The article was very interesting because it shows that a lot of students are not in fact used to thinking critically on their own, nor are they as practiced as they often think when working in groups (despite their push for multitasking using social networking tools!). This is shown chiefly in the first few parts of the article, where the people who own the businesses discuss what they look for in employees.
Both the government and english lessons show why students are not being challenged to think critically: the questions they are asked are not stimulating, and simply demand an answer which they can easily look up in their notes. The teacher in these cases is simply talking to him/herself in a mirror, a mirror which reflects the answers straight back.
The lesson that went well did so because it charged the students with a challenging yet stimulating task, laid down the rules to follow, and laid down the teacher’s expectations. This is the kind of instruction which will help students learn to work productively with others while still being able to think critically on their own.
Please post this in the Blackboard blog area in order to get credit for it.
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