VIDEO: Stephen Brookfield - Critical and Creative Thinking

Dr. Stephen Brookfield 

In the video Creative and Critical Thinking Dr. Stephen Brookfield tries to explain what involves in order to develop this type of thinking. First, he tries to describe each one of them. For instance, to be critical involves to identify assumptions behing thinking, to check assumptions for accuracy and validity, and to take informed action. Then, to be creative involves to generate interpretations, to be able to communicate back and forward, and to have multiple responses. 

Besides, he talked about 4 Keys intellencual Traditions. 

• Analytic Philosophy: Logical Fallacies, Argument analysis - inductive, deductive, analogical, inferential reasoning.
• Critical Theory: uncovering power dynamics and ideological manipulation.
• Natural Science: Hypothetical deductive method, principle of falsifiability
• Pragmatism: Experimental and creative pursuit of beautiful consequences (e.g.) democracy, inclusion, connection).

This question emerged: What most help students to think critical and/or creative? According to Brookfield, there are different activies that teachers could develop in class, for instance, he provides one called 'Circle of voives'. In this activity, it is necessary to make groups of 5 people.

WHAT'S CRITICAL THINKING?

REFLECTIONS 🤔🤔

* Emotional self-management

When someone disagree with you there are some emotions which take place in the moment and are difficult to manage. For instance, in my situation confusion; because if I have a point of view and then I hear another and interesting standpoint that make me doubt about what I thought before. And I deal with by accepting the other option and analyzing the advantages and the disadvantages. I have always thought 'never there is just one possibility'. 


* Influences on my thinking

There are some influences which I need to be aware due to the fact that they may prejudice my thinking, some of them are the fake information which always goes first instead of the real information. The bad management of the information. Sometimes, we have the information, the valid one, but the main problem is that we do not know how to manage it. That is why, some people do not know how to face any situation. And I will deal with this by learning how to take advantage from the information. It is not enough to have it. What I need to do is to be more aware.


* Challenging opinions

During a discussion about a controversial topic with people who is not open minded, it is really difficult to talk with them. In order not to make the conversation a bit toxic, I decide to stop giving my standpoints. There are moments in which my mind gets blocked owing to the fact that I cannot organize the ideas. I deal with these by taking time. Time is crucial during a discussion and it is necessary to think first.

* Bodner's description

How Bodner describes students is totally due to the fact that we only work in order to get a score. For instance, during class we may know some techniques to manage discipline problems in the classroom, but one thing is to know those techniques and the other is to apply them. According to his approach it is important to use the knowledge acquired in the classroom working for the context.