Development of critical thinking skills in chemistry and biology lessons. What is critical thinking and is it possible to develop it

Although the ability to think critically has been important at all times, those who will live in the 21st century simply cannot do without it. For the first time in the history of mankind, there is a danger that we are capable of destroying all life on our planet. The decisions we make as individuals and as members of society, whether those decisions are about the economy, the conservation of natural resources, or the development of nuclear weapons, will affect future generations of peoples around the globe. In addition, we have to make decisions on a number of important issues of a local or private nature. For example, in recent elections, voters had to decide whether they were for or against an increase in the property income tax, the construction of a canal that would divert water from one part of the state to another, mandatory AIDS testing for criminals, and an ordinance to limit rent.

In addition, they had to choose one of the candidates for the positions of governor, state treasurer, district judge and trustee of the network of local libraries. Consumers have to decide whether the nitrates in the hot dogs they eat are carcinogenic, whether the system creates public school opportunities for up-to-date education and whether a health improvement program that allows you to choose your doctor is preferable to other programs that do not. Since each citizen is required to take a huge amount important decisions, it seems natural for society to be concerned about how these decisions are made. Oddly enough, teachers, politicians and the general public began to pay serious attention to this issue only in the last 10-15 years.

More recently, the National Committee on Educational Challenges has recognized the need to ensure that college graduates have the knowledge and skills to help grow the world economy and participate in democratic processes. This would allow all of us to enjoy a peaceful and prosperous life. One of the goals that the Committee sets for graduates in the next decade is: "The proportion of college graduates who are able to think critically, work productively in a team and solve problems must increase significantly."

Numerous data from the United States show that forms of education that would enable a person to think more productively are urgently needed. America has been called a "threatened nation" because we are depriving students of the very important component education - we do not educate in them the ability to think. Steen summed up the results of a study of student math ability in several countries around the world with the following chilling warning: "While the back-to-basics principle has flourished in the United States over the past 15 years, the ability of American students to think (and not just memorize) has declined markedly." The American Committee on Education came to a similar disappointing conclusion in its 1982 report: "The trend is clear: the percentage of students who achieve well is declining."

Studies conducted in many countries over and over again paint the same sad picture of the neglect of critical thinking. Izawa and Hayden summed up the results of a comparative study of student abilities different countries. In solving mathematical problems, the best of the American students performed worse than the weakest of the Japanese students; equally deplorable results were obtained as a result of testing knowledge of history and proficiency in reading skills. Neubert and Binko, guided by the data of such studies, came to the conclusion that only 39% of 17-year-old young people are able to find the necessary information, organize it and interpret it correctly. Add to this that, perhaps, the most terrible horror story of science fiction writer Isaac Asimov was his statement about the true state of scientific knowledge Americans. He noted that in a telephone survey conducted by the Public Opinion Lab at Northern Illinois University, 20% of more than 200 adult respondents believed that the sun revolves around the earth. How could it be, asks Asimov, that 400 years after scientists agreed that the Earth revolves around the Sun, a huge number of adults still do not know this elementary fact that is taught in any high school?

A depressingly long list of such evidence appears in the reports of many authoritative organizations. Based on these data, we can conclude that many adults do not have satisfactory thinking skills and assimilation of information. It's time to stop reporting and start taking steps to nurture these skills.

Critical thinking is not all right, not only in the United States. Representatives of a number of countries recognized that the world community is developing at a rapid pace and the need for citizens who can think critically is essential for all states. This is the conclusion reached by a group of leading experts in the field of higher education who met in Mexico City. They expressed a unanimous opinion: "The task of the university today is to graduate students who can think in a rapidly changing world."

If these findings from national and international research organizations do not convince you of the need for critical thinking training, then consider the following. Most people complete their formal education between the ages of 18 and 22. The average life expectancy of those who are young today is expected to be the longest in human history; most will live past 70 years, and many over 80 and 90 years. We can only guess what life will be like in 2050 or 2060 and beyond, which is the time many of you readers of this book will be living in. But it is safe to say that many of those who are still young now will have to do work that is still difficult to imagine, and deal with technologies that modern science fiction writers could not even dream of. What knowledge do you need to acquire in the first two decades of your life in order to feel calm for the remaining 50-odd years?

Education designed for the future should be built on the basis of two inseparable principles: the ability to quickly navigate in a rapidly growing flow of information and find the right one, and the ability to comprehend and apply the information received. I have an inexpensive modem connected to my home computer. With it, I can access all the scientific papers in the main university library, dozens of daily papers, flight schedules, several Internet encyclopedias, the Dow Jones Index, information about new pharmaceuticals, thousands of yearbooks of various colleges, government publications, new movie reviews, and many other information sources. I can get all this information from the comfort of my home, and it takes a computer just a few minutes to find it. Another problem arises: what to do with this avalanche of information? Information must be collected, organized, interpreted, and applied, or it will be no more useful on my desktop than it was on the library shelf where it was before. If we are unable to make sense of the vast number of questions that we have to deal with, then there is a danger that we will get answers to all these questions, but not at the same time understand what they mean.

Using the same modem, I can almost instantly establish a connection with any part of our planet and at the same time communicate on the Internet with people from all over the world. Information comes in a matter of seconds, but will they the latest technology a boon or a heavy burden for humanity, depends entirely on the presence at the entrance and exit of these ultra-high-speed communication highways of people capable of critical thinking.

Despite the obvious need for higher education, only in last years teachers began to develop curricula aimed at improving the thinking abilities of students. It is difficult to imagine an area of ​​life where the ability to think clearly would not be needed. However, few of us have ever been taught exactly how to learn to think more productively. Our schools traditionally required students to learn, memorize, analyze facts, solve problems, but these institutions never really showed students how to do this. It was assumed that adult students already "know how to think." Research has shown, however, that this assumption is not justified in practice. Psychologists have found that only 25% of first-year students have the skills necessary for logical and abstract thinking - the kind of thinking that is required, for example, to answer the question: "What would happen if ..." and to evaluate abstract ideas. This situation has been summed up briefly by Brock, former head of the Republican Party and now a prominent international affairs consultant. After reading a recent report on the low level of cognitive and mental abilities of college graduates, he exclaimed: "Everyone should be horrified by this!"

