Critical Thinking issue of Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin

Abstract

Critical Thinking issue of Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin , July-September 2006 This issue of MIPB focuses on the integration of critical thinking and scientific inquiry throughout the military intelligence curricula. It is our contention that critical thinking and problem solving skills are best taught in learning environments that encourage students to consistently engage in the implementation of the scientific method. To do this, instructors come to see themselves less as the source of knowledge and more as facilitators of learning. Although most courses within USAIC include practical exercises, many continue to include hours of lecture, followed by objective tests. Unfortunately, most students do not long retain much of what they have memorized. Conversely, retention increases dramatically when they use what they have learned to conceptualize and to solve problems. Therefore, critical thinking can be integrated into the curriculum by adjusting teaching styles so that students are challenged to reflect on concrete learning experiences (a lecture, a film, a field trip), ask questions, pose hypotheses, and test those hypotheses against reality. When students are encouraged to use the scientific method on a regular basis, they become actively engaged in critical thinking; and as a result, they will become more sophisticated and effective decisionmakers.