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Critical thinking has always been a top goal of educators. But teaching critical thinking skills has never been more important or more challenging than now.
Olden days, critical thinking was about science vs. pseudoscience, e.g. astronomy vs. astrology. James Randi debunking psychics and faith healers, alien abductions and crystal power. In the 90’s, we called the internet the information superhighway, how woefully naïve we were
We are now surrounded by misinformation, tempted by echo chambers of our own biases and beliefs. Assailed by people and agencies actively trying to spread misinformation for their own gain. Misinformation repeated and retweeted from multiple seemingly different sources.
Credentials are no guarantee of reliable information. We have MDs & PhDs promoting misinformation, and holders of high public office. “News” channels and websites that front partisan propaganda appear fair and authoritative.
People now know how to couch objections in scientific sounding language, “I don’t agree with that finding” becomes “that’s a deeply flawed study”
We never developed good practices for teaching critical thinking to begin with, but now the problem is even more complex and the need more critical.
Students have to distinguish good science, bad science, pseudoscience, and wishful thinking; and favor science even when it isn’t what they want to be true. Students must be as skeptical of findings they want to be true as ones they don’t.
Teaching critical thinking skills is useless if students don’t recognize when to use them or only use them selectively. Students have to being willing to be uncomfortable, make an effort to be skeptical when others take an easier path. The echo chamber is easy and reassuring.
Post 2000’s, “active learning” kind of replaced critical thinking as the dominant educational buzzword. We need to get back to working on critical thinking.
