Critical Thinking Workshops

[Reno]

I have recently changed jobs and in my new post as a Community Learning & Development Guidance Worker, I have the opportunity to develop and deliver free workshops to people that live in the local communities.

I'd like to develop a 6 week workshop on critical thinking. I will have to submit, to a series of managers, the aims and expected outcomes of the course and the value it will have to the communities. The managers will then decide whether the workshops will be approved or not.

I intend to offer a weekly 2 hour workshop for 6 weeks and I'll be representing the course to my management as a confidence-building course for the local people to assist them to gain employment or access further education courses at college/university.

I have some idea of the content I wish to deliver: (de-bunking)alternative medicine/therapy; hoax email virus alerts; (de-bunking)'well-known facts'.


I'm looking for any input or advice on how to word my proposal to my managers so that I am given approval, and advice on course content and delivery methods. I'd like to steer clear of a lecture-type format, and rather have maximum involvement from the attendees. I want to help them develop their critical thinking skills so that they may realise for themselves that just because something is said to be so, doesn't make it so.

All comments gratefully accepted.

Thanks.

 

[Reno]

Dowsing! I'd like to do one of the workshops on dowsing

 

[Fnord]

Definitions 101 - What constitutes "Valid Evidence"?

Definitions 102 - What constitues a "Fallacy of Reason"?

Lab 101/102 - (See course description for Forensic Discussion 101/102)

Definitions 201 - The true meanings of "Magnetism", "Quantum" and "Vibration".

Definitions 202 - What are "Fields" and "Forces"?

Lab 201/202 - (See course description for Electromagnetics Lab 201/202; Prerequisites: Advanced Maths 101, and either Biology, Chemistry, or Physics 101)

Definitions 301a - What is "Pseudo-Science"?

Lab 301a - (See course description for Abnormal Psychology 301; Prerequisites: Psychology 101 and Behavioral Psychology 201)

Definitions 301b - What is "Science"?

Lab 301b - (See Course description for History of Science 301; Prerequisites: Advanced Maths 201; )

 

[case#46cw39]

Is there a difference between a skepticism course and a critical thinking course? Seems to me like skepticism does not teach anyone how to think critically (objective, evidence based, logical, etc.) but just lists say the current Top Ten Issues and then proceeds to debunk them. So what exactly are you trying to teach them? Paul's model of critical thinking is well-developed and tested, plus applied to some serious cases (eg, shuttle accident). This thread has more on critical thinking courses and Paul: http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=6380912#post6380912

Academic definitions of 'critical thinking' here: http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=6382159#post6382159


ETA: I actually believe that skepticism draws some conclusions with certainty that (applied) critical thinking can't get to.

I also believe that critical thinking theory itself should draw no conclusions (except about the thinking process in general itself). Its job is to show the way to critically analyzed thoughts, but its theory should never include promotion of specific arguments (something like logic). This would make skepticism another name for the field of applied critical thinking. Otherwise the student is just replacing one authority with another (the skeptic). These are just my exploratory ramblings on this.

 

[wardenclyffe]

Despite the fact that the courses are free. I'm guessing that the managers still want them to be well attended. With that in mind, you have to come up with a sexy name for the course, like "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Paranormal, But Were Afraid......"

If the managers feel you can put butts in seats, you will be approved.

Ward

 

[blutoski]

I think you might want to check with professional educators about this, rather than a skeptics' forum.

case#46cw39 is 100% correct: critical thinking only slightly overlaps skepticism - they're not the same thing. Critical thinking is not a 'science' skill. It's part of English Literature, History, Economics, Politics, and other subjects.

When I teach critical thinking, I almost never discuss 'skeptical' topics.

Here is a sample fallacy problem set I prepared a few years ago: [practice set]

I'd also contact the local school board, to make sure that what you're teaching does not interfere with what they're teaching in terms of critical thinking. It's a core component of most public school curricula in most districts and grades these days.

