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Can We Teach Critical Thinking
April 17, 2026
AI Analysis: Glittering Generalities
Posted 13 hours ago by
Althea Need Kaminske, The Learning Scientists, Apr 17, 2026 It's always nice to see a reference to my old friend Tim van Gelder (I spent three months on a fellowship with him in Australia in 2001). Here the reference is to Teaching Critical Thinking: Some Lessons From Cognitive Science. In this undated article (a repost from some time in the past) author Althea Need Kaminske summarizes the paper but also slants it to a degree, I think.
For example, I don't think that when van Gelder says 'critical thinking requires practice' he is saying instruction on critical thinking needs to done explicitly and deliberately. I also don't think he is saying critical thinking skills in one domain cannot be transferred to another domain, only that students also must practice the art of transferring the skills from one situation to another. Critical thinking can be taught, and the skills by their very nature are general and widely applicable, but (says van Gelder) instructors have to do more than teach theory and hope students acquire the skills. Learning critical thinking requires practice. Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]
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Technique: Glittering Generalities
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