Thinking about critical thinking

In the past several years critical and creative thinking skills have received a lot of attention in the educational field. There are three reasons for this. First, they are essential to success in our fast-paced, always-changing world (Cotton). Today's technology has created a world in which new information is constantly being created, discovered and instantly dispersed globally to anyone connected to the web. Given this ever-changing body of knowledge, it is crucial for students to possess higher-order thinking skills such as problem-solving and evaluating. For students to be successful and responsible world citizens they must know how to access, evaluate, and apply information. Secondly, students in the U.S.A. typically have scored low on critical thinking, problem-solving, and creative thinking skills (Cotton). Educators are now attempting to change this, which has placed these skills center stage. Lastly, research has shown that these skills can be enhanced through education (Cotton).

According to Benjamin Bloom there are six levels of cognition ranging from most basic to most challenging. They are the following: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation (Jackson). Analysis, synthesis, and evaluation are considered higher-order thinking skills or critical and creative thinking skills. Jackson recommends some computer programs and possible projects that help develop these skills. Using Eye Witness and American Memory students can research a time period or particular trend, gathering a variety of information about it. They can then organize their research into subcategories using Think Tank. This requires analysis and categorization. Using the Biography Channel students can research several biographies of individuals in the same line of business and then create a mock biography of a fictional individual in the same line of business. This requires both that the students analyze the information they find and that they are able to transfer it to synthesize a mock biography. This gives them practice in synthesizing information. Finally, kids can review novels using Kidsbookshelf, create surveys at zoomerang, and participate in debates about controversial scientific topics on WISE. All of these programs and projects give them practice in evaluating information.

In addition to providing kids with opportunities to practice these individual higher-order thinking skills, there are also programs dedicated to teaching critical thinking skills. Programs like HOTS (Higher Order Thinking Skills), ICE (Institute for Creative Education), and KIDS (Kids Interest Discovery Study) kits are all example of programs designed to teach kids critical and creative thinking skills. Many of them incorporate technology.

So how can technology be used to teach higher-order thinking skills? There are computer programs that are specifically designed to teach thinking skills, but more importantly there are tools that students can use in the process of thinking critically and creatively. Many programs aren't designed to teach these skills, but provide an opportunity for kids to use these thinking skills by creating a survey or graphing the results of a survey, researching controversial subjects and deciding where they stand on the subject, and providing evaluation of sites they have visited or books they have read.