A Reflective Conversation with Linda Elder: about Critical Thinking and the Gifted

Abstract

Thinking. She has extensive experience in leading workshops and seminars for educators in many topics such as integrating critical thinking into instruction, the affective elements and aspects of thinking and the process of Socratic questioning. She presently coauthors a quarterly column on critical thinking in the Journal of Developmental Education. She has co-authored, along with Richard Paul, a book entitled " Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Learning and Your Life. She has experience in both administration and teaching and she understands the challenges and problems facing educators today.Are critical thinking skills taught in most teacher preparation programs? That is. do pre-service teachers receive instruction in critical thinking practices? Why/Why not? Critical thinking is not typically a significant part of teacher preparation programs. A few years ago the Center for Critical Thinking was asked to conduct a study for the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing to determine the extent to which teacher preparation programs were preparing prospective teachers to teach for critical thinking. This study (Paul, et. al.,