Children are enrolled into preschool when they are approximately three years old. At this level, the children are introduced to formal education in order to achieve cognitive development. They are exposed to several learning concepts leading to the acquisition of various skills that are important for cognitive development. These skills will enable them to carry out activities that are beyond the formal education system including real life situations. Tikhonova & Kudinova (2015) stated that the thinking process should go beyond the cognitive work to working with the constant flow of information that keeps changing. Critical thinking is one of the skills that preschoolers need to acquire. According to Whittaker & McMullen (2014) critical thinking skills are important in reasoning, making judgements, drawing conclusions and solving problems. The acquisition of these skills enables people to reason and solve problems for a lifetime.
Critical thinking skills are classified as higher order thinking skills. Previously, it was believed that higher order thinking skills were developed by older children and adults only. However, Whittaker & McMullen (2014) observed that infants possess these skills and are capable of reasoning and solving problems. Additionally, logical thinking and reasoning develops substantially in preschoolers. These skills enable the children to analyze a problem and propose solutions based on their knowledge and experiences. A research conducted by Goswami and Pauen established that preschool children were capable of making comparisons despite changes in color and positions of the objects (Whittaker & McMullen, 2014). Despite the ability to draw analogical conclusions among all preschoolers, Stevenson et al. (2013) proposed that children possess different abilities to benefit from analogical training. With the assistance of an observational checklist, teachers are able to identify the students’ progress in the development of critical thinking skills.
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The learning process requires monitoring of students’ progress in all the education areas for evaluation purpose. The findings of these progress sheets enables teachers to develop individual based teaching methods. Stevenson et al. (2013) observed that children’s level of analogical reasoning was dependent on the type of training. The checklist enables teachers to identify the strategies that result into better results. These strategies can be modified to meet the specific needs of preschoolers who are slow in acquiring critical thinking skills. Teachers can also evaluate the quality of their work based on the students’ progress.
Improvements in training types and training quality will result in successful acquisition of critical thinking skills among the students. These skills will support future development and learning of the preschoolers. Children who possess these skills display higher learning cognition. Various studies concluded that children who possess general knowledge performed better in science, reading and math (Whittaker & McMullen, 2014). Noteworthy, general knowledge includes thinking and reasoning skills among the children. Acquisition of critical thinking skills also enables children to develop social and emotional competence. The children are able to solve problems through generating various alternatives and their consequences (Whittaker & McMullen, 2014). Additionally, these skills will determine their long term behavior outcomes in academic success and school adjustment.
In conclusion, critical thinking skills are classified as higher order thinking skills. They enable people to reason, make judgements, draw conclusions and solve problems beyond academic settings. Preschoolers possess these skills and benefit differentially from analogical training. The observational checklist enables teachers to assess each student’s progress in the development of critical thinking skills. Based on these reports, teachers are able to develop effective and better quality types of training. On the other hand, students critical thinking skills enhances the students’ learning experience. They also assist in developing social and emotional competence which determines their long term behavior outcomes.
References
Stevenson, C.E., Hickendorff, M., Resing, W.C., Heiser, W.J., & De Boeck, P.A. (2013). Explanatory item response modeling of children’s change on a dynamic test of analogical reasoning. Intelligence , 41 (3), 157-168. doi: 10.1016/j.intell.2013.01.003
Tikhonova, E., & Kudinova, N. (2015). Sophisticated Thinking: Higher Order Thinking Skills, Journal of Language and Education , 1 (3), 12-23. doi: 10.17323/2411-7390-2015-1-3-12-23
Whittaker, J., & McMullen, M. (2014). Preschool: Good Thinking! Fostering Children’s Reasoning and Problem Solving. YC Young Children , 69(3), 80-89. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/ycyoungchildren.69.3.80 Accessed on 4th August, 2018
