Critical Thinking – skills for life
Description:
Cambridge Assessment is hosting a seminar on the role and value of Critical Thinking and its impact upon driving attainment.
Increasingly Critical Thinking skills are being recognised and valued in educational and work settings, leading to a high demand for tests and assessments to measure and acknowledge these skills. Many people believe that building the skills of reasoning and argument into an academic programme increases its rigour and that those students who have a deficit of thinking skills are the ones who lack sufficient grounding to embark upon undergraduate study.
Underlying this debate is a pedagogical divide between whether Critical Thinking requires a stand-alone qualification – as research suggests it drives attainment – or can only be taught in the context of subjects (embedded). Perhaps more importantly, there is also the common misconception that focusing on Thinking Skills (of which Critical Thinking is one) encourages teaching/learning of “soft” skills. This is often down to a lack of understanding of what is meant by Critical Thinking which is why Cambridge Assessment has recently produced a coherent taxonomy.
The debate will bring together practitioners and experts who have published widely on this area. Beth Black, a Senior Research Officer at Cambridge Assessment will give a brief presentation on our extensive research into Critical Thinking including our recent study regarding teachers’ experience of teaching Critical Thinking – which was presented at the AEA Europe Conference in November. There will then be a plenary discussion led by three panellists, with each panellist giving a brief opening statement. The panellists are:
Richard Wainer, Head of Education and Skills, CBI
Dale Bassett, Senior Researcher, Reform
Professor Steve Higgins, School of Education, Durham University
We do hope you will be able to join us for what promises to be a lively and stimulating debate. For further information or to request a place, please contact Rebecca Birkett-Smith or Jennifer Roberts on +44 (0)1223 556018 or by email at expertview@cambridgeassessment.org.uk.
Please note that there is no attendance/registration fee for this event.