Thinking and knowledge

... Everything that is known to us, and everything that is known to all people - that is, all existing knowledge - was created by someone. When we study Euclidean geometry, we use the knowledge created by the great mathematician Euclid. In the same way, all other outstanding discoveries and inventions, such as the wheel, shoes, video games, toilet paper, the formula E = mc^2 and the "discovery of America", are knowledge created by people. Knowledge is not static. It cannot be passed from person to person, just as we pour water from vessel to vessel. It is dynamic. Of course, it is naive to think that we all have to start from scratch and reinvent the wheel. We rely on knowledge created by someone to create new knowledge.

Although specialists in psychology and related sciences have proposed several definitions of the term critical thinking, all these definitions are quite close in meaning. Here's one of the simplest ones that gets the gist of the idea: critical thinking is the use of cognitive techniques or strategies that increase the likelihood of obtaining a desired end result. This definition characterizes thinking as something characterized by controllability, validity and purposefulness, a type of thinking that is used in solving problems, formulating conclusions, probabilistic evaluation and decision making. At the same time, the thinker uses skills that are justified and effective for a particular situation and the type of problem being solved. Other definitions further indicate that for critical thinking characterized by the construction of logical inferences, the creation of consistent logical models among themselves and the adoption of informed decisions regarding whether to reject any judgment, agree with it or temporarily postpone its consideration. All these definitions imply mental activity, which should be aimed at solving a specific cognitive task.

The word critical, used in the definition, suggests an evaluative component. Sometimes this word is used to convey a negative attitude towards something, for example, when they say: "She was very critical of the film." But evaluation can and should be a constructive expression of both positive and negative attitudes. When we think critically, we evaluate the results of our thought processes - whether the decision we made is correct or how well we coped with the task. Critical thinking also involves evaluating the thought process itself—the reasoning that led to our conclusions, or the factors we took into account when making a decision. Critical thinking is sometimes also referred to as directed thinking because it aims to get a desired result. Dreams, dreams and other types of mental activity, in which we do not pursue a specific goal, do not belong to the category of critical thinking. Similarly, the thinking behind our daily habits is not critical either. For example, when we get out of bed in the morning, brush our teeth, and walk the familiar path to school or work, our thinking is goal-oriented, but there is little or no conscious evaluation of the actions we take. These are all examples of undirected or automatic thinking.

Although psychology has been studying the process of thinking for almost its entire more than a century of existence as an academic discipline, cognitive psychology, that is, the branch of psychology that studies the nature of thinking and knowledge, has been playing in the last 20 years scientific psychology truly dominant role. Cognitive psychologists aim to study the techniques and strategies that are used in problem solving, reasoning, and decision making. They are also interested in how these abilities depend on intelligence. This keen interest in thought processes gave rise to a new field of psychology that came to be called cognitive learning. Its task is to find application of the knowledge we have accumulated about the processes and mechanisms of human thinking in order to help people improve their thinking abilities. For example, by studying the right and wrong actions of a person in various situations, psychologists have found that the spontaneous and intuitive approach of many people to decision various problems often turns out to be wrong. Moreover, scientists can often predict when the wrong decision will be made due to the very nature of the problem, and when - because of a misunderstanding of this problem by the person solving it. The knowledge accumulated in this area is already being applied in practice in solving many practical problems - from teaching military skills to read maps to developing computer programs with a convenient and understandable interface.

Can you change your mindset?

The intention to influence human thinking can seem somewhat daunting. Words like mind control, propaganda, or the image of Big Brother who knows all your thoughts from Orwell's 1984 immediately come to mind. In reality, critical thinking is the antidote to the very thought control that so bothered Orwell. Teaching clear thinking skills can help anyone recognize propaganda and thus avoid falling prey to it, analyze false grounds in an argument, see clear deceit, determine the reliability of a particular source of information, and properly think about each problem or decision.

When I talk about critical thinking with students or other people with whom I have to communicate, I am sometimes told that there is no such thing as critical thinking, because there can be many different opinions on the same issue, and everyone has right to your point of view. They prove to me that there is no "best way to think". Of course, I agree that we are all entitled to our own opinion, but some opinions are still better than others. If, for example, you are convinced that it is good for pregnant women to consume large amounts of alcohol, you will have to support this belief with strong arguments (such arguments in this case does not exist). (Stronger definitions of the terms opinion and belief are presented in Chapter 5.) The opposite assumption, that pregnant women should drink very little, if at all, can be supported by carefully conducted laboratory studies, which show the detrimental effect of alcohol on the developing fetus. Similarly, everyone has the right to believe in astrological predictions and extrasensory perception, but at the moment there is no hard evidence in favor of such beliefs. Not all beliefs are equally justified.

Let's look at a few examples of the need for critical thinking in various areas of life. The best place to start is with ads. Advertisers pay huge sums for the opportunity to convince buyers to buy their products. An advertising campaign is considered successful if, after it was carried out, the demand for the advertised product increased and the amount from its additional sale turned out to be more costs for advertising. One of my favorite examples is cigarette ads. As you probably know, every advertisement for tobacco products must carry the following warning: "Smoking is injurious to your health." It could be assumed that these words would be associated with a dry cough, yellow coating on teeth and lung cancer, thereby reducing the effectiveness of any cigarette advertising. Contrary to this warning, cigarette advertisements often show smokers surrounded by virgin nature with clear lakes, blue skies and tall green pine trees. On one of the advertising posters you can read: "Come where cleanliness is." Another classic cigarette advertisement reads "Live your pleasure" - an attempt to influence those who associate smoking with premature death.

