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Being

Critical

critical thinking

creating a critical classroom

Critical thinking and critical perspectives

Meldijana Prutina, Jodie Jeworski, Karin Buchanan

Introduction

Life includes a series of decisions. These decisions are based on various assumptions; some correct and others accepted from the dominant culture and never examined for ourselves. Sometimes we hold certain assumptions because we are told by authority - our parents, or religious leaders - that they are right.

We sometimes become aware of our assumptions incidentally, by reading a book or watching a movie.

Once we recognize our assumptions we are ready to enter the second phase of critical thinking – the research.

The third stage means putting the first two stages into practice by applying our own critical analysis to our decisions. Crtical thinking and analysis is a central goal of adult education. (Brookfield, S)

being critical

Three aspects of Critical Thinking in adult education:

• Critical Theory - provides a basis for critical thinking.

• Critical Thinking - a self-reflection process of assessing, or questioning what we believe or do.

• Critical Action - taking informed decision after assessing assumptions.

Critical theory

critical theory

critical perspectives

Critical theorists talk about “hegemony” or the process which demonstrates how dominant groups create “truths” that become accepted as the norm while actually keeping us powerless.

Dominant ideologies and practices usually work on maintaining unequal economy, racism, homophobic and sexist society with little or no resistance.

To be a critical person, action must be taken toward creating better, democratic, economic and social forms. (Brookfield)

Critical theory helps us:

  • create a framework for critiquing social conditions
  • uncover dominant ideologies
  • seek social emancipation and the elimination of oppression

(Merriam,S.B. and Bierema, L.L)

critical perspectives

  • In addition to critical thinking, critical perspectives seek to change in equitable social, organizational and educational systems by challenging ideological domination and manipulation
  • Critical approaches urge us to find ways of naming, knowing and being in the world and moving outside sites of revolutions and into spaces of transformation

critical action

Postmodernism

postmodernism

Postmodernists believe that knowledge can emerge from a particular context or event, and it can shift as the context, learner or events change. It acknowledges that the experiences of each person will be different. They will question anything presented as knowledge.

feminist pedagogy

  • Focuses on women and other marginalized social groups, bringing attention to inequity in politics, economics, and society.

feminist pedagogy

critical race theory

  • Emerged from a 1970s legal movement and is a form of critique over delayed progress of civil rights litigation and racial reform.
  • Believes that not only does racial inequality continue to be embedded in the legal system...it permeates every aspect of social life.

critical race theory

queer studies

  • Explores power relations related to sexuality/gender identity focusing on LGBTI.
  • Confronts how sexuality ideologies privilege heterosexuality.
  • Examines queer influences in society and their relationship to the social and political oppression of marginalized people.

queer studies

multiculturalism

  • Values diverse and multiple cultures within a society.
  • Respects the unique identities and contributions of individuals and their cultures.
  • Multicultural education provides strategies for educators to create democratic, inclusive learning environments that honor the cultural diversity of learners.

multiculturalism

critical management studies

  • Evaluates management theory and questions the "truths" that tend to preserve power among managers and executives, typically white males.
  • Goals include fostering insight, providing critique and creating a transformative redefinition of organization pracitces, cultures and structures.

critical management studies

critical human resource development

  • Shares goals similar to Critical Management Studies with a focus on human resource activities and how they can create oppression in organizations.
  • Challenges the concept that Human Resource Development (HRD) practice that privileges managers or the bottom line and advocates for HRD that is socially conscious and responsible to multiple stakeholders.

critical human resource development

critical thinking

critical thinking

  • The ability to assess your assumptions, beliefs and actions
  • Is important to making good life decisions.
  • Helps you stay intact when organizations try to get you to think and act in ways that serve their purposes
  • Critical thinkers possess abilities that set them apart from non-critical thinkers; they:
  • Assume a position or change it based on evidence
  • Seek information and precision in the information
  • Are open-minded
  • Consider the big picture
  • Focus on the original problem
  • Consider complex components of problems
  • Seek a clear statement of the problem
  • Seek options
  • Show sensitivity to others' feelings and knowledge
  • Use credible sources

