Enhancing Critical Thinking with Aesthetic, Critical, and Creative Inquiry

Inquiry-based classroom activities require students to solve problems and answer questions that have more than one possible resolution. These types of activities stimulate critical thinking skills and dispositions in students (Burton, Horowitz, & Abeles, 1999; 2000; Housen, 2001; King 1990; 1992; 1994; 1995; 2002; King, Staffieri, & Adelgais, 1998; Lampert, 2006). PreK-12 art classrooms are rich with opportunity for inquiry-based activities for children and adolescents.This article reviews research on inquiry-based instructional techniques that enhance critical thinking and offers suggestions on ways to use aesthetic, critical, and creative inquiry in art classrooms to stimulate higher order thinking in art students.