Critical Thinking Skills

[neela1]

Whatever critical thinking skills you have after high school are mostly all that you are going to have. So perhaps thinking of college as a place where you will target course work that specifically improves your critical thinking skills is perhaps misplaced emphasis? As opposed to gaining hard skills in some profession. This thought occurred to me after reading through the extensive discussion on What defines a liberal arts university? - #102 by neela1

What do people think?

[merc81]

@neela1

Whatever critical thinking skills you have after high school are mostly all that you are going to have.

This suggests that you have stated your own conclusion.

[neela1]

This is my opinion. Yes. Curious what other people think.

[momofboiler1]

Can you clarify your premise? Are you saying that students can’t improve their critical thinking skills after high school/age 18?

[thumper1]

I don’t agree. We all should be life long learners, and with new learning comes the need to hone critical thinking skills. Like anything else, these skills need to be used on an ongoing basis to remain strong.

I think people can and do develop stronger critical thinking skills as they get older, because they have increased life’s experiences to add to their mix.

[parentologist]

There is scientific evidence that directly refutes this hypothesis. The brain continues to develop and mature through one’s mid to even late 20’s, and there is evidence that concomitant learning continues at its highest level through this last brain maturation stage. So college is the perfect age to continue learning, and in fact, the person may be able at this point to bring the height of their brain’s frontal lobe function to focus at the highest level of critical thinking.

[merc81]

This study analyzed the development of critical thinking skills through college and compared the outcomes from different collegiate environments:

How the Instructional and Learning Environments of Liberal Arts Colleges Enhance Cognitive Development

This study analyzes longitudinal data from 17 four-year institutions in the United States to determine how the distinctive instructional and learning environment of American liberal arts colleges accounts for the positive impact of liberal arts college attendance on four-year growth in critical thinking skills and need for cognition. We find that, net of important confounding influences, attending an American liberal arts college [vs. a research university or a regional institution in the United States] increases one’s overall exposure to clear and organized classroom instruction and enhances one’s use of deep approaches to learning. In turn, clear and organized classroom instruction and deep approaches to learning tend to facilitate growth in both critical thinking and need for cognition—thus indirectly transmitting the impact of attending a liberal arts college.

(Pascarella, Wong, Trolian and Blaich. Higher Education. 2013.)

[neela1]

I am saying development of critical thinking skills is mostly done by 18.

[Mwfan1921]

Do you have links to studies/scientific data that support your statement?

[neela1]

Bring life long learners is different from learning critical thinking skills. Your analytical ability is reached by the your Kate teens. From that point on you are using these skills coupled with life experience to have a curates framework of the world around you.

[thumper1]

I won’t debate this any further.

[skieurope]

Closing without comment