Critical Thinking and Information Literacy

What Is Critical Thinking? 

We frequently apply critical thinking skills when we ask questions, read an article, watch television, listen a radio broadcast, and in many others instances.  The uses of critical thinking depend on many factors including the subject matter, our background experiences, culture, and intellectual abilities.  A person’s experiences form the bases of reference or benchmark when trying to apply critical thinking skills in solving a problem or making a decision. 

There are many definitions of critical thinking but, in my opinion, the one that stands out is by Scriven and Paul (1987): “Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.”  

Critical Thinking and Information Literacy 

With the continuing increases in social media tools and information on the Internet, the demand for critical thinking skills also increases.  Some of that information may be false and some may be valid but requiring analytical skills in order to make sense of it.  Therefore, we should be teaching our students such skills. For instance, when they read an article from the Internet, they should be able to determine what the facts are; whether the sources are credible; what the author’s point of view is and how bias may have played a part. They should show some level of skepticism instead of just being consumers of information.   

Why Teach Critical Thinking Skills? 

Critical thinking skills will also be beneficial when students graduate and have to face the competitive and challenging labor market.  Students will need higher level thinking skills to evaluate job advertisements and demonstrate their eligibilities for job offers during interview settings.  Some analysts contend that ‘The biggest problem facing educators today is the inability of most students to think analytically” (The Critical Thinking Co., 2005)).  For example, they should be able to evaluate evidence, arguments, claims and beliefs, and solve different types of problems using appropriate methods. Graduates need analytical skills to solve not only job-related problems but also other challenges beyond school years.   

How Can I Incorporate Critical Thinking Into My Courses? 

There are strategies that are subject-matter specific and others that are applicable to broad areas.  Strategies that promote thinking skills across disciplines (Orlich et al., 1994) include: 

  • Classifying and categorizing content: creating schemes, patterns, or chunks of related content  
  • Comparing and contrasting: being able to separate relevant from irrelevant data.   
  • Encouraging creativity: using a wide range of techniques such as brainstorming to create new and valuable ideas.  
  • Making connections:  encouraging students to make connections between the lesson and real-life situation will increase relevance and enthusiasm.  
  • Providing group opportunities: being able to work effectively and respectfully with diverse teams  
  • Being open-minded: Acknowledging that it is plausible to have more than one solution to a problem and that you could be wrong.  

Reference: 

  • Orlich, D. C, Harder, R. J., Callahan, R. C., Kauchak, D. P., Gibson, H. W. (1994):  Teaching Strategies:  A Guide to Better Instruction (4th ed.). Lexington, MA:  Heath & Company. 
  •  Scriven, M., Paul, R. W. (1987).  Defining Critical Thinking:  Draft statement written for the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking Instruction. Retrieved from:  http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766 
  •  The Critical Thinking Co. (2005).  Teaching Critical Thinking Skills.  Retrieved from: https://www.criticalthinking.com/articles/teaching-critical-thinking-skills?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_r2Y1KWu8gIVwpyzCh2ErQ2OEAMYAiAAEgKEC_D_BwE 

Additional Resource with an Annotated List:  

  • Gazier, J. D. (2010).  Fostering Critical Thinking. Retrieved from: https://www.westpoint.edu/sites/default/files/inline-images/centers_research/center_for_teching_excellence/PDFs/mtp_project_papers/Cazier_10.pdf 
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