The Foundation for Critical Thinking to
Host International Academy on Critical Thinking;
Leveraging the Oxford “Tutorial” and Cambridge “Supervisions” for the 21st Century
Dillon Beach, CA (April 21, 2008) – Leading Oxford “dons” together with fellows of the Foundation For Critical Thinking will come together at Oxford University’s New College on September 3 – 6, 2008, to dissect, compare and diagnose each other’s pedagogical strategies and to present the latest research and findings on the state of critical thinking worldwide. A central focal point will be an analysis and assessment of the power, and exportability, of the strategies historically employed in conducting Oxford Tutorials.
The contingency of collegiate and pre-collegiate teachers, faculty, curriculum designers, headmasters, and academic administrators have one thing in common: They all see critical thinking as central to learning, and therefore, to teaching. Richard Paul, one of the leading theoreticians of critical thinking, has argued that there is a convergence between the structure of the traditional Oxford Tutorial and plausible ways to structure instruction so as to foster critical thinking in non-tutorial sessions. Larger classroom settings can benefit when strategies traditionally incorporated in the Oxford Tutorial are adapted to class size.
A seminal pedagogical concept and integrated collection of best practices that accompany all forms of inquiry, discourse, and understanding in virtually every domain and discipline, critical thinking is the foundational competency necessary for any academically defensible learning to take place. It’s the key to understanding how to learn and to take ownership of knowledge, insights and skills in all domains and disciplines. The Oxford Tutorial is a powerful way to enhance critical thinking. However, few institutions can afford to use the Oxford Tutorial in a "pure" and pristine form, that is, one-to-one, tutor and tutee.
The International Academy is the second in a series of annual international conferences held on Cambridge and Oxford campuses seeking to bridge and improve upon critical thinking traditions in teaching. The Academy is hosted by the Foundation for Critical Thinking in California, which for over a quarter century has led an international movement to research, define, assess and place critical thinking at the heart of educational reform. Throughout the Foundation's history its fellows have emphasized and argued for teaching critical thinking in a strong, rather than in a weak, sense. They have emphasized the need to think outside one's usual frame of reference (point of view). They have emphasized the importance, therefore, of a clear and substantive concept of critical thinking (rather than one that is ill-defined or vague); a concept that interfaces well with the disciplines; a concept that integrates critical with creative thinking; a concept that emphasizes the affective as well as the cognitive dimension of academic inquiry; a concept that highlights intellectual engagement and discipline.
Among the central questions the Academy will explore are, “Is the essence of the Tutorial — that which gives it its unique power and effectiveness — found specifically in its outward form (that is, in its one-on-one, faculty-to-student ratio format)? Or, is its essential advantage to be found inwardly among the principles, strategies, tactics, ‘moves,’ skills and intellectual rigor that naturally accrue from one’s independent thinking within conceptual protocols, processes, languages, and disciplines of a mentored curriculum?” And then, “To what extent, and by which means, might the essence of the Tutorial be adapted, leveraged, and applied more broadly and deeply to other pedagogical circumstances?” In other words, “Can the essence of the Tutorial be coached through alternative arrangements, without the labor intensity and cost inefficiencies of one-on-one instruction in institutions with less funding; among students with less talent?” And, “What can we learn from studying the manner in which tutorial and supervisory roles are exercised in classic forms of the Oxbridge tutor/student teaching and learning protocols?”
The Foundation advocates a concept of critical thinking that, when used appropriately, organizes instruction in every subject area at every educational level (so as to foster critical thinking across the curriculum). Its fellows have argued for tracking, testing and assessing critical thinking contextually within every domain and discipline. Critical thinking is an indisputable core concept, whose unpacking yields an array of possible ways to teach and learn the foundational concepts and principles of any discipline.
The Academy will be led by Dr. Richard Paul, Director of Research and Development at the Center, Dr. Linda Elder, Executive Director of the Center and President of the Foundation for Critical Thinking, Dr. Gerald Nosich, Professor of Philosophy, Buffalo State College and Fellow, Foundation for Critical Thinking, and Rush Cosgrove, Research Fellow, Foundation for Critical Thinking. Other distinguished presenters include: David Palfreyman, Director of Oxford Centre for Higher Education Policy Studies (OXCHEPS), New College, University of Oxford; Ted Tapper, Emeritus Professor of Politics, University of Sussex, Visiting Scholar, Oxford Centre for Higher Education Policy Studies, New College, University of Oxford; David Mills, University Lecturer, Higher Education, Pedagogy and Social Sciences, Kellogg College, University of Oxford.
”We believe that a careful comparison of critical thinking instructional methods and those methods inherent in the classic Oxford Tutorial approach significantly overlap and are intellectually similar,” said Paul. “Both traditional Tutorial and emerging critical thinking approaches emphasize teaching within the Socratic tradition. Both emphasize intellectual standards such as clarity, accuracy, precision, relevance, depth, breadth, logic, and significance. Both require students to read, write, listen and speak critically. Both encourage intellectual independence, intellectual empathy and intellectual humility.” Commenting on purpose, Dr. Elder said the “goal of the Academy is to persuade participants that the inherent ‘essence’ within both Oxford Tutorials and Cambridge Supervisions can be identified and ‘exported’ to forms of instruction with varied and higher faculty/student ratios … It is commonly believed, and we think rightly, that these tutorial methods of teaching are powerful for shaping intellectually disciplined minds,” said Elder. “However, it is also commonly believed, and we think wrongly, that tutorial methods are only effective when administered in one-on-one, or one-on-two, teacher/student ratios,” she concluded.
To Register for The International Academy on Critical Thinking at Oxford, log onto:
http://www.criticalthinking.org/conference/oxford2008.cfm
For More About The Foundation for Critical Thinking, log onto: http://www.criticalthinking.org
Photos:
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| Dr. Linda Elder, Executive Director of the Center,
President of the Foundation for Critical Thinking | Dr. Richard Paul, Director of Research and Development
at The Center for Critical Thinking, Chair of
The National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking |
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