Devloping Critical Thinking Skills in Children

by Bob Bhaerman

This paper was written originally for a class session of the Humanist Institute. The theme of the session was "Critical Thinking and Creative Dialogue."   As coordinator of the Kochhar Humanist Education Center it should not be a surprise that I am most interested in developing critical thinking skills in children.  Also, as a former researcher and associate dean of research, I reviewed a number of research documents to see if I could come up with an answer to the "how to" question and to share my findings with others who are charged with this formidable task.

We say we would like our children to be critical thinkers. What can we do to help bring about that happy circumstance? How can we make a difference in how the children we care about make proper use of the "gray matter" inside their heads?

I would like to begin with a brief overview of some of the barriers to critical thinking that I have found in the literature. Dr. Gene Pinder of North Carolina State University (ezinearticles.com/?Eight-Barriers-to-Critical-Thinking&id=716694), identified eight barriers that have been identified for executives which I believe are relevant to people of all ages and "walks of life." The eight barriers are:

1. Confirmation bias: bending evidence to fit one's beliefs. The best way to fight this natural temptation Dr. Pinder suggests is to actively seek information that challenges one's belief. (I would add that this may not be easy to do... given that it is often human nature to "cover one's rear.")

2. Attribution (or self-serving) bias: the belief that good things happen to us because of internal factors and bad things happen to us because of external factors, while the reverse is true with others.

3. Trusting testimonial evidence: the fallacy of believing information from someone else, even if there is no evidence to support their statements.

4. Memory lapses: while this barrier seems on the surface to be fairly self-explanatory (everybody has gaps in memory), its danger lies in the common human trait of filling in the memory gaps with information that may or may not be true.

5. Accepting authority without question: the blind acceptance of people with questionable degrees or expertise (or, I would add, clerical collars).

6. Generalizing from too few observations: taking informational short cuts.

7. Ignorance and the failure to admit it: instead of admitting one's lack of knowledge, a person may fake it and then explain the fakery in a way that makes it seem true.

8. Coincidence: the mistaken belief that pieces of information have causality when, in fact, they are the result of a pure coincidence.

Critical thinking, Dr. Pinder concluded, must become "a force of habit" much like breathing. I agree that it should become a habit -- although I am not holding my breath. There is much to do before we can all breathe more easily.

Few people have stated the issue better than Michael Scriven and Richard Paul (www.criticalthinking.org/aboutCT/define_critical_thinking.cfm) when they wrote:

Everyone thinks; it is our nature to do so. But much of our thinking, left to itself, is biased, distorted, partial, uninformed or down-right prejudiced. Yet the quality of our life and that of what we produce, make, or build depends precisely on the quality of our thought. Shoddy thinking is costly, both in money and in quality of life. Excellence in thought, however, must be systematically cultivated.

The purpose in this paper is to address the problem which Scriven and Paul noted by providing (1) an overview of the issues and (2) resources on where to find information on which to act. The objective is for this to serve as a "stepping stone" to the further exploration of critical thinking.

The information which follows, then, is a "gleaning" in which I have attempted to abstract the essence of some key writings of a number of people who have been involved in this issue. It will be no easy task for the Kochhar Humanist Education Center to ultimately translate these ideas, insights and guidelines into curriculum units and lesson plans, but I know it is not too soon to start - and never too late.

So let's continue by briefly reviewing some of the major concepts and definitions of critical thinking.  For example, these three related dimensions: Critical thinking - reflective thinking that focuses on the authenticity, accuracy and worth of knowledge claims and arguments. Rational thinking or reasoning - thinking that is empirically consistent with reality. Scientific thinking - using empirical evidence, logical reasoning, and a skeptical attitude about presumed knowledge

As Scriven and Paul noted in a statement for the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking Instruction, critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. Its criteria are clarity of thought as well as accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness. It entails examining the elements of thought implicit in all reasoning: purpose, problem, or question-at-issue; assumptions; concepts; empirical grounding; reasoning leading to conclusions; implications and consequences; objections from alternative viewpoints; and frame of reference. The result is that well-cultivated critical thinkers of all ages raise vital questions and problems, formulates them clearly and precisely; gather and assess relevant information; think open-mindedly; and communicate effectively with others in figuring out solutions to problems. This, no doubt, is a very complex process; however, as Scriven and Paul indicate, the development of such skills and dispositions is a life-long endeavor. (Source: Defining Critical Thinking - www.criticalthinking.org/aboutCT/define_critical_thinking.cfm)

