Developing Critical Thinking

Life is a series of decisions, some small, some much larger. Whom we date or choose as friends, the work or career we pursue, which political candidates we support, what we choose to eat, where we live, what consumer goods we buy, whom we marry and how we raise children – all these decisions are based on assumptions.  These assumptions that we base decisions upon are sometimes correct. At other times, however, the assumptions we base our decisions on have never been thoroughly examined.

In this presentation, Dr. Brookfield will describe the critical thinking process and how we can use it to uncover and check our assumptions.  He will outline the process required to think critically.  Dr. Brookfield will discuss how decisions based on critical thinking are more likely to be ones we feel confident about and to have the effects we want them to have.

Date and Time

Tuesday, May 21, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Understand how students learn critical thinking
2. Understand how to model that behavior for students

Presenter

Stephen D. Brookfield, PhD

Since beginning his teaching career in 1970, Stephen Brookfield has worked in England, Canada, Australia, and the United States, teaching in a variety of college settings. He has written ten books on adult learning, teaching, critical thinking, discussion methods and critical theory, four of which have won the Cyril O. Houle World Award for Literature in Adult Education (in 1986, 1989, 1996 and 2005). He also won the 1986 Imogene Okes Award for Outstanding Research in Adult Education. His work has been translated into German, Finnish and Chinese. In 1991, he was awarded an honorary doctor of letters degree from the University System of New Hampshire for his contributions to understanding adult learning. In 2001, he received the Leadership Award from the Association for Continuing Higher Education (ACHE) for "extraordinary contributions to the general field of continuing education on a national and international level." He currently serves on the editorial boards of educational journals in Britain, Canada and Australia, as well as in the United States. During 2002, he was a Visiting Professor at Harvard University. In 2003, he was awarded an honorary doctor of letters degree from Concordia University (St. Paul). After 10 years as a Professor of Higher and Adult Education at Columbia University in New York, he now holds the title of Distinguished University Professor at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota.