Critical Thinking Discussion Essay.

Critical Thinking Discussion Essay.

This is a discussion paper. The attached paper outline gives you an idea of what to be included in the discussion. Critical Thinking Discussion Essay.

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The focus is on adult learners. There are two questions to be answered along with the discussion. Question 2 the link gives you a number of strategies to help answer this question

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There is no need for a cover page and reference page.Critical Thinking Discussion Essay.

Instruction: One page discussion single space – 750 words

 

What does critical thinking mean to you and how do you model and facilitate thinking?

 

Teaching critical thinking is one of the most important parts in our role as an adult educator. When teaching critical thinking, our goal is to teach learners how to think and how to take charge of their own learning.Critical Thinking Discussion Essay.

 

Spear and Mocker believe that critical thinking skills must be taught and fostered by adult educators who themselves are critical thinkers. Of course it will take more than one single class to improve critical thinking skills.Critical Thinking Discussion Essay.

 

(ideas to consider when answering the above question- They look at  three principles

• One way is through group instruction where dialogue among group participants is the primary instruction technique.
• Critical thinking is about developing the process of discovering the answer, not from the answer itself.
• The fundamental to most learning in adult education is motivation

 

 

• Brookfield (1987) suggests several strategies for facilitating critical thinking skills. Review these strategies and explain how you can implement these strategies with adult learners. Provide specific examples.

 

Article to be read to answer question 2

Brookfield, B. (1995) The Getting of Wisdom: What Critically Reflective Teaching is and why it is Important. From Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher. San Fransisco: Jossey-Boss

Critical Thinking Discussion

1. What does critical thinking mean to you and how do you model and facilitate thinking?

Critical thinking is the ability to rationally reflect on a given situation and make logical connections between and among concepts, enabling you to understand a situation or come up with the solution to a problem. Critical thinking requires intuition and attention to detail. One must be able to properly employ all their senses in order to look at a situation or concept from different standpoints. Critical thinking is independent and does not require external direction to come up with the solution to a problem. A critical thinker unravels the complexities of a given situation or problem systematically and methodically and simplifies it into logical components that are easy to understand.Critical Thinking Discussion Essay.

I would model and facilitate (critical) thinking around the three domains of learning. These are cognitive domain, psychomotor domain, and affective domain. Around the cognitive domain of learning, I would motivate the adult learners to sharpen their recall (memory) and analysis (problem solving) through constant practice. This will mean exposing the adult learners to situations that force them to independently exercise critical thinking in a cognitive sense. Around the psychomotor domain, I would empower and motivate the adult learners to practice and perfect their dexterity with regard to solving tasks that require psychomotor skills. To achieve that, I would expose the adult learners to situations that force them to make a logical connection between psychomotor and cognitive tasks. Lastly, around the affective domain I would motivate the adult learners to approach scholarly situations and problems with a positive mindset. They should see problems as opportunities that can be harnessed through the use of clinical thinking skills.       Critical Thinking Discussion Essay.

2. Review the strategies for facilitating critical thinking skills by Brookfield (1995) and explain how you can implement the strategies with adult learners by providing examples.

Brookfield (1995) proposes several strategies that educators of adult learners can use to facilitate critical thinking skills. The four main ones are discussed here and how they can be implemented with adult learners.Critical Thinking Discussion Essay.

1. Avoiding being the ‘fly on the wall’

It is very easy for a teacher to think that by giving tasks that require the use of critical thinking to their students and then detaching themselves after giving few instructions they will spur critical reflection. Nothing could be further from the truth. As a matter of fact, some of the students may choose to shut themselves and close their minds as they are not sure whether the teacher approves of their train of thought. The example I would use to implement this strategy and facilitate critical thinking in adult learners would be to actively engage with them as they perform a task I have given them and use positive reinforcement (congratulations) for critical thinkers to motivate the others to do the same.    Critical Thinking Discussion Essay.

1. Rejecting the fallacy of being “one” with the students

The other strategy for facilitating critical reflection is avoiding wanting to sound right and friendly by telling the learners that you as the teacher are just the same as them. The truth is that a teacher is not the same as the students, even if they are adult learners. I would implement this strategy with adult learners by for instance telling them that they should not feel ashamed of making mistakes and that I am always there to help them and transfer information to them.Critical Thinking Discussion Essay.

• Participating in your students’ discussions

Another strategy is avoiding distancing yourself as a teacher in the hope that the students will employ critical reflection on their own. To facilitate critical thinking skills, the teacher should engage with the students actively as they exercise their critical thinking skills in a group. I would implement thus strategy for facilitating critical thinking with adult learners by giving them critical reflection tasks and remaining with them throughout as they analyze the situation critically to come up with solutions. This way, I will be a motivating influence for them to embrace critical thinking. Critical Thinking Discussion Essay.

1. Carefully and tactfully using practical resources without inadvertent prejudice

Lastly but not least, a teacher should tactfully use experimental academic tools such as portfolios and journal publications with their students. This is because if they do not exercise tact, some of the students who are not good in these will shut themselves off and passively observe the others being praised. To implement this strategy with adult learners, therefore, I will treat each adult learner individually and specifically by assigning them tailor-made tasks that will bring the best in them in terms of critical thinking skills.  Critical Thinking Discussion Essay.