Critical Thinking Workshops with Dr. Stephen Brookfield

Ideas to Action and the Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning invite you to hear from renowned critical thinking expert Dr. Stephen Brookfield.

Dr. Stephen Brookfield is Distinguished University Professor at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis-St. Paul. He has written twelve books on adult learning, teaching, critical thinking, discussion methods and critical theory, four of which have won the Cyril O. Houle World Award for Literature in Adult Education (in 1986, 1989, 1996 and 2005). To learn more, visit stephenbrookfield.com

Dr. Brookfield is coming to University of Louisville to deliver a keynote address at the 2010 Celebration for Teaching and Learning: Engaging Teaching, Engaging Learning on Friday, February 5.

As part of Dr. Brookfield's visit to UofL, we've arranged for Dr. Brookfield to conduct two workshops about teaching critical thinking on Thursday, February 4 at Belknap Campus for UofL faculty and staff.

Using Active Learning Techniques to Develop Critical Thinkers

Stephen Brookfield
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Noon-2:00 p.m.
Shumaker Research Building, Room 139

In this workshop, we will look closely at the connections between critical thinking and active learning approaches and explore various teaching techniques to engage students in the process of thinking critically. We will focus on small and large group exercises that require students to consider a range of different ideas, such as chalk talk, circular response, and snowballing.  Participants will learn how to use the critical thinking questionnaire (CIQ) to illuminate their students' learning process and will try out a variety of active learning strategies.

Designing Your Course to Maximize Critical Thinking Development

Stephen Brookfield
Thursday, February 4, 2010
2:15-4:15 p.m.
Shumaker Research Building, Room 139

In this workshop we will consider how instructors can sequence critical thinking activities throughout their course by designing materials of increasing complexity. These strategies support student development by beginning with "low risk" learning activities and ending with a direct focus on the student's own ideas. The session will focus on strategies instructors may use when constructing assignments and guiding students to undertake challenging assignments. Participants will explore how they can explicitly model their own engagement in critical thinking for students. We will practice scaffolding learning activities that can be adapted for use in the classroom, such as scenario analysis, ideology critique and the critical literature review.