Critical Thinking and the Development of Disciplined Minds

One of the most difficult things is escaping tradition.  In education, we have strong traditions influenced by our past...one of those involves memorizing information to regurgitate it on a test.  While developing factual content knowledge is still a significant component of student learning, there is SOOOOOO much more to a 21st century education.

In the 2008 ASCD edition of Educational Leadership, this notion is challenged in an article on Disciplining the Mind.  

Students need more than a large information base to understand their ever-changing world. They need to master disciplinary thinking. 

(Source: Boix Mansilla, Veronica, and Howard Gardner. "Disciplining the Mind." Educational Leadership. 65.5 (2008): 14-19. Print. <http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb08/vol65/num05/Disciplining-the-Mind.asp&xgt)

But, what is disciplinary thinking? Disciplinary thinking is directly connected to the fundamental shift in how we look at our role as educators in the 21st century. Shift happens...and shift MUST happen if we are to prepare students for their future (and NOT our past).

• We don't teach students writing, we teach them to be writers.
• We don't teach students reading, we teach them to be readers.
• We don't teach students art, we teach them to be artists.
• We don't teach students music, we teach them to be musicians.
• We don't teach students science, we teach them to be scientists (biologists, physicists, chemists).  
• We don't teach students social studies, we teach them to be social scientists (historians, geographers, economists, and informed/engaged citizens).

As educators, when we embrace this shift, then we start to utilize instructional practice that teaches students to have disciplined, engaged minds. This is precisely what it means for students to practice the 21st century skill of CRITICAL THINKING and REASONING.

The first part of developing the disciplined mind involves incorporating the most common cross-content critical thinking skills and strategies in EVERY content area.  While our tradition might involve learning and practicing these skills and strategies as part of reading instruction, they are crucial to the thinking that takes place as students engage with information and resources in EVERY content area.  Students must transfer and reapply these skills all the time. (To remind yourself about cross-content critical thinking skills and strategies, take a gander at this list.) The image you see shows thinking skills at the top and shows how those skills are transferred and reapplied every day in every content area.

The second part of developing a disciplined mind involves looking at skills, or what students should be able to do.  Today, teachers are engaging with planning documents that consistently call out skills, or what students should be able to do.  As educators, we must challenge ourselves to look at these goals and ask ourselves, "How do these skills ask students to think like the practitioners of these disciplines?"  To build your thinking about disciplinary thinking, check out this collection of quotes that I gathered. In the image below, you see how cross-content skills are transferred and reapplied in every content area. It also shows how students apply discipline-specific thinking. This is the type of thinking that takes place within a particular content. For example, how does a geographer think? How does an economist think? How does an astronomer think? If we are to bring education into the 21st century, we must USE knowledge and resources to help students THINK like PRACTITiONERS of a DISCIPLINE.

It's easy to hold on to traditions, especially the tradition of knowing as much information as possible. I challenge you to let go of that tradition, and embrace instruction that highlights THINKING.  When you do, you'll begin to see the thinking minds of students like never before.  When we (as educators) open our minds to new ways of thinking and new ways of approaching our work, our students and the larger society are the ones who benefit.  WE ALL BENEFIT!