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Approaches to argument in critical thinking instruction
Mark K. Felton
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The challenge for critical thinking instruction lies not in convincing people of its value but in developing a model of what to teach and how to teach it. The absence of such a model is obvious when we look at examples of typical lessons. All too often critical thinking is taught in isolated language arts or social studies lessons that fail to connect to the larger curriculum. In such lessons students may learn about persuasive messages, argument fallacies, or even problem-solving skills. But these lessons generally occur with little or no reference to the course content, and they are rarely reinforced in subsequent lessons. As a result teachers find them ineffective and frustrating distractions from the curriculum. The problem is that these lessons are add-ons to the curriculum. If we are to treat critical thinking as the complex skill set that it is, it must be embedded in the curriculum and connected to a comprehensive set of goals and outcomes.
One sensible strategy for developing a model for critical thinking instruction is to explore advances made in the field of argumentation. While there are dozens of ways to define critical thinking, most definitions include the ability to examine claims, conclusions, and assumptions. And while critical thinking may include much more, we can say with certainty that it at least involves engaging in a process of critically questioning arguments. Therefore, to build a model of critical thinking instruction we might begin with our understanding of the simplest unit of analysis-the argument. What we find is that argumentation theory itself has undergone significant changes in the past 50 years. And while many of these theoretical developments have found their way into critical thinking lessons, the aim here is to present a list of recommendations for high school teachers interested in revising their approach to critical thinking instruction.
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Approaches to argument in critical thinking instruction