Designing a critical thinking course – for learningLynne JumpSenior LecturerSchool of Health and Social CareUniversity of Greenwich

Critical thinking

course

Public healthProfessional practice

Complimentary therapies

Social care

Initial design

COMMON LOGICAL FALLACIES--1 (from the Latin fallere, meaning “to deceive, to trip,

to lead into error, to trick”; in one sense, everything on this list is a potential advertising strategy!)

Reasoning by analogy A is true; B is like A; ? B is true S. Baptists abandoned Biblical basis of slavery; submission of

women like slavery; ? … Ad hominem (attack the person, not the argument)

A has a fault/virtue; ? A has other faults/virtues Fran went to a second-rate college; ? her contributions are

second-rate.

Teaching and learning

Social constructivism Discussion within small groups Activity focussed Analysis of written texts

I find it difficult to put myself out there when the nature of the activity is based on personal thinking, I found it difficult to reveal in public what I think and that I don’t always understand

It is difficult to ask questions about the activity, I took the cowardly way out and rang the lecturer

I appreciate your honest and open response ….I can see exactly where you are coming from, I on the other hand am going to sit on the fence with regards to where I stand…

It does feel a bit like an awkward social situation at times, you just want to be nice…

Initial Evaluation

My learning is helped when I enter in the results of my activities because this site is a sort of practice point for me as I have to type in activities and express my opinions by myself

My learning is helped when I attempt activities that are set by the tutor because it guides and focuses my thinking

My learning is helped when I attempt homework it is guiding and informative because it guides you in an attempt to do some work with others and leads you to more reading

Evaluation continued……

My learning is helped when I participate in discussion because corrections can be made to my thinking when other people’s ideas are put through

My learning is helped when I read information shared by others because it makes me think how I should present my activities and how to share information

My learning is helped when I went to the discussion area and could read other people’s ideas because sometimes when I could not understand something because of language barrier I understood the idea when I read it from others on the course

Evaluation cont’d……

My learning is helped when I am able to work at my own speed because I have no access from home

My learning is helped when I used the site because responses were helpful

In all areas all information has been useful to a greater or lesser degree

My aim: to re design the course material using an iterative design

process

Talk to students

Talk to programme leaders

Read the literature

The literature

Critical thinking and e learning

Concentrated on the tools that promote enriched communication between people with different views and perspectives

Transferability of critical thinking skills

Depended upon

•Prior knowledge and its representation

•Beliefs and motivation

•Context of learning

Talking to students:

Define critical thinking

Being:

Broadminded

Able to get a wider understanding of the issues

Doing:

thinking more

Criticising

Breaking down

Thinking outside the box

Comparing and contrastingReasons for:

Mustn’t be descriptive

See the positive and the negative

Evaluate evidence

Elaborating the definitions

Criticise and analyse other peoples opinions and views, then interpret in your own thinking

In depth thinking, reasoning, views, opinions with an aim to obtain meaningful results – make sense ofNo attempts at

contextual elaboration

What would help you to become critical?

•Writing essays

•Presentation skills

•Research skills

•Time management

•IT skills

•Study skills

Cycle 1:

Search for suitable materials

Re establish the materials within a thinking course

Embed the course within a framework of reflection

Test the design so far

Common sense?

Class?

Gender?

Power?

Cycle 2:

Talk more to programme leaders, this time about VALUES!!

Design activities that situate learning within a commonly agreed value system – based upon future employment/ professional affiliations

Use systems of co reflection to support the construction of an individual journal

Work towards using social learning tools such as Wiki’s to support concept development