Publisher's Synopsis
This special issue presents some important ways of thinking about teaching critical thinking -- well-grounded in an understanding of what research has told us about how students learn. It focuses on how to design the instructional process to enhance critical thinking across the curriculum, and describes innovative ways in which questioning strategies, conference-style learning, negotiation, and writing can be used to promote critical thinking. Individual authors examine specific critical thinking skills of problem solving and argument analysis as taught within psychology courses, as well as critical thinking in psychology courses and in courses that are specifically designed to teach critical thinking.
The articles go beyond those typically found in Teaching of Psychology, describing techniques designed to achieve critical thinking as an instructional outcome. They characterize much more precisely those aspects of critical thinking that are the target of instruction, be it distinguishing between correlational and causal reasoning or enhancing metacognitive skills. They strive to make clear the reasons for selecting these particular aspects of critical thinking and particular instructional strategies for specific instructional contexts.
