Inquiry and Critical Thinking

Sean Porter - System Earth - Spring 2007

Inquiry and critical thinking refers to instilling a sense of life-long learning in students. By challenging us to think carefully (critically) about the questions that we pose to ourselves, and that are posed to us by those around us, we are forced to discover within ourselves, the strength and dedication to truly learn about the issues of the day. We must also form cogent arguments to express our findings to those around us in the hope that we can create momentum for a particular point of view to engender real change in the world.

We are also pushed to learn new skills to research topics, to understand the viewpoints and motivations of those doing the research, and to be able to determine the true veracity of their claims. This is increasingly important in a world where a large contingent of research is being performed at the behest of corporations and other entities whose motives may not be purely the advancement of real science. These days we have to be better equipped to cut through the layers of deception and find the real data so that we may interpret it ourselves, and see what truth it holds. We also may need to recognize when data is ineffective, when it doesn't tell the whole story, and when there isn't actually enough data to draw solid conclusions.

Progress

I think I have progressed a bit in my application of critical thinking and inquiry, I have certainly been challenged to think critically about the material presented in the class, although I'm not entirely satisfied with my lackluster response to the challenges presented. I would have improved more in this area if I had been more diligent about managing my time and thus had spent more time on my assignments.

My research skills have improved a bit, but again, I didn't fully take advantage of the opportunities presented to improve them more. I hope, in the future to improve upon the skills I have begun to develop in a much more complete and effective manner. In the interest of being better able to construct a convincing argument supported by facts.

Assignments

Ecological Footprint I
This assignment was all about critical thinking, we were looking carefully at our own energy use. We determined through our collection of data where we could change our actions to save resources. It was a very enlightening assignment and encouraged us to be the change we wished to see in the world.

Globalization Essay
This assignment required us to utilize our critical thinking skills in analyzing and critiquing the assigned readings. This included taking into consideration the positions and motives of the authors, so that we understood their viewpoint and how it related to our own.

Research Plan
This assignment is a good example of inquiry because I had to do some preliminary research to decide whether I would be able to form a full length research paper. It was great practice for the full-scale paper and helped me learn how to do independent research.