Critical Thinking Active Learning

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Critical ThinkingActive Learning

• Heidi Julien
• LIS 526
• Winter 2010

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Critical thinking

• What is critical thinking?
• The evaluation of evidence based on acceptable
  standards
• The process of determining authenticity,
  accuracy, and worth of information or knowledge
  claims or arguments

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Critical thinking (continued)

• Analyzing and evaluating information implies the
  ability to
• Assess reliability of sources
• Distinguish fact and opinion
• Identify hidden assumptions
• Recognize bias, logical fallacy, irrelevance
• Be skeptical

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Critical thinking (continued)

• Why is it important?
• To make effective personal and consumer decisions
• To become an educated person
• To distinguish truth from falsehood in
  journalism, etc.

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Critical thinking (continued)

• Should critical thinking skills such as
  information evaluation be taught in the academic
  library?
• Opinion is mixed

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How do we teach this?

• Critical thinking is not natural for dualists
• Use exercises to alert learners to bias in the
  media, to make them question the authority
  objectivity of textbooks, etc.

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Example evaluating periodicals

• Blatantly sensationalistic tabloids
• Weekly World News
• Trade or special interest periodicals
• American Rifleman
• Less challenging popular magazines
• Parenting Today
• News magazines
• Newsweek
• Sophisticated opinion/general interest magazines
• Atlantic Monthly
• Scholarly journals
• LISR

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Assignment Ideas

• Annotated bibliography assignments
• Exercises to identify clues for critical
  evaluation
• Others?

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Active learning

• Appeal to a variety of learning styles
• Emphasis on development of skills over
  transmission of information
• Emphasis on higher order thinking skills
• Learning experiences are active (reading,
  discussing, writing)
• Explore students attitudes, values

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Active learning (continued)

• Participants like it
• More fun and interesting for the instructor
• Research literature supports it
• Provides time to process information
• Effective transfers to long-term memory
• Greater retention of skills information
• Leads to higher cognitive learning
• Leads to affective learning
• Very effective for adult learning

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Active learning - how to do it

• Match important objectives to active learning
  exercises
• If using groups, provide clear instructions on
• forming groups
• objectives
• time limits
• reporting back

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Active learning - how to do it

• Be preparedeverything will take longer than
  expected
• Hand out exercises as students enter
• Limit number of choices
• Plan efficient strategies for forming groups
• Circulate among groups during group work (to keep
  on task, assist)

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Active learning - how to do it

• Ask groups to take discussion notes
• Provide time for reporting back
• Ensure all can hear (repeat remarks if necessary)
• Summarize after group reports

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Active learning - continuum of methods
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Questions to think about

• Reflecting on your own learning experiences at
  the post-secondary level, to what degree were
  principles of active learning incorporated? How
  did your learning outcomes vary according to
  teaching methods?
• How might you mitigate personality differences
  and socio-cultural factors that might impact
  student participation in active learning
  experiences?
• What sort of physical learning environment is
  required to facilitate active learning?