Teaching Critical Thinking: Some Lessons from Cognitive Science
Tim van Gelder, College Teaching 53:1 (2005): 41-46.
ABSTRACT: This article draws six key lessons from cognitive science for teachers of critical thinking. The lessons are: acquiring expertise in critical thinking is hard; practice in critical thinking skills themselves enhances skills; the transfer of skills must be practiced; some theoretical knowledge is required; diagramming arguments (“argument mapping”) promotes skill; and students are prone to belief preservation. The article provides some guidelines for teaching practice in light of these lessons.
NOTE: This article was made available for download by the author on his website research page.
