Students should learn how the fundamental concepts in your discipline were established. Show your students the process by which these key concepts were reached. What questions were asked? What research was done? Which hypotheses were discarded and why? Why were these concepts accepted and why are they so fundamental to the discipline?

Students should learn the types of thinking and inquiry which are valued in your discipline. Each discipline has its own types of valued thinking and inquiry; help your students learn these (McPeck, 1981). Students must learn not only what to think in Biology, Calculus, or History, but also how to think like a Biologist, Mathematician, or Historian so that they can continue to engage in the inquiry of the discipline and thus reach a greater understanding of the material.

Students should learn that obtaining a correct answer is not the only goal. Of course, answering a question correctly is very important, but students should learn how to transfer their understanding of a familiar problem, situation, or activity to a new one. In order to do this, students must be able to identify the process of reaching solutions in one instance, recognize the similarities between the familiar problem and the new one, and adapt the process to solving the new problem (Pestel, 1988).

Vary your teaching methods. The most practical way to foster thinking skills in your classes is to use a variety of teaching approaches to ensure that your students are more than passive, receptive learners, but instead are independent thinkers. Look at the section on Other Instructional Strategies in this Resource Guide and notice how classroom discussion, group work, and classroom debates will help foster independent thought.

Ask lots of open-ended questions. Open-ended, or higher order questions, cannot be answered with a simple yes, no, number, or date. They require a reasoned response. When did Thomas More write his biography of Richard the Third ? is a closed question. How reliable is More's biography of Richard? is an open question. Questioning your students in this way will achieve two important goals. First, you will model the types of questions and the forms of inquiry which are important in your discipline. Second, you will encourage your students to engage in independent thinking and to "uncover" the process of that thought by justifying their own answers or evaluating the plausibility of others.

Ask your students to assess others' thinking. For example, alert students to the assumptions, both implicit and explicit, in their own and others' thinking and writing. Have them identify these assumptions. Or ask them to evaluate the reliability of a textbook, article, or other source by looking for possible biases in the work and considering, for example, how, where, when, and by whom the information was gathered. Show students the types of flawed reasoning which weaken arguments: inferences based on unsound, or inadequate, observation; the assumption that an event which precedes another is its cause; oversimplification of complex relationships.

Reward students' independent thought. If you want to impress upon students that independent thinking is important, then you must create a classroom environment where reasoned and informed disagreement with the instructor is encouraged and not penalized. Furthermore, look for, comment upon, and reward independent thought. Students will quickly see through a syllabus which extols thinking skills but rewards rote memorization.