Week 5 Overview and Lecture

Critical Thinking and Critical Perspectives; Cultural Context; Changing Theory Into Practice

Due: Complete this online lesson before posting in the discussion board or completing any other assignments due this week.

This week’s lesson addresses critical theory, critical thinking, and critical action. You will use knowledge and skills from all weeks to create a teaching plan that requires the application of theory into practice.  

Course Objectives covered this week include: 

  • CO1: Apply learning theories, and formal, nonformal, and informal learning practices to the development of a teaching plan suitable for the adult learner. (SLO 1)
  • CO2: Identify various teaching strategies that can engage adult learners in the educational process. (SLO 4)
  • CO3: Evaluate methods of overcoming barriers that could impede sustained learning. (SLO 2)
  • CO5: Assess how culture can impact one’s ability to critically think and learn. (SLO 2)

Week 5 Lecture

Overview

Learning and teaching require one to be critical. Critical thinking will be viewed in a broader context of critical theory, critical perspectives, and critical action. Critical thinking will be defined and methods to promote critical thinking in the adult learner will be discussed. Additionally how to apply critical thinking to teaching and learning will be examined. 

Critical Thinking and Critical Perspectives

Critical thinking is the main goal of adult education. What does it mean to be a critical thinker? Everyone has their own opinion about this question, so perhaps stating what it is not, will help. Critical thinking does not require a college education. It is not an understanding of philosophy, it not about problem solver or one who is creative. It is also not about criticizing things and people, nor is it associated with one’s age or IQ. Educators and researchers believe that critical thinking should be taught, as it is the goal of adult education. However, the problem is that those who consider it to be so important cannot adequately define it.

Being Critical

Being critical in adult education covers three facets:

  • Critical theory, which is the philosophy of one’s perspective
  • Critical thinking, which is reflective thinking on why we do what we do, or believe what we believe
  • Critical action, which is being able to make timely and accurate interventions

Critical Theory

Critical theory is a philosophical stance that is critical of the prevailing view of society. It challenges beliefs one has come to accept as “truth” as a way of ending oppression and promoting freedom. “Hegemony” is the process of creating these “truths” that become accepted as the natural way to think about something, but over time these beliefs can actually hurt the one accepting of these “truths”. An example of hegemony in education is questioning how the educational system can best offer education to all people.

Critical Perspectives

Critical theory has influenced the establishment of critical perspectives. The course text reviews these various critical perspectives. It is important to take into consideration these presumptions and critique them as an independent thinker and determine one’s own viewpoint.

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking can be traced back to ancient Greece, starting with Plato and Socrates. Based on the teachings of these two philosophers, critical thinking was essentially a wise person exposing foolishness. However, we have come to learn that there are more educational methods to stimulate critical thinking than those of ancient times.

Critical thinking is the ability to assess one’s assumptions, beliefs, and actions. It is imperative for one’s survival, as failure to engage in critical thinking makes one a target for harm or manipulation. In 1989 Ennis speculated that critical thinkers possess certain abilities that set them apart. These abilities include:

  • Assume a position or change one’s position based on the evidence
  • Remain relevant to the point
  • Seek information and precision in the information sought
  • Exhibit open-mindedness
  • Consider the big picture
  • Focus on the original problem
  • Search for the reason
  • Orderly consider complex components of problems
  • Seek a clear statement of the problem
  • Seek options
  • Show sensitivity to others’ feelings and knowledge
  • Use credible sources

Thinking critically begins with an examination of one’s assumptions.

  • Prescriptive assumptions are beliefs about how one should behave.
  • Paradigmatic assumptions are deeply held beliefs or mental models that shape how one views the world.
  • Casual assumptions allow one to explain and predict circumstances.

Critiquing Thought and Action

Another important aspect of critical thinking is a change in one’s critique to thought and action. Brookfield offers a framework for accomplishing this. First, one must hunt for assumptions. This involves trying to identify what motivates one’s thought and action. Next, one must check for assumptions, which is when one may become aware they possess assumptions. When one becomes aware of their assumptions they need to assess how accurate these assumptions are. Afterwich, one must be willing to see things from different viewpoints. It is imperative that critical thinkers have an open mind. Lastly, one must take informed action. This is the key goal of critical thinking. This informed action could involve renegotiating based on the consideration of one’s assumptions.

