4 tips for developing critical thinking skills | Steve Pearlman, Ph.D. | TEDxCapeMay

Summary

In this thought-provoking talk, the speaker emphasizes the importance of critical thinking in addressing the world's complex problems, such as war and climate change. Drawing from research, the speaker reveals that critical thinking is not effectively taught in schools, leaving students underprepared. The proposed solution involves leveraging the brain's evolutionary ability to make decisions and simplify the learning process, using four core thinking acts: observation, questioning, evaluation, and conclusion. This approach has shown success in various educational settings, aiming to equip individuals worldwide with the tools to think critically and make informed decisions.

Takeaways

• 😀 The importance of critical thinking is paramount to addressing global problems like war, climate change, and political strife.
• 😀 In 2011, the speaker founded the first academic office in the country dedicated to teaching critical thinking.
• 😀 The goal was to teach everyone, from children to adults, how to think critically across various contexts such as schools, workplaces, and everyday life.
• 😀 Research shows that young people’s ability to reason critically, particularly online, is often lacking, with college students showing little to no improvement in critical thinking over their studies.
• 😀 A study found that college students showed some of the least brain activity during class, which suggests a lack of engagement in critical thinking in educational settings.
• 😀 The speaker identifies the 'sandbox problem'—how to simplify the teaching of critical thinking without losing its complexity—as a key challenge.
• 😀 Even simple sandbox play involves complex critical thinking tasks, and the challenge is to simplify teaching these skills for global accessibility.
• 😀 The speaker's team turned to the brain’s natural, evolved critical thinking functions to design a system that anyone can learn and apply.
• 😀 The four basic critical thinking acts—perceiving the environment, deciding between danger and reward, evaluating options, and acting on decisions—are core to how the brain operates and can be taught.
• 😀 The approach to teaching critical thinking has led to significant improvements in student performance, including producing graduate-level work and enhancing discussion quality in classrooms.
• 😀 Critical thinking skills are essential for making high-stakes decisions in life, and employers increasingly prioritize these skills over raw intelligence in their hiring processes.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the speaker's talk?

The speaker focuses on the importance of critical thinking and the challenges of teaching it effectively. The goal is to demonstrate how critical thinking can be simplified and taught to everyone, regardless of age or education level.

Why did the speaker found the Critical Thinking Institute?

The speaker founded the Critical Thinking Institute in 2011 to address the lack of critical thinking education. They wanted to teach everyone in the world how to think critically, from children to adults.

What are some of the critical problems the speaker highlights in the world today?

The speaker points to serious problems such as war, climate change, political strife, and personal challenges faced by individuals, all of which require critical thinking to solve.

What was the surprising finding of the Stanford history education group's study?

The study found that young people’s ability to reason critically about information they encounter online is 'bleak,' indicating a lack of critical thinking skills among teens.

What did the Wall Street Journal report about critical thinking in college students?

The Wall Street Journal reported that even students at prestigious universities show little to no improvement in critical thinking skills over the course of their four years of study.

What is the 'sandbox problem' discussed by the speaker?

The 'sandbox problem' refers to the challenge of teaching critical thinking in a way that simplifies the learning process without losing the complexity of the skills themselves. The problem is based on the complexity involved in even the simplest activities children engage in, such as playing in a sandbox.

How did the speaker propose solving the 'sandbox problem'?

The speaker proposed simplifying critical thinking by leveraging the brain’s natural, evolutionary functions, such as perception, decision-making, and action. By building critical thinking on these primal cognitive processes, it becomes easier for everyone to learn.

What are the four fundamental thinking acts identified by the speaker?

The four fundamental thinking acts are: 1) perceiving the environment, 2) determining what's dangerous or rewarding, 3) deciding between these dangers and rewards, and 4) acting based on the decision.

How did the speaker translate these four primal acts into a system for teaching critical thinking?

The speaker augmented the four primal acts by teaching techniques such as detailed observation, complex question clarification, multivariate evaluation, and complex conclusion formation. These techniques helped students enhance their critical thinking abilities in any field.

What impact did the critical thinking courses have on students?

Students showed significant improvements in critical thinking, with undergraduates writing papers rated at a graduate level. Additionally, high school students from Harlem demonstrated better sentence complexity, richer class discussions, and more respect for differing opinions.

Why is critical thinking important in making life decisions, according to the speaker?

Critical thinking is crucial in making high-stakes decisions, such as those related to career, relationships, and peer pressure. It enables individuals to evaluate information and make reasoned choices, which is more important than raw intellect alone.

How does the speaker believe critical thinking should be taught?

The speaker believes that critical thinking should be taught in a way that is accessible to everyone, regardless of their education level. This can be done by focusing on the four basic acts of thinking that are naturally embedded in the brain’s functioning.