Reflection 1 – Assumptions About Bloom’s and Critical Thinking
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Reflection 2 – Truth and Challenges to Assumptions
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Reflection 3 – Assumptions Related to Personal Practices
To be good critical thinkers, we are taught to question our prior assumptions about critical thinking (Alsaleh, 2020). During the first week of this course, we were asked to provide five assumptions that we had about Bloom’s taxonomy and critical thinking. In the ensuing paragraphs, I will address some specific questions that pertain to those assumptions. In doing so, I hope to further my understanding of critical thinking and its connection to Bloom’s taxonomy.
Literature Review
How My Assumptions Have Influenced My Personal Life and Learning
My first assumption is being more reflective on our assumptions leads to us becoming stronger critical thinkers. Zapalska et. al. (2018) state that over time definitions of critical thinking have led to it being likened to reflective thinking. This summer I reflected on my honors chemistry curriculum. After considering the rigor and if it served my students properly, I decided to make a change. In the early going this year it appears to have been the right decision. My students are learning the material easier than last year’s students.
My second assumption is our emotions influence our ability to critically think. Bloom’s taxonomy focuses on the cognitive domain, but the affective domain is also important to critical thinking. Brookfield said that emotion is “right at the core of critical thinking” (American College of Education, 2023, para. 2). I make it a point to show grace and compassion to others. Last school year, I had a student whose mother was in critical condition following health issues. There was a day when she was having a tough time. I let her sit up front behind my lab station and put the other students in groups to work at the lab tables in the back of the room. She was grateful and it helped to foster a stronger rapport between us moving forward.
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My third assumption is many students are poor critical thinkers because they rely on memorization instead of analysis and synthesis to learn. I had a student last year that was a kind and respectful young man. He was just not interested in applying himself beyond the first two levels of Bloom’s taxonomy, despite my best efforts. Zapalska et. al. (2018) conclude that current undergraduate programs collectively fail to effectively teach critical thinking skills because their teaching methods stress memorization. My fourth assumption is students must achieve competencies in addition to meeting learning objectives to become better critical thinkers. Alsaleh (2020) states that critical thinking courses can be developed to teach critical thinking theory, practices, and skills. In my content area, chemistry, the lab component gives students the opportunity to put theory into practice. In doing so, they are learning critical thinking competencies in addition to the cognitive skills from everyday lessons.
My fifth assumption is if I assess my students on the top three levels of the Bloom’s taxonomy pyramid, they should become better critical thinkers. Alsaleh (2020) asserts that appropriate questioning techniques help bring about higher-level thinking skills. Last year, I taught biology for the first time ever. In Pennsylvania, biology is state tested. I created all the tests from previously released state test items to challenge my students and to prepare them for the type of questioning they would face on the state exam.
Assumptions That Still Hold True in My Personal Life and Learning
I still hold true to my first assumption in my life and learning. Without reflection, I do not believe I could progress in my career, in my personal relationships, or in my studies. I admit that sometimes that reflection does not come until a problem crops up, but I do try to be proactive. Brookfield defines critical thinking as “a process of questioning and reflecting on experiences,
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which allows students to become effective thinkers and hence successful throughout their careers” (Zapalska et.al., 2018, p. 292).
My second assumption is another that still holds true with me. Brookfield discusses the connection between emotions and cognition. Specifically, he acknowledges the connection between social interaction and learning, as wells as how learner’s attitudes influence their abilities to think critically (American College of Education, 2023). I cannot evaluate a situation, person, or student without regard for my emotions. That is what robots do, but I am a human being. Emotions like love, compassion, distrust, and fear will always influence my thinking and thus, my critical thinking.
The other assumption that still holds true is my fourth assumption. I put immense value in learning the theoretical principles of the science that I teach and learn. These cognitive skills are important to our understanding of natural phenomena, for instance. However, without learning practical, competency-based skills to accompany this theoretical knowledge, a thorough understanding will not be acquired. Alsaleh (2020) mentions a study in which freshman college students reported to have improved their critical thinking skills by performing skills tasks in small cooperative groups.
