Study: Many College Students Not Learning to Think Critically

[Freeper]

Donnachaidh Donating Member (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list    Sat Oct-22-11 10:52 PM
Original message
Study: Many College Students Not Learning to Think Critically   Updated at 4:37 PM
   
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/10/17-4

NEW YORK — An unprecedented study that followed several thousand undergraduates through four years of college found that large numbers didn't learn the critical thinking, complex reasoning and written communication skills that are widely assumed to be at the core of a college education.

Many of the students graduated without knowing how to sift fact from opinion, make a clear written argument or objectively review conflicting reports of a situation or event, according to New York University sociologist Richard Arum, lead author of the study. The students, for example, couldn't determine the cause of an increase in neighborhood crime or how best to respond without being swayed by emotional testimony and political spin.

Arum, whose book "Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses" (University of Chicago Press) comes out this month, followed 2,322 traditional-age students from the fall of 2005 to the spring of 2009 and examined testing data and student surveys at a broad range of 24 U.S. colleges and universities, from the highly selective to the less selective.

Forty-five percent of students made no significant improvement in their critical thinking, reasoning or writing skills during the first two years of college, according to the study. After four years, 36 percent showed no significant gains in these so-called "higher order" thinking skills.

More at the link --

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2169427

I wonder if any of the geniuses at DU, will make the connection of just who is in charge of the public education and most of the college campuses throughout the country. I will give you a hint it's not the conservatives.

redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list    Sat Oct-22-11 10:56 PM
Response to Original message
1. This shouldn't be surprising news to anyone.
   
Edited on Sat Oct-22-11 10:57 PM by redqueen
It is the widespread lack of critical thinking skills that makes it possible for the MSM to lie, smear and distort as much as they do.

I shall fix that for you, so it is accurate

redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list    Sat Oct-22-11 10:56 PM
Response to Original message
1. This shouldn't be surprising news to anyone.
   
Edited on Sat Oct-22-11 10:57 PM by redqueen
It is the widespread lack of critical thinking skills that makes it possible for the democrats to lie, smear and distort as much as they do.

.

flamingdem (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list    Sat Oct-22-11 10:57 PM
Response to Reply #1
3. It's "uncool" to dig too deep apparently
   
but the OWS youth are showing a new cool with their attention to ideas.

What ideas do the OWS people have anyway? Other than eat the rich, then uh uh uh eat the rich some more, and give us free stuff.

NYC_SKP DU Moderator Donating Member (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list    Sat Oct-22-11 10:59 PM
Response to Original message
4. It's a problem that begins much, much earlier, in our schools and in our culture.
   
State High School Exit Exams based on Seventh Grade Standards...

A Society that Places Consumption above Charity.

Don't get me started.

Once again I ask who controls the schools?

seabeyond Donating Member (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list    Sat Oct-22-11 11:05 PM
Response to Original message
5. maybe we ought to look in the homes they spend most of their time in. to make it to young adult and
   
not having learned critical thinking in their homes, alone, says something.

do families not talk?

i didnt leave it up to the schools to teach my kids critical thinking. to important. but it sure has come in handy for the kids in the schools. it enhances their education and the teachers embrace, are thrilled with it.

Your poor kids are screwed if you taught them critical thinking skills. I realize that you think critical thinking means criticizing Republicans.

tabatha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list    Sat Oct-22-11 11:06 PM
Response to Original message
7. Absolutely - you can see it just about everywhere.
   
People of extremist views, bend everything to support their beliefs, even if it makes no sense at all.

I see this especially with right-wingers - unions are bad, therefore every problem is because of unions. But if one had to look at the complete picture, take all factors into account, then the conclusion may be different.

And the really sad thing is, I have seen this kind of thinking with people who think logically every day. They are engineers and have to think critically on issues whose whole picture they can easily determine.

However, social issues are more complex - and require much more data to come to a conclusion.

That is why Rachel is so invaluable - she keeps hammering away at the facts so that people can remember them.

 

[Bodadh]

If colleges thought CT they would end up with a army of pissed off kids when they figure out they didn't learn any thing useful after getting thousands in loans.

[dandi]

Study: Many College Students Not Learning to Think Critically

Well that certainly explains DU. While I don't doubt many of them have degrees, they've fooled themselves into thinking that little piece of paper makes them bright.

