Already during my school days I was upset about people who only parroted teachers and said exactly what they wanted to hear. That's when their intelligence ended. To my horror, I sometimes experienced this at university. In a seminar on international conflict research, we should deal with trouble spots and how they come about. Theories and events were simply reproduced, dates were bluntly quoted, personal details listlessly rattled. It's like reciting a poem at school. Only now and then someone took an opposite position. Dominant narratives seemed to be set in stone.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, more than 2.9 million students are currently enrolled in Germany. There are 20,359 degree programmes. Everyone should prepare you for something - for a profession or at least for a professional field, ideally also for life. How are universities supposed to do that? By teaching young people methods with which they can analyse, recognize connections and classify developments. One skill that sometimes falls by the wayside is to think critically and interdisciplinary.
Critical thinking is weak among students
A study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development last year found that students have little capacity for critical thinking. Economists come off the worst, while humanities, natural and social scientists do particularly well. Also, this ability increases only slightly in the course of study. Paradox - when one can assume that this is exactly what the university period is for: to build on the basics taught in school, to question things and also to become aware of one's own bias.
Of course, universities could be blamed for the fact that thinking skills are insufficiently taught. However, it must also be borne in mind that initiative and tolerance of ambiguity must be developed. It is important to actively engage with information that may make you uncomfortable and attack what we think we know. Or listening to people who not only have a different point of view, but also possibly hold opinions that seem untenable to us. This is the only way to develop critical and open personalities who are able to conduct dialogues and find solutions. So instead of only dealing with well-known topics that are on their own curriculum, every student should leave at least once and attend seminars and events from other disciplines, instead of just letting themselves be sprinkled in lectures. Everyone should let new information affect them and also do something that does not suit them at all.
Critical thinking as the key to innovation
The discussion about the latest AI developments shows that it will be particularly relevant in the future to deal with critical thinking. Some claim that tools such as ChatGPT could become an obstacle in education, as students no longer have to research and understand connections in order to do a term paper. Others, on the other hand, see an opportunity in technical innovations: Machines could take over annoying tasks and we could finally concentrate on the creative and demanding things. Both are certainly justified. However, the question arises as to how young people can use ChatGPT and Co. efficiently if they have insufficient prerequisites for a critical examination of complex topics.
Critical and interdisciplinary thinking forms the basis for an open mind. If you don't have to sit in a boring course, you should take the chance and ask questions, express criticism and accept. This is not only important for one's own development, but also for one's future working life, in which one must be able to interpret various data and information and apply them for oneself. Fortunately, this is easy to learn if you want to.