The High Cost of Uncritical Teaching

The High Cost of Uncritical Teaching

 

By Ira J. Winn /

Reprinted with permission.

Adapted from the article originally

published in Phi Delta¹ Kappan magazine.

 

If students are not given the guidance and opportunity to engage in critical thinking and discourse² in school, they will not be capable citizens in today’s world

 

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“Why can’t my students think for themselves? Why are they so often intellectually lazy?” These are common complaints voiced by teachers. Yet relatively³ few teachers are using the kinds of materials and teaching strategies that build critical thinking skills. Most class time is dominated by teacher talk rather than group discussions. Left as passive, bored spectators, students withdraw intellectually and simply go through the motions necessary to complete the course.

 

For too long, educators and society have adored the “quiz whiz”— the student who can shoot back correct answers to factual questions. Even more disturbing is the societal pressure to conform and to shy away from critical thinking, saying it is not “polite” or “nice.” We commonly associate “critical” with “negative” and we miss the point. The opposite of critical thinking is uncritical thinking, which is not thinking at all!

 

CRITICAL THINKING DEFINED

 

Critical thinking seeks to penetrate⁴ to the core of an issue or problem, and includes the following:

 

An ability to raise important questions and explore alternatives.

 

A keen sense of what is missing or needed to solve a problem.

 

An ability to deal with complexity⁵ and to form hypotheses.

 

A sensitivity to the background of an issue.

 

A knack⁶ for separating important information from material that is less relevant.

 

A healthy skepticism and a corresponding ability and willingness to test one’s own

theories.

 

An appreciation⁷ for intuition and inspired hunches⁸.

 

A willingness to challenge and be challenged.

 

Respect and openness towards differing opinions and viewpoints.

 

An ear for what others are saying and an ability to step into another person’s shoes.

Vocabulary Focus

discourse (n) [dis5kC:s] a thoughtful spoken or written discussion of a subject

go through the motions (idiom) to do something because one is expected to do it, not because one wants to

shy away from (idiom) to avoid something, especially because one dislikes, fears or does not feel confident about it

step into someone’s shoes (idiom) to imagine how someone else feels in a difficult situation; to take someone’s place in a situation

 

Specialized⁹ Terms

hypothesis (n) 假设；推测 an idea or explanation for something that is based on known facts but has not yet been proven

不具批判性的教学法代价高昂

杨嘉倩 译

学生们在校时如果没有得到进行批判性思考和讨论的指导和机会，将无法成为适合当今世界的公民

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“为什么我的学生不会自己思考？为什么他们常常不愿意动脑筋呢？”这些是老师们常发的牢骚。然而，很少有老师使用能够培养批判性思考技巧的教材或教学策略。课堂上大部分的时间都由老师讲述，而非分组讨论。结果学生成了被动又感到无聊的旁观者，他们不再动脑思考，只是敷衍了事地修完课程。

长久以来，教育学家和社会都钟爱“考试高手”，就是那些能针对事实性问题给出正确答案的学生。更让人不安的是社会的压力，要求遵循规范并回避批判性思考，认为那是“无礼”或“不客气”。我们常把“批判的”和“负面的”联想在一起，而忽略了重点。与批评性思考相反的便是不具批判性的思考，也就是完全不思考！

 

批判性思考的定义

批判性思考努力深入一个议题或问题的核心，包括以下几点：

☆ 提出重要问题及探索其它可能性的能力

☆ 能够敏锐判断解决问题过程中缺乏及需要的要素

☆ 处理复杂事物及提出假设的能力

☆ 对于问题背景的敏感度

☆ 能够从次要的资料中分辨出重要讯息的能力

☆ 健康的怀疑态度及相对应的能力和意愿，来考验自己的理论

☆ 欣赏直觉和被启发的预感   

☆ 挑战别人并接受挑战的意愿   

☆ 尊重不同意见及观点的宽大心胸   

☆ 倾听别人意见的意愿和替别人设想的能力

1 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

2 discourse   

n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述

参考例句：

• We'll discourse on the subject tonight.我们今晚要谈论这个问题。
• He fell into discourse with the customers who were drinking at the counter.他和站在柜台旁的酒客谈了起来。

3 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

4 penetrate   

v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解

参考例句：

• Western ideas penetrate slowly through the East.西方观念逐渐传入东方。
• The sunshine could not penetrate where the trees were thickest.阳光不能透入树木最浓密的地方。

5 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

6 knack   

n.诀窍，做事情的灵巧的，便利的方法

参考例句：

• He has a knack of teaching arithmetic.他教算术有诀窍。
• Making omelettes isn't difficult,but there's a knack to it.做煎蛋饼并不难，但有窍门。

7 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

8 hunches   

预感，直觉( hunch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A technical sergeant hunches in a cubicle. 一位技术军士在一间小屋里弯腰坐着。
• We often test our hunches on each other. 我们经常互相检验我们的第六感觉。

9 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。