Critical thinking is fundamental to any effective education. It involves more than just rote memorization of facts--facts must be analyzed for meaning and challenged for internal consistency and accuracy. Good critical thinking habits are best formed in childhood through exercises that stimulate a young mind's natural curiosity. If critical thinking habits become ingrained, they can persist throughout a person's lifetime.
Testing Knowledge
Although mere knowledge does not constitute critical thinking, you must learn facts and assertions before before you can criticize them. You can test knowledge by simply going over the content of learned material. An example of a question you might ask to test knowledge is, "When was the Declaration of Independence signed?" according to Elizabeth Shaunessy, assistant professor in the Department of Special Education and coordinator of the Gifted Education Program at the University of South Florida.
Testing Comprehension
Comprehension involves understanding meaning and purpose, as well as making comparisons and inferences, says Shaunessy. You can stimulate comprehension by asking questions such as "What is the author's purpose in writing this passage?" or asking a reader to compare two passages.
Testing Analysis
Analysis is the recognition of patterns, parts and components by taking something apart mentally. You can stimulate analysis by asking your student to rank a set or games by level of difficulty, for example. As another illustration, you could ask which exports are most important to the Canadian economy based on different factors.
Testing Synthesis
Synthesis is the process of generalizing, reaching conclusions, and using information to create a new system, according to Shaunessy. Creating a new theory to answer a previously unanswered question or coming up with mathematical proof of a theorem is an act of synthesis. Information need not be verbal or numerical--writing a song, for example, is an act of synthesis.
Testing Evaluation
Evaluation is the act of assessing concepts, choosing the best among several options that each have advantages, and testing opinions for subjectivity or bias. An example of a question designed to test evaluation abilities is "Which local newspaper is the most objective in its coverage of the news?" Note that the subject matter that is being evaluated is not necessarily compatible with a clear right answer. Legal arguments are an example of evaluative thinking.
The Socratic Method
The Socratic method is named for the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates because he stimulated critical thinking by constant questioning of the explicit and implicit premises of an argument. All aspects of critical thinking can be tested simultaneously by using certain types of challenges that tend to expose weaknesses in an argument. These include asking clarifying questions, examining assumptions, exploring perspectives, investigating evidence and reasoning processes, and examining implications, according to Kristen R. Stephens, assistant professor in special education at Duke University. Challenging an argument using the Socratic method or defending against such a challenge is an exercise in advanced critical thinking.
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