Connecting Individual Experience to Broader Social Conditions

Critical thinking can result in a merging of collective thoughts and beliefs. This requires a joint assessment of assumptions, or a lengthy discussion perhaps. In the end, all may not agree, but critical thinking becomes powerful when one understands how their individual experience is not unique to them. Critical thinking is a social learning process. Critical thinking is an interactive process, and in education, it is one that demands participation on the part of the teacher and student alike. Critical thinking becomes most powerful when one is able to connect their individual ideas and experiences to broader social issues.

Critical Action – Mindful and Timely Intervention

The root of critical thinking is using one’s insights to inform one’s actions. Critical action emerges in three ways: critical thinking

  1. Taking informed action,
  2. Monitoring and correcting one’s self, and
  3. Justifying one’s actions.

The informed action is to base one’s action on evidence that supports it. Hence, one should seek out the best research available in making decisions. Another way to take informed action is to continually critique one’s intentions, ideologies, and actions, then correct behaviors as appropriate. Brookfield states that it is essential for instructors to model these behaviors to foster critical thinking in learners.

Another key to critical action is making interventions that are timely. Once the critical thinking process is complete, one must put the new perspectives into action in a way that does the most good.

Critical thinking cannot be separated from one’s morals and values. This is where it becomes important that the action be both mindful and timely. Mindful action has a moral or ethical basis to it, and timely action means that one does not over think action when intervention is needed.

Creating a Critical Classroom

To facilitate critical thinking for the adult learner, Brookfield recommends the following:

  1. One should experience critical thinking as a social learning process.
  2. The teacher should model the process.
  3. Ground the critical thinking in specific events or experiences to allow for better understanding.
  4. The most effective trigger to critical thinking may be undergoing an unexpected event.
  5. Learning critical thinking must be progressive.

An educator can create a critical classroom by introduction critical theory, facilitating critical thinking, and helping learners take critical action. Fostering critical thinking in the classroom does not take more time but it requires planning of learning activities that can develop the learner’s ability to think critically.

Introducing Critical Theory

The goal as an educator is to help the learner relate to critical theory individually, then connect to others and the broader society via one’s own experience. Three foci are suggested to assist the learner to understand critical theory:

  • Understanding power relations. This involves defining power and helping learners understand how it is conferred, used, abused, and shifted in social relations.
  • Recognizing ideological manipulation and hegemony. This involves identifying dominant beliefs that may be operating individually or collectively.
  • Practicing democracy. This is at the core of critical theory because the ultimate goal is to free the oppressed and transform society by practicing democracy.

It is important to help the learner understand that critical theory is a philosophy, hence the learner should always question social conditions and “truths” rather than focusing on self. Educational integrity depends on questioning one’s biases as both an educator and a learner.

Facilitating Critical Thinking

Facilitating critical thinking is more focused on creating conditions that promote individual and collective learning on challenging topics. This can be done by fostering critical reflection. Critical reflection allows for the examination of one’s assumptions. One should reflect on previous actions, their actions as they are doing something, and one should reflect on learning itself. It is important that learners and educators continually exercise their reflexive muscles.

Another way to facilitate critical thinking is to build a learning community. The educator must create an atmosphere conducive to critical thinking. It is noted that engaged pedagogy begins with the assumption that one learns best when there is a collaborative relationship between student and teacher. “When everyone in the classroom, teacher and students, recognizes that they are responsible for creating a learning community together, learning is at its most meaningful and useful. In such a community of learning there is no failure….” (Merriam & Bierema, 2014, p. 231). An important aspect of building a learning community is for the instructor to model critical thinking. This can be done by talking out loud through one’s own critical thought processes as an educator.

Finally, it is imperative for the educator to assist the learner to build competence by practicing dialogical conversation. Helping learners build competence in this area while working with challenging concepts is fundamental to the critical thinking process. Teaching learners the concepts of effective listening and speaking is crucial to enhancing conversational skills, and it allows the learners to value all experiences and viewpoints as equally valid.

Taking Critical Action

How do we create experiences that help learners connect critical theory and critical reflection to critical action? By creating experiential learning experiences both inside and outside the classroom. In nursing education, this can be done by utilizing simulation and clinical experiences. Experiential learning that involves learners in engaging with others can spur learners into action and help build empathy.

References

  • Merriam, S. B. and Bierema, L. L. (2014). Adult learning: linking theory and practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

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