Courses that use questioning to integrate knowledge acquisition and thinking contradict widely shared assumptions about learning. But the benefits of learning based on questions are being recognized. For example, two major medical schools, McMaster and Harvard, have designed their programs to involve students in active problem-solving rather than memorization. The Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky said that what a child can do with assistance today, she can do by herself tomorrow. Conversely, what she does not receive assistance to do today, she is unlikely to do on her own in the future.
College professors are the people most qualified to assist students in learning to think critically.
The responsibility is as great as the rewards. Bouton, C. and R. Y. Garth, eds. Learning in Groups. New Directions for Teaching and Learning No. 14. Griffith, C. W. Teaching Writing in All Disciplines.