Navigating the Murky Waters of Higher-Order, Critical, and Critical-Analytic Thinking

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

The information flood—ever present in today’s society—requires students, teachers, and the general public to think deeply, analytically, and critically. Yet, because higher order, critical, and critical analytic thinking lack practical and precise definitions, researchers and practitioners have adopted disparate characterizations of these constructs. This symposium presents a collaboration of international scholars invested in documenting the growth and development of human thinking and reasoning through their different theoretical and philosophical works, empirical research, and pedagogical practice. The symposium will illustrate the similarities and differences of higher order, critical, and critical analytic thinking from varied perspectives. We will also integrate these perspectives to sketch a map of higher-order and critical-analytic thinking that researchers, educators, and policymakers can use when navigating this conceptual murkiness.

Sub Unit

• Division C - Learning and Instruction / Division C - Section 2a: Cognitive and Motivational Processes

Chair

• Alina Maki, University of Maryland

Papers

• "Valued" Thinking in Education: Liberating the Narrative - P. Karen Murphy, Pennsylvania State University; Tyler Milne Ogata, University of California - Berkeley; Eric Cornelis Schoute, University of Maryland

• Critical Thinking and Its Relation to Strategic Processing - Daniel Dinsmore, University of North Florida; Luke K. Fryer, University of Hong Kong

• To Clarity and Beyond: Situating Higher-Order, Critical, and Critical Analytic Thinking in the Literature on Learning From Multiple Texts - Alexandra List, Pennsylvania State University; Yuting Sun, University of Maryland

• Situation Higher-Order, Critical, and Critical-Analytic Thinking in Problem- and Project-Based Learning Environments: A Systematic Review - Sofie Loyens, Utrecht University; Julianne Elizabeth van Meerten, University of Maryland; Lydia Schaap, Erasmus University; Lisette Wijnia, Open Universiteit Nederland

Discussant

• Patricia A. Alexander, University of Maryland