Assumptions That Have Been Challenged or Discarded
Based on what I have learned in this course, my third assumption has been challenged and discarded. Perhaps I was a bit myopic when I made this assumption. Zapalska et. al. (2018) point out in Table 1. that “Without memorization, [the] critical thinking process cannot proceed further” (p. 295). After all, how do most of us build knowledge at first? Most likely, the first couple steps of Bloom’s taxonomy. So, I have learned to have a proper appreciation for
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memorization and recall of information. From this foundation, we can enhance our critical thinking by incorporating those higher levels.
Finally, my fifth assumption has been challenged and discarded. I just want to add that I want this assumption to be true. However, even when I made this assumption, I was hesitant about it. Maybe I should have said if I instruct my students on the top three levels, they should become better critical thinkers. Even that is very unlikely. Some students will simply struggle with things like application, evaluation, inference, analysis, and synthesis to name a few. This is the reason that differentiated instruction is a nice buzz word, but harder to pull off in practice. So, we cast a broad net to the best of our ability and let the chips fall where they may. As Zapalska et. al. (2018) conclude, critical thinking is not a naturally developing process. It is a carefully cultivated process with specific levels of advancement. The process moves from simple tasks such as memorization to more complex tasks like analysis, evaluation, and creation.
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Reflection 4 – Assumptions and Professional Practice
In this course we have taken a deep dive into how critical thinking relates to Bloom’s taxonomy and vice versa. We have considered how cognition and metacognition drive our ability with respect to critical thinking. In becoming more aware of these relationships and how critical thinking is taught and learned, we should consider how to incorporate these skills into our professional practice. Manalo (2020) states that it is difficult to implement education reforms that promote the teaching of critical thinking skills because stakeholders are reluctant to change the status quo since they risk losing power and influence. However, teachers can still implement learning strategies in their individual classrooms that foster critical thinking skills in students. In this paper I seek to look at how assumptions I have about critical thinking influence my professional practice.
Literature Review
Assumptions About Learning and Critical Thinking That Guide My Professional Practice
One assumption that I continue to have and cannot refute to myself is that critical thinking cannot be taught at the lower levels of Bloom’s taxonomy. Several arguments to the contrary have been made in course readings of late, but I disagree with them. Knowing and understanding are lower-level skills that are used to construct higher-level competencies (American College of Education, 2023). Though teachers can begin using guided questioning at the lower levels of Bloom’s taxonomy, students are not yet equipped to answer questions that lead to higher order processing. For instance, using the Socratic method of questioning is a technique for developing enhanced critical thinking skills in students. Using the right types of questions can lead students to improved cognition and higher levels of thinking (American
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College of Education, 2023). I just do not believe that the Socratic questioning will be very fruitful for students operating at the lower levels of Bloom’s taxonomy.
Assumptions About Colleagues’ Attitudes Toward Learning and Critical Thinking
I assume that most of my colleagues do not think about critical thinking very often. I base this assumption on the fact that I seldom thought about it prior to this course. I also base it on conversations I have with them whether in a formal situation like a meeting or just during casual talks in the hallway or faculty lounge. It is just not a topic that comes up. I find that critical thinking gets lumped in with terms like higher-order thinking, deductive reasoning, and inductive reasoning to name a few. These are buzz words that we use that simply mean we want students to think above the surface level. In my department my colleagues will sometimes mention that they want their students to gain conceptual understanding beyond just being able to plug in numbers and solve equations or extract key phrases to answer comprehension questions.
Alsarayreh (2021) notes that students should engage in dialogue with colleagues in which views and ideas are exchanged. They should listen to suggestions and accept advice from them and participate in research, investigations, data collection, and analysis to constructively criticize information. This applies just as much to teachers who are themselves students when taking graduate courses, attending seminars and webinars for continuing education credits, or attending in-service trainings. Manalo (2020) adds that professional development for teachers needs to be addressed. These trainings are too heavily focused on content instruction and fail to give adequate attention to teaching learning strategies that provide an effective basis for students to cultivate critical thinking skills.
Applying What I Have Learned to Improve Learning and Critical Thinking
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Since there is a lack of discussion regarding critical thinking and Bloom’s taxonomy with colleagues, I need to seek opportunities to introduce these topics in conversations. Earlier today I learned that our upper administration is forming a district-wide science curriculum committee to address new state science standards. I intend to join the committee and look forward to discussing the new standards and how Bloom’s taxonomy and critical thinking skills will be incorporated in writing the new curriculum.
