Providing Multiple Perspectives for Critical Thinking

No matter what your discipline area, all instructors have a common goal: you want your students to be able to think.

Critically. Objectively. Constructively.
This week's tools can help!

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In an era of polarized opinions on everything from climate change to wearing masks in public, it's more important than ever for us to help our students wade through all of the rhetoric, and to learn to think for themselves.

To this end, you may want to check out these two sites - both of them provide multiple viewpoints on a wide array of current issues:

• AllSides.com "Don't be fooled by media bias and misinformation."
• ProCon.org "Reliable. Nonpartisan. Empowering."

Both AllSides and ProCon can help students master the college's four GenEd Learning Outcomes:

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AllSides.com

​Recently, I've noticed that more and more educational technology "top" lists include AllSides. This site strives to strike a balance on issues by providing articles from the left, right, and center on a wide variety current events and issues, making it a valuable resource in supporting critical thinking and information literacy:

​Here is an example of the top listings on the site (11/7/21), along with a bit more detailed example of the type of articles provided:

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ProCon.org

ProCon is a terrific resource, providing the top three pros and cons (based on multiple sources, provided in a bibliography for each ProCon topic). This information would be great as a basis for an Academic Controversy activity, where students initially take one side in the debate, and then switch sides to the opposite viewpoint.

​Here is a sample of some the topics you will find:

ProCon even has teacher resources, including dozens of inspiring quotes on critical thinking:

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DON'T FORGET - if you have other questions about Teaching, Learning, and/or Assessment, contact the CTLA! To submit a request for assistance: https://ctla.cgc.edu/help.html

HAPPY TUESDAY, EVERYONE!
Mary