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Reflection on critical reading and thinking skills
Differences between high school and college
Differences between high school and college
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Recommended: Reflection on critical reading and thinking skills
In this article, Jack W. Meiland suggests that there is a huge difference between college and high school: the shift of thinking ways. In high school, students are required to memorize facts that provided by authority without any doubts; but for students in college, they need to use critical thinking to query the “facts” before they believe it. “What the fact is” and “if it is true” composite the thinking way that encouraged by college. Secondly, Meiland talks about “good reasons” and “bad reasons” by supposing an example about a kidnapped businessman. Two reasons can both support a belief, but “good reasons” which can be rationally defended are more likely to be the truth. Before coming to a conclusion, people should find enough reasonable
evidence to sustain the assumption, because statement without evidence is unjust. Thirdly, Meiland claims that when people are questioning, they not only need to doubt a belief, but also need to suspend their opinion to the belief. In this way, people can keep a neutral attitude toward their inquiry and increase the objectivity of it. Finally, Meiland talks about the purpose to find reasons to a belief. He advocates that to keep skepticism and to search the rational reasons can help people to approach the truth, to get along well in the world, and to know better about their beliefs by defending it.
The article, “Critical Thinking? You Need Knowledge” by Diane Ravitch, discusses how in the past people have been deprived from the thinking process and abstract thinking skills. Students need to be given more retainable knowledge by their teachers to improve their critical thinking skills. (Ravitch).
For instance, if a graduate was out in his or her field of –let’s say—biology and he or she are finding results are abnormal from what the originally hypothesis may have been. If one is not able to interpret and find out the reason of the abnormality, he or she would have spent unnecessary time even producing an experiment, for he or she did not use the critical thinking skills that an education can provide. Any major that is offered by a college should include critical thinking skills for the world is always changing and new discoveries are filled when it comes to the universe. Therefore, asking questions and being able to adjust is imperative to a student’s success in school and in the job market for his or her
Dr. Gerald M. Nosich, an expert in critical thinking, wrote a book titled, “Learning to Think Things Through,” for his readers to understand and enhance their analytical skills. In the book, Nosich discussed the eight elements of reasoning including two additional elements: Purpose, Question at Issue, Assumptions, Implications and Consequences, Information, Concepts, Conclusions/Interpretation, Point of View, and Alternatives and Context (two additional elements). These elements help sort through our reasoning process so that we can make reasonable decisions. As a kid, I did not fully understand nor used any critical thinking skills, which led me to make some unreasonable mistakes.
In recent years, many have debated whether or not a college education is a necessary requirement to succeed in the field of a persons’ choice and become an outstanding person in society. On one hand, some say college is very important because one must contribute to society. The essay Three Reasons College Still Matters by Andrew Delbanco shows three main reasons that students should receive their bachelor’s degree. On the other hand, many question the point of wasting millions of dollars on four years or maybe more to fight for highly competitive jobs that one might not get. Louis Menand wrote an article based on education titled Re-Imagining Liberal Education. This article challenges the main thought many americans have after receiving a secondary education. Louis Menand better illustrates the reasons why a student should rethink receiving a post secondary education better than Andrew Delbanco’s three reasons to continue a person’s education.
The argument about if college is worth it or not has been one of the biggest arguments throughout the media for decades. Students suffer a lot from the debts that they get from college and also the amount of studying that they do in college and when they graduate they ask themselves “is graduation from college really worth all the money that we paid and all the work that we have done?”
Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing written by; Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle, Eighth Edition, published April, 2007 by Bedford/St. Martin’s, is a textbook about writing and critical thinking. In the first chapter of Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing, “Thinking Critically, Challenging Cultural Myths”, the Authors begin by setting a relatable scene of what it’s like for a college student. How a new found independence can be overwhelming, especially with regards to critical thinking, showing that what we have learned, needs to be re-evaluated and that an open mind in essential. "What Is Critical Thinking" In this section of the chapter the editors explain what it means to be a critical thinker. They explain that critical thinking is not just studying dates and facts, but rather taking those facts and examining them. The editors then proceed by explaining how having an open mind, and taking others' perspectives into account when formulating our own opinions on what the author is trying to say to us is important. A critical thinker takes all aspects into account and reflects on personal experience as well. The editors also point out that different cultural experiences bring different opinions. They suggest that we need to become active learners, continuously questioning the meaning behind everything, testing not only the theories of others but also our own experiences and analyzing the text rather than going for the obvious. They show that thinking outside the box is the epitome of critical thinking. Basically, we need to step outside our comfort zones and what we have always been taught. The editors also suggest that we need to re-evaluate our per...
