Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

The first of the survival skills according to The Global Achievement Gap is critical thinking and problem solving.  The real world works with critical thinking and problem solving strategies.  This is how the hospital for which I worked solved problems:  we gathered information by reading charts, interviewing employees, researching diseases, assessing patients, and conversing with other well-educated people to come up with a resolution to any problem we found.  We often formed teams to assist in the solution of problems; often critical thinking came into play. 

Critical Thinking was not taught in my high school.  It was taught in my undergraduate college courses.  We were given a scenario and told to 'fix it' after having given the proper resources, past lectures, notes, and our peers.  We would converse, research, ask questions, and come up with solutions - although not as perfect as the teacher would want.  The college students in my health care classes were given the foundation of information and then forced to use that information to solve problems.  Lab data was given and asked to be interpreted. Ventilator settings were asked to be adjusted.  Blood Gas results were asked to be diagnosed and then asked how to correct these abnormal values.

My board exam to be a Registered Respiratory Therapist (similar to RN, but for respiratory therapists) was comprised of two major segments - first, a multiple choice test, second, a clinical scenario test.  This clinical scenario test presented sample patients in various situations that need medical attention and decisions to be made.  Critical thinking and problem solving are of paramount importance.  The pass rate was not great when I was taking the exam; in fact, many of my peers were scared to take this prestigious exam.  I took it and passed the first time, because I was practiced in critical thinking and problem solving.  I used these same skills when taking care of patients in the hospital and communicating with physicians. 

Ask your teenager to solve a problem or think through the problem.  How does he/she do?  Is he/she even interested in trying to solve problems?  How can one encourage this skill in students?  Thinking takes work and often teachers just want to give a study guide and let the students spit the contents back on test day.  I've done that as a teacher...  sorry to say!

Not any more.  My own kids in homeschooling are asked questions, asked to think, expound, asked why? Given problems to solve....  I want them to have the skill of critical thinking.  I want them to solve problems - real world problems.