Critical analysis can be defined as subjective writing because it expresses the writer's opinion or evaluation of a text.

Critical thinking (aka critical analysis) occurs when individuals use their cognitive skills or strategies to increase the probability of a desirable outcome (Reference 1-5). Metacognition, by definition, is the awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes.

One of the major aims of education is to make students to think critically.  Critical thinking stresses the importance of asking and answering questions.  Specifically, developing students’ critical thinking skills is facilitated through metacognition.  For instance, a student has to do a critical thinking for a particular piece of work. The student goes through certain metacognitive skills, such as: monitoring the thought process, checking if the goal is achieved, ensuring time management, etc.

The term ‘critical’ is often seen as negative or destructive. However, being critical in an academic work, refers to getting as near as possible to the truth. It does not simply mean questioning things randomly, or for the sake of ‘nit-picking’.  As Dr Kalantzis’ video on ‘Metacognition, Part 6A: Why Metacognition Matters’ clearly explains, it is the search for accuracy and truth.  Critical analysis involves going through the myriad of information with which one is presented with, and seeking the truth in that. It is not merely accepting what is presented to as true, but instead to have a healthy questioning attitude about new information to which one is exposed to.

Critical analysis not only involves scepticism, but it also incorporates the humility of admitting that one’s opinions/ideas are wrong when faced with new convincing evidence that states otherwise.

Putting this into context, let’s consider a student is presented with an archaeological artefact. A descriptive v/s analytical write-up about the artefact is presented below (Plymouth, Critical Thinking):

It is imperative that students cultivate critical thinking in schools, as it is part and parcel of every day decisions taken by adults.

REFERENCES:

• Black, S. (2005). Teaching students to think critically. The Education Digest, 70(6), 42–47.
• Halpern, D. F. (1998). Teaching critical thinking across domains: dispositions, skills, structure training, and metacognitive monitoring. American Psychologist, 53(4), 449–455.
• Kuhn, D., & Dean, D. (2004). Metacognition: a bridge between cognitive psychology and educational practice. Theory into Practice, 43(4), 268–274.
• Nickerson, R. S. (1994). The teaching of thinking and problem solving. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Thinking and problem solving(pp. 121–132). San Diego: Academic.
• Schroyens, W. (2005). Knowledge and thought: an introduction to critical thinking. Experimental Psychology, 52(2), 163–164.
• Mango, C. (2010). The role of metacognitive skills in developing critical thinking. Journal of Metacognition and Learning, 5(2),  137–156.
• Dr Kalantzis’ video on Metacognition, Part 6A: Why Metacognition Matters
• ‘Critical Thinking’, Learning Development, Plymouth University (2010). Available at: https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/uploads/production/document/path/1/1710/Critical_Thinking.pdf