The Challenges of Teaching Critical Thinking Skills To Students When Practitioners Want Problem Solving Skills Instead: The Resuscitation of The Dewey Approach

Abstract: Research suggests that critical thinking is a major predictor of desirable life outcomes such as job success (Franco, Costa, Butler, & Almeida, 2017). Consequently, it stands to reason that teachers should strive to inculcate critical thinking skills to students in the classroom. Due to the challenges of bridging the definitional gap between academics and practitioners, however, it is critical that teachers affect a Dewey-like approach in order to accommodate the practitioner’s desire that problem solving skills are a byproduct of critical thinking. Teachers must also come up with better ways to assess their effectiveness in their pursuit of best practices.

Keywords: Critical Thinking, Desirable Life Outcomes, Best Practices

Topic: General   |   Format: Roundtable Discussion