Have you ever wondered what smoking has to do with beauty? surrounding nature? Maybe when smoking is associated with beautiful people against a beautiful background, it seems to be more beneficial to health. One of the brands of cigarettes is called "Malibu". Their advertising posters depict the soft white sand and frothy blue ocean off Malibu Beach in California - the perfect setting for "beautiful people" to relax. This luxurious picture, which comes to mind at the sight of the brand of cigarettes mentioned, should obscure the image of a patient greedily crouching on an oxygen bag - an image that has a much closer relation to smoking.

Another example of how critical thinking is needed is a conversation I had with a taxi driver about a commercial for detergents. My interlocutor said that he does not pay any attention to advertising and that it does not affect his choice when buying goods. He then added that he always buys blue laundry detergent, which washes "a dirty circle on the collar" well. Do you see the contradiction in his words? Although he claimed that advertising did not affect him, in fact, it was she who determined what he bought. I'm sure a lot of people didn't show any concern about "collar circles", "yellow greasy coating" on the sink, "dandruff" or "leaky elbows" until advertisers told us that we would be in an unenviable position in society if Let's ignore these details. These ads tacitly imply that the "problems" they point to (dark streaks on a shirt collar or a dirty sink) are very serious, but can be fixed if you purchase the advertised product. For example, a taxi driver, having taken the "circle on the collar" problem to heart, bought the advertised product as a result, not even suspecting that someone influenced his thoughts and actions.

During a recent election campaign, one candidate told voters that he was against corruption, pollution environment, crime and bureaucrats who are overpaid. His speech was met with loud applause. Why do I pay attention to his words? Because he didn't say anything at all. I have never heard that any of the candidates was for corruption, environmental pollution, crime or high salaries for officials. Voters should have asked him to name more specific goals and explain how he intends to achieve them and where he will get the money to finance his projects.

Nine-year-old American children were asked to solve the following problem: "Jason bought three boxes of pencils. What else do you need to know to determine how many pencils he bought?" Only 35% of the respondents realized that they needed information about how many pencils were in each box. Here is another problem given to a large group of 13-year-olds: "An army bus holds 36 soldiers. If 1,128 soldiers need to be taken to the training ground, how many buses will be needed?" Most of the students did the necessary calculations without difficulty. The difficulty was to make sense of the answer. Many rounded the result to the nearest whole number and decided that 31 buses would be required. Others responded in the form decimal fraction(31.33) or indicated the remainder of the branch. The task was not to demonstrate elementary calculation skills, but to find an answer that can be considered acceptable in this case, and to apply a method that differs from that taught in school - the answer had to be rounded to the nearest higher whole number, and not just to the nearest whole number. Maybe, simple examples questions like this provide the most compelling answer to the question of whether critical thinking should be taught. The most valuable commodity in America is thinking and educated adults. The goal of the education system should be to have as many of them as possible.

EVIDENCE THAT THINKING CAN BE BETTER

Everyone agrees that college students learn, but whether they learn to think is debatable. Wilbert J. McKeachy

If you've wondered if you can learn to think more effectively, then you've probably wondered if there is evidence that thinking can be improved. … We now have a lot of evidence that thinking skills courses have a positive effect that can be used in a wide variety of situations. A number of evaluation studies of the results of such courses were carried out, fundamentally different in their form. Summarizing their results gives every reason to believe that with the help of training it is quite possible to develop a person's ability for critical thinking, especially if this training is aimed at applying the acquired skills in various situations and various fields of knowledge. Indeed, it is difficult to name an aspect of critical thinking that cannot be taught and mastered. We study mathematics, hoping that we can use mathematical knowledge in Everyday life where they are often needed. In the same way, we teach children the skills of speaking and writing, believing that they will be able to use these skills when they speak or write on any topic.

Here is a summary of some of the facts that support the argument that critical thinking skills can be learned in class and used later in a variety of situations:

1. An analysis of a nationwide thinking skills training program in Venezuela showed that students who attended thinking training classes performed better in oral discussions and written essays on a given topic than students from the control group with which they were compared. This study is particularly noteworthy because the essays and oral responses were assessed "blindly", i.e. the assessors did not know whether the students they assessed had received training in thinking skills, or if they were in the control group. The results of this program indicate that the acquired thinking skills were appropriately applied when students were presented with topics that were unexpected for them.

2. According to college students' own testimonies, most of them are convinced that their ability to think critically has increased markedly after taking a course in thinking skills. Students began to rate themselves higher on a range of self-assessment scales, including the ability to take the time to make judgments, the ability to evaluate contradictory statements, use probabilistic estimates, and consider uncertainty. They also note that they have learned to apply various heuristic techniques when solving problems, such as the "by contradiction" method, the exclusion of unnecessary data and the assessment of the reliability of the information source. Of course, believing that one's own ability to think critically has increased is far from the same as demonstrating an improvement in this ability in practice, but it must be said that the students' own assessments are consistent with other data.

3. There was also a study that showed that college students who took a course in critical thinking performed much better on standard intelligence tests. While one might be skeptical of any claim that a person's intelligence has increased after a few sessions, these data provide additional evidence for that. that critical thinking training courses give a positive result.

4. Other researchers have found that a college-level critical thinking course increased adult cognitive ability. Cognitive development was assessed according to the method developed by the famous psychologist Jean Piaget and considered a reference in the analysis of cognitive growth. This is an impressive result, given the following fact: when assessed by indicators proposed by Piaget, it turned out that only 25-50% of first-year students have the skills necessary for abstract and logical thinking.

5. A fruitful approach to the study of changes in thinking is to study how exactly knowledge is represented in the human mind. Although the theoretical basis of this technique is beyond the scope of this book, the results of such studies are not difficult to evaluate. Schoenfeld and Hermann, for example, found that when college students were taught general thinking skills, they performed much better on various tasks than students trained in a traditional program. In addition, these students, unlike students in the control group, organized their mental presentation of the material they were offered in the same way that specialists usually do.

