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32nd Annual Conference Presenter Information


Conference Presenter Information

FOUNDATION for CRITICAL THINKING FELLOWS


Dr. Richard Paul

Dr. Richard Paul is a distinguished leader in the international critical thinking movement. He is Director of Research at the Center for Critical Thinking, the Chair of the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking, and author of over 200 articles and seven books on critical thinking. Dr. Paul has given hundreds of workshops on critical thinking and made a series of eight critical thinking video programs for PBS. His views on critical thinking have been canvassed in New York Times, Education Week, The Chronicle of Higher Education, American Teacher, Educational Leadership, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, and Reader's Digest. 

Dr. Linda Elder

Dr. Linda Elder

Dr. Linda Elder is an educational psychologist and a prominent authority on critical thinking. She is President of the Foundation for Critical Thinking and Executive Director of the Center for Critical Thinking. Dr. Elder has taught psychology and critical thinking at the college level and has given presentations to more than 20,000 educators at all levels. She has coauthored four books and 20 thinker's guides on critical thinking. Her views have been canvassed in the Times Higher Education, the Christian Science Monitor, and on National Public Radio. 
    Dr. Gerald Nosich 

      Dr. Gerald Nosich is an authority on critical thinking. He has given more than 150 national and     
      international workshops on critical thinking. He has worked with the U.S. Department of 
      Education on a project for the National Assessment of Higher Order Thinking skills, has served 
      as the Assistant Director of the Center for Critical Thinking, and been featured as a Noted 
      Scholar at the University of British Columbia. He is Professor of Philosophy at Buffalo State 
      College in New York. He is the author of two books including Learning to Thinking Things   
       Through.

    Mr. Rush Cosgrove

      Mr. Rush Cosgrove is Historian for the Foundation for Critical Thinking and is engaged in       
      research for a PhD at the University of Cambridge.  He holds Masters degrees from both the   
      University of Oxford, New College and the University of Cambridge, Darwin College.   He has 
      conducted research on critical thinking and the Oxford Tutorial and is current conducting  
      research on the Paulian Framework for critical thinking as contextualized at the University of          
      Louisville. He conducts workshops in critical thinking for both faculty and students, in both 
      English and Spanish. 

ADDITIONAL MAIN CONFERENCE PRESENTERS


Dr. Patty Payette

Dr. Patty Payette

Patty Payette is the executive director of “Ideas to Action,” the Quality Enhancement Plan at the University of Louisville and is associate director of UofL’s Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning. Patty has more than ten years of experience in higher education faculty development, instructional/curriculum design, and training and development for instructors and administrators. Dr. Payette has designed and delivered dozens of workshops on teaching and learning topics, including sessions on critical thinking across the curriculum. She consults with schools and colleges nationally on the design and implementation of critical thinking initiatives. She has designed and taught undergraduates courses at Michigan State University—where she earned her PhD in 2001--and the University of Michigan-Flint. Her publications include numerous essays, articles, and book reviews on a variety of higher education topics, including articles appearing in the National Teaching and Learning Forum; Academic Leader; and The Chronicle of Higher Education.




Introducing at this year's conference…

The Bertrand Russell Distinguished Scholars Critical Thinking Lecture Series

This new feature of the conference will highlight the work and thinking of distinguished thinkers within subjects, fields, disciplines or about specific topics or issues. 
This year's scholars include Michael Shermer, William Robinson, and Ethan Watters. All conference participants are invited to these lectures.

Dr. Michael Shermer
Dr. Michael Shermer

Dr. Michael Shermer is the Publisher of Skeptic magazine, a monthly columnist for Scientific American, and author of many books including Why People Believe Weird Things. He was a college professor for 20 years, and has appeared on such shows as The Colbert Report, 20/20, Dateline, Charlie Rose, and Larry King Live. Dr. Shermer was the co-host and co-producer of the 13-hour Family Channel television series, Exploring the Unknown.



Ethan Watters
Ethan Watters


Ethan Watters is the author of Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche and coauthor of Making Monsters, an indictment of the recovered memory movement. A frequent contributor to The New York Times Magazine, Discover, Men’s Journal, Details, Wired, and PRI's This American Life, he has appeared on such national media as Good Morning America, Talk of the Nation, and CNN. His work has been featured in the Best American Science and Nature Writing series.



William I. Robinson

William I. Robinson is professor of sociology, global studies, and Latin American studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara.  He is a scholar-activist who participates in social justice movements in Latin America and the United States.  Among his seven books are A Theory of Global Capitalism (2004) and Latin America and Global Capitalism (2008).  His web page is www.soc.ucsb.edu/faculty/robinson





Please do not pass this message by.

CRITICAL THINKING IS AT RISK.

Here are some of the big reasons why:

  1. Many people believe that critical thinking should be free and that scholars qualified to teach critical thinking should do so for free. Accordingly, they do not think they should have to pay for critical thinking textbooks, courses, or other resources when there is "so much free material online" - despite how erroneous that material may be.
  2. There are many misguided academicians, and some outright charlatans, pushing forth and capitalizing on a pseudo-, partial, or otherwise impoverished concept of critical thinking.
  3. Little to no funding is designated for critical thinking professional development in schools, colleges, or universities, despite the lip service widely given to critical thinking (as is frequently found in mission statements).
  4. Most people, including faculty, think they already know what critical thinking is, despite how few have studied it to any significant degree, and despite how few can articulate a coherent, accurate, and sufficiently deep explanation of it.
  5. People rarely exhibit the necessary level of discipline to study and use critical thinking for reaching higher levels of self-actualization. In part, this is due to wasting intellectual and emotional energy on fruitless electronic entertainment designed to be addictive and profitable rather than educational and uplifting.
  6. On the whole, fairminded critical thinking is neither understood, fostered, nor valued in educational institutions or societies.
  7. People are increasingly able to cluster themselves with others of like mind through alluring internet platforms that enable them to validate one another's thinking - even when their reasoning is nonsensical, lopsided, prejudiced, or even dangerous.
  8. Critical thinking does not yet hold an independent place in academia. Instead, "critical thinking" is continually being "defined" and redefined according to any academic area or instructor that, claiming (frequently unsupported) expertise, steps forward to teach it.

As you see, increasingly powerful trends against the teaching, learning, and practice of critical thinking entail extraordinary challenges to our mission. To continue our work, we must now rely upon your financial support. If critical thinking matters to you, please click here to contribute what you can today.

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO CONTINUE OUR WORK.

Thank you for your support of ethical critical thinking.