Critical thinking in higher education: A pedagogical look

Abstract

Many authorities in higher education did not enthusiastically embrace the idea that college students should receive explicit instruction in how to think. Note that the academic community was opposed to good thinking, but many educators believed that it was a misguided effort. For example, Glaser (1984) cited abundant evidence of Critical Thinking failures in support of his argument that thinking skills are context-bound and do not transfer across academic domains. Glaser and other sceptics were partly correct. Better thinking is not a necessary outcome of traditional, discipline-based instruction. But, increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity make Critical Thinking as necessary as sunrise. This study attempted (1) to examine the predictive relationships of student dispositions and their abilities to think; and (2) to open a refreshed horizon in teaching students to develop their ability of Critical Thinking. Furthermore, the authors believed that to motivate students' disposition, it is indispensable for the teacher to scaffold them to think critically. © 2012 ACADEMY PUBLISHER Manufactured in Finland.