by Liz Ragin
Intern Writer
Critical thinking has been an integral part of education in the
United States for years. Allegedly beginning with Socrates and Aristotle,
the process is most commonly defined as the use of logic and ration
to come to conclusions from arguments.
There is a debate in the academic world as to whether or not more
emphasis on critical thinking is needed. At Appalachian State University,
faculty and administration are advocates and supporters of increased
critical thinking.
Dean of Education Dr. Charles R. Duke is an advocate of teaching
critical thinking, but not necessarily without direct applications
to other subjects.
“The course should not be any type of required course—critical
thinking in itself is not a subject, it doesn’t exist in a
vacuum. You need to teach it through a variety of subjects,”
Duke said.
Duke said the more emphasis on critical thinking through different
mediums, the better.
“One place that critical thinking becomes more transparent
is through discussion, through higher-level questions—not
the ‘what happened,’ but the ‘how do you know
that?’ and ‘what are the implications?’”
Duke said he believes that the problems with apathy concerning government
and politics do not necessarily stem from a lack of critical thinking
skills to analyze government actions, but because of the effects
of government action.
“When there is no direct impact or benefit, people are less
inclined to research a subject,” he said.
Duke said he believes that Appalachian professors, in general, use
critical thinking in their curriculum.
“Critical thinking is the heart of every class at any university,”
Cama J. Duke, learning skills coordinator of the Learning Assistance
Program, said. “In terms of how we use critical thinking to
help students in the Learning Assistance Program, dialogue is key.
"We sometimes help students more by asking them questions than
by providing suggestions, because students then have to think through
the problem for themselves and to reflect on what they can change
… Any kind of problem-solving calls on critical thinking,
and when we try to help a student improve in college, we are working
with the student to solve a problem,” she said.
“It’s hard for me to say what goes on all across campus
… but I would be willing to say in general that most well-run
courses should directly or indirectly inculcate the principles of
critical thinking. I won’t presume to say that ‘enough’
critical thinking is being taught, but I believe that you can’t
get through our curriculum without being exposed to the principles,”
Ward said.
Ward said critical thinking is taught in two different ways. First
is the “purely abstract, virtually mathematical” way,
which is positive because “you keep your own emotions and
biases out of the thinking, because there is no subject matter to
arouse emotion or trigger the bias.”
Logic I, or Critical Thinking Skills, both philosophy classes at
Appalachian, are examples of purely abstract critical thinking.
The other way that critical thinking is taught is through application
of real life situations, for example, Social Issues and Ethics.
Ward said he finds difficulties with this type of critical thinking.
“Having an instructor work with a class in applying critical
thinking to a ‘real life’ issue or situation is simply
more interesting for most than trying to discipline their thinking
processes in the abstract.," Ward said.
"In my opinion, the chief problem here is that instructors
so often bring their own conclusions to the subject matter, and
what purports to be an exercise in critical thinking turns into
a retracing of the origins of the instructor’s own opinions.”
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