Reflecting on Assumptions and beliefs

  • Thinking critically begins with an examination of your assumptions
  • Perspective assumptions are our beliefs about how we should behave
  • Paradigmatic assumptions are deeply held beliefs or mental models that shape how we view the world
  • Causal assumptions allow us to both explain and predict circumstances. For instance, if I do "X", then "Y" will occur

critiquing thought and action

  • Hunting assumptions involves trying to identify what underlies our thought and action. An effort to unearth what you believe and determine its accuracy
  • Checking assumtions. Once we become aware of assumptions, then we need to assess how accurate they are
  • Seeing things from different viewpoints suggests that an open mind is essential for critical thinking and ask to embrace radical openness
  • Taking informed action is the final step and key goal of critical thinking

connecting individual experience to broader social conditions

  • Individual critical thinking can be shared and sometimes merged into collective reflection on assumptions and beliefs
  • Critical thinking becomes powerful when we understand how our individual experience is not unique to us, but that others may be caught in the same dominant ideology that is hurting them
  • Critical thinking is a social learning process
  • Critical thinking is an interactive process, one that demands participation on the part of the teacher and students alike
  • Requires full engagement of everyone

critical action -mindful and timely intervention

critical action -mindful and timely intervention

Critical action emerges in three ways:

  • Talking informed action
  • Monitoring and correcting ourselves, and
  • Justifying our actions

How can we take action on our critical thinking?

  • Be in a continual state of critiquing our intention, ideologies, and actions
  • Monitor and correct themselves as well as their group when appropriate
  • Check assumptions and entertainment different viewpoints
  • Make interventions tha are timely

Critical thinking is not a neutral process because it asks you to question values and who benefits from your actions.

creating a critical classroom

Best methods to promote critical thinking:

  • Critical thinking is best experienced as a social learning process
  • Teachers should model the process for students
  • Critical thinking is best understood when grounded in specific events or experiences
  • Some of the most effective triggers to critical thinking are having to deal with an unexpected event
  • Learning critical thinking needs to be incrementally sequenced

creating a critical classroom

Our Task as Educators...

To help learners relate to critical theory and connect their own experience to that of others and the broader society. Three ways to facilitate learner's understanding of critical theory:

  • Understanding power relations
  • Recognizing ideological manipulation and hegemony
  • Practicing democracy

Facilitating Critical Thinking

When learners understand the basics of critical thinking, we can turn our focus to individual and collective critical thought processes by:

  • Fostering Critical Reflection - Reflection is key for critical thinking and can be fostered through journalizing, small group sharing, case studies, critical incident questionnaire etc.
  • Building a Learning Community - Students and teacher working together to create a learning community is most impactful. Instructor's role includes modeling critical thinking.
  • Practicing Dialogical Conversation - Teach learners the concept of active listening and dialogue. Example activity - circle of voices.

Facilitating Critical Thinking

When learne...

Taking Critical Action

How do we create experiences that help learners connect critical theory and critical reflection to critical action? By creating experiental learning both inside and outside the classroom.

We create learning experiences for students outside the classroom by assigning learning projects that give them real-life opportunities to examine critical issues.

Taking Critical Action

References

References

Merriam, S. B. & Bierema, L.L. Adult Learning: Linking Theory and Practice. (2014) San Francisco Jossey-Bass. (P. 212-237)

Brookfield, S. Discussion as a Way of Teaching. Retrieved from

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5738a0ccd51cd47f81977fe8/t/5750ef4862cd947608165d85/1464921939855/Discussion_as_a_Way_of_Teaching_Packet.pdf

Brookfield, S. (2016) So Exactly What is Critical About Critical Reflection NY: Routledge Retrieved from

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5738a0ccd51cd47f81977fe8/t/59555771725e2501e8eb699c/1498765174501/Brookfield-2016-So+Exactly+What+is+Critical+About+Critical+Reflection%3F.pdf

The ABC's of Adventure Based Learning. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08924562.2015.1111787?src=recsys&

BCRPA Facilitator Training Manual. Retrieved from http://www.bcrpa.bc.ca/fitness_program/documents/TFLFacilitatorManual-2014.pdf

Critical Thinking Community. Retrieved from http://www.criticalthinking.org

Critical.Thinking.Net. Retrieved from http://www.criticalthinking.net/

Thank You!

Thank You!

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