6. Using a similar methodology, Facione determined that college students who took a critical thinking course performed better on a multiple-choice test than students who did not. Lehman, Lempert, and Nisbett also reported success on similar tests in final-year college students. They came to the conclusion that the knowledge gained during training, during which general "rules" of thinking are given, can be transferred to other areas of activity. Similar conclusions were drawn by Fong, Krantz, and Nisbett, who summarized their research as follows: "A number of experiments have shown that thinking ability can be improved through formal training."

7. To test the ability of adult students to master and apply thinking skills, Lehman and Nisbett examined how well students can use what they have learned outside the classroom. They called students at home a few months after they completed their courses and asked questions under the guise of a public opinion poll. For example, students might be asked to comment on a successful streak played by a rising league baseball star. Those trained in critical thinking could determine that a general statistical principle was important in this case. The results confirmed the assumption that students have learned and can quickly apply the thinking skills that they were taught in the classroom. Moreover, this ability is retained even when questions are asked in the usual everyday environment - at their home - a few months after the end of classes and relate to other topics.

8. In 16 chapters of a recently published book edited by Nisbett, there is a wealth of data that convincingly shows that the skills of logic, statistics, deduction and evaluative analysis can be instilled in such a way that they will be applied by students in a wide variety of situations. Another series of studies noting the positive results of teaching critical thinking is described by Brewer. A similar conclusion is reached in an independent literature review.

All these various materials lead us to the same conclusion: college students can be taught to think more critically if they are given classes dedicated to this task. We need to strive to learn various methods critical thinking was emphasized in every college class and that students learned how to apply the skills learned in any setting. Evaluation of studies that compared several groups of students, however, suggests that the results are most noticeable when the course of study is aimed exclusively at developing critical thinking. Critical thinking does not automatically appear as a by-product of ordinary training in some area. To achieve the expected effect, it is required to make systematic efforts to improve thinking. In order for students to be fully and consciously focused on improving their thinking abilities and expanding the scope of the acquired skills, critical thinking training should include a large number of examples from various areas life.

Application in practice of acquired skills

All of the studies noted above that have confirmed the effectiveness of teaching critical thinking have studied the universalization of critical thinking skills. The real purpose of any learning to improve thinking is to put into practice the acquired skills. By practical application, I mean using critical thinking skills in a wide variety of situations. This book will not be of much use if these skills are used only in the classroom or in solving problems similar to those considered in the classroom. Ideally, critical thinking skills should be used to recognize unrealistic campaign promises, arguments that themselves need to be proven, incorrect probabilistic estimates, weak arguments, or purely rhetorical constructs. Critical thinkers should be better at problem solving real life whether it's a threat nuclear war or setting up a VCR you just bought. These skills, moreover, should be long-lasting and useful during the decades of critical thinking that most of us have ahead of us. These tasks are not abstract at all. They are very specific and relevant. The best way to ensure the practical application I am talking about is to do so through the conscious and thoughtful use of the skills you learn in a wide variety of situations. Students can expand this scope by looking for examples that require critical thinking and using them.

The tasks and exercises presented in the collection that complements this book are intended to show the versatility of this application in practice. The collection contains a large number of types of tasks for various themes. By solving these problems, you are more likely to remember and, if necessary, use the thinking skills presented in the book in everyday situations. There are many factors that determine how likely you are to apply the thinking skills gained in one area of ​​expertise to another, but we know for sure that it is possible and doable. Find other uses for these thinking skills and apply them!

Quite often, the term "critical thinking" is interpreted incorrectly, replaced by such concepts as creative thinking, the ability to draw logical conclusions, making sound decisions, and the ability to analyze information. In fact, the listed designations are not synonyms, but (except for the first one) are components of the process of critical thinking. The creative can be considered the antagonist of the critical. Therefore, such a substitution of concepts is inappropriate.

What is critical thinking and should it be developed?

Origin of the term

The word criticism is derived from the Greek kritike and literally translates as "the ability to disassemble or judge" (to form an opinion based on facts).

Such a human ability as thinking has been studied by various sciences for many years (logic, psychology, linguistics, philosophy, pathopsychology, neuropsychology). In general, the thought process can be defined as the ability to achieve a goal in a motivated way through a system of certain actions and planning with a predictable result. Naturally, depending on the science that considers or studies thinking, the definitions of this phenomenon will also change. For correct interpretation the term "critical thinking" is enough of the concept that this is a special human activity with a certain structure and types.

From all of the above, we can derive a definition: what is critical thinking. proposed his own formulation, in which he described one of the types of intellectual activity with an objective approach to the surrounding reality and information flows. This human ability is based on a system of rules and actions.

signs

Before listing the ways of developing critical thinking, it is necessary to describe the features inherent in this type:

1. One of the key features is independence in conclusions, assessments of phenomena and objects and beliefs. This is the ability to extract and analyze information based on one's own personal experience and well-known problem solving schemes. From here than fuller information about the problem being solved and the more diverse the palette of ways to solve the problem, the more reliable the result will be predicted (bypassing the established stereotypes of people).
2. Another distinguishing feature can be considered the attitude to information: its discovery, analysis, selection and application. A person who knows how to extract the necessary grains from any information and establish connections with an object of interest can cope with problems of any level.
3. Signs can also be considered the formulation of the right questions, which, as you know, represent the solution of half the problem, and the development of a strategy for solving the problem.
4. An important feature is the exhaustive argumentation, rationalization and reasonable and justified arguments.
5. One head is good, but two is even better. Another sign is the consideration of social factors in solving the problem, because therefore, debates and discussions are an acceptable form of work to achieve the goal.

