Teaching

critical thinking: Conversation chapter by Bell Hooks (2010)

In her book on critical thinking Hooks devotes a chapter regarding the impact of conversation on
education.
Picture one (see my Power Point slide) illustrates my attitude and memories of classroom learning. I
remember the hours spent in the classroom drawing pictures or writing notes to each other without
paying attention to the teachers lecture. Sometimes, depending if the teacher was strict I focused on
coping word by word in my note books to memorize later for the exam.

Hooks in her book encourages teachers to take their students on the adventure of critical thinking.
Learning and talking together provides experience of gaining knowledge that is private,
individualistic and competitive. Picture two ( see Power point slide) is showing students engaged in
the conversation.

In our daily life much of the knowledge comes through conversations and most of us remember a
good conversation where back and forth of sharing the ideas enhanced our understanding,
stimulated our capacity to think critically and allowed us to engage in dialectical exchange.

Hooks believes that
1. The future of learning lies with the cultivation of conversations. As opposed to lectures that
offer monologue of the transmission of the ideas. In todays world many of us are passive
consumers of knowledge, which is reflected in behaviors such as watching TV, searching the
web or texting on the phone.
2. Many students often feel that they have no voice, that they have nothing to say that is worthy
of being heard, This is why conversation becomes a vital intervention, for it not only makes
room for every voice it also presupposes that all voices can be heard.
3. A conversation-based model of learning is especially useful when a classroom is diverse like
ours. It encourages us to open our minds and to share experiences and knowledge with each
other.
4. However, all too often teacher fear conversation based model thinking that it may diverse
the students from the assigned reading material, in contrast a good conversation will foster a
dialogue to share ideas and support students learning. Rader (Hookss educator cited in the
chapter) says that Conversations are powerful, they help us look at complicated matters
from different perspectives while striving to construct a new understanding. Conversations
are not one dimensional they always confront us with different ways of seeing and knowing.
They engage people and provide contribution to education.