Steven Schafersman defined critical thinking in similar terms, namely, the pursuit of relevant and reliable knowledge about the world, i.e., reasonable, reflective, responsible thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do. A person who thinks critically can ask appropriate questions, gather relevant information, efficiently and creatively sort through this information, reason logically from this information, and come to reliable and trustworthy conclusions about the world that enable one to live and act successfully. Such thinkers investigate problems, ask questions, pose new answers that challenge the status quo, discover new information that can be used for good or ill, question authorities and traditional beliefs, and challenge dogmas and doctrines.  Moreover, all of the skills of scientific investigation are matched by critical thinking, which (in Schefersman's view) is nothing more than scientific method used in everyday life rather than in specifically scientific endeavors. Most people, he suggests, indulge in wishful, hopeful, and emotional thinking, believing that what they believe is true because they wish it, hope it, or feel it to be true.  Schafersman concluded that children are not born with the power to think critically, nor do they develop this ability naturally beyond survival-level thinking. Critical thinking is a learned ability that must be taught. ( Source: An Introduction to Critical Thinking -- www.freeinquiry.com/critical-thinking.html)

Raymond S. Nickerson characterized a critical thinker in terms of knowledge, abilities, attitudes, and habitual ways of behaving. Characteristics of such a thinker are that they use evidence skillfully and impartially; organize thoughts and articulates them concisely and coherently; distinguish between logically valid and invalid inferences; suspend judgment in the absence of sufficient evidence to support a decision; attempt to anticipate the probable consequences of alternative actions; can strip a verbal argument of irrelevancies and phrase it in its essential terms; habitually question one's own views and attempts to understand both the assumptions that are critical to those views and the implications of the views; are aware of the fact that one's understanding is always limited, often much more so than would be apparent to one with a non-inquiring attitude; and  recognize the fallibility of one's own opinions, the probability of bias in those opinions, and the danger of weighting evidence according to personal preferences.  (Source: Critical Thinking, 1987 -- www.geocities.com/lclane2/criticalthinking.html)

Linda Elder, writing on The Critical Thinking Community web site, defined critical thinking as self-guided, self-disciplined thinking which attempts to reason at the highest level of quality in a fair-minded way.  People who think critically consistently attempt to live rationally, reasonably, and empathically. They strive to improve the world in whatever ways they can and contribute to a more rational, civilized society.  They also strive never to think simplistically about complicated issues and always consider the rights and needs of relevant others. (Source: www.criticalthinking.org/aboutCT/define_critical_thinking.cfm)

Gloria J. Leitner, in her column March/April 1997 issue of The Humanist, offered a keen insight into the related matter of teaching skepticism when she writes that "the key" is in child upbringing.  She maintained that an important quality can be passed from parent to child, namely, the love of truth. "If truth, rather than defense of one's erroneous beliefs, is made the ideal, then being shown you're wrong is a joy. It is a thrill to realize that now you're in possession of the facts, whereas previously you were mistaken in what you thought was the case.... When critical thinking and truth seeking are absorbed as values during the formative years of childhood, they become instinctive habits of life.... It's much easier to get a rational, factual, skeptical message across to people who have been taught as youngsters to love learning, poking holes in ideologies, and exposing shams and scams no matter what ‘authority' backs them."   (Source: findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1374/is_n2_v57/ai_19217219)

Austin Cline also had many insights when he wrote that "teaching skepticism" to children is not as easy as teaching arithmetic or history since there are no lists to memorize or simple procedures to follow. Skeptical thinking is more attitude, perspective and habit rather than knowledge. These habits have to be developed in small steps that grow over time. Fortunately, children are natural skeptics who ask questions about everything under the sun. However annoying this might seem at times, a child's desire to question everything should be encouraged. While a parent or teacher might want to appear to know everything, it is important to be able to say "I don't know" to some questions. This allows parents and teachers to teach children not only that no one knows everything, but that it is not necessary to know all the answers.  By teaching children how to research questions (whether in books or through experiments) parents and teachers are teaching the basics of skepticism and critical thinking. Since being skeptical and critical means taking responsibility for what one believes, teaching children to take responsibility for researching the answers to their questions means teaching them not to simply rely on what authority figures tell them.  (Source: atheism.about.com/od/atheistschildren/a/TeachingScience.htm)