Some of the most intellectually clumsy folk I've ever met have Bachelor's and Master's degrees.

[FlippyDoo]

Critical Thinking for DUmmies

Dirty Hippie 1: Dude! What are you thinking?

Dirty Hippie 2: I'm thinking I need another hit of weed, dude!

Dirty Hippie 1: That's my kind of thinking. Fire that baby up.

Dirty Hippie 2: Uh? NOOOoooo! Dude, we just burned the last one!

Dirty Hippie 1: No way, dude!  What are we going to do?

Dirty Hippie 2: Dude, I'm thinking.

Dirty Hippie 1: Well  hurry with your thinking, dude. My buzz is wearing off. I need another hit!

Dirty Hippie 2: Well there are a couple of options. We could stop smoking dope or we could get a job so we could afford to smoke dope.

Dirty Hippie 1: Stop being ridiculous dude and figure something out.

Dirty Hippie 2: I'VE GOT IT!!! Listen to this dude! We'll rant and rave and make people who do work at jobs give us the money that they worked for. That way we can still lounge around smoking AND have money for weed!

Dirty Hippie 1: AWESOME! That there is some serious critical thinking! But how are we going to get people to give us weed money? They may want it for their own weed.

Dirty Hippie 2: No dude! Most of the ones who hold down real jobs don't do a bunch of weed so they don't need weed money.

Dirty Hippie 1: Wow! That's even criticaler thinking or something.

Dirty Hippie 2: I think the best way to do this is to gather in a public place and chant slogans and stuff.

Dirty Hippie 1; What kind of slogans?

Dirty Hippie 2: It doesn't really matter. Actually, the less sense the slogans make is probably for the better. We'll claim that we are the majority. May even go with 99%. This will make other weak-willed people want to join us thinking that we're more than we really are. A lot of these new comers will probably bring their weed with them so we can mooch off of them while we're collecting enough money for our weed.

Dirty Hippie 2: DUDE!!! That's the most criticalest thinking ever. Let's do it on Wall Street where the big money people are.

[Doubleplusungood]

They are certainly not being taught critical thinking. With liberals in charge, schools are basically indoctrination camps for perpetuating leftwing power. If the left didn't have control of both education and the media they would be a minor moonbat party like they should be. The real political fight in this country should be between conservatives and libertarians with marxist types not even considered.

Of course any liberal will simply claim that not enough money has been spent on education, thus the lacking of critical thinking skills.

[JohnnyReb]

Critical Thinking for DUmmies

Dirty Hippie 1: Dude! What are you thinking?

Dirty Hippie 2: I'm thinking I need another hit of weed, dude!

Dirty Hippie 1: That's my kind of thinking. Fire that baby up.

Dirty Hippie 2: Uh? NOOOoooo! Dude, we just burned the last one!

Dirty Hippie 1: No way, dude!  What are we going to do?

Dirty Hippie 2: Dude, I'm thinking.

Dirty Hippie 1: Well  hurry with your thinking, dude. My buzz is wearing off. I need another hit!

Dirty Hippie 2: Well there are a couple of options. We could stop smoking dope or we could get a job so we could afford to smoke dope.

Dirty Hippie 1: Stop being ridiculous dude and figure something out.

Dirty Hippie 2: I'VE GOT IT!!! Listen to this dude! We'll rant and rave and make people who do work at jobs give us the money that they worked for. That way we can still lounge around smoking AND have money for weed!

Dirty Hippie 1: AWESOME! That there is some serious critical thinking! But how are we going to get people to give us weed money? They may want it for their own weed.

Dirty Hippie 2: No dude! Most of the ones who hold down real jobs don't do a bunch of weed so they don't need weed money.

Dirty Hippie 1: Wow! That's even criticaler thinking or something.

Dirty Hippie 2: I think the best way to do this is to gather in a public place and chant slogans and stuff.

Dirty Hippie 1; What kind of slogans?

Dirty Hippie 2: It doesn't really matter. Actually, the less sense the slogans make is probably for the better. We'll claim that we are the majority. May even go with 99%. This will make other weak-willed people want to join us thinking that we're more than we really are. A lot of these new comers will probably bring their weed with them so we can mooch off of them while we're collecting enough money for our weed.

