Practical Reason

A Confucian Conception of Critical Thinking

“…Viewing critical thinking as judgement is appropriate when we consider that the word ‘critical’ is etymologically derived from Greek words that suggest criteria and standards. Scholars such as Hostetler (), Burbules (), Dunne and Pendlebury (), Lipman () and Moore () have referred or alluded to judgement in their discussion on critical thinking. Lipman () conceptualises critical thinking as skilful and responsible thinking that ‘facilitates judgement because it relies on criteria, is self‐correcting and is sensitive to context’ (p. 428).…”

Interrogating the Lesson Plan in a Pre-service Methods Course: Evidence from a University in Kenya

“…The concepts of normative critical thinking by Bailin (1998) and amongst others, Dunne and Pendlebury's (2003) views on the value of practical deliberation in teaching, served as important heuristics for examining the lectures. How students were taught to make rational curriculum decisions for the successful teaching of the H&G objectives, for example, translate the objective of fostering national unity in terms of historical content knowledge and teaching strategies that promoted democratic discussions when teaching such content, were given special attention.…”

“…We understood that this reasoning might be tacit and therefore difficult for the educators and students to articulate. Therefore, words, sentences or utterances, materials used, explanations and interactions that occurred in lectures between teacher-educators and students to develop the knowledge and skills to teach H&G and, students and students during micro-teaching lessons, highlighted reflections on the H&G objectives (Dunne and Pendlebury, 2003). These were ideas and strategies about curriculum materials or a teacher's 'tools of the trade', that included scheme of work, lesson plan, textbooks, and charts.…”

“…It is a rational process by which teachers are able to derive ways of acting (teaching) that are "... good, sensible and conducive..." (Orton, 1997, p. 570), and thereby considered as worthwhile for learners. Dunne and Pendlebury (2003) and Waghid (2006) describe it as deliberation that is about a normative vision, contemplative and focused on subject matter, learners, educational purposes and contexts. For Dunne and Pendelbury, it demands "… the capacity to respond to a range of cognitive uncertainties that arise from related features of the world of practice, namely mutability, indeterminacy, and particularity" (p.210).…”

“…These were heuristic device(s) by which to figure out what is the best thing to decide and do. For Dunne and Pendlebury (2003) and Waghid (2006) such 'figuring out' has to involve deliberation that focuses on subject matter, learners, educational purposes /objectives and contexts to clarify the intrinsic ends (outcomes/results) that Buchmann, (1988) has argued are the basis of reasoning about means and ends that make teaching a moral practice. However, the lecture in this HTM course as a context for learning how to' prepare to teach' appeared to concentrate primarily on what to include as stages in lesson planning and do at every stage.…”