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2006 Annual International Conference (archived)

 

The 26th
International Conference
on Critical Thinking
 

Join us for the World's Oldest Annual Conference on Critical Thinking
at the DoubleTree Hotel and Executive Meeting Center
Berkeley Marina

Conference July 25-28, 2006
Preconference July 23-24

The Art of Designing for Deep Learning
In the Long Run:

 

More than a quarter century since its founding, The Center and Foundation for Critical Thinking have played a major role in defining, structuring, assessing, improving and advancing the principles and best practices of critical thought in education today. Our annual International Conference on Critical Thinking provides an opportunity for improving one's understanding of critical thinking, and deepening one's ability to foster it in the classroom and apply it in one’s life.


Throughout our work we emphasize and argue for the importance of teaching for critical thinking in a strong, rather than a weak, sense. We are committed to a clear and "substantive" concept of critical thinking (rather than one that is ill-defined); a concept that interfaces well with the disciplines, that integrates critical with creative thinking, that applies directly to the needs of everyday and professional life, that emphasizes the affective as well as the cognitive dimension of critical thinking, that highlights intellectual standards and traits. We advocate a concept of critical thinking that organizes instruction in every subject area at every educational level, around it, and on it, and through it.

The sessions of the 26th International Conference on Critical Thinking will focus on long-term planning for critical thinking, whether by individual instructors focused on personal development and course redesign, or by a department, division, school, college, university, or other academic or social institution, or governmental agency for which critical thinking needs to be a crucial component. For more on the conference theme, click here.

The conference will consist in approximately 40 conference sessions offered over 4 days. Participants will choose in advance the sessions offered on days one and two, day three - afternoon, and day four - morning. At the conference, participants will choose from a number of concurrent sessions offered on the third morning of the conference. We invite both new and returning participants to join us for the preconference, to be held July 23-24, 2006. Click here for descriptions of the Preconference sessions

All conference sessions will be designed to converge on basic critical thinking principles and to enrich a core concept of critical thinking with practical teaching and learning strategies. For fuller explanation of core critical thinking concepts review the Thinker's Guide series, or the articles from our library.


DOUBLETREE HOTEL AND EXECUTIVE MEETING CENTER BERKELEY MARINA

Near the University of California at Berkeley: 30 minutes from San Francisco airport. 15 minutes from Oakland airport

 

CONFERENCE MENU
See information on our 2007 Conference


 

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Please do not pass this message by.

CRITICAL THINKING IS AT RISK.

Here are some of the big reasons why:

  1. Many people believe that critical thinking should be free and that scholars qualified to teach critical thinking should do so for free. Accordingly, they do not think they should have to pay for critical thinking textbooks, courses, or other resources when there is "so much free material online" - despite how erroneous that material may be.
  2. There are many misguided academicians, and some outright charlatans, pushing forth and capitalizing on a pseudo-, partial, or otherwise impoverished concept of critical thinking.
  3. Little to no funding is designated for critical thinking professional development in schools, colleges, or universities, despite the lip service widely given to critical thinking (as is frequently found in mission statements).
  4. Most people, including faculty, think they already know what critical thinking is, despite how few have studied it to any significant degree, and despite how few can articulate a coherent, accurate, and sufficiently deep explanation of it.
  5. People rarely exhibit the necessary level of discipline to study and use critical thinking for reaching higher levels of self-actualization. In part, this is due to wasting intellectual and emotional energy on fruitless electronic entertainment designed to be addictive and profitable rather than educational and uplifting.
  6. On the whole, fairminded critical thinking is neither understood, fostered, nor valued in educational institutions or societies.
  7. People are increasingly able to cluster themselves with others of like mind through alluring internet platforms that enable them to validate one another's thinking - even when their reasoning is nonsensical, lopsided, prejudiced, or even dangerous.
  8. Critical thinking does not yet hold an independent place in academia. Instead, "critical thinking" is continually being "defined" and redefined according to any academic area or instructor that, claiming (frequently unsupported) expertise, steps forward to teach it.

As you see, increasingly powerful trends against the teaching, learning, and practice of critical thinking entail extraordinary challenges to our mission. To continue our work, we must now rely upon your financial support. If critical thinking matters to you, please click here to contribute what you can today.

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO CONTINUE OUR WORK.

Thank you for your support of ethical critical thinking.