why is critical thinking important in schools

Developing Critical Thinking

• Posted January 10, 2018
• By Iman Rastegari

In a time where deliberately false information is continually introduced into public discourse, and quickly spread through social media shares and likes, it is more important than ever for young people to develop their critical thinking. That skill, says Georgetown professor William T. Gormley, consists of three elements: a capacity to spot weakness in other arguments, a passion for good evidence, and a capacity to reflect on your own views and values with an eye to possibly change them. But are educators making the development of these skills a priority?

"Some teachers embrace critical thinking pedagogy with enthusiasm and they make it a high priority in their classrooms; other teachers do not," says Gormley, author of the recent Harvard Education Press release The Critical Advantage: Developing Critical Thinking Skills in School . "So if you are to assess the extent of critical-thinking instruction in U.S. classrooms, you’d find some very wide variations." Which is unfortunate, he says, since developing critical-thinking skills is vital not only to students' readiness for college and career, but to their civic readiness, as well.

"It's important to recognize that critical thinking is not just something that takes place in the classroom or in the workplace, it's something that takes place — and should take place — in our daily lives," says Gormley.

In this edition of the Harvard EdCast, Gormley looks at the value of teaching critical thinking, and explores how it can be an important solution to some of the problems that we face, including "fake news."

About the Harvard EdCast

The Harvard EdCast is a weekly series of podcasts, available on the Harvard University iT unes U page, that features a 15-20 minute conversation with thought leaders in the field of education from across the country and around the world. Hosted by Matt Weber and co-produced by Jill Anderson, the Harvard EdCast is a space for educational discourse and openness, focusing on the myriad issues and current events related to the field.

An education podcast that keeps the focus simple: what makes a difference for learners, educators, parents, and communities

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Eight Instructional Strategies for Promoting Critical Thinking

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(This is the first post in a three-part series.)

The new question-of-the-week is:

What is critical thinking and how can we integrate it into the classroom?

This three-part series will explore what critical thinking is, if it can be specifically taught and, if so, how can teachers do so in their classrooms.

Today’s guests are Dara Laws Savage, Patrick Brown, Meg Riordan, Ph.D., and Dr. PJ Caposey. Dara, Patrick, and Meg were also guests on my 10-minute BAM! Radio Show . You can also find a list of, and links to, previous shows here.

You might also be interested in The Best Resources On Teaching & Learning Critical Thinking In The Classroom .

Current Events

Dara Laws Savage is an English teacher at the Early College High School at Delaware State University, where she serves as a teacher and instructional coach and lead mentor. Dara has been teaching for 25 years (career preparation, English, photography, yearbook, newspaper, and graphic design) and has presented nationally on project-based learning and technology integration:

There is so much going on right now and there is an overload of information for us to process. Did you ever stop to think how our students are processing current events? They see news feeds, hear news reports, and scan photos and posts, but are they truly thinking about what they are hearing and seeing?

I tell my students that my job is not to give them answers but to teach them how to think about what they read and hear. So what is critical thinking and how can we integrate it into the classroom? There are just as many definitions of critical thinking as there are people trying to define it. However, the Critical Think Consortium focuses on the tools to create a thinking-based classroom rather than a definition: “Shape the climate to support thinking, create opportunities for thinking, build capacity to think, provide guidance to inform thinking.” Using these four criteria and pairing them with current events, teachers easily create learning spaces that thrive on thinking and keep students engaged.

One successful technique I use is the FIRE Write. Students are given a quote, a paragraph, an excerpt, or a photo from the headlines. Students are asked to F ocus and respond to the selection for three minutes. Next, students are asked to I dentify a phrase or section of the photo and write for two minutes. Third, students are asked to R eframe their response around a specific word, phrase, or section within their previous selection. Finally, students E xchange their thoughts with a classmate. Within the exchange, students also talk about how the selection connects to what we are covering in class.

There was a controversial Pepsi ad in 2017 involving Kylie Jenner and a protest with a police presence. The imagery in the photo was strikingly similar to a photo that went viral with a young lady standing opposite a police line. Using that image from a current event engaged my students and gave them the opportunity to critically think about events of the time.

Here are the two photos and a student response:

F - Focus on both photos and respond for three minutes

In the first picture, you see a strong and courageous black female, bravely standing in front of two officers in protest. She is risking her life to do so. Iesha Evans is simply proving to the world she does NOT mean less because she is black … and yet officers are there to stop her. She did not step down. In the picture below, you see Kendall Jenner handing a police officer a Pepsi. Maybe this wouldn’t be a big deal, except this was Pepsi’s weak, pathetic, and outrageous excuse of a commercial that belittles the whole movement of people fighting for their lives.

I - Identify a word or phrase, underline it, then write about it for two minutes

A white, privileged female in place of a fighting black woman was asking for trouble. A struggle we are continuously fighting every day, and they make a mockery of it. “I know what will work! Here Mr. Police Officer! Drink some Pepsi!” As if. Pepsi made a fool of themselves, and now their already dwindling fan base continues to ever shrink smaller.

R - Reframe your thoughts by choosing a different word, then write about that for one minute

You don’t know privilege until it’s gone. You don’t know privilege while it’s there—but you can and will be made accountable and aware. Don’t use it for evil. You are not stupid. Use it to do something. Kendall could’ve NOT done the commercial. Kendall could’ve released another commercial standing behind a black woman. Anything!

Exchange - Remember to discuss how this connects to our school song project and our previous discussions?

