Learning to Fly Through Informational Turbulence: Critical Thinking and the Case of the Minimum Wage

• Main Authors: Gerhard Minnameier, Rico Hermkes
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-09-01
• Series: Frontiers in Education
• Subjects: critical thinking; inferential processes; abduction; argumentation; online reasoning; multiple-document comprehension
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/feduc.2020.573020/full

The paper addresses online reasoning and information processing with respect to a much debated issue: the pros and cons of the minimum wage. Like with all controversial issues, one can easily remain in a self-reinforcing bubble, once one has taken sides, and immunize oneself against criticism. Paradoxically, the more information we have at our disposal, the easier this gets (Roetzel, 2019). The only (and possibly universal) antidote seems to be “critical thinking” (Ennis, 1987, 2011). However, critical thinking is a very broad concept, purported to include diverse kinds of information processing, and it is also thought to be content-specific. Therefore, we aim at addressing both understanding of content knowledge and reasoning processes. We pursue three goals with this paper: First, we conduct a conceptual analysis of the learning content and of reasoning patterns for and against the minimum wage. Second, we explicate an inferential framework that can be applied for processes of critical thinking. Third, teaching strategies are discussed to support reasoning processes and to promote critical thinking skills.