Writing teachers' quick start guide to
Developing critical thinking skills

Developing critical thinking skills is a part of every teachers' job description, but is especially important for writing teachers.

Students may be able to shade in ovals with Number 2 pencils without being able to think, but they cannot write a job application or a college essay without thinking skills.

Here are some online resources you can consult to learn more about why you need to teach critical thinking skills to your students. I have chosen them specifically because they are:

• Succinct.

• Easy to understand.

• Practical rather than theoretical in approach.

• Concerned with attitudes as well as logical processes.

• Useful in developing critical thinking skills required for expository writing.

Definition of critical thinking

Knowing what is critical thinking is required before you can teach critical thinking skills. Here are two short but insightful explanations:

The first is an overview of critical thinking for students prepared by Nora E. McMillan and Carol A. Keller at the Alamo Colleges.

The list of attributes of critical thinkers will help you understand that critical thinking is more than just a set of logical applications. It entails attitudes such as curiosity, enthusiasm, flexibility, and humility that are necessary for learning throughout life.

I also recommend you examine the Alamo Colleges' information on reading for critical thinking. The reading comprehension strategies suggested probably are not unfamiliar to you; however, you may not realize their connection to critical thinking.

My other recommendation is Washington State University's archived Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology. It provides a great quick, look at activities that mark the work of a critical thinker. In seven sentences, the WSU guide tells you what your students should be able to do to be considered competent thinkers.

Hint: Use the WSU seven sentences to guide you in preparing good writing prompts.

Ideas for teaching critical thinking

Your time is too valuable to spend it teaching students about critical thinking. Your time is much better spent developing critical thinking skills.

The Grayson H. Walker Teaching Resource Center at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga lists ways teachers can promote critical thinking in the process of teaching their class content.

Among the recommendations for teaching critical thinking strategies are some I suggest on this web site:

• Formative writing assessments,

• Collaborative learning and

• Writing assignments.

The Center for Critical Thinking

The university-level resources listed above will give you a good orientation to critical thinking. However, you may want some additional aids more tightly focused on your teaching assignment.

The Center for Critical Thinking and Moral Critique website has an astounding amount of material about critical thinking, much of it free. The site makes it easy to find useful material by:

• Subject.

• Grade level.

• Material type.

You can buy books, videos, DVDs at prices that won't break your budget. The center also has online courses.