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wonderingjoesmith
Joined: 19 Aug 2012
Posts: 910
Location: Guangzhou
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 Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 2:38 am Post subject: |
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| LongShiKong wrote: |
| Sashadroogie wrote: |
| As we've said many, many times before here on the boards, there isn't even a single accepted definition of what is meant by 'critical thinking skills'. |
That's not surprising seeing that there's little anyone here agrees on. Furthermore, if there is disagreement about what critical thinking skills entail, it's certainly not being discussed on Wikipedia's entry nor talk page, nor in texts on the subject, as far as I'm aware. |
What's interesting to me is that teachers use sources of information which aren't acceptable as primary in our higher educational systems.[/quote] |
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wonderingjoesmith
Joined: 19 Aug 2012
Posts: 910
Location: Guangzhou
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| Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 2:46 am Post subject: |
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| LongShiKong wrote: |
| Sashadroogie wrote: |
| But this IELTS task doesn't test learners ability to 'reason'. (And this is what many posters seem to think it means.) It does test their ability to present their thoughts and ideas in a logical manner consistent with the norms of anglophone academia. And that is all. |
I guess it all depends on who chooses the topic? You know more about these tests than I do but if a student is simply asked to pick a topic and argue a point, they're likely to rehash a point of view they're familiar with. But even then, does it not take a bit of critical thinking to, for example come up with additional supportive points the student may not already be familiar with just to fulfill length requirements, or can they get away with the most flawed logic as long as it's cohesive and coherent? |
I wonder how complete a written response that lacks logical or fitting reasoning may be. Don't academic essays require more than just "that is all"? I don't suppose IELTS tests the capabilities to cope with academic essays. |
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wonderingjoesmith
Joined: 19 Aug 2012
Posts: 910
Location: Guangzhou
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| Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 2:55 am Post subject: |
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| LongShiKong wrote: |
| Sashadroogie wrote: |
| Suggesting that Arabic or Chinese norms, for example, are somehow less logical because they are based on different conventions is the main problem I have with those who push 'critical thinking' skills. |
And would those less logical norms be the very pedagogical practices their respective countries consider inconsistent with the needs of a burgeoning professional class that needs more than rote memorization skills? |
The uniformed feedback on questions that we get from our international students ought to be concerning for teachers who prepare students for not only higher education but also life. Offering solutions, hypothesizing, comparing and contrasting, reasoning etc are obvious problems for the students and that not only in writing.
Last edited by wonderingjoesmith on Tue Feb 04, 2014 3:17 am; edited 2 times in total |
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wonderingjoesmith
Joined: 19 Aug 2012
Posts: 910
Location: Guangzhou
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| Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 3:04 am Post subject: |
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| Sashadroogie wrote: |
Sorry. That was a struggle to read. Would only garner an IELTS 6.5 - 7 tops.
Time for my 20:33 constitutional : ) |
Seems TOEFL would be more generous. Perhaps, it's the reading that IELTS lacks. |
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