How to develop critical thinking with the help of known techniques without outside help? It is enough to practice daily until this process becomes a way of life.

Skill Development Techniques

Because of a large number methods of developing critical thinking, it is not possible (and necessary) to list everything. Therefore, it is enough to list the most popular of them and dwell on the description of those that are effectively used.

How to develop critical thinking on your own? Popular tricks include:

1. "Clusters".
2. "Basket of Ideas".
3. "Reverse logical chains".
4. "True and False Statements".
5. "Six Hats"
6. Fishbone.
7. "Sinquain".
8. "Flight Magazines".
9. "RAFT".
10. "Tree of Predictions"
11. "Marginal Notes".
12. "Question of the day".

"Clusters"

It is good to use the technique when systematizing the obtained information and establishing links between phenomena.

The principle of building a cluster is based on the structure model solar system. The question or problem of interest takes the position of the Sun. All other information is located on the positions of the planets of the solar system with their satellites.

fishbone

Another method of organizing information and finding optimal solution The problem appears to be Fishbone.

His help on how to develop critical thinking is undeniable. Reception is displayed in the form of a fish skeleton. The head and tail are denoted as the problem and its solution, respectively. On the edges are the causes of the problem and the facts confirming them. This technique allows you to identify the relationship of problems and the system of their interaction.

"RAFT"

This technique is good for working on oral speech, the development of rhetoric and the skill of persuasion. The name is formed from the first letters of the words - Role, Audience, Form, Theme. This technique involves discussing a topic on behalf of a certain character (role), for an audience (a certain level of needs), in a pre-selected form (dialogue, story, anecdote, etc.) of narration and a given number of topics.

"Six Hats"

How to develop critical thinking with hats? Reception is suitable for independent work, and for working with an audience (both large and not so). The number of hats corresponds to certain views on the problem. Colors are assigned to certain elements:

• white - facts;
• yellow - opportunities;
• blue - meaning;
• green - creative;
• red - emotions;
• black - criticism.

It can be seen that the consideration of the problem is complex, from different positions, which allows you to make the most acceptable and rational decision.

"Tree of Predictions"

A technique for developing the ability to reasonably and reasonably make forecasts on a given topic.

The theme is represented by a tree trunk. Forecasts (possibly, probably) - branches on two sides. Arguments are leaves on branches. In this way, it is possible not only to compile a probabilistic model of the development of the situation, but also to determine the decisive factors in the current situation.

in the education system

Modern education is too concentrated on the learning process itself, which is reflected in the excessive enthusiasm for (necessary and not so) technologies. Fundamentally, the use of technologies practically does not change anything (except for the names of the parts of the lesson, according to the requirements of the technology, ZUNs - competencies, etc.). As a result, the student must memorize certain material. True, the use of developing puzzles in a certain dosage in the lessons is welcome. This type of activity brings variety to the strictly regulated life of the student. Indeed, in order to find the answer to the question of how to assemble a puzzle, it is required to mobilize all knowledge, skills, and independence in achieving the goal.

In order for the technology for the development of critical thinking not to look like a decorative addition to school life, it is necessary to change the education system itself. And this is almost impossible to do in the near future.

Many elements of critical thinking are often used in the lessons (question of the day, etc.), but the basis remains a mystery behind seven seals.

Instead of a conclusion

The development of critical thinking is available for a person from about 5-6 years old. Until that time, not yet developed enough and nervous system and certain parts of the brain are not formed. For an older preschooler, the solution to the question: "How to assemble a puzzle?" - and there is this development. Expands for lower receptions. And for middle and senior students, the whole palette of methods for developing critical thinking is available.

Adults can independently, as needed or for self-examination, use the listed techniques. In addition, the use of critical thinking in everyday life helps to keep the brain young for many years. On the other hand, it is critical thinking that allows a person to remain a Personality, that is, not to succumb to the provocations of a well-established system for managing public opinion.

Assess objective reality. Our thinking can only be effective if it is based on reality. Reality is objective and exists regardless of your desires, whims and goals. Your thinking will be productive as long as you are able to accurately perceive and interpret this reality. This requires objectivity - the ability to separate the concepts of "what is" at the moment, from what you believe or want to believe.

Be prepared to receive information. The mind, not ready to perceive information, is cut off from reality. A person who thinks in this way is very easy to recognize. He/she has a rigid set of opinions and attitudes that are non-negotiable. Such a thinker is difficult to understand, since certain rebuttals are necessary for this. If it seems to you that you are talking to a wall, then you may have encountered just such a person. However, being open to the perception of information does not mean that you should not defend the truth that you know, and also support any point of view. Truth will be able to resist doubt; only an illusion poses a threat to the exchange of thoughts.

Do not tolerate constant and unproductive ambiguity. Most of the decisions you deal with contain a certain amount of ambiguity, a gray area between obvious black and white alternatives. This is not an argument for uncertainty. This is a recommendation to train the power of thought to become clear. Ambiguity is often a symptom of carelessness, incomplete or irrational thinking. When you experience such a state, you should carefully study your environment, your principles, knowledge and the effectiveness of your thinking. Knowledge is a progressive search for clarity, not uncertainty and confusion.

Avoid mass hobbies. When a certain concept becomes popular, many people accept it, thereby becoming part of the "crowd". This tends to be indicative of coherence rather than critical thinking. Watch (and think) before joining the crowd.

Draw a line between observation and inference, established facts and hypotheses.

Refrain from judgment until you are sure that you have reliable information. You can jump to conclusions and fall into a trap. On the other hand, when you have reliable information, you should not be afraid to reason. Reasoning is part of the process of thinking, using your ability to draw conclusions about reality.

Keep a sense of humor. You will not be able to think clearly if it seems to you that this is a matter of life or death. The ability to laugh at yourself and see the humor in other situations often helps keep your mind and point of view clear. However, be wary of laughter being used as a weapon to denigrate your values, or as a form of psychological defense. Such methods require a serious response.

