May 1, 2014

Helping students learn to think by leading discussions with peers, and with children

Jana Mohr Lone and Sara Goering: Helping students to think critically in the classroom and beyond

The ability to think critically enables UW graduates to be capable problem-solvers and thoughtful world citizens. It also helps them get jobs, a fact often lost in the ongoing debate about the relevance of a college education.^1,2 In a recent national study of university faculty, ninety-nine percent of instructors agreed that the main purpose of college is learning to think critically.³ However, surveys of parents, prospective students, and the general public indicate that most people see a degree as a means either to get a job, or to get a better job.^4,5 These data may seem at odds, but surveys also show that employers prioritize critical thinking and problem-solving skills in hiring and promotion decisions.^1,6,7 All students practice these skills in their majors when they define problems; evaluate multiple perspectives; and offer solutions, arguments, or claims based on evidence. Yet undergraduates are often unaware of how their class assignments help them develop these abilities. Faculty can help students make these connections by discussing the skills they model and that students are practicing, or by explicitly teaching skills, whether general concepts about effective ways to approach new information⁸ or discipline-specific skills, such as how to approach a problem like a biologist, philosopher, or art historian.⁹ UW faculty such as Jana Mohr Lone and Sara Goering are challenging students to do just that—to ask questions, be creative, and cultivate reasoning skills that will become life-long assets.

Jana Mohr Lone and Sara Goering help UW students think deeply, from multiple perspectives, and with an open-minded spirit of inquiry. In turn, their UW students help K-12 children do the same. Lone got the inspiration for this model when her own son turned four and began asking challenging questions, such as, “How can you be happy and sad at the same time?” Lone ventured into her son’s kindergarten class to discuss philosophical issues and now she and her team bring similar discussions—and the ability to facilitate them with children—to UW undergraduate students.
At the UW Center for Philosophy for Children, Lone and Goering help UW undergraduates taking Pipeline Project seminars and the “Philosophy for Children” course (PHIL 205) learn how to constructively discuss ideas by asking probing questions, listening carefully, and arguing rationally and with an open mind. These are skills student can put to practice in life and work—talking politics with friends, resolving a personal dilemma, developing a team’s vision, or responding when a child asks, “Is it always wrong to lie?” Here are some of their techniques and principles:

Help students learn by watching, then doing, then leading: The team models critical-thinking in dialogue through a staged process in UW and K-12 classes.

• UW students engage in faculty-led discussions that model advanced critical thinking skills, then practice facilitating similar discussions with peers.
• Students next watch faculty lead discussions with K-12 students in local schools, learning questioning techniques through careful observation. Lone and Goering model how to prompt discussion using children’s books. Frog and Toad are Friends, for example, can inspire thoughtful conversation about the nature of friendship.
• Finally, the students lead discussions with the children, first as a co-facilitator with faculty, then on their own.

Start with the question, not the answer: Goering introduces new content by asking questions. “For us as faculty, this means giving up a little control over students needing to know X, Y, and Z and presenting them with interesting questions first. That builds their thinking skills and primes them to grasp X, Y, and Z when the time comes.” In turn, UW students learn to start discussions with questions to engage their K-12 students.

Stress the importance of listening—really listening: The team asks UW students to listen carefully to what is actually being said in discussion, instead of planning what they’ll say next or only paying attention to what they expect to hear.

Create opportunities for students to lead discussion: Goering thinks some of the deepest learning occurs when students practice leading a group. She says, “They have to think about everyone’s thinking, not just their own, about how to direct conversations, to ask good questions, press for explanations, and build on the ideas of others. These are important skills in the world.”

Cultivate multiple ways of thinking and skills that cross disciplines: The program aims to cultivate three kinds of skills, both in UW and K-12 students.

• Cognitive skills: critical thinking and sharp analytical reasoning
•  Social skills: respecting others, listening carefully, and appropriate group participation
• Philosophical skills: grappling with the enduring questions“

UW students develop greater awareness of all three as they lead discussions that develop these same skills in children,” says Goering.

 

Resources: Sara Goering, Nicholas Shudak, and Thomas Wartenberg, eds., Philosophy in Schools: An Introduction for Philosophers and Teachers (New York: Routlege, 2013); Jana Mohr Lone, The Philosophical Child (New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2012); Jana Mohr Lone and Roberta Israeloff, eds., Philosophy and Education: Introducing Philosophy to Young People (London: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2012).

¹National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). Job Outlook 2013. Bethlehem, PA: NACE, November 2012. https://www.engr.colostate.edu/ece/pdfs/industry/job_outlook_2014.pdf.

²Humphreys, Debra, and Patrick Kelly. How Liberal Arts and Sciences Majors Fare in Employment: A Report on Earnings and Long-Term Career Paths. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U); Boulder, CO: National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS), January 2014. https://www.aacu.org/leap/nchems/index.cfm. Free summary available at: http://www.aacu.org/leap/documents/nchems.pdf.

³Hurtado, Sylvia, Kevin Eagan, John Pryor, Hannah Whang, and Serge Tran. Undergraduate Teaching Faculty: The 2010–2011 HERI Faculty Survey. Los Angeles, CA: Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA, 2012. http://www.heri.ucla.edu/monographs/HERI-FAC2011-Monograph.pdf.

⁴Jaschik, Scott. “Jobs, Value and Affirmative Action: A Survey of Parents About College.” Inside Higher Ed, 20 March 2013. http://www.insidehighered.com/news/survey/jobs-value-and-affirmative-action-survey-parents-about-college#sthash.CXW5Ygwe.dpbs.

⁵Eagan, Kevin, Jennifer B. Lozano, Sylvia Hurtado, and Matthew H. Case. The American Freshman: National Norms Fall 2013. Los Angeles, CA: Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA, 2013. http://www.heri.ucla.edu/monographs/TheAmericanFreshman2013.pdf.

⁶Hart Research Associates. It Takes More than a Major: Employer Priorities for College Learning and Student Success, An Online Survey Among Employers Conducted on Behalf of the Association of American Colleges and Universities. Washington, DC: American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), 10 April 2013. http://www.aacu.org/leap/documents/2013_EmployerSurvey.pdf.

⁷Bridgstock, Ruth. “The Graduate Attributes We’ve Overlooked: Enhancing Graduate Employability Through Career Management Skills.” Higher Education Research & Development 28, no. 1 (March 2009): 31–44. doi:10.1080/07294360802444347.

⁸Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP). “Essential Learning Outcomes” [resource portal]. Washington, DC: American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), accessed 29 April 2014. http://www.aacu.org/leap/vision.cfm.

⁹Beyer, Catherine Hoffman, Gerald Gillmore, and Andrew Fisher. Inside the Undergraduate Experience: The University of Washington’s Study of Undergraduate Learning. Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing Company, Inc., 2007.

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