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The Teaching of Critical Thinking Skills by Academic Librarians.

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Title: The Teaching of Critical Thinking Skills by Academic Librarians.
Language: English
Authors: Goetzfridt, Nicholas J.
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 38
Publication Date: 1993
Document Type: Opinion Papers
Reports - Descriptive
Descriptors: Course Integrated Library Instruction, Critical Thinking, Higher Education, Information Seeking, Instructional Design, Intellectual Disciplines, Interdisciplinary Approach, Librarian Teacher Cooperation, Librarians, Library Instruction, Library Role, Library Skills, Professional Recognition, Reference Services, Role Perception, Thinking Skills
Geographic Terms: U.S.; Wisconsin
Abstract: Teaching critical thinking is a relatively new dimension of bibliographic instruction (BI) in the academic environment. It marks a departure from the teaching of "user skills" in which the primary concern is enabling library patrons to determine the appropriateness of reference tools and to use those tools effectively. This report assembles a range of opinions on the extent to which librarians should be directly involved in pursuing an institution's academic goals, cooperating with faculty, or attempting to strengthen critical thinking skills of students. Some would say that in this age of increasingly complex tools, BI violates S. R. Ranganathan's law of saving the user's time. Librarians, therefore, should use the full potential of their expertise to concentrate on delivering information to users. The image of the librarian as teacher is an organizational "fiction" created to establish a more comforting self-image or to seek equal status with faculty. Complicating matters is the increasingly prevalent idea that although critical thinking is vital to the research process, it means different things in different disciplines, and critical thinking skills learned in one area, library use, for example, cannot necessarily be transferred to another area. Others counter that BI need not be confined to how-to procedures and encouraging students to regard reference sources as constituting specific answers, but can be enlarged to teach students to look at information as "evidence to be examined." As far as librarian status goes, the professional literature seems to emphasize strategies for gaining faculty cooperation without allowing the larger issue of academic equality for librarians to take control. Besides summarizing professional theory, the report also discusses ideas for integrating the teaching and encouragement of critical thinking into the traditional, task-oriented BI model, and for nurturing cooperative relationships between librarians and faculty which integrate library skills and course content. The report stresses the need for empirical study on librarian involvement in teaching critical thinking to students. (Contains 52 references.) (BEW)
Journal Code: RIEMAY1996
Entry Date: 1996
Accession Number: ED390442
Database: ERIC
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  Data: The Teaching of Critical Thinking Skills by Academic Librarians.
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  Data: 38
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  Data: 1993
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  Data: Opinion Papers<br />Reports - Descriptive
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Course+Integrated+Library+Instruction%22">Course Integrated Library Instruction</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Critical+Thinking%22">Critical Thinking</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Higher+Education%22">Higher Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Information+Seeking%22">Information Seeking</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Instructional+Design%22">Instructional Design</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Intellectual+Disciplines%22">Intellectual Disciplines</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Interdisciplinary+Approach%22">Interdisciplinary Approach</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Librarian+Teacher+Cooperation%22">Librarian Teacher Cooperation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Librarians%22">Librarians</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Library+Instruction%22">Library Instruction</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Library+Role%22">Library Role</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Library+Skills%22">Library Skills</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Professional+Recognition%22">Professional Recognition</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Reference+Services%22">Reference Services</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Role+Perception%22">Role Perception</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Thinking+Skills%22">Thinking Skills</searchLink>
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  Data: Teaching critical thinking is a relatively new dimension of bibliographic instruction (BI) in the academic environment. It marks a departure from the teaching of "user skills" in which the primary concern is enabling library patrons to determine the appropriateness of reference tools and to use those tools effectively. This report assembles a range of opinions on the extent to which librarians should be directly involved in pursuing an institution's academic goals, cooperating with faculty, or attempting to strengthen critical thinking skills of students. Some would say that in this age of increasingly complex tools, BI violates S. R. Ranganathan's law of saving the user's time. Librarians, therefore, should use the full potential of their expertise to concentrate on delivering information to users. The image of the librarian as teacher is an organizational "fiction" created to establish a more comforting self-image or to seek equal status with faculty. Complicating matters is the increasingly prevalent idea that although critical thinking is vital to the research process, it means different things in different disciplines, and critical thinking skills learned in one area, library use, for example, cannot necessarily be transferred to another area. Others counter that BI need not be confined to how-to procedures and encouraging students to regard reference sources as constituting specific answers, but can be enlarged to teach students to look at information as "evidence to be examined." As far as librarian status goes, the professional literature seems to emphasize strategies for gaining faculty cooperation without allowing the larger issue of academic equality for librarians to take control. Besides summarizing professional theory, the report also discusses ideas for integrating the teaching and encouragement of critical thinking into the traditional, task-oriented BI model, and for nurturing cooperative relationships between librarians and faculty which integrate library skills and course content. The report stresses the need for empirical study on librarian involvement in teaching critical thinking to students. (Contains 52 references.) (BEW)
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    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 38
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Course Integrated Library Instruction
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Critical Thinking
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Higher Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Information Seeking
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Instructional Design
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Intellectual Disciplines
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Interdisciplinary Approach
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Librarian Teacher Cooperation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Librarians
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Library Instruction
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Library Role
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Library Skills
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Professional Recognition
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Reference Services
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Role Perception
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Thinking Skills
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: U.S.; Wisconsin
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: The Teaching of Critical Thinking Skills by Academic Librarians.
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              Type: published
              Y: 1993
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