One of the main tasks of an educational institution is to provide not only the knowledge and skills but also to disclose the abilities of each student that should be prepared to function in a competitive world. At present, students are required to have professional and flexible thinking, high awareness of the scientific theories and approaches, patience and tolerance, an ability for deep analysis of the information received, and so on (Ravitch, 2014). In this regard, there is a particular need to create conditions for the emergence of critical thinking skill in students, which is an inseparable part of their professional competence (Curriculum standards, 2016). When a student has a high level of critical thinking, he or she can experience growth of the professional activity, which requires independence, creativity, proficiency of business interaction and cooperation, as well as a capability to solve complex problems.
According to Meegan (2012), the notion of critical thinking implies not only the ability to think but other adjacent capabilities as well. For instance, he mentioned that a person has to learn how to analyze and assess concepts or ideas but not accept them as if they were initially true. It implies that a student should be able to district the true notions from the false or irrelevant ones through personal assessment. In addition, he stated that critical analysis is essential for improving person’s thinking (Meegan, 2012). When an individual critically evaluates and searches for arguments to support his or her position, the person inevitably develops his or her understanding of concepts and notions (H. K. Wong & R. T. Wong, 2009). In addition, as stated by Meegan, the analysis allows understanding of the ideas behind the statement; thus, a better understanding of the reasoning of another person.
Paul and Elder (2014) developed practical solutions for developing and stimulating student’s ability to think critically. In my personal opinion, the 15th idea is the most functional one, and I would give it five points. It should be noted that students should be well aware of the curriculum contents to be able to build on their critical thinking skills further (Paul & Elder, 2014). It is rather difficult to make any assessment without due comprehension of the notion or topic. For that reason, it can be assumed that students should know in advance the area of the study and be encouraged to analyze and evaluate the concepts afterward. This approach allows a gradual transition from enlarging the knowledge of students to developing critical skills that are built on that knowledge base.
The 17th idea is applicable to my teaching experience, as frequently the educational activities require a number or versatile tasks and aims that are connected to the areas that are different in their core (Competences for nursing education, n.d.). For that reason, it is a complex task to build a gradual move from one area of expertise to another; therefore, it is essential to structure the topics so as to link them to each other (Carr-Chellman, 2016). Nevertheless, the 16th idea is not as functional as the other ones because the development of critical thinking is not the leading aim of the curriculum (Read the standards, 2016). Current health care setting implies sufficient decision-making skills and the teaching plan should leave enough educational time to the emergence of this competence in students, which is not considered sufficiently in the current curriculum.
References
Carr-Chellman, A. A. (2016). Instructional design for teachers: Improving classroom practice (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Competences for nursing education. (n.d.). Web.
Curriculum standards. (2016). Web.
Meegan, G. (2012). What is critical thinking? A definition. Web.
Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2014). How to improve student learning (3rd ed.).Petaluma, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking.
Ravitch, D. (2014). Reign of error. New York, NY: Vintage Books.
Read the standards. (2016). Web.
Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (2009). The first days of school: How to be an effective teacher (4th ed.). Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications.