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Defining and Educating Critical Thinking Pasquinelli, E., Farina, M., Bedel, A., Casati, R

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Defining and Educating Critical Thinking Pasquinelli, E., Farina, M., Bedel, A., Casati, R Defining and educating critical thinking Pasquinelli, E., Farina, M., Bedel, A., Casati, R. Report produced within the framework of Work Package 1 EEC Project - Critical Education (ANR-18-CE28-0018) June 2020 (ANR - 18- C E 2 8 - 0 0 1 8 ) Defining and educating critical thinking - Pasquinelli, E., Farina, M., Bedel, A., Casati, R. June 2020 Report produced within the framework of Work Package 1 EEC Project - Critical Education (ANR-18-CE28-0018) This report is the result of the work of Work package 1 (WP1) of the EEC-Critical Thinking Education project (ANR-18-CE28-0018) The objective of the present Report is to share the results of the EEC - Critical Thinking Education Project Work Package 1, dedicated to a. defining and characterizing critical thinking, b. identifying its specific cognitive underpinnings (naturalizing critical thinking), and c. deriving consequences for critical thinking education and transfert in daily life. The EEC - Critical Thinking Education Project (ANR-18-CE28-0018) In France, Critical thinking (CT) is a core aim of education, inesting disciplines such as science, history, language, and transversal teachings such as Media and Communication Education and Moral and Civil Education. However, although educational projects are multiplying, there are still very few scientific studies evaluating the methods proposed by the different actors. Nor are these methods systematically based on existing scientific knowledge. The present project aims to fill this gap by designing and testing educational interventions for the development of critical thinking, thus establishing an evidence-based approach to critical thinking education. As a first step, the project aims to converge towards a more precise definition of critical thinking. It also aims to produce a scale for evaluating critical thinking. Finally, it proposes to disseminate these resources to institutions and teachers, as well as to the media and thes general public. Objectives and work of Work Package 1 (WP1) - Theoretical analysis. Define and characterize critical thinking. Coordinator: Roberto Casati (Institut Jean Nicod) Authors: Elena Pasquinelli, Fondation La main à la pâte, Paris (France), Mathieu Farina, Fondation La main à la pâte, Paris (France), Audrey Bedel, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris (France), Roberto Casati, Institut Jean Nicod (CNRS/EHESS/ENS, DEC, Université PSL), Paris (France) 2 Defining and educating critical thinking - Pasquinelli, E., Farina, M., Bedel, A., Casati, R. June 2020 Report produced within the framework of Work Package 1 EEC Project - Critical Education (ANR-18-CE28-0018) Thje following people have participated to the discussions of the WP1: Jie Gao (as part of a CogMaster PSL-P5-EHESS internship), Pierre Grialou (school teacher), Nathanaël Jeune (EdTech Master student, CRI), Sarah Peyronnet (school teacher), Calliste Scheibling-Sève (as part of her doctoral thesis), Emmanuel Trouche (Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique) and Sacha Yesilaltay (doctoral student, Institut Jean Nicod). The following were listened to during the report preparation sessions: Grégoire Borst, director of the Lapsydé laboratory (University of Paris-Descartes), Hugo Mercier (CNRS, Institut Jean Nicod), Florent Meyniel (Neurospin Laboratory, CEA Saclay). WP1 presented an interim report in June 2019 to the rest of the project consortium and received their comments and suggestions for improvement. Characterization of the concept of "critical thinking" (CT): from existing approaches to a minimalist and operational definition The main objective of WP1 was to provide a characterization of CT that clearly defines (1) a need and (2) an educational objective. To this end, the WP1 group analysed the literature on CT and its different definitions. Within this literature, the group sought to identify the elements to be retained for an operational characterization of CT. As the current approaches proved to be unsatisfactory from several points of view, the group turned to other approaches, outside the specific literature on CT, in order to fulfil the main objective. Naturalizing critical thinking WP1 identified a limited number of cognitive mechanisms and functions involved in the (critical) evaluation of information needed for decision-making and in confidence assessment. These functions constitute potential cognitive building blocks of CT and are therefore part of a cognitive approach to CT. These building blocks (1) serve as a basis for evaluating information (first and second hand) and (2) enable the confidence in the information thus evaluated to be adjusted in order to make a decision. The group made a special effort to identify minimalist functions and to develop an ecologically valid framework for CT. However, this goal remains at the draft level: the list of mechanisms and functions identified 3 Defining and educating critical thinking - Pasquinelli, E., Farina, M., Bedel, A., Casati, R. June 2020 Report produced within the framework of Work Package 1 EEC Project - Critical Education (ANR-18-CE28-0018) is not exhaustive, as their relationships have not yet been fully specified or brought together in a model. Educability of CT The WP1 group focused on the issue of capacity transfer and on the opportunity to embed the teaching of critical thinking in a disciplinary context. As soon as students demonstrate critical thinking in science, literature or mathematics, are they then able to transfer this skill to the learning of history or the evaluation of information? This issue is fundamental to CT education because the ultimate goal of such education can only be that of improving decision- making in everyday life, which presents very different contexts. The possibility of acquiring general skills independent of context and content is much debated. We have reviewed the literature on this issue and then focused on the more specific literature on how to transfer acquired capacities from one context to another, more or less distant one. Finally, we listed several syntheses of the literature concerning the impact of current methods for CT education and the transferability of the results obtained. It appeared that the literature is extremely heterogeneous, which makes its synthesis difficult without taking the risk of comparing incomparable concepts. Among the methods that are supposed to be dedicated to CT education, some of them are indeed rather oriented towards text comprehension skills, towards the scientific method, others towards the recognition of biases, the acquisition of mathematical and scientific tools to counteract certain biases, etc. The methods used in the literature are not necessarily the same as those used in other fields. Results of the study The study has resulted in a minimalist, operational and cognitively realistic definition of CT, leading to principles to guide instructional practice and evaluation. In summary: - CT is defined as the set of capabilities that allow one to assess the epistemic quality of the information available for decision-making, and to correctly calibrate one's confidence in this information according to the results of the assessment; 4 Defining and educating critical thinking - Pasquinelli, E., Farina, M., Bedel, A., Casati, R. June 2020 Report produced within the framework of Work Package 1 EEC Project - Critical Education (ANR-18-CE28-0018) - the evaluation of CT thus consists in measuring the ability to put in place the most appropriate tools to assess the epistemic quality of information and to calibrate confidence accordingly. - CT is not just an ideal to be achieved, but is part of the natural cognitive background of every individual, present from childhood onwards. We demonstrate CT when we select our sources based on reliability criteria or indices, when we judge the plausibility and relevance of information, when we feel or express confidence in the information available to us and in our choices or decisions. Children possess these abilities and use them often unconsciously. We consider these abilities to be part of natural CT; - the natural abilities of CT are not flawless, but present structural limitations; e.g., the criteria or indices spontaneously used in order to assess the reliability of information and the trustworthiness of sources of information are not necessarily adapted to contemporary, complex, contexts and contents that require a more sophisticated CT; - CT education aims to equip the natural CT capacities with increasingly sophisticated criteria. Its first objective is to put every citizen in a position to correctly evaluate the epistemic quality (validity, reliability) of commonly used sources of information and of common contents. We use the term “advanced CT” for this purpose. We distinguish between advanced CT and expert CT, which is applied to less common contents and which uses even more sophisticated criteria, specialized or even professional knowledge. - In order to achieve its objectives, CT education is concerned with putting in place the best strategies to promote the transfer of skills and tools acquired in many fields of knowledge and contexts. ____________ 5 Defining and educating critical thinking - Pasquinelli, E., Farina, M., Bedel, A., Casati, R. June 2020 Report produced within the framework of Work Package 1 EEC Project - Critical Education (ANR-18-CE28-0018) 1. INTRODUCTION 9 1.1 WHY IS CT IMPORTANT? 9 1.2 BUT HOW? 10 1.3 METHODOLOGY 11 2. TOWARDS AN OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF CT 13 2.1 ANALYSIS OF EXISTING APPROACHES. OBSERVATION OF THE ABSENCE OF A CONSENSUS
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