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Steve, I had to write and teach a course in critical thinking for international postgrads, and as such had to engage with quite a lot of the literature for 'teaching' critical thinking. All I can really say I learnt from this is that it is a very challenging thing. Theoretically you can read people like Ron Barnett (can't remember the exact title, something like Higher Education: A Critical Business). For theory/practice Stephen Brookfield has been writing for years about developing critical reflection in HE students, of if you want really practical exercises there are books like Thomson, A. (1996) Critical Reasoning: A Practical Introduction Routledge, and Allen, M. (1997) Smart Thinking OUP, Oxford. Barnes, R. (1992) Successful Study for Degrees Routledge, London, has a very good chapter on 'higher order questions'. The problem with all of this is that it is theoretical or generic, and you need to spend considerable time working out how to embed it into the situations that your course participants will be working with. And this does seem to be the most important thing - making it specific to your situation, using relevant examples and tasks that people can recognise and work with. If you want to get really theoretical there is Baron, J & Sternberg, R. (Eds) (1987) Teaching Thinking Skills WH Freeman, New York. This is quite interesting in that it discusses how difficult it is to do this! No quick answers, I fear, but perhaps some of these books might have ideas that would stimulate your thoughts on how to use the ideas in your situation? Tamsin Tamsin Haggis Division of Academic Innovation and Continuing Education (DAICE) Airthrey Castle University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA tel: +44 1786 467949 fax: +44 1786 463398 email: [log in to unmask] > ---------- > From: Cockerill, Steve [IES][SMTP:[log in to unmask]] > Reply To: Cockerill, Steve [IES] > Sent: 10 December 1999 15:51 > To: Enterprise in Higher Education List; Staff-Development List; SEDA > List > Subject: critical thinking in HE > > i need to introduce myself and a problem. I am a tutor at Leeds > Metropolitan University, UK. The UK has, for the past decade moved into > mass Higher Education where students' motives are more diverse than > appeared the case 35 years ago when i was a student, or 10 years ago > before the student numbers began to rise... > > Information Systems is my area of study. This 'field' has, i believe > understandably, been criticised for its lack of critique. Graduates and > professionals in the field have been criticised for being insensitive to > users requirements, failing to design systems that meet users needs... > > Consequently i want to raise my 50 colleagues' awareness of critical > thinking by offering workshops on it. What issues, scenarios or activities > would, in your view, be necessary to include in such workshops? > > steve > > __________________________________ > Steve Cockerill (Senior Lecturer) > Leeds Metropolitan University > School of Information Management > 206 The Grange > Beckett Park Campus > Leeds LS6 3QS > day tel: (0113) 283 2600 x3736 > email: [log in to unmask] > > %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%