Education is a cultural activity, and classroom emphases and expectations vary across the globe. In the United States, college students are expected to show critical thinking. In other words, college instructors expect their students not just to memorize information but to ask questions, challenge assumptions, see patterns, and apply knowledge.
Students might learn their course material in the following ways:
While you might sometimes be required to memorize or learn basic facts and principles, your instructors will most often expect you to move beyond memorization and show critical thinking about the content of the course. The following examples are questions from exams in introductory economics classes. The first example is from a class that emphasizes memorization of facts; the second is from a class in which students are expected to apply concepts to everyday situations.
emphasis on memorization
| question | What does “opportunity cost” mean? |
| answer | “Opportunity cost” is the value of a resource measured in terms of the next-best alternative use of that resource. |
emphasis on critical thinking
| question/task | Illustrate the concept of “opportunity cost” with an example from your own life. |
| answer | The opportunity cost of going to the movies with my roommate last night was the extra time I could otherwise have spent studying for my economics exam. In other words, I gave up extra study time by going to the movies. |
To answer the second question, students needed to learn the definition of opportunity cost. But they were expected to go beyond the definition and show critical thinking by applying the definition to their own example.