How We Think
How We Think, by John Dewey
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37423/37423.txt
claude.iconThis book is a discussion of "how we think" by John [Dewey. The main points are as follows
Reflective thinking involves five steps: (i) perceive difficulty, (ii) define problem, (iii) suggest solution, (iv) elaborate suggestion by reasoning, and (v) confirm by observation and experiment.
To foster reflective thinking, curiosity, suggestion, and the habit of ordering need to be cultivated. Schooling tends to inhibit this.
Language is an indispensable tool for thinking. Language education should help develop thinking skills.
[Observation and information transmission provide the basis for reflective thinking. Observation should be active for problem-solving.
Flexibility is needed in the classroom to capture the child's train of thought. Teachers need to have insight into children's habits of thought.
[It is important to have a balance between play and work, process and result, concrete and abstract, unconscious and conscious, and so on.
It is the skill of the educator to respect the child's free development of thought while consciously nurturing habits of thought.
As mentioned above, Dewey discusses how to foster reflective thinking from a practical perspective. Recommendations for making school education a place for the development of thinking skills are found throughout.
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