Develop curiosity. The world is full of things you don't know about yet. Curiosity is the mark of a mind that is free and open to the wonders of reality, unafraid to face the unknown to gain new knowledge. The curious thinker will explore new ways to see things and act differently. Learning can be an adventure that involves constant and exciting discovery if you're pursuing curiosity.

Challenge conventional wisdom. Every culture is based on certain assumptions that are rather dubious. Galileo Galilei, an Italian astronomer and mathematician, faced the Inquisition because he dared to question the "truth" that the Earth is the center of the universe. Even today, members of the Flat Earth Society (Flat Earth Society) believe that the world is flat as a pancake! You cannot assume that what is considered to be the truth is really it. The truth is established in the course of rational thinking, and not by polling public opinion or taking into account previous experience.

Resist emotions. Emotions can cloud the mind. When you are angry or elated, your thought processes will not work the same as when you are in a calmer mood. Beware of situations in which your emotions are deliberately provoked by flattery, fear, or admiration at a time when you need to make a decision. This may be an ad hoc strategy to falsify the result.

Do not please others. Flattery is one of the most effective methods persuasion. If someone begins to flatter, then just know that they want to convince you or pocket your money. Sometimes it is very difficult to distinguish a sincere compliment from an elaborate manipulation.

Do not overestimate your self-esteem. Very often, our decisions can be influenced by the desire to appear in a special way to ourselves or to other people. If you are too concerned with being seen in a certain light, then you may say and do things that are not really in your best interest. Once you understand your importance, playing in public will no longer seem so tempting to you.

Don't forget perspective. When you are in the midst of a decision that is important to you, it is very easy to lose your balanced view of the situation. It would be nice to consider the issue in a broader spectrum. Here's one way to put perspective: on a scale of one to ten, how critical is the situation if one is a dead plant and ten is a nuclear explosion? Is the situation as critical as it seems at first glance?

Be aware of the unspoken rules. Sometimes the way we behave is dictated by unspoken rules. If you do not know about them, then you will not have sufficient knowledge to make a wise decision. If you are familiar with the situation, then most likely you know the rules (for example: do not rock the boat, do not question the boss's opinion, do not argue with the professor). If you are in an unfamiliar situation (or foreign culture), then you should be very observant or ask those who are more familiar with it. This does not mean that you should be limited by these rules, it is recommended that you just know them.

Be aware of non-verbal communication cues. Verbal communication is only half of the message that they are trying to convey to you. The other part of the message is conveyed by non-verbal signs. You must learn to accept both. If someone is acting friendly but squeezing your hand painfully when shaking hands, then you may have reason to doubt what this person is saying! The same thing happens if someone stretches out on the back of a chair and, yawning, tells you how interesting your ideas are to him. The clearer your perception of the facts of a situation, the clearer your thinking will be.

If you are under pressure, then you should stop and think. Impulsive decisions are often wrong. With the pressure to make a decision, the temptation to make it as soon as possible increases. You can justify this by saying that it is better to make at least some decision than not to decide at all, but this is extremely rare. Indecisiveness is a sign that you don't have the skills to help you make decisions. Impulsivity, in turn, suggests that very soon you will reap the benefits of a wrong decision!

Be above labels and stereotypes. Labels and stereotypes are types of mental shorthand that can make thinking and communication easier. If you need four-legged seating furniture, the easiest thing to do is to ask for a chair and ignore the numerous possible options design and materials. However, if you are looking for a job, you should not be satisfied with the stereotypical description of this or that kind of occupation. You need to know exactly what it really means to be a police officer, a neurosurgeon, or a financial analyst. Similarly, communicating with people from different walks of life and people from different cultures can be complicated by the presence of stereotypes that prevent you from seeing the truth.

Avoid negative self-talk. Much of what goes through your thinking is your internal monologue. This self-talk often takes the form of critical judgments and views about oneself. Your thinking skills can be destroyed by self-talk that relays negative messages over and over again, reinforcing negative self-esteem (“I can’t do anything well,” “I’m just not as smart as everyone else”) or attitude (“No one can trust”, “School is a waste of time”). Unless you replace such negative thinking with more positive self-talk. This will unwittingly influence your decisions. A fundamental element in such a change is an increase in self-esteem. The consultation is good decision for this kind of problem.

Look for consistency. Ralph W. Emerson once wrote, "Stupid consistency is the superstition of narrow-minded minds." Thoughtful consistency, however, is the hallmark of careful and comprehensive thinking. Consistency and logic are criteria that should always apply, no matter what you decide. Inconsistency is often used to hide the truth.

Practice empathy. There is an Indian proverb that says that before you judge, you must walk a mile in the other person's shoes. In other words, you should not judge anyone before you fully understand the whole situation. By practicing this type of empathy, you will reduce the likelihood of making hasty judgments that you may later regret. You may also find that a little understanding makes it easier to gain a deeper understanding of people's thoughts and behavior. The deeper you understand yourself and others, the wiser your decisions will be.

Take the time to check the facts. If you don't have hard facts, then your decisions are likely to be skewed. In important matters, you should try to get first hand information. If you're trying to make a career decision and want to know about your professional skills, it's best to take an aptitude test rather than asking your buddies what you're good at. Similarly, it is best to learn about the intricacies of a certain profession based on generally accepted norms, as well as on the opinions of workers, than on stereotypes, which may carry only part of the truth. Does this information come from a reliable source? Can you find another source to confirm this information? If you can answer yes to these questions, then you can be more confident in the facts you use as the basis for your decisions.

Check the accuracy of your information. The information may be reliable, but not valid. Validity is related to the relevance of the information to the context in which it is applied. The true information may be that if you light a match, it will light up, unless you are under water or in the vacuum of outer space! Context is very important!