James Scurlock strongly emphasizes this problem throughout the whole documentary. Students, ranging in ages from 18-22 primarily, are young, and naive. They are out from under their parent’s rule and free to make decisions on their own. This means that many are going to take certain steps necessar...
Critical thinking is a skill that all humans possess, however, it is more prevalent in some than others because people learn over time how to hone their critical thinking skills over time. When someone thinks critically they must evaluate and analyze in order to form an opinion; as learned in this week’s lessons, “[c]ritical thinking is a learned skill” (Ellis, 2013). Throughout this module we have learned critical thinking has taught people to overcome preposterous ideas and allowed civilization to find truth and turn from deception. With critical thinking, there are six distinct steps which provide the foundation of critical thinking, they are Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating, and Creating. Each step is an important building block to the
The main component of the high school curriculum is to prepare students for college and ultimately the ‘real world’. We are supposed to engage them in critical thought, not only to increase their ability in cognitive thinking, but also to help them form their own opinions, and to help them be able to express those opinions.
Before making a conclusion, one must think critically about the information available to them. As Warnock discusses in the Neutral Teacher, “For what the pupils have to learn is not only in an abstract way, what counts as evidence, but how people draw conclusions from evidence” (Warnock 1996, 143). By expressing an educated opinion in the classroom, the teacher is able to explain to her students how she came to her conclusion through critical thinking and teach them how to make their
To students, words spoken from professors are to be taken down as fact almost without question. The words spoken may not even be facts, but a professor’s opinion but there is no difference when students are taking notes and a test is closing in. The speed at which this must be accomplished leaves no time for the students to even question the credibility of their professor’s statements let alone form their own. To do so would be treading upon the fields of epistemology which can be described as understanding how we come to realize that something is true like “the Earth is round”, or a value that should be upheld like “it is unethical to harm a random bystander”. (Ellerton, 2017) Fortunately, the processes
He began by depicting a setting where a speaker finished what he or she had said, but during the question and answer time, at first, no one asked a question. A possible reason that students do not ask questions is that they have this mentality that professors are always right, Jacobs wrote. In addition, students may feel that if they ask a question, it reveals ignorance. However, “Most often, the student’s own ignorance is shared with the rest of humanity, including the speaker. Asking the apparently dumb question shines a light on the unanswered or unaddressed aspects of the topic.” He believes that to produce critical thinkers, high schools must begin sharpening their teenagers’ critical thinking. One way to do this is by praising those who express aloud their reasoning and
The chapter illustrated ten problems that lead you to come to conclusions based on information provided that may have been obtained at faced value as opposed to extensive research. It explained how one can come to a decision based on what is found on the surface and convince themselves that the finding is correct when in reality the outcomes actually support the opposite. It’s unfortunate that decisions are made like this and supported by powerful people who are influential and able to change the minds of
As a direct result of this assumption it is critical that we as educators teach our children/pupils the importance of Critical thinking in these fields of study. For example, elementary math teachers can help students build their critical thinking and problem solving skills by asking them to look for a logical structure when solving math problems and back up their answers with verifiable evidence. “It’s no longer about what a student knows, it’s about what they can do with what they know,” assistant superintendent Kimberly Beck said, according to The Ridgefield Press (Wilson,
This cycle of obedience and passive acceptance can spill over into other aspects of life where learners conform to beliefs and values without critically evaluating them. Brian Crittenden (1972: 146) speaks about “mis-education” which occurs when the content the teacher presents is a “violation of a ‘critical inquiry”. In other words the teacher presents information is such a way as to exclude any opportunity for enquiry.