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Revitalizing General Education: The Urgent Need for Critical Thinking Skills

General education is essential for equipping students with the intellectual tools needed to thrive in today's world. A recurring concern among faculty is the striking inability of students to think critically, recognize logical fallacies, and articulate their ideas effectively. This deficiency stems from a lack of emphasis on critical reading and logical reasoning in education. By integrating these skills, particularly in cornerstone courses, we can nurture students to become better thinkers and communicators, ensuring they understand their role in a complex world. Together, we can transform education into a foundation for informed citizenship.

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Revitalizing General Education: The Urgent Need for Critical Thinking Skills

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  1. “And now, for something completely different…” Or, why is general education important? Or is it?

  2. Apart from parking, what are our major concerns? • A frequent faculty complaint is, “Why can’t my students think?” • This comes from faculty members in many subjects; it is not confined to any discipline.

  3. “Once upon a time… • most students learned the ‘old logic’, and • they could think, read, write, organize, and argue much better, at a younger age, and more naturally, than they can today. • If you believe these two things are not connected, you probably believe storks bring babies.” - Peter Kreeft, Socratic Logic

  4. The goal of general education: • To provide our students the intellectual wherewithal to succeed in the modern world. • Certain intellectual tools form the basis for this success: they include, • An ability to read critically and with understanding • An ability to recognize and dissect logically flawed arguments • An ability to formulate a solution to a problem • An understanding of our place in the larger world

  5. What’s the problem? Too often, • students can’t offer a coherent explanation of the difference between a fact and an opinion • they often are indifferent to evidence and have no appreciation of its importance • they are completely unable to recognize a fallacious argument, much less construct a sound one

  6. A well educated person is NOT one who … • knows how to solve a quadratic equation • can name all 50 state capitals • can name the bones of the inner ear • can recite the birth and death dates of all the pre-nineteenth century English monarchs

  7. An educated person… • Can construct a logically sound argument • Can communicate that argument effectively in writing or orally • Understands their place in the larger world around them • Can analyze a problem and propose a rational approach to solution

  8. What can we do? • We do our students a disservice unless we teach them to be better readers, writers, and thinkers • The skills of reading with understanding, logical analytical thinking, clear writing and speaking, and understanding other perspectives are essential elements of an effective general education.

  9. HOW? • So we should focus on strengthening these skills. How and where? An Obvious Answer: Begin with the Cornerstone Courses

  10. Cornerstone Courses • In Fall 2005: there were 1509 new HCC students • Of those, 862 were “full time”: that is, they enrolled in nine or more credits in Fall 2005. • And 1382 of the new students enrolled in three or more credits that semester. • What was their course taking pattern? Was there a pattern at all?

  11. Results for 2005-2006Nine or more Fall Credits862 students

  12. Results: Part IIThree or more Fall Credits1382 students

  13. An Action Plan • Provide stronger emphasis on logical thinking in all courses • Let us make principles of logical thinking an integral part of every course, but especially the cornerstone courses. In brief, let us be explicit and direct: LET US JOIN TOGETHER TO TEACH OUR STUDENTS TO BE BETTER THINKERS.

  14. First steps… • Develop a program of course modification or redesign that embraces these principles. • Its goal: to instill a better appreciation for and understanding of clear thinking and logical principles in our students from the first moment they enter the College. • This is not an unfunded mandate: resources will be made available to restructure curricula. • Let’s begin.

  15. Why is this important? “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.” --Thomas Jefferson

  16. Carpe Diem “There comes a time in the affairs of men when one must take the bull by the tail and face the situation.” --W. C. Fields

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