Great critical thinking can happen anytime and at any scale, yesterday was an example of such. A small group meeting of environmental education graduate students brought together individuals from 3 teams which were each working on separate branches under a common goal of putting on a conference. Deciding on a title for the conference was a central point of the meeting.
Our six minds came up with brilliant suggestions, with particular attention focusing on action words. With a whiteboard half-filled, we began discussing the idea behind the suggestions. We also had to keep reminding ourselves that while the understanding of a phrase may be clear to us (those on the inside of the conference), the meaning would need to be crystal clear for folks without any such context. When we felt close to a decision, we would return to our original purpose statement to see how the suggested title aligned. We also had to remind ourselves to use positive and inclusive language, which meant heavy usage of a thesaurus.
This meeting was a prime example of collaboration and critical thinking. As ideas were discussed and suggestions considered, we each had to examine our individual interpretations and reactions. Not only did this help inform us personally but also provided insight as to potential interpretations and reactions of the general public for when we begin marketing the conference with the chosen title. This was great because it can be difficult to critically examine things by yourself, as we often are simply unaware of alternative interpretations or our own implicit bias. By bringing together a group of thoughtful individuals, we could collectively examine and actively address our perspectives and ideas in a healthy manner.
As an educator, it can be a struggle to get students actively engaged in critical thinking while also remaining positive and nonjudgmental. Frequently students feel strongly attached to their ideas and suggestions, and can take criticism quite personally. The graduate students mentioned above, however, were operating from a background of previously agreed upon discussion norms. To help set my students up for success, before we engage in critical thinking and discussing, we would have established our behavior and discussion norms and practiced on a lower-stakes topic like favorite colors. After such a discussion, we would debrief to check in on how that felt for everyone. Using feeling cards is a great method to help students articulate their feelings, each card has a word written on it like happy, proud, included, annoyed or frustrated, and students are invited to choose one card that best represents how they felt during the discussion. This assessment would help inform me how ready the students might be for a different topic as well as providing another opportunity for critical thinking as students consider each other’s feelings.
The above is an example of being a Servant Leader, as I am advocating and collaborating with peers and students towards positive outcomes within the community. Being able to talk about and examine feelings and biases is integral to a smooth functioning community.
I enjoyed reading your reflections on critical thinking from the perspectives of adults, students, and educators. Your idea to scaffold this with students, by starting with a lower-stakes discussion, sounds like a great way to build up their familiarity and comfort level in order to create a safer and more productive discussion.