In the Winter 2018 edition of The Classical Teacher, Martin Cothran wrote an eye-opening piece titled “The Critical Thinking Skills Hoax.” He tackled a popular buzzword in American education: critical thinking. Today, it’s almost a given that any educational program aiming for relevance must incorporate and teach critical thinking skills. It’s often seen as the ultimate goal of education.
But what exactly is critical thinking? When you dive into the research, you’ll quickly find there isn’t one agreed-upon definition. The term can be a bit ambiguous, and many experts define it differently based on their specific fields. However, common threads emerge when we look at key characteristics of critical thinking. This article aims to offer a straightforward definition of critical thinking and provides practical examples of how you can encourage it in your online classroom.
Defining Critical Thinking
Renowned scholars Richard Paul, Linda Elder, and Denise Halpern have laid a solid foundation for defining critical thinking. Drawing from their work, we can describe critical thinking as:
Fair-minded thinking that is self-guided and self-disciplined, is purposeful and goal oriented, and performs at the highest level of quality.
This definition encapsulates the idea that critical thinking isn’t something that someone just does; it also entails one’s attitude. Let’s elaborate on the components that make up critical thinking:
- Fair-minded: Today, “fair-minded” alludes to “tolerance,” or viewing all ideas as equally valid. In reference to critical thinking, “fair-minded” includes the ideas of:
- Accountability: Being willing to self-correct when needed
- Flexibility: Looking at new ideas, reconsidering old ideas in a new light, or being willing to suspend judgment until you obtain more information
- Self-guided and self-disciplined: The idea behind these two words is that no one can make you practice critical thinking. You can learn what critical thinking is and how to practice critical thinking skills; however, you and you alone are responsible for using these skills.
- Purposeful and goal oriented: Thinking is not an end unto itself. Why are you thinking through a particular issue? What do you seek to accomplish? Critical thinking must have a purpose behind it.
- High quality: Not every matter requires extensive, deep thinking; there are varying degrees of effort and time put into thinking through matters. However, the point behind “highest level of quality” is that one should seek to do his or her best in every situation and avoid lazy and fallacious thinking.
In essence, critical thinking goes beyond a set of skills—it’s about your attitude, approach, and the effort you put into understanding and solving problems.
Encouraging Critical Thinking in the Online Classroom
Given that critical thinking involves a person’s attitude, purpose, and effort, how can you encourage it in your online course? The online format is actually a great space for nurturing critical thinking. With the right strategies, you can leverage tools within the Learning Management System (LMS) to engage students and push them to think more deeply. Here are two effective approaches:
Create Engaging Dialogue on the Discussion Boards
Perhaps the most significant part of the online classroom is the discussion board because it’s where students and instructor tackle the same question and hash out potential solutions and ideas. One powerful way to enhance critical thinking is by diving deeper into the discussion topic yourself. Share insights from your own experiences and knowledge, showing how the topic connects to real-world scenarios.
In addition to elaborating on the discussion question, you can engage students by addressing their responses. In doing so, you can ask various types of questions to get students to address problematic argumentation, elaborate on incomplete ideas, or think through the implications of their assertion(s). In other words, you can help students use their initial response as a springboard into deeper and meaningful thinking. Below are various kinds of questions that you can use to stretch students to think critically (Davis as cited in McDonald, 2016):
| Question Type | Purpose |
| Exploratory | Gauge student comprehension of a topic by asking “Can you explain this concept in your own words?” |
| Challenge | Question assertions for lack of clarity, correctness, or elaboration by asking “What evidence supports your viewpoint? Could there be an alternative interpretation?” |
| Relational | Help student to see the connection between class content and real life by asking “How does this idea connect with what we’ve learned so far? How might it apply in a professional setting?” |
| Diagnostic | Guide student in solving a problem and demonstrating comprehension by asking “What problem are you trying to solve here, and what steps would you take to address it?” |
| Summary | Require student to think through what he or she learned and to succinctly state main ideas by asking “Can you summarize the main takeaways from this discussion?” |
| Cause-and-Effect | Require student to think through the implication(s) of a course of action or idea by asking “What might be the consequences if this idea were implemented?” |
| Hypothetical | Help student to identify areas of weakness in an assertion in light of a particular situation by asking “How might your response change if we altered this scenario?” |
For more tips on how to develop effective discussion board questions, see our article “Writing Discussion Forum Questions.”
Include Supplemental Resources
Using well-chosen supplemental resources can make a big impact in an online course. These materials can connect course content with current industry trends and real-world challenges. Although these supplemental resources can be informative in nature, you can also choose resources that identify current challenges and unanswered questions in their career field. You can then attach an open-ended discussion forum where you ask students to identify the problem and provide potential solutions. Another option is to find case studies that allow students engage in solving current issues in their career field.
Conclusion
Critical thinking is a hot topic in education today, but oftentimes little is said about what critical thinking is. As an online facilitator, you can help foster within students a substantive approach to critical thinking through the use of discussion board questions and supplemental materials. Instilling critical thinking in your students will not only help them master your course objectives, but also give them skills they can apply far beyond the classroom.
References
Cothran, M. (2018, January 7). The critical thinking skills hoax. The Classical Teacher, Winter 2018. Retrieved from https://www.memoriapress.com/articles/the-critical-thinking-skills-hoax/
Halpern, D. (2013). Thought and knowledge: An introduction to critical thinking (5th ed.). New York: Psychology Press.
McDonald, D. (2016, October 12). Writing discussion forum questions. Retrieved from http://ctl.wiley.com/writing-discussion-forum-questions/
Paul, R., & Elder, L. (n.d.). The foundation for critical thinking. Retrieved from http://www.criticalthinking.org/
Additional Resources
If you want to read substantive work on what critical thinking is, Richard Paul and Linda Elder have developed a society devoted to understanding the nature of critical thinking and to using critical thinking skills in a wide array of settings. Check out their site: www.criticalthinking.org.
