Who is Bean writing for?

John Bean wants professors—all professors—to integrate writing and critical thinking into their courses to help students learn. As I read his book, I couldn’t help thinking he is preaching to the choir. I am not the one that needs to be convinced that students benefit from thinking critically and developing their ideas through writing. It is the professors who do not teach liberal arts courses—the math and science teachers—who really need to read Bean’s words. But then I realized how important being an English 1000 professor is. In those math and science senior-level courses structured on Bean’s recommendations—courses in which professor ask upperclassmen to think critically and to write to solve problems—both the lives of the professors and the students will be easier if these seniors have developed their skills early. Bean points out that “students, when given a critical thinking problem, tend to reach closure too quickly” (7). They have to be taught how to think critically. Most of us do. As English 1000 professors, we can help students, offering them guidance and support, as they develop their critical thinking skills.
To do this, as Bean suggests, we must encourage students to “suspend judgment, question assumptions, imaginative alternative answers, play with data, enter into the spirit of opposing views, and just plain linger over questions” (7). As I read this passage, I remember one assignment an English 1000 teacher gave last semester. The teacher asked the students to take a side on a controversial issue. Once the students each chose a side, the teacher made each student argue against the position that he or she chose. Based on my meetings with some of these students in the writing lab, I noticed some frustration. I wished that these students could recognize that this assignment provided a great opportunity for them to question their own beliefs—to think critically.
As an English 1000 teacher, in what other ways can I help students internalize the critical thinking skills—leading to a richer experience at college and beyond?