Creative and Critical Thinking.

 

 

Critical thinking is a process of thinking where one should find their own solutions to their problems rather than going to the sources that have been provided, such as internet, magazines, books, parents, and professors. We need to develop the habit of critical in daily life such as school, in our personal problems, homework, lectures and so on. Question always arise how do we develop that habit? The best place to scaffold critical thinking will be a place where a student spends more time, like our schools and colleges. The best way for a college professor to develop critical thinking will be by encouraging them to think often, give students positive feedback, encourage them to ask questions regardless of why, what, and how, and not making assignments too difficult to study. Critical thinking should be considered a universal goal in education.

 

            In addition to that, critical thinking is developed for class based reading. The more the reading is related to class the more it’s helpful to students. The main reason most of the students are not being able to participate in class is because first they don’t know what’s going on. As Bell Hook said in “Critical Thinking” that, “Sadly, children’s passion for thinking often ends when they encounter the world that seeks to educate them for conformity and obedience only.” So that’s the reason in class discussion needs critical thinking. It’s not as easy as it looks, no one can become a critical thinker in one night. The main reason behind this is that if a person has experience in something and if that task is assigned again in later in his or her life it won’t be that difficult because they got experienced before in that particular area of work. A good listener is always a good learner and a good learner can be a good thinker too. When instructor or professor is teaching most of the time assumption takes place that student understood. Students can’t be taught for the conformity sake only.

 

            Speaking about conformity the best way to keep students engaged into their work is to provide them with all the materials such activities leads to the discussion part where the questions arises related the activity. Instead of giving the correct answer give them hints and make them feel positive about their question even though it is not that intelligent question. More fun and engaging activities may change the students thought about the subject or class. Bell Hook said “By the time student enter the classrooms, they have come to dread thinking.”  This means that the students enter the classroom with anxiety, and the ones who do not have any anxiety thinks they don’t need the thinking they will just consume all the information given during the lecture and something not been understood just ask question. But does it really works like that? The answer actually is no. Because both ways students are not setting themselves to the independent thinking.

 

            “They give students something to do, not something to learn; and the doing is such a nature as to demand thinking, or the intentional nothing of connections; learning naturally results.”(Dewey, 4). Schools usually gets students to work in a scholastic way, yet they are supposed to teach them how to think independently. Thinking should suggest us something to do which is not in our daily routine, something new should be done. Thinking arises with the question in our mind, but learning is dependent on the quality of those questions. Such questions may give us a stop in our thinking. Why? Because it tells us that till what extent should we develop the thinking. Most of the cases students have been having more questions outside of their school, and more silent during the class discussion. Dewey answered this in his essay, “Reflection on his striking contrast will throw light upon the question of how far customary school conditions supply a context experience in which problems naturally suggest themselves.

 

            Another best way the academia can work on scaffolding is to assign strategic group work. Each group should be mixture of talent such as good at reading, explaining, answering the question to the point, and we may include a good listener. Many students are not comfortable working in the group. That is because they have negative thinking that they do not know the person, lack of confidence while talking to the other person, and another most common fear is that one person will have to do everything. To get rid of this fear teachers can make a group based on the students’ ability. If one students need more than other that will be best pair in a group. The more the engaging will be done in class with teachers and students more the students will be confidence. “Careful observation and recollection determine what is given, what is already there, and hence assured.” (Dewey, 12). Students can’t give themselves on what they are lacking. For example If Sara is poor in her grammar, she won’t know that until her Englsih professor or teacher explains her where she is making all those mistakes. While giving students a feedback on their assignments write the comment in a positive manner which don’t make them feel like a bad writer. The real fact is that students, they can never provide themselves with the answers; they can only come up with the questions, and define the reading.

 

            Not only positive feedback can help, but making the classroom environment more creative in a thought wise. Many people learn quickly with visual materials. But where can we get that in the class, imagination. Imagination may help them understand the work, and learning better. Always provide the examples which are universal, like the example of gravitational force. Newton haven’t use this only for falling objects but it used in universe, between planets, also falling objects, and mass of the objects. This ideas of newton aren’t only original, but he had done experiments with the questions and finding the answers based on the fact. To clarify when the apple fall of the tree, the question which arise in newton’s mind was, why the apple came down to the earth and not up towards the sky. From this small question we can get a fact answer about gravity. So more thinking involved and less pressure given to the student more they will find the class interesting. And they won’t be coming to the class thinking that they don’t need to come up with the unscholastic questions.

 

            Another most important is teacher’s need to be more careful on reasoning. Students mostly just assert things, not reasoning things out at all. We have been known that each and everything has a reason behind doing it. Correspondence to that, we provide the evidence or reasoning, but is it based on the criteria given. Nothing is as easy as it looks we need to be going in one direction at one time, but at the same time we need to be open minded too. Open mindedness is very useful tool that everyone needs.

 

More over open mindedness is very tough to get used to. But not only in class also in our everyday life person is set to the certain values, beliefs which are difficult to overcome. It’s scary to see the world thing from open mind is on other hand we are making ourselves weak. The child may build something from blocks to them its new but to the world is not. So as we get more open we are exploring us who we actually are and where we stand. Even in the education not everyone is needs to be smart in everything. If some students are good in math then that student’s weak subject might be English. So basically even in education teacher’s need to be open minded towards students, and students towards the subject. Thinking one subject in every way possible can lead to the answer.

 

So in educational system everything is new every day. If we isolate ourselves from being critical thinker, open minded then it will be difficult for us as student to manage the class with good grades, yet the one thing is saved I our mind that I have many positive benefits by being a critical thinker than even a first step towards it is possible. Many times even professors and teachers are hands tied because of the school conditions. If they want teachers to just throw the information they have to do that but such a situations comes in a rare case. None of the school wants that, they always want a successful graduate. Never take the teachers efforts for grant. Their work effort is never the less then crushing the school conditions.

 

Moreover, John Dewey in his essay called “Thinking in education” mentioned “Thinking is a method of intellectual learning, of that employs and rewards mind.” The very first stage is to develop the experience, but Dewey says it’s not true. The experience is based on the real fact which are true. As mentioned above that thinking is intellectual learning; it means that we are learning mentally. Important thing to keep in mind is that, thinking is considered one of the method. Experience is than thought to be limited to the senses where it’s been used only if we required.

 

In conclusion make the Critical thinking should be considered a universal goal in education. Professor will be by encouraging thinking away from book, positive feedback, encourage them to ask questions. Student can never get an answer on their own, a positive feedback and a group activities are always a helpful activity that can be done. In this manner they are not only learning but also personal problems such as communication, anxiety, negative thoughts towards the class all this can be overcome.