide typically shows 40 words, which is about eight seconds' worth of silent reading material. With so little information per slide, many, many slides are needed. Audiences consequently endure a relentless sequentiality, one damn slide after another. When information is stacked in time, it is difficult to understand context and evaluate relationships. Visual reasoning usually works more effectively when relevant information is shown side by side. Often, the more intense the detail, the greater the clarity and understanding. This is especially so for statistical data, where the fundamental analytical act is to make comparisons. a PowerPoint slide typically shows 40 words, which is about eight seconds' worth of silent reading material. With so little information per slide, many, many slides are needed. Audiences consequently endure a relentless sequentiality, one damn slide after another. When information is stacked in time, it is difficult to understand context and evaluate relationships. Visual reasoning usually works more effectively when relevant information is shown side by side. Often, the more intense the detail, the greater the clarity and understanding. This is especially so for statistical data, where the fundamental analytical act is to make comparisons.