Dirty Hippie 2: DUDE!!! That's the most criticalest thinking ever. Let's do it on Wall Street where the big money people are.

Dirty Hippie 2: DUDE If none of your critical thinking works, what's our other options?

Dirty Hippie 1: We rob the candy store.

Dirty Hippie 2: I thought that was what we were trying to do already?

[jtyangel]

Seriously? The OWS are deep thinkers huh? Some of the biggest followers and shallow thinkers I know think OWS is super cool. And the only place they have the upper hand is to influence even bright and thoughtful kids who are still too young to be strong enough to pull themselves from the sway of what they see as 'hip'. Deep thinkers my ass!

And that's not to say we have all deep thinkers either. I know plenty of parrots on this side too, but at least our parrots aren't going to bring this great country down.

This article highlights a larger problem. OUr educational system on up through college is not doing it's job. Adults should be able to reason and think things through beyond what an early teen can--in fact I think it's about age 12 when a child starts to have the capacity for critical thinking and we don't take advantage of that early learning capacity. It makes me sick, it really does and when I talk to people about damn near anything of importance, the deer in the headlights look is not lost on me--it truly makes me sad that the best conversation I can get out of most of the women I call friends now is whose hair is what color or their favorite purse manufacturer, and the men aren't much better. The frivolous things are fun, but for once, I'd love to see more intellectually capable of people when it comes to important topics. If I saw more of that, I'd probably have more hope. The only hope you have really in this country is that the more shallow among us really don't want their way of life to change all that much. It's really hard to feel positively about our direction when all it hinges on is the comfort of the consumer.

[jtyangel]

tabatha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list    Sat Oct-22-11 11:06 PM
Response to Original message
7. Absolutely - you can see it just about everywhere.
   
People of extremist views, bend everything to support their beliefs, even if it makes no sense at all.

I see this especially with right-wingers - unions are bad, therefore every problem is because of unions. But if one had to look at the complete picture, take all factors into account, then the conclusion may be different.

And the really sad thing is, I have seen this kind of thinking with people who think logically every day. They are engineers and have to think critically on issues whose whole picture they can easily determine.

However, social issues are more complex - and require much more data to come to a conclusion.

That is why Rachel is so invaluable - she keeps hammering away at the facts so that people can remember them.

How disingenous. It couldn't be that the more rational, logical thinkers ie those engineers might actually have drawn a different(and accurate) conclusion from you because of their capacity to think critically on EVERYTHING, even the bigger picture right? I'm a number cruncher, my brain works more like those engineers, and my analyzing and dissecting, sometimes to the woe of my family extends to just more then my work. I find it difficult to shut off so I do not believe for a second that the engineers you work with have 'shut off' how their brain works on those designs or intricate parts. The have extended a 1+1=2 model even to real life issues. What that means tabatha, is that YOU are the one who lacks the critical thinking skills and/or the ability to apply them beyond your job.

In my experience, I work in an office full of folks like this. 75% are conservative from my estimations so far(and I pay attention to these things) and that's hefty considering the employer and the fact we have a union too. The other 25 don't care, are of the variety that their big ethnic chip on their shoulder overrides their critical thinking skills, or in my opinion are employed in the wrong profession anyway because their abilities are lacking(going hand in hand with the liberal brain I guess). One notable exception is a brilliant woman, but what I have noticed is she is very open to another opinion and actively considers it. IMO, she's more a liberal in rebellion to her formal religion then really a fiscal liberal. I wish the brighter liberals would stop with the childhood trauma influencing their decisions made in regards to politics, but that's all I'll say on that.

Unfortunately, and as conservatives I think we have all seen this, what we are working against are this big consumeristic middle who quite honestly are very easily swayed by slogans and speeches and feel good rhetoric. For them, it's very hard to break away from the popularity of things--they essentially live high school out their entire lives. Now, I won't go the dummie route and call them stupid, I don't think they are, but for whatever reason politics and delving into the meat and potatoes things are a bit intimidating and overwhelming. It's a shame really, more critical thinkers and like someone else said, moonbats would be nothing then an irrelevant little side group not seriously in the discussion of national politics.

[FlippyDoo]

Dirty Hippie 2: DUDE If none of your critical thinking works, what's our other options?

Dirty Hippie 1: We rob the candy store.

