I introduced Critical Thinking a few years ago to my school, and I am a great fan. The syllabus has just been changed as a result of adding A2 (there is also an AEA) and is, in my view, an improvement. There are only 2 exams at each level.
Critical Thinking is largely a skill, and the formal syllabus content covering some terms and techniques of 'informal logic' is relatively short (compared to the knowledge content of the 'typical' A-level). Thus the time needed depends on how much of this skill students already have. As a crude generalisation, 'academic' students are already quite well equipped and so need fairly little extra preparation. I agree that, in an ideal world, students should be doing this in their main A-level subjects, but we are not in an ideal world, and faced with academically weak students many teachers focus on content at the expense of skilful use of the content, and then we get the familiar problems of finding analysis and evaluation difficult.
I do 1 hr a week with an Oxbridge preparation class, and I offer to put them in for the AS in Jan and now the A2 in June. This is an optional extra, but I am keen on it because I can claim (when our Bursar is awake for long enough) £700 odd a head fom the LSC. The Chief Examiner specifically argues against entering students after a mere 1 term, and I agree with him except where you have students who tend to do critical thinking well anyway. As mentioned, Critical Thinking does link with the new selection tests being increasingly introduced for the more competitive courses (Law, Medicine and a few others). I have also run Critical Thinking for KS4 G&T.
We also offer the course inside the usual option blocks but only for 3 periods pw as against the usual 5. Here, by contrast, I get very weak students who are forced to do 4 subjects to be allowed in the 6th Form. Once they have overcome their initial bemusement, they benefit enormously not only in their knowledge of how good thinking works, but also in confidence to use it. One way I 'sell' the course is to say it's an alternative way to the broken bottle to deal with pub bores.
The best bit is you can bend Critical Thinking to almost anything the students are actually interested in. For example, I use 'Black Maria' and 'Mastermind' to teach necessary and sufficient conditions. There are loads of other examples.
The few 'textbooks' on the list are very dry. There are a few good resources around you can buy off the shelf. There's a school in Cumbria that will sell you a complete course but I cannot vouch for the quality of it. I can send you loads (off list) of resources and suggestions I have cobbled together over the last few years; some are better than others, and student reaction varies enormously from one group to another.
Please ask away if you have any further questions.
Richard Bowett
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