The making of personal meaning: Some thoughts for teacher educators

Much of the focus in schools today is on teaching critical thinking skills. This article challenges the current practice of teaching thinking as a set of skills and procedures. We propose a more thoughtful way of encouraging learners to make personal meaning of what they are learning by searching for insight, making connections between their past and present learning experiences, and using reflection as a tool for gaining understanding, all of which we do quite naturally.This article focusses on the experience of one post-secondary teacher as she attempts to take a more thoughtful approach to her practice with a class of student teachers. Specific ideas for assisting students in using reflection as a learning tool for furthering understanding and for promoting thoughtfulness are provided.