“The whole point of critical thinking is to take informed action. The reason I’ll do the first three things I’ve just described is so that I don’t waste energy acting in ways that I think are good for me, and that I believe will have the effects I want, only to find out that the opposite is true. Life is too short, and too dangerous, to waste a lot of time acting in uncritical ways…. The main reason we need to think critically is so we can take informed actions. In shorthand terms, we think critically not just to survive, but also to live and love well. And a life in which our actions are based on what we feel are accurate understandings of our situations is likely to be experienced as much more satisfactory than a life in which our actions are haphazard and arbitrary.” (Stephen D. Brookfield, Teaching for Critical Thinking, 2012)
If you’re anything like me, as you end one semester you are already thinking about what you might do differently next semester and scribbling notes that you hope will make sense (and that you can find) when you formally begin planning. The quote above is from a book that committee members of the Teaching and Creativity Center have been reading in preparation for next year. As a result of my reading, I have been thinking differently about critical thinking and the decisions I make for my courses. This week I am using a form of the Critical Incident Questionnaire (CIQ) for my student course evaluation. Below are the core questions of the CIQ that I am planning to use every week next semester:
1. At what moment were you most engaged as a learner?
2. At what moment were you most distanced as a learner?
3. What action that anyone took in class did you find most helpful?
4. What action that anyone took in class did you find most confusing?
5. What surprised you most about the class?
You can download the CIQ from Dr. Brookfield’s home page www.stephenbrookfield.com. Watch the Daily Tribune to find out how you can get a copy of his text, Teaching for Critical Thinking: Tools and Techniques to Help Students Question Their Assumptions, from the TCC.
Julie Damerell
ESOL/Transitional Studies
05/15/2013 |