Andrew Allen

The concept of problem solving being broken down in to component parts is a great way to lead the students through the concept of problem solving. It gives them a developmental model to follow while they determine what type of problem solver they are and it can help them land closer to the middle of the two types. 

Taking the concept of multiple types of intelligence and acknowledging that everyone has a blend of these types of intelligences was presented in a clear and concise manner that I really appreciate. I understood this concept previously but applied it to my classes as individual learning methods or techniques and I would actually asked my students to work on discovering their own personal methods. However, the cogent fashion in which it was presented here, in application to developing critical thinking will alter the manner in which I have these conversations with my students.

There is a need for us as instructors to slowly build the concepts of discipline, questioning, reasoning and judgement as well as introspection in our students..... especially if we take into consideration what the students of today have as expectations for college level course work. If we push to hard these lazy, entitled students we see today will shut down because the demands of critical thinking are novel, intense and frankly, scary when we look at their current skill set. Educating them on the benefits of these factors in critical thinking and then demanding that they apply these skills in… >>>

Critical thinking is a process that takes effort on the part of the individual making the decision at hand. This section has been very interesting in identifying those factors necessary to become a good critical thinker in a technological world full of misinformation. It is also clear that we as instructors, must also continue to hone our skills and be wary of our intrinsic laziness, in order that we may convey to our students, through demonstration, the methodology for effective critical thinking out in the real world.