Marc Mielke perhaps put it as simply and as clearly as anyone when he quoted Carl Sagan who referred to the "fine art of baloney detection", that is, critical thinking skills that enable a person to tell whether a claim is supported or unsupported.  (Source: Humanist Hawaii Newsletter, December 2004 -- hawaii.humanists.net/Archive/News200412.pdf )

Formal programs. In reviewing the many resources on critical thinking, I noted that some seemingly excellent formal programs exist. For example, public school teachers often use formal critical thinking exercises and materials that can be purchased. One example, the CoRT Thinking Program by Dr. Edward de Bono, is a set of 60 "thinking lessons" that promise to succeed in motivating students of all ages and abilities to think and develop creative solutions to problems both inside and outside the classroom and see themselves as active thinkers who hold a better image of themselves and have confidence in their ability to succeed. (Source: www.edwdebono.com/cort/index.html)

Strategies for Teaching Critical Thinking across the Curriculum, developed by the Education Testing Service, consists of a two-phase professional development program for high school teachers that enable them to integrate the teaching of thinking skills into their instructional program and train teachers to do the same. (Source: www.freeinquiry.com/critical-thinking.html)

Still another program from The Teacher's Press (http://www.angelfire.com/biz/tchpr) has prepared high school course materials on this topic. The description of their unit on A Study of Logical Fallacies states that "most (teachers) say that they want to develop in their students a trusting, but questioning, world outlook. Most want students to actively investigate the world in a structured, scientific way -- as opposed to blind acceptance of tradition, authority or folk wisdom."  (For additional information: www.freeinquiry.com/critical-thinking.html)

Another relevant and widely-used program, Philosophy for Children, sometimes abbreviated P4C, is a curriculum for 6 to16 year olds developed by Dr. Matthew Lipman and his associates at the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children at Montclair State University in New Jersey. According to Dr. Lipman, it is most important to have questioning teachers and students prepared to discuss things that matter to them. The teacher's role is to facilitate the discussion but not be a judge of what is right and wrong.  In an atmosphere of give-and-take, even reticent students come to realize that in such an atmosphere each point of view is respected and taken seriously. Students begin to understand the importance of recognizing other people's points of view and giving reasons for their own.  What emerges is the realization of the need to think problems through rather than accepting superficial expressions of opinion.

When children engage in the type of inquiry suggested by Dr. Lipman, they learn to listen to others, give good reasons, differentiate between opinion and "knowledge", defend their views, and -- where appropriate -- change their mind. They learn relationships between cause and effect, evidence and theory, and assumptions and opinions. Most importantly, they learn to ask relevant questions, assess evidence, correct their own thinking, listen carefully to others, and understand and evaluate arguments.

One of the best ways to teach critical thinking skills, according to P4C, is through guided discussions, commonly referred to as a Community of Inquiry, a process in which rules and procedures ensure that discussions stay on track and everyone has input. The process aims to be caring, cooperative, creative, and critical. The key practices that drive the process are inquiry and reflection.  Both are made explicit in age-appropriate language and questions used by teachers. For example: (1) questions (what don't we understand here? what questions do we have about this?) (2) hypotheses (does anyone have any alternative suggestions or explanations?) (3) reasons (what reasons are there for doing that? what is the evidence for believing this?) (4) examples (can anyone think of an example of this? or a counter-example?) (5) distinctions (can we make a distinction here? or give a definition? (6) connections (is anyone able to build on that idea? or link it with another? (7) implications (what assumptions lie behind this? what consequences does it lead to?) (8) intentions (is that what was really meant? is that what we're really saying?) (9) criteria (what makes that an example of X? what are the things that really count here?) (10) consistency (does that conclusion follow? are these beliefs consistent?)

