Critical thinking is one of those terms that is bantered around quite often when talking about the skills students need for the 21st century and to excel in academic pursuits, life and work. Yet, it’s probably one of the toughest set of skills to define, model and teach. Critical Thinking includes good problem solving skills, the ability to evaluate facts, analyze information with a critical eye, and synthesize that information and data. Then, critical thinking is the ability to express ideas and opinions in an organized, articulate and supported manner. These are all concepts that must be taught in many different ways and at various levels of depth in order for students to internalize these skills. In this post, I would like to look at critical thinking from one perspective and start to explore how visual thinking techniques can help students develop critical thinking skills.
Defining Critical Thinking
According to “Developing Minds: A Resource Book for Teaching Thinking” by Arthur L. Costa, critical thinking has three broad dispositions, making a critical thinker someone who:
- seeks true and justified beliefs by exploring alternative solutions and evaluating the justified facts
- makes an effort to express positions “honestly and clearly” by being transparent about intent and aware of the whole situation
- and shows “concern for the dignity and worth of every person” by listening to others’ reasoning and taking into account others’ well-being.1
Costa’s definition of a critical thinker and his resource book cover a broad base of activities and thought-provoking exercises to help develop critical thinkers. Some of these incorporate visual thinking techniques to help students develop as critical thinkers.
Think Critically with Concept Maps
Concept mapping is a visual thinking technique developed by Joseph Novak that is best taught and created with software such as Inspiration®, Kidspiration® or Webspiration Classroom™ service. This methodology – coupled with our visual learning tools – can help students process ideas, concepts and information while assisting in students’ ability to think critically.
Concept maps help students understand new information and associate it to prior knowledge. It also helps students break down information into bite-sized pieces in order to better see patterns, connections and gaps in thinking. Concept maps engage your students in critical thinking while moving through the processes of exploring new ideas, researching classroom topics, analyzing unit information and creating alternative solutions to problems. It also teaches students a thinking methodology that they can apply to critical thinking needs in future educational courses, careers and life.
Following in line with Costa’s definition of a critical thinker, concept maps and visual thinking help students:
- compare, contrast and evaluate alternative beliefs, information and facts in order to draw conclusions
- express different positions in a clear, organized and detailed manner
- and make sense out of different perspectives and how they relate to one another.
So, while you’re teaching critical thinking skills, turn to a concept map to facilitate the process! Thanks for stopping by!
Mona Westhaver
President and Co-founder, Inspiration Software
- Costa, Arthur L. Developing Minds: a Resource Book for Teaching Thinking. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2001. Print. [↩]
