These days, it is often lamented among secondary educators that students lack critical thinking skills. That sentiment is echoed by college professors at all levels from lower division undergraduate to doctoral candidacy level. It simply cannot be said clearly enough that students need and are lacking critical thinking skills.
What is at the root of the lack of critical thinking skills? While a novice professor of remedial mathematics students, I encountered a student who made an immensely profound statement. This student caught me outside of the classroom right before the first class period following our first test of the semester. The student was more than unhappy and boldly declared that the test was completely unfair. This is a hallway across for the academic dean's office! Hoping to diffuse the situation and preserve my fledgling career, I calmly asked the student why the test was deemed unfair. I noted that we had done examples in class of every type of problem that would be seen on the test and that, as far as I was concerned, I had taken great care not to include anything on the test that had not been discussed in the classroom. These were remedial students. Many of them were suffering from math anxiety. So, building success was a primary goal. Add to that the fact that as a first-year teacher I knew I had a great deal to learn about managing a classroom, and I genuinely wanted to know why this student held this opinion. What the student said has remained branded on my memory. Responding in a completely serious manner to my query regarding why the test was unfair, the student unashamedly declared the test was unfair because all of the numbers on the test were different from those in the classroom examples!
After recovering from my shock and suppressing the incredible desire to engage in uproarious laughter, I realized that this student lacked critical thinking skills and would need additional assistance. More profoundly and much more slowly, I came to realize that this individual's lack of critical thinking skill was rooted in an innate sense of entitlement. The student genuinely believed that being provided all of the same numbers (and by extension, the solutions) was a right carried by students; students as human beings were entitled to this information. They genuinely believed they should not have to work at critical thinking but that things such as test solutions should be provided to them without requiring work or thought.
To be sure, this is anecdotal information. Clearly the lack of critical thinking skill is a complex issue. However, it would well be worth researching the possible connection between a lack of critical thinking skill and the entitlement attitude of the upcoming generations.
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I see entitlement in the graduate course I teach: "I paid my money, I expect an A." These students do not represent the upcoming generations; they are in their 50s and 60s. These same students who lack a grasp of critical thinking skills. I have to continually remind them to read the text/lecture and interact with it. Those who do interact with the material simply parrot what they read; they do not put it through a critical thinking grid.
What a great story Tim. Like Ron, I too often see entitlement in the graduate and masters level courses I teach, and as with his students, they span the age range. Getting students to think critically and not just regurgitate the text is often a difficult task but once they make the connection, I see immediate changes in their thinking and writing. I often think that our 'instant' society has damaged our ability to truly think--evaluate, compare, consider, and then reach a conclusion. It appears that for many the two sentence news blurbs, websites with brief summaries of concepts, and simplicity utilized in social media, cognitive skills are becoming atrophied. All the more reason to teach and encourage critical thinking in our courses.. . . Thanks again for sharing. . . .Roselyn
testing...
As a secondary "intensive reading" teacher, I too see many students with an entitlement attitude, which leads to passivity in learning for oneself without being prodded repeatedly and/or being spoon-fed. It is very frustrating engaging these 16, 17 year olds, but there are two negative dynamics that I think drives this disengagement: poverty (loss of hope), and our tech-driven society (immediate gratification). So Tim (and others), I am wondering what you might recommend as far as best practices so I can plan for the upcoming fall. Thanks! Great discussion topic. Linda
Linda, Can you say more about poverty? Do you see this in our online college students as well or only at the high school level?
Ron
Linda, Have you tried finding out the interests of these students and find reading materials that relate to these interests? I knew a junior high teacher who would copy articles from magazines and have the students read them. They had to circle every word they did not know the meaning of. These words became their vocabulary test words for the week and spelling words for the week.
You make a good point, Ron: try to find a point of tangency with the students. It may not be the most academic reading, but start wherever you can. You can move toward more academic materials as the class progresses. You may also find that a "bit of medicine" once in a while between helpings of "fun foods" makes the medicine more tolerable.
This is where the art of teaching comes into play. So, invoke your creativity and have fun!
The Art of Thinking by Vincent Ruggiero may aid faculty / students to better understand facilitating / learning creative and critical thinking.
Pearson 10th ed. ISBN-13: 9780205108930
The 11th ed is coming 2/2014 but the 9th ed is under $10 in the Amazon Marketplace.
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