Alsarayreh (2021) references the Science Education for the Future report from 1998 that recommended developing curricula that use active learning strategies. Students become active learners when they are active participants in the learning process, responsible for their learning and achievement, and involved in making decisions related to their learning and academic progress. I intend to advocate for incorporating active learning strategies into the new curriculum to improve instructional practices for 21st century learners. Implementing this type of curriculum from the early elementary grades up through high school with fidelity should improve our ability to foster and improve critical thinking skills in our students.
Reflection in Professional Practice to Advance Critical Thinking Skills
One of my first assumptions at the start of the course was that reflection is essential to critical thinking. It is important to reflect on our teaching activities and strategies, on our lesson plans, on what went right and wrong and how to make improvements, and on our assumptions related to critical thinking. Reflection allows us to analyze our thinking about how we learn and teach and evaluate our strengths and weaknesses, so that we can focus on improving our practices. Manalo (2020) mentions that student engagement and reflection “lead to deeper learning, better communication, and critical thinking” (p. 11). As I continue to reflect on my assumptions regarding cognition and critical thinking, I believe it will reveal opportunities for
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me to improve my own critical thinking and to refine strategies and activities for teaching critical thinking to my students.
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Reflection 5 – Reflection on New Assumptions
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References
Alsaleh, N.D. (2020). Teaching critical thinking skills: Literature review. The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 19(1), 21–39. http://www.tojet.net/
Alsarayreh., S. R. (2021). Teaching Developing critical thinking skills towards biology course using two active learning strategies. Cypriot Journal of Educational Science. 16 (1), 221–237. https://doi.org/10.18844/cjes.v16i1.5521
American College of Education. (2023). ED5253 Cognition and critical thinking: Module 1
[Part 2 presentation]. Canvas.
https://ace.instructure.com/courses/1974625/modules/items/36188292
American College of Education. (2023). ED5253 Cognition and critical thinking: Module 1
[Part 3 presentation]. Canvas.
https://ace.instructure.com/courses/1974625/modules/items/36188292
American College of Education. (2023). ED5253 Cognition and critical thinking: Module 1
[Part 4 presentation]. Canvas.
https://ace.instructure.com/courses/1974625/modules/items/36188292
American College of Education. (2023). ED5253 Cognition and critical thinking: Module 2
[Part 1 presentation]. Canvas.
https://ace.instructure.com/courses/1974625/modules/items/36188301
American College of Education. (2023). ED5253 Cognition and critical thinking: Module 2
[Part 2 presentation]. Canvas.
https://ace.instructure.com/courses/1974625/modules/items/36188301
American College of Education. (2023). ED5253 Cognition and critical thinking: Module 2
[Part 3 presentation]. Canvas.
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https://ace.instructure.com/courses/1974625/modules/items/36188301
American College of Education. (2023). ED5253 Cognition and critical thinking: Module 4 [Part 1 presentation]. Canvas.
https://ace.instructure.com/courses/1974625/modules/items/36188334
American College of Education. (2023). ED5253 Cognition and critical thinking: Module 4 [Part 3 presentation]. Canvas.
https://ace.instructure.com/courses/1974625/modules/items/36188334
Evangelisto, C. (2021). Critical thinking in STEM: A qualitative study of community college teaching techniques. Journal of STEM Education: Innovations & Research, 22(3), 46–52.
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Finn, P. (2019). Critical thinking is a noble endeavor – A Response to Paul's question: An invited essay. American Annals of the Deaf, 164(3), 355-362.
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Hang, N.V.T. (2020). Design of competency-based moral lesson for teaching critical thinking skills in Vietnamese primary schools. Issues in Educational Research, 30(1), 115–133.
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Manalo, E. (2020). Deeper learning, dialogic learning, and critical thinking: Research-based strategies for the classroom. Routledge.
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Sisson, P. W., & Mazzuchi, T. (2019). Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives: A template for primary school KM education. Proceedings of the European Conference on Knowledge Management, 2(2), 949–957. https://doi.org/10.34190/KM19.059
Zapalska, A. M., McCarty, M. D., Young-McLear, K., & White, J. (2018). Design of assignments using the 21st century Bloom’s revised taxonomy model for development of critical thinking skills. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 16(2), 291–305.
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