Other questions for getting 5 to 7 year old children to think deeply are: What happens when we die? Why are we here? Is there a god? To whom and what do I owe responsibility? How shall I live my life? This approach to critical thinking has been tried with much success at the Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County, New Jersey where it is used with stories having content that invites questioning and contains moral dilemmas that require children to think. The leader of the Bergen County society reports that learning good reasoning skills means offering appropriate analogies, giving convincing reasons to support ones ideas, and drawing suitable inferences.  (For additional information see: plato.stanford.edu/entries/children/)

All of the writers cited above agree that critical thinking cannot be taught by lecturing. Critical thinking is an active process whereas for most students listening to lectures is passive. The intellectual skills of critical thinking -- analysis, synthesis, reflection -- must be learned by performing them.

Four brief suggestions from parents on teaching critical thinking. The following suggestions from parents (edited for brevity) also provide some relevant insights:

• When I was a child I was given books on dinosaurs, evolution, history, pre-historic cave man, anthropology, nature, etc. My whole life I have studied history and science, that's all that children need.
• Science (mostly physics) was all I needed to realize that any and every miracle, whatever seemed to defy the laws of physics, was indeed deception.
• I would recommend showing your children with magic tricks, then showing them how the trick works, and teaching them why the trick works. This helps them understand that what they see may not be the truth and, that when something apparently defies the laws of physics, it is most likely an illusion.
• Include lots of myths from lots of cultures and fairy tales with princes and princesses, dragons and demons. I never forgot these stories and yet I knew they were fallacies. It taught me not to believe everything I read or am told.

(Source:  Atheism in a Nutshell for Children --   www.iidb.org/vbb/showthread.php?t=84253)

Some important resources and organization.  Some of the other major resources and organizations which have developed guidelines for critical thinking skills for children include the following:

The Center for Critical Thinking and Moral Critique and the Foundation For Critical Thinking . These two organizations work closely together to promote change in education and society through the cultivation of critical thinking. They assert that "Critical thinking is essential if we are to get to the root of our problems and develop reasonable solutions.... the quality of everything we do is determined by the quality of our thinking." Their goal is to integrate research and theory and to create events and resources designed to help educators improve their instruction. Materials developed include books, thinker's guides, videos, and other resources. (Source: www.criticalthinking.org/)

Habits of Mind.  Their mission is to build a network of people dedicated to sharing the vision of the Habits of Mind as a foundation for building thoughtful learning communities. (For additional information see: www.habits-of-mind.net/)  A Habit of Mind is defined as a disposition toward behaving intelligently when confronted with problems, the answers to which are not immediately known. The 16 Habits of Mind include: Persisting; Thinking and communicating with clarity and precision; Managing impulsivity; Gathering data through all senses; Listening with understanding and empathy; Creating, imagining, innovating; Thinking flexibly; Responding with wonderment and awe; Thinking about thinking (metacognition); Taking responsible risks; Striving for accuracy; Finding humor; Questioning and posing problems; Thinking interdependently; Applying past knowledge to new situations; and Remaining open to continuous learning.  (Source: www.habits-of-mind.net/whatare.htm -- or -- habitsofmind.org/what_are_the_habits_of_mind.htm)

The Philosopher's Club. The "Philosopher's Club" uses the Socratic method as a way for children to seek insights and truths through constructive discourse with others. Philosopher's Clubs help young people nurture "the fourth R," the ability to reason in constructive ways. In this approach to critical thinking, children are required to back up their viewpoints with compelling evidence presented in well-structured arguments. Often the dialogue begins with these three questions: Who am I? What am I capable of? Who can I become?  (For more information, see: www.philosopher.org/ -- and click on the link for Philosophers Club.)

