Taking a Step Back: Teaching Critical Thinking by Distinguishing Appropriate Types of Evidence

In: PS: political science & politics, Band 44, Heft 3, S. 619-624

Abstract

AbstractWe propose that teaching critical thinking is the most important job
of teachers in the political science profession. Yet political
scientists rarely engage with one another about the specific
assignments used to teach critical thinking. This article is the
beginning of what we hope will become a dialogue on how to best
teach students to think critically. We make a few recommendations
for assignments that aim to make students think critically within
the various political science methodologies: normative,
interpretive, causal, and comparative analysis. We argue for a
particular strategy in teaching critical thinking that reinforces
students' abilities to recognize which kinds of arguments require
which kinds of evidence.