Develop the ability to listen. When it comes to speaking, we hear what we listen. Listening is another skill that we take for granted, but very rarely used as effectively as we think. How often in the middle of a conversation have you suddenly realized that another person has asked you a question, but you didn't hear it? How often are you so preoccupied with your own thoughts while sitting in class that you don't even hear what the teacher is saying? It happens to all of us that once again confirms the fact that this seemingly simple skill is very difficult to develop. The better you listen, the more correct information you will receive. The more correct information you have, the better the decisions you will make.

Critical Thinking Skills

Focusing skills.

1.Identification of problems contained in explicit or in covert in new information.

2. Identification of goals: determining the direction and goals of studying new information.

Information gathering skills.

3. Surveillance: Obtaining information using one or more sensory systems.

4. Formation of questions, search for new information through questions.

Memory skills.

5. Coding: storing information in long-term memory.

6.Challenge: Retrieving information from long-term memory.

Organization skills.

7. Comparison: identifying similarities and differences between different objects.

8. Classification: grouping and designation of objects based on their identified features.

9. Presentation: presentation of new information.

Analysis skills.

10. Identification of attributes and components: identification of characteristics or parts of the main ideas or concepts contained in new information.

11. Identification of relationships and concepts: determination of cause-and-effect relationships.

12. Identification of main ideas: identification of the central element; for example, a hierarchy of key ideas in a message, or an ordering of reasons.

13.Identification of errors: identification of logical fallacies and other errors and, where possible, identification of options for correcting them.

generation skills.

14. Conclusions: summation, identification of the most important information or ideas.

15. Prediction: anticipation of events or consequences based on available information.

16. Development: explanation of additional details, examples or other relevant information.

Integration skills.

17. Effective combination of information to form new ideas.

18. Reconstruction: Reformulating information and ideas, or changing the logic contained in information to formulate new ideas.

Assessment skills.

19. Formulation of criteria for evaluating information or ideas.

20. Verification: checking the correctness of the statements.

Some conditions necessary for development

critical thinking

In order for you to take advantage of your abilities as a critical thinker, it is important to develop a number of important qualities in yourself, including:

1. Willingness to plan.

2. Flexibility.

3. Persistence.

4. Willingness to correct mistakes.

5. Awareness.

6. Search for compromise solutions.

Thinking people:

1) are able to solve problems;

2) show a certain perseverance in solving problems;

3) control themselves, their impulsiveness;

4) open to other ideas;

5) are able to solve problems by cooperating with other people;

6) know how to listen to the interlocutor;

7) they are empathic;

8) tolerant of uncertainty;

9) are able to consider problems from different points of view;

10) are able to establish multiple connections between phenomena;

11) they are tolerant of points of view different from theirs

own views;

12) They may consider multiple solutions

Some kind of problem;

13) they often ask questions “what if...?”

14) they know how to draw logical conclusions;

15) they reflect on their feelings, thoughts - evaluate them;

16) are able to make forecasts, substantiate them and set deliberate goals;

17) they can apply their skills and knowledge in different situations;

18) they are inquisitive and often ask “good questions”;

19) they actively perceive information.

On the topic: methodological developments, presentations and notes

Using Critical Thinking Development Technology

Understanding the trends in the development of modern society, I gradually began to introduce the technology of developing critical thinking in the classroom. In my opinion, the most important thing in this technology is a large independent...

The use of critical thinking technologies in the lessons of literary reading in elementary grades.

“The process of learning is understood not only as the assimilation of a system of knowledge, skills and abilities that make up the instrumental basis of students' competencies, but also as a process of personality development, acquiring a spiritual-nature...

In order to act meaningfully and reason about something, one should not limit oneself to one's own experience. The "it's always been done" argument fell out of fashion with the spread of universal literacy and mass printing, so it doesn't work as well as it used to. Today, our actions are largely determined by what we have heard or read somewhere.

But even the experts get it wrong time and time again, not to mention that there are always many who want to take advantage of our gullibility: from enterprising merchants of healing bracelets and unique healing techniques to unscrupulous politicians in need of public support. Therefore, each of us, to the best of his ability, tries to filter the surrounding information, to separate the true from the false and inaccurate.

The golden rule of journalism is "first simplify, then exaggerate." According to one story, the editor-in-chief of The Economist issued this rule to his employees in the 1950s. Today it is used more widely than ever, and it is far from being used only by journalists.

Everyone is trying to develop for himself the rules of conduct that would allow him to maneuver in the information flow without picking up too harmful thought viruses along the way. Some do it carefully and constantly, others do not pay much attention to such protection and prefer to drift smoothly with the flow. But it would be wiser to be guided by at least primitive safety techniques - rules of thought that can be used consciously and systematically.

Very often we meet with statements in which some kind of deficiency is felt. “Something is wrong here,” we think, and decide that it is better to stay away from these statements. Critical thinking skills help you understand what exactly is wrong with questionable reasoning, justify your criticism and put forward your own arguments.

What does it mean to think critically and can it be taught?

Critical thinking is one of the basic academic disciplines in higher education in many English-speaking countries. Students are taught to carefully read texts, to show methodical doubt (that is, according to Descartes, to discover “what is logically possible to doubt”), to find weaknesses both in other people’s and in their own arguments, to work with concepts, to express their own clearly and reasonably. thoughts.

An important component of such training is the ability to ask the right questions. Issues can be given much more attention than is customary for the domestic education system.

Critical thinking as an academic discipline is based on the rules of formal logic, the theory and practice of argumentation, rhetoric and scientific epistemology (a branch of philosophy that deals with the tools and limitations of cognitive activity). One of the prominent theorists in this area was Karl Popper, who considered critical thinking to be the basis of all rationality. Knowledge, according to Popper, does not exist without the practice of hypotheses, their substantiation or refutation. The question of the source here does not matter at all: it is the method and the relation to the source data that are important.

