Critical Thinking Now

Practical Teaching Methods for Classrooms around the World

By: Nancy Burkhalter

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Paperback | 8 December 2016

At a Glance

Paperback
122 Pages

Edition Type
Annotated

Dimensions(cm)
23.0 x 15.2 x 1.4

Paperback

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Today's curricula can (and should) incorporate critical thinking methods because they are the means by which people best understand, learn, and retain higher level concepts. Contrary to what many professional trainers assume, teaching critical thinking is not achieved by shoveling facts at an audience through lecturing or multiple choice testing. It requires sustained, finely tuned teaching and assessment methods. This book lays out a blueprint to do just that. Specifically, it outlines the necessary components of a critical thinking classroom and provides assessment techniques and ample exercises adaptable to any student's field, age, or level of education.
Often not considered are those learners schooled in a non-Western culture and not proficient in the presenter's language. These audiences can create invisible barriers to instruction. Without understanding these pitfalls, trainers invite frustration and failure, and risk wasting everyone's time and money because they were unaware any problem existed. The book addresses these linguistic, cultural, and cognitive obstacles and suggests several solutions, whether you teach these students on your home turf or theirs.

Industry Reviews

As someone who has taught in both Singapore and China, I think it is imperative for instructors to become familiar with non-Western teaching methods, especially since more and more foreign students are enrolling in American institutions of higher learning. Dr. Burkhalter's insights on this topic are invaluable for the instructor with international students as well as any teacher interested in improving his or her teaching. -- David K. Irving, associate professor, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University; author of Elements of College Teaching (Atwood Publishing)
Dr. Burkhalter tackles a web of complicated topics: critical thinking, student engagement, faculty development, language learners, and cultural fluency. She correctly identifies language learning and critical thinking as a grossly understudied area that has significant implications beyond that of classroom instruction. This piece sets the groundwork for further scholarship on critical thinking within and across cultural instructional contexts. I find it as inspiring as it is practical. -- Enoch Hale, learning innovation consultant, Communities of Practice, Academic Learning Transformation Lab (ALT Lab), Virginia Commonwealth University
Nancy Burkhalter has written an accessible, practical volume on teaching critical thinking. After giving a brief overview on the different schools of thought, she provides practical definitions of the term. Any educator, whether an elementary instructor, a high school teacher, or a university lecturer, will find the teaching and assessment strategies provided to be involved to be most useful to the reader. She does all of this in an entertaining fashion using strong imagery. For example, read the book and you will find out how critical thinking is like pornography! (Read Chaper 2 to find out how.) Practical considerations aid teachers in reformulating the way they think about testing as well. I will have this book on hand for my next course! -- Julie Scales, lecturer, International and English Language Programs, University of Washington

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