I've seen some skeptics cause problems this way, teaching skeptical facts and referring to it as critical thinking, when this is just not the case.



Having said that: if you want to teach a course on Skepticism then that's totally appropriate for an amateur educator.

If you're serious about it, I'd contact Kylie Sturgess to see if she can provide good resources for critical thinking vs skeptical thinking course content: ksturgess@podblack.com

 

[Reno]

ok, I was under the impression that critical thinking and skeptical thinking kinda went hand in hand. Looks like I was wrong.

My intended workshop is to introduce skeptical thinking into the community groups I work with. I have an opportunity to do this but if I come right out and advertise the workshops and let my managers know that I'm going to be showing how homeopathy, dowsing, etc is hogwash, then I have ZERO chance of approval and would probably have ZERO attendance even if allowed to go ahead. Therefore, I must disguise this workshop before it starts, but also set aims that will benefit the attendees and their communities and be able to show this at the end of the 6 weeks. I also need to be able to deliver it in a way that will engage the attendees, make them want to learn more, and have them give good feedback at the end of the course so that I can run the workshops on a regular basis throughout all of the communities I work with.

So yep, Blutoski, it is pretty much a course on skepticism I want to deliver

 

[blutoski]

it is pretty much a course on skepticism I want to deliver

OK... I'll do some digging when I get home after work. There are actually a couple of college credit Skepticism courses running around the US right now that could be adapted to a lighter community access series. I'll see if any of them expose their material online.

There are also some online resources for teachers, but I don't have my references here at work.

I still advise touching base with Kylie. This is exactly what she does for a living and she's super-helpful if she understands you're sincere and not wasting her time.

 

[Reno]

thanks Blutoski. I will send an email to Kylie too

 

[psionl0]

So yep, Blutoski, it is pretty much a course on skepticism I want to deliver

So you call it "critical thinking" to fool the people into believing that you are going to give a different type of course.

I'm rather "critical" of that kind of thinking.

 

[Reno]

So you call it "critical thinking" to fool the people into believing that you are going to give a different type of course.

I'm rather "critical" of that kind of thinking.

No, I was considering using 'critical thinking' in the workshop title or descriptor because I believed that critical thinking and skepticism were more closely linked than they apparently are.

I'll take the comments in this thread on board and so I am prepared to change the description and title of the workshops if neccessary so that no-one is going to be fooled into believing that I am offering a free course that differs from the one that I am actually going to be delivering.

I intend no deceit, but I would like to have approval from my bosses to run the workshops and I would like to see them well attended and enjoyed. The attendees will come on a purely voluntary basis, can leave any workshop at any time, can attend as many or as few of the 6 as they like. There will be with no travelling or any any costs for the attendees who wish to come to the workshops. In fact, coffee/tea/juice and cakes/biscuits will be provided free of charge.

This workshop is aimed at the people in the communities where the majority of the people are unemployed and disenfranchised. High crime rate and high addiction rates are normal in these communities. Spiritualists, tarot readers and their ilk regularly have sessions here, where they extract what little money the local people have, and turn up again week after week to take more. Going to the local pub when a clairvoyant is performing and shouting abuse at them is one way to take action, but I'd be sticking myself right in the firing line of a lot of angry and probably drunk locals. If you've never visited a West coast of Scotland mining village pub, it's a bit like walking into a lion's cage with raw steaks on a string tied round your neck.

I'd rather run my own workshops to try to counter the damage these charlatans are doing through the promotion of skepticism.

If you think there's a better way for me to run with this, I'm all ears.

 

[psionl0]

Why not run a REAL critical thinking course. You can't stop people from wanting to believe in fantasies (after all, reality sucks) but you might be able to get them to recognize when a charlatan is spinning them a line.

 

[Reno]

Why not run a REAL critical thinking course. You can't stop people from wanting to believe in fantasies (after all, reality sucks) but you might be able to get them to recognize when a charlatan is spinning them a line.

Sounds like a fine idea. Can you give me an example of the course content I could deliver in a REAL critical thinking course?