The Internet.  Not surprisingly, a great deal of resources can be found when searching the Internet. I came across this statement which seemed to say it all: "The ability to use the Internet is in many ways the very essence of critical thinking. One must pick the real pearls from among the fake, decide what information is valid and authoritative, and what is worthy of the time spent. Searching the net is always an exercise in problem solving often requiring lateral shifts in thought. Of course anyone can use the Internet but it is the critical thinkers who will find its true value."   (Source:   faculty.tamu-commerce.edu/espinoza/s/thorpe-t-657.html)

Some more specific things to do develop critical thinking skills in children. The resources noted above have included some excellent principles and a number of abstractions. But, for the most part, they are still abstractions. So, in conclusion, let's turn briefly to some specific ideas on what teachers and parents can do to enhance critical thinking skills in children. Below are several simple but effective ideas which should be incorporated into lesson plans (and surely those developed by the Kochhar Humanist Education Center).  These are some of the suggestions found on the Internet: www.googolpower.com/content/guides/critical-thinking:

• Encourage students to ask questions -- and keep asking more questions - and always respond to their questions enthusiastically.
• Remember the difference between drill-type questions that recall information and thought-provoking questions.
• Guide students toward discovering answers on their own.
• Make the atmosphere open to ideas so that students are willing to question everything.
• Consider a "wrong answer" as a learning opportunity.
• Respect your students opinions and encourage them to have their own ideas.
• Help students to be well informed about a topic before coming to any conclusions.
• Here is another question to ask: How do you know that?

In short, when persons thinks critically, they: define the issue or question precisely; gather sufficient information or evidence  from more than one or two sources; consider where the evidence comes from; examine the logic of the evidence (are the reasons offered good ones?); consider different kinds of information -- factual reporting, statistics, first-hand accounts, and so forth. 

I finally found what I have been looking for (at the outset) in two small publications (literally very small 4 ¼ by 5 ¼  inch booklets that can easily fit into one's pocket and leave room for some extra change.)  They are (1) The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking for Children (2006) by "Fairminded Fran" and Linda Elder and (2) The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools (2005) by Richard Paul and Linda Elder.  Both are published by The Foundation for Critical Thinking. Dillon Beach, CA. From the latter resource, here then are some specific questions that teachers, parents and, indeed, children should be asking:

On Clarity

Could you elaborate further?

Could you give me an example?

Could you illustrate what you mean?

On Accuracy

How could we check on that?

How could we find out if that is true?

How could we verify or test that?

On Precision

Could you be more specific?

Could you give me more details?

Could you be more exact?

On Relevance

How does that relate to the problem?

How does that bear on the question?

How does that help us with the issue?

On Depth

What factors make this a difficult problem?

What are some of the complexities of this question?

What are some of the difficulties we need to deal with?

On Breadth

Do we need to look at this from another perspective?

Do we need to consider another point of view?

Do we need to look at this in other ways?

On Logic

Does all this make sense together?

Does your first paragraph fit in with your last?

Does what you say follow from the evidence?

On Significance

Is this the most important problem to consider?

Is this the central idea to focus on?

Which of these facts are most important?

On Fairness

Do I have any vested interest in this issue?

Am I sympathetically representing the viewpoints of others?

A paper on critical thinking should provide some critical resources, so I will conclude by citing some of the major ones from the Foundation for Critical Thinking in Dillon Beach, California:

• Children's Guide to Critical Thinking by Linda Elder. The essence of critical thinking concepts and tools written in language accessible to children.
• Teachers Manual: The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking for Children by Linda Elder. The manual is designed to provide teachers and parents with strategies for using The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking for Children.
• Think About Fran and Sam: Which One is Better at Thinking? This story about Fairminded Fran and Selfish Sam is the first in a series of stories which help children explore important concepts such as fairness, selfishness, and intellectual empathy. At the end of the story, children are asked to relate the concepts of fairness and selfishness to their own thinking and behavior.
• Masks of Fairminded Fran, Selfish Sam and Naïve Nancy -- for Student Role-Playing. These hand-held masks are designed for use with The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking for Children. Using the masks, children enjoy role-playing the characters introduced in this mini-guide, Fairminded Fran, Naïve Nancy and Selfish Sam. Through these characters, teachers can focus on the important implications of fairmindedness, intellectually naivety, and selfishness in human life.

Other resources can be found in the very extensive literature of critical thinking, for example, Teaching Thinking Skills, 1987, edited by J. B. Baron and R. J. Steinberg; Developing Minds: A Resource Book for Teaching Thinking, 1985, edited by A. L. Costa; The Teaching of Thinking, 1985, edited by R. S. Nickerson and others; Critical Thinking, Fifth Edition, 1998, by B. N. Moore and Richard Parker, and Critical Thinking, Second edition, 1990, by John Chaffe.