Jennifer Tills

Jennifer has worked in Early Childhood Education for over 25 years, most recently at Margaret’s House for the past eight years, where she has served as the director since the Fall of 2021. Jennifer enjoys everything chocolate, finding humor in everyday happenings or the news, a fun chat with friends, and a lovely sunset on a summer day.

1. HOW DO YOU TEACH OR EXEMPLIFY APPLIED CRITICAL THINKING?

Within a childcare center, there are varied audiences whose needs must be met, and those needs can conflict at times. Often, solutions will require multiple participants or circumstances to change to achieve the desired result. However, every solution in this environment involves people, some little and some big, which adds complexity and significance to every decision. It is important to remember that the solution has to work for all the participants involved and means nothing if it only works for the architect of the solution. Therefore, it is useful to examine issues from multiple perspectives and uncover associated causal factors that initially seem unconnected. Then, I research varied options, ask the people involved for input or ideas and, most importantly, consider the consequence of the possible solutions from the perspective of the audience. Subsequently, re-evaluation following the application of the solution is critical to ultimate success.

2. WHY DO YOU THINK APPLIED CRITICAL THINKING IS IMPORTANT IN YOUR DOMAIN OR ROLE?

The easiest and most direct solution to an individual issue, without considering all the complexities involved, often has side effects that could have a negative impact on another area. Additionally, in an early childhood classroom where social-emotional skills are essential and taught to children every day, it is important to preserve an atmosphere where positivity is strong and supports the needs of each individual involved. Therefore, we focus on issues as situations seeking solutions and avoid the mindset of seeing them as mistakes that require correction as we apply our critical thinking skills. When we can get past the frustration of an issue and instead carefully consider creative and calculated solutions through a disciplined process, it benefits everyone involved in layered ways.

3. CAN YOU SHARE A STORY WHERE QUALITY APPLIED CRITICAL THINKING WAS KEY TO YOUR SUCCESS?

Every day we implement a complex schedule that includes multiple people, separate rooms, and changing needs. Each decision to place each person in a particular room requires multiple layers of considerations and perspectives. It is like a huge multi-dimensional puzzle with multiple solutions that create varied levels of success. As we create and modify the schedule, we consider the many complex needs of each group, the resources available at each hour of the day, the multiple changes that can be made to improve the experience of the people involved, and the potential issues that may result. The success of every day is a result of applied critical thinking to a system comprised of people and transforming factors, which forces us to ensure that all changes are considered in real-time.

4. HOW DO YOU USE CRITICAL THINKING IN OTHER AREAS OF YOUR LIFE OUTSIDE OF RIT?

When I was a coach in the Odyssey of the Mind competition, I needed to utilize critical thinking skills while being constrained from offering any ideas toward the solutions or having a role in the decisions, which was an additional layer of thinking. A coach only offers information and answers questions about proposed options. Only the children on the team can generate ideas, determine the plan, and create the final solution. A tricky position to manage. Of course, as we all experience in life outside of RIT, every home repair or improvement also includes significant critical thinking… and duct tape.

5. ANY LAST CRITICAL THOUGHTS YOU WISH TO SHARE?

My next project requiring complex critical thinking involves the creation of a weekend story hour for young children on the RIT campus, open to all families in the RIT community and beyond. Once it is up and running, I hope you will stop in and join us sometime.