Dirty Hippie 2: I thought that was what we were trying to do already?

Dirty Hippie 1: Sorry dude. I forgot.

Dirty Hippie 2: Hey! Then  when we get through we can call up our buddy Meth-head Melvin and all three of us can go this remote place in the Sandhills of Nebraska to enjoy our pharmy treasures.

Dirty Hippie 1: Dude I don't want to go all the way out there just to get ran off!

Dirty Hippie 2: Chill out dude. I told you it was remote. You're acting all paranoid. Like you think some naked dude with a wrench will be there to run us off or something.

[JohnnyReb]

Dirty Hippie 1: Sorry dude. I forgot.

Dirty Hippie 2: Hey! Then  when we get through we can call up our buddy Meth-head Melvin and all three of us can go this remote place in the Sandhills of Nebraska to enjoy our pharmy treasures.

Dirty Hippie 1: Dude I don't want to go all the way out there just to get ran off!

Dirty Hippie 2: Chill out dude. I told you it was remote. You're acting all paranoid. Like you think some naked dude with a wrench will be their to run us off or something.

 

[DumbAss Tanker]

flamingdem (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list    Sat Oct-22-11 10:57 PM
Response to Reply #1
3. It's "uncool" to dig too deep apparently
   
but the OWS youth are showing a new cool with their attention to ideas.

Now there's an incredibly topical example of a failure in critical thinking, failing to put two and two together and at least come up with an even integer for an answer.

[BlueStateSaint]

Now there's an incredibly topical example of a failure in critical thinking, failing to put two and two together and at least come up with an even integer for an answer.

DAT, it was the third comment in that thread . . .

flamingdem (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list    Sat Oct-22-11 10:57 PM
Response to Reply #1
3. It's "uncool" to dig too deep apparently
   
but the OWS youth are showing a new cool with their attention to ideas.

[DumbAss Tanker]

DAT, it was the third comment in that thread . . .
 

I knew that, I'm afraid I don't understand your point.  One DUmmie posts a story about college students not learning to think critically, one of the responding DUmmies unwittingly provides a perfect exemplar, I commented on it.

 

[Celtic Rose]

Now there's an incredibly topical example of a failure in critical thinking, failing to put two and two together and at least come up with an even integer for an answer.

No, no, don't you understand?  The college students that agree with the DUmmies have amazing critical thinking skills.  It is the college students that leave college with a conservative bent that failed to learn critical thinking. After all, the DUmmies are the most amazingest critical thinkers ever!

[jukin]

For the last 35 years colleges have not taught critical thinking. They have taught proper thinking.

Lenin is smiling.

[Carl]

Damn those right wing teacher unions!



 

[TVDOC]

For the last 35 years colleges have not taught critical thinking. They have taught proper thinking.

Actually I'd have to disagree with that to an extent.......colleges and universities have never taught critical thinking.

Over my educational career, I've spent eleven years in various colleges and universities, ended up with multiple degrees, and never even came close to taking, or even been offered a course in "critical thinking".

Never saw it listed in a catalog......

IMHO, critical thinking is a product of the coursework that a student chooses to study.  It's a skill that develops naturally as a result of being mentally challenged, and required by the curricula to analyze and solve problems, and deal with complex issues involving multiple variables.

The best analogy that I can draw is that it would be  similiar to learning a second language.......you can absorb the grammar from a book and instructor, but in order to be proficient you must learn to think in that language.  That skill isn't taugnt in a classroom, it evolves naturally, with constant practice and immersion.

Critical thinking is a natural byproduct of majoring in a technical area or the hard sciences......

PolySci, Urban Studies, English Lit, Journalism, et al........not so much........

doc

[BlueStateSaint]

I knew that, I'm afraid I don't understand your point.  One DUmmie posts a story about college students not learning to think critically, one of the responding DUmmies unwittingly provides a perfect exemplar, I commented on it.

 

I was referring to the "putting two and two together and come up with at least an even integer" portion.  It was an odd-numbered post that you referred to, and I postulate that because of that, there was no way that the primitive was going to come within a snowball's chance of surviving more than a few milliseconds in Hell, of getting the right answer.  Incredibly obtuse?  You betcha.  Just like the post you and I referenced.

[DumbAss Tanker]

Ooooooooooooooooooohhhhh, NOW I get it!