 

[Jeff Corey]

I'm presently teaching a critical thinking course and have been doing so for about 15 years. It's in the Psychology Department and emphasizes analyzing the pseudoscience that passes in the name of psychology, but also covers alternative medicine. The texts this semester are Gilovich's "How We Know What Isn't So" and Lilienfeld, et. al. "50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology..."
In my opinion, skepticism and critical thinking have a lot of overlap, at least in the way I present it.

 

[Reno]

Hi Jeff. Aye, I belive that skepticism and critical thinking can be linked successfully and I hope to do so in my workshops. I'll have to keep the classes very basic so Gilovich is probably out of the question. The workshops will have to be entertaining (I'm thinking Mythbusters here) and interesting to generate any responses. They'll have to be of benefit to the attendees or the first one will be the last and I don't want that!

I have the potential to reach (over a period of time) hundreds of people here and if I do it the right way, the positive results could be quite respectable.

 

[psionl0]

Can you give me an example of the course content I could deliver in a REAL critical thinking course?

I can't give an entire course but I would suggest that any course would include the basics of logic, recognition of faulty arguments, information on how the human brain works including which parts of the brain respond to various stimuli etc.

If you use shysters (especially the paranormal kind) as the theme for these subjects you would not only help prevent some people from being ripped off by these predators but you would also be teaching them to use their brain.

 

[Reno]

Thanks psion10.

I want to have one of the workshops on paranormal shysters in a way that won't turn any of the attendees who may have given/be giving money to clairvoyants against me.

I'll plan accordingly.

 

[psionl0]

Best wishes in your endeavor Reno.

Just let the folks who attend your course know what they will be in for and keep the surprises at bay.

 

[Jeff Corey]

Hi Jeff. Aye, I belive that skepticism and critical thinking can be linked successfully and I hope to do so in my workshops. I'll have to keep the classes very basic so Gilovich is probably out of the question. The workshops will have to be entertaining (I'm thinking Mythbusters here) and interesting to generate any responses. They'll have to be of benefit to the attendees or the first one will be the last and I don't want that!

I have the potential to reach (over a period of time) hundreds of people here and if I do it the right way, the positive results could be quite respectable.

You are right about Gilovich. I've had some luck with Shermer's "Why people believe in weird things", though.

 

[blutoski]

Sounds like a fine idea. Can you give me an example of the course content I could deliver in a REAL critical thinking course?

The link from the previous post was part of a larger site I built around 1994 based on my course content. It's changed a little over the years, but mostly the same: [BCSkeptics: critical thinking tutorial]

The current texts I use are Critical Thinking: An Introduction (Fisher) and The Power of Critical Thinking: Canadian Edition (Vaughn, MacDonald).

Here is a list of books that include some titles targetted to younger students: [Foundation For Critical Thinking: Books]

Realistically, it's important to understand that critical thinking is a generalized skill, and students should simply be encouraged to bring their own examples into class, rather than deploy examples based on an agenda.

Critical thinking is about dissecting arguments. You may find that introducing these topics as neutral examples for critical thinking will end up graduating a class of new woo believers because the students are the ones applying the skills to these topics.

On the other hand, if you want to graduate a class of skeptics, by all means offer a skeptics course and push the skeptical conclusions for these topics.

Another concern is that a lot of these examples are scientific topics, and critical thinking is a sort of pre-requisite for 'scientific thinking' but they're not the same thing. In particular, verifying expertise (non-fallacious argument from authority) has a central role in evaluating scientific topics.

This is very different than skeptical thinking, which tends to be more iconoclastic, and explains why skeptics do poorly on critical thinking inventories. I was given the results of, a sample test done at TAM Las Vegas a few years ago, and skeptics were slightly worse than the US national average as critical thinkers. That's why I think it's important to decide whether you're teachnig a critical thinking course or a skeptical thinking course. The teachings often conflict very distinctly and can be confusing if the course is mislabelled.