Why students must enhance their ability to think critically

Why students must enhance their ability to think critically

This will help deal with fake news, conspiracy theories and also strengthen democracies

Sonal.Srivastava@timesgroup.com

09.08.2021

At a time when the Covid-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc, critical thinking can help individuals make better decisions and save lives. The education system's overemphasis on technological skill-building and being job-ready may be depriving students of avenues that can help them sharpen their ability to think critically. A study conducted by Patricia Greenfield, UCLA distinguished professor of Psychology, in 2009, found that as the importance of technology increased in our lives, our critical thinking ability and the ability to analyse situations declined.

A recent study conducted by Anthony Lantian, an associate professor of Psychology at the Paris Nanterre, found that the ability to think critically can help us deal with fake news, conspiracy theories and even strengthen democracies around the world. Education in Humanities as well as deep study of the philosophy behind various skilling courses can help students develop critical thinking and problem-solving abilities.

Just as skill-building is important, development of the ability to think critically is equally essential. “While skill development is important, critical thinking is an essential element of everyday life. This should not be equated with, nor can it be taught like skill development. Exposure to the study of society, History, and Philosophy can provide a holistic view that will help enable critical thinking. Education must emphasise on learning Arts and Humanities for this to be possible,” says Rajshree Bedamatta, professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Guwahati.

As technology is growing fast, the importance of skills has also increased by leaps and bounds. “We talk of IT skills, communication skills, to have a successful career. Though skills are very important to apply tools and technology, just knowledge of skills does not give a wide vision about the appropriate application of tools. Training for skills can provide low-hanging fruits, but to become a visionary or a thought leader, holistic knowledge is necessary. With the advent of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, our focus has shifted to acquiring skills for Coding, app development etc, but knowledge is incomplete without understanding the philosophy of the discipline,” says Rajat Agarwal, associate dean, Innovation and Incubation, IIT Roorkee. He suggested that critical thinking is only possible when we keep our ear and eyes open and be ready to accept new ideas from anywhere and anyone. We need to balance between knowledge and skills, both are necessary, but the proportion should be decided with the objective of the institution’s priority.

In a way, thinking critically is also a cognitive skill that is part of skill development exercise, it can be refined and perfected over a period of time. “It involves the ability to reflect on a problem, apply reason and then provide a logical connection between ideas. In fact, critical thinking is all about being an active learner than a passive receiver of information. Hence, a great emphasis on analytical thinking, storytelling, problemsolving, taking an open-minded approach, and raising thoughtprovoking questions can only increase the intelligent, emotional, and spiritual quotient of an individual,” says Vaidyanathan Jayaraman, dean, UG Programmes, SP Jain School of Global Management, Mumbai.

Developing sociological imagination can help enhance critical thinking, leading to a better understanding of social problems. “As a sociologist, I can immediately think of two important readings, one by C W Mills, Sociological Imagination, and the other by Martha Nusbaum, Not for profit. These two texts, among others, emphasise the importance of critical thinking and how to develop it,” says Sawmya Ray, faculty, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Guwahati.

We should be able to differentiate fake news from real news, and conspiracy theories from actual believable stories. “In Africa, they are able to teach students the difference between trusted medical solutions and non-trusted ones, and there is evidence that these students were able to apply these learnings in their lives. Such things need to be included in the curriculums,” suggests Anand Srinivas, CEO and founder, StayQrious, Bengaluru. “In the more developed countries, Humanities are taught as a way to develop critical thinking. They provide space for debate, for considering multiple viewpoints, and actually hold different narratives that are possible together,” adds Srinivas. He further points out that if someone’s going to take a loan, and fund their education, they need to be aware of the market. “We have to be aware of the latest trends and give tools to the student community to participate in that economy,” he says.