Cognitive Presence

“Use intellectual tools to raise the quality of your thinking.”
Sound thinking is one of the most practical things to engage in. No matter the realm in
life or the capacity in which one is serving, skilled thinking makes a person better. When a
person engages in critical thinking, they make use of their best thinking capacity and enhance
their capabilities. However, life presents us with multiple choices, and we need the best
information to make the right selection. It is possible to acquire thinking skills and achieve
excellence of thought. However, these processes do not just occur automatically or by chance.
Individuals learn and are taught the skills of thinking. Individuals are taught how to critic their
thought processes and how to make thinking a priority. Institutions of higher learning then must
be intentional about teaching students thinking skills.
It is crucial to note that thinking is not difficult as humans have the innate ability to think
naturally without necessarily exerting a lot of energy. It can occur even without putting in any
intellectual effort or using any intellectual tools. However, when one achieves ordinary level
thinking, there usually is a need to move it to higher quality thinking. Achieving high-quality
thinking skills is not a process that takes one day. It requires practice, use of intellectual tools,
assistance from a professional, and deliberate effort. Haghparast et al. (2014) hold that one of the
most important goals of higher education is to cultivate critical thinking in students. Thus, higher
education should introduce students to the use of intellectual tools to improve the quality of their
thinking.
Higher education, whether conducted in online classrooms or through traditional learning
environments, can introduce students to the use of online materials that will help develop their

critical thinking abilities. Tools such as laptops, mobile phones, and tablets can be used by
instructors to develop learner’s thinking skills. These tools are useful in different learning
environments and using different approaches to instruction. For instance, in any classroom
environment, students can access online learning materials through their devices. They can also
do research using these gadgets. Their thinking is enhanced by having the students assess the
online learning materials and evaluate them based on whether they are scholarly or not, as well
as based on whether they provided unbiased and credible information. As students make a self-
regulatory and purposeful judgment over and over in the course of their research, their thinking
ability is enhanced. They conduct analysis, evaluation, interpretation as well as inferences to
logical arguments in a well-thought-out manner. As they interact more with learning materials,
their thinking skills and judgment are enhanced.
In the online learning environment, discussion forums are a great tool through which
instructors cultivate thinking skills in students. Critical thinking can be cultivated through raising
vital questions, seeking solutions to them, and formulating the answers in a clear and precise
manner. When taking part in online discussion forums, online learners ask their peers and their
instructor questions regarding the discussion questions asked. In the process, they gather and
assess relevant information which they use to respond to questions asked. As they do so, they
interpret the information and try to present it precisely and clearly for their peers to understand.
Their thinking abilities are improved in the process.
As students engage with each other and communicate to figure out solutions to problems
in the discussion forum, they engage in the process of self-directed, self-monitored, and self-
corrective kind of thinking. They acquire problem-solving and effective communication abilities,
which get enhanced over time. Higher education thus provides students with a great platform

where they acquire and work to improve their thinking skills. Thinking involves demonstrating
intellectual skills. Students acquire fair-mindedness as they interact with each other during the
learning process. During discussions, whether in the online classroom or the traditional learning
environments, students learn how to use their thinking skills in an open and fair-minded way.
Students interact with their peers, who sometimes hold opinions that differ from their own. They
learn how to appreciate divergent views without necessarily disowning their own line of thought.
Also, higher education trains learners to think in an ethically responsible manner. There
are tools such as Turnitin that ensure that students learn how to paraphrase. Learners are taught
how to interact with ideas that do not conform to their own. Over time, students gain intellectual
courage whereby they are not afraid to own their authentic ideas even when they do not conform
to those held by other people. Learners do not feel threatened to acknowledge ideas that conflict
significantly with their personal identities. Intellectual courage is important in the academic lives
of students as well as their professional lives (Paul & Elder, 2013). When students acquire
intellectual courage, they are able to question the beliefs they hold as well as those held by their
peers, co-workers, and other scholars. They critically analyze the different sets of beliefs,
viewpoints, or attitudes, and learn to live with others regardless of their diversities. Attaining
intellectual courage is one way through which an individual’s ability to think is enhanced.
Higher education continuously challenges students to think critically and add a second
level of thinking to their ordinary thinking. By the time of joining college, most students rely on
first-order thinking. This level is non-reflective and often very spontaneous. It is characterized by
prejudice, insight, a combination of good and bad reasoning, and truth and error mixed
indiscriminately (Paul & Elder, 2013). However, while in college, students are taught critical
thinking skills, and their level rises to second-order thinking. This level of thinking is an

improved version of first-level thinking. Students gain conscious realization, and they assess,
analyze, and even reconstruct any information presented to them. They discover new thinking
levels and abilities. Through higher education, students make foundational changes to how they
react with information.
Overall, thinking is practical, and it works. Acquiring thinking skills enable students to
become more successful, and it saves energy and time. However, when thinking is left to itself, it
can be distorted, partial, prejudiced, and even biased. This explains the need for intellectual tools
to tame and shape how students think. When used, intellectual tools molds student’s thinking,
helps them achieve impartiality, they become unbiased and informed. Higher education helps
students discover the power of critical thinking, which enables them to improve progressively.
Students in both online learning environments and in the traditional classes go through processes
that are intended to systematically cultivate their excellence in thought.

References

Haghparast, M., Nasaruddin, F. H., & Abdullah, N. (2014). Cultivating critical thinking through
e-learning environment and tools: A review (Links to an external site.), Procedia—Social
and Behavioral Sciences, 129, 527-535. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.03.710
Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2013). Critical thinking: Tools for taking charge of your professional and
personal life. Pearson Education.