In one of the premier textbooks on critical thinking called The Art of Asking the Right Questions, the authors describe two ways of thinking that anyone with reason uses. You can, like a sponge, absorb all the surrounding information. This path is quite simple and necessary for everyone: only having received a sufficient number of facts, you can make the world around you meaningful.

A person who is closer to the first way of thinking will try to remember any material as correctly as possible, without missing a single detail. He reproduces in his head the thought paths of the author, but does not evaluate or examine them critically. This does not necessarily lead to stupid cramming and retelling without deviating from the source text: such an approach can also be quite meaningful. But it lacks critical distance: you stay within the given initial framework, instead of expanding it and moving on.

Another way is like sifting sand in search of gold. This requires active engagement with the knowledge you are absorbing. Independent thinking without this mechanism would be impossible, all your opinions would be determined by what you heard and read for the last time.

A person who has fully mastered the art of sifting sand understands that arguments are needed not in order to remember them, but in order to evaluate their strength. To do this, it is necessary to transfer this task from the unconscious plane to the conscious one. What are we really doing when we try to argue and disagree with someone else's position?

Real and fake criticism

The basic structure of any argument is given by the following model: things are X because Y. There is something that they are trying to prove to us, and there is something with which they do it. To treat the material critically means to learn to separate one from the other and to be attentive to their correlation. Can other conclusions be drawn based on the same data? To what extent do these arguments substantiate the author's conclusion?

To reject someone else's conclusion simply because we don't like it is not to be critical of it. It means simply not understanding its essence.

Sometimes even the most intelligent and enlightened people are tempted to look at things in a simplistic way. Often this is associated with stigmatization and division into “us” and “them” - this is what a significant part of our everyday social experience is built on, in which there is a place for everyday racism, gender discrimination, and intellectual snobbery.

Another fallacy that often underlies our false inferences is the "correct answers" myth.

Many questions do have a single relatively accurate answer. For example, there is no need to argue about what is the distance to the moon - you can just find it in the reference book. But most questions require reflection, and the answers to them can be very different. Therefore, it is not enough just to make inquiries in an authoritative source: you need to evaluate how convincingly the data cited are substantiated and try to build own chain reasoning.

How to Read Texts: Basic Reasoning Structure

Any text - written or oral - must contain some basic elements, without which the author runs the risk of not conveying his message to the addressee.

Of course, in media texts or our everyday conversations, we can easily cope without them. But if we want to have a meaningful conversation, from which certain conclusions will follow, we should at least pay attention to how the reasoning is built. Below are the main of these elements. This list can be used as grid, which can be imposed on any detailed reasoning. And it really makes life a lot easier.

• Target
  Any text is written or spoken for a specific purpose. Who is the author addressing, what is he trying to convince the audience of? If you write the text yourself, check if you have deviated from your goal. And to begin with, understand whether it has any real meaning for you, and whether it is worth the effort at all.
• Problem
  The problem is not what the author has missed, but the questions that he intends to answer. It is necessary to separate those issues that have a clear solution from those that need to be considered from different points of view. In addition, large questions need to be divided into smaller parts so as not to go into empty abstractions.
• Assumptions
  These are the premises that the author takes for granted. Unconscious assumptions can put the author or the audience in an awkward situation, which is illustrated by a well-known anecdote in which a person is asked if he has stopped drinking cognac in the morning. When we write or read something, we need to think about what these assumptions are and how fair they are.

• Point of view
  We all look at things from a limited and private point of view. Achieving absolute objectivity is impossible not only because we are all people with our own characteristics, but also because any thing can be comprehended from different angles. The "God's Trick", that is, the claim to complete and unbiased knowledge, remains precisely an unfair trick: no one simply has enough resources to achieve knowledge of this level and quality.
• Data
  Any statement must be supported by relevant, that is, related to the topic data. For example, speaking about the dangers of GMOs, it is necessary to refer to scientific studies or their popular science transcriptions, and not to the opinions of neighbors in the porch. It is also necessary to check to what extent the given data relate to the problem that we are considering - have we gone somewhere away from it?

• Concepts and ideas
  Concepts are mental tools that we cannot do without. As much as we would like to talk about "real things", for this we need artificial models and invented concepts anyway. The only problem is that they must be chosen correctly and clearly defined - this is the key difference between objective knowledge and opinions and subjective observations.
• Conclusions and interpretations
  These are the ways in which you extract meaning from the data. Note that there is often another way to make sense of the same information. If so, then the data may simply not be sufficient to draw a meaningful conclusion. In this case, it is better to say it directly than to make unreasonable assumptions.
• Consequences
  What will happen if we take the main provisions and conclusions of the author seriously? What are the positive and Negative consequences flow from them? You can often see that at first glance reasonable arguments cause contradictory or meaningless consequences - this is what the rhetorical device "bringing to absurdity" is based on.

Bertrand Russell in his “Philosophical Dictionary of Mind, Matter, Morality” gives only three rules that, in his opinion, can significantly improve the intellectual climate of the planet if they are accepted by a significant part of people who are trying to think and reason about something.

1. if the experts came to an agreement, the opposite opinion cannot be considered correct;
2. if they do not agree, non-experts should not accept any opinion as correct;
3. when all the experts have decided that there is no sufficient basis for a certain opinion, it is best for the common man to refrain from judging.

These rules would really save us from a huge amount of what Russell calls "intellectual garbage." But isn't there something unfair in such strict regulations?

As we have already said, experts can also make mistakes, and far from every situation there is a clear position based on reinforced concrete truth. As for the third point, life often forces us to act in conditions of uncertainty: far from always we can simply stoically refrain from judgment, waiting for wise experts who will put everything in its place.

Relying only on expert opinion, dismissing everything else from the threshold, is to welcome the intellectual passivity of all but a select few who have "true knowledge". It would be much wiser to take advantage of the skills and principles of critical thinking that anyone can really master.