This connects two ways - 1) We want to convey a strong message. Be powerful. Show who we are. And Pepsi definitely tried. … Which leads to the second connection. 2) Not mess up and offend anyone, as had the one alma mater had been linked to black minstrels. We want to be amazing, but we have to be smart and careful and make sure we include everyone who goes to our school and everyone who may go to our school.

As a final step, students read and annotate the full article and compare it to their initial response.

Using current events and critical-thinking strategies like FIRE writing helps create a learning space where thinking is the goal rather than a score on a multiple-choice assessment. Critical-thinking skills can cross over to any of students’ other courses and into life outside the classroom. After all, we as teachers want to help the whole student be successful, and critical thinking is an important part of navigating life after they leave our classrooms.

‘Before-Explore-Explain’

Patrick Brown is the executive director of STEM and CTE for the Fort Zumwalt school district in Missouri and an experienced educator and author :

Planning for critical thinking focuses on teaching the most crucial science concepts, practices, and logical-thinking skills as well as the best use of instructional time. One way to ensure that lessons maintain a focus on critical thinking is to focus on the instructional sequence used to teach.

Explore-before-explain teaching is all about promoting critical thinking for learners to better prepare students for the reality of their world. What having an explore-before-explain mindset means is that in our planning, we prioritize giving students firsthand experiences with data, allow students to construct evidence-based claims that focus on conceptual understanding, and challenge students to discuss and think about the why behind phenomena.

Just think of the critical thinking that has to occur for students to construct a scientific claim. 1) They need the opportunity to collect data, analyze it, and determine how to make sense of what the data may mean. 2) With data in hand, students can begin thinking about the validity and reliability of their experience and information collected. 3) They can consider what differences, if any, they might have if they completed the investigation again. 4) They can scrutinize outlying data points for they may be an artifact of a true difference that merits further exploration of a misstep in the procedure, measuring device, or measurement. All of these intellectual activities help them form more robust understanding and are evidence of their critical thinking.

In explore-before-explain teaching, all of these hard critical-thinking tasks come before teacher explanations of content. Whether we use discovery experiences, problem-based learning, and or inquiry-based activities, strategies that are geared toward helping students construct understanding promote critical thinking because students learn content by doing the practices valued in the field to generate knowledge.

An Issue of Equity

Meg Riordan, Ph.D., is the chief learning officer at The Possible Project, an out-of-school program that collaborates with youth to build entrepreneurial skills and mindsets and provides pathways to careers and long-term economic prosperity. She has been in the field of education for over 25 years as a middle and high school teacher, school coach, college professor, regional director of N.Y.C. Outward Bound Schools, and director of external research with EL Education:

Although critical thinking often defies straightforward definition, most in the education field agree it consists of several components: reasoning, problem-solving, and decisionmaking, plus analysis and evaluation of information, such that multiple sides of an issue can be explored. It also includes dispositions and “the willingness to apply critical-thinking principles, rather than fall back on existing unexamined beliefs, or simply believe what you’re told by authority figures.”

Despite variation in definitions, critical thinking is nonetheless promoted as an essential outcome of students’ learning—we want to see students and adults demonstrate it across all fields, professions, and in their personal lives. Yet there is simultaneously a rationing of opportunities in schools for students of color, students from under-resourced communities, and other historically marginalized groups to deeply learn and practice critical thinking.

For example, many of our most underserved students often spend class time filling out worksheets, promoting high compliance but low engagement, inquiry, critical thinking, or creation of new ideas. At a time in our world when college and careers are critical for participation in society and the global, knowledge-based economy, far too many students struggle within classrooms and schools that reinforce low-expectations and inequity.

If educators aim to prepare all students for an ever-evolving marketplace and develop skills that will be valued no matter what tomorrow’s jobs are, then we must move critical thinking to the forefront of classroom experiences. And educators must design learning to cultivate it.

So, what does that really look like?

Unpack and define critical thinking

To understand critical thinking, educators need to first unpack and define its components. What exactly are we looking for when we speak about reasoning or exploring multiple perspectives on an issue? How does problem-solving show up in English, math, science, art, or other disciplines—and how is it assessed? At Two Rivers, an EL Education school, the faculty identified five constructs of critical thinking, defined each, and created rubrics to generate a shared picture of quality for teachers and students. The rubrics were then adapted across grade levels to indicate students’ learning progressions.

At Avenues World School, critical thinking is one of the Avenues World Elements and is an enduring outcome embedded in students’ early experiences through 12th grade. For instance, a kindergarten student may be expected to “identify cause and effect in familiar contexts,” while an 8th grader should demonstrate the ability to “seek out sufficient evidence before accepting a claim as true,” “identify bias in claims and evidence,” and “reconsider strongly held points of view in light of new evidence.”

When faculty and students embrace a common vision of what critical thinking looks and sounds like and how it is assessed, educators can then explicitly design learning experiences that call for students to employ critical-thinking skills. This kind of work must occur across all schools and programs, especially those serving large numbers of students of color. As Linda Darling-Hammond asserts , “Schools that serve large numbers of students of color are least likely to offer the kind of curriculum needed to ... help students attain the [critical-thinking] skills needed in a knowledge work economy. ”

So, what can it look like to create those kinds of learning experiences?

Designing experiences for critical thinking

After defining a shared understanding of “what” critical thinking is and “how” it shows up across multiple disciplines and grade levels, it is essential to create learning experiences that impel students to cultivate, practice, and apply these skills. There are several levers that offer pathways for teachers to promote critical thinking in lessons:

1.Choose Compelling Topics: Keep it relevant

A key Common Core State Standard asks for students to “write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.” That might not sound exciting or culturally relevant. But a learning experience designed for a 12th grade humanities class engaged learners in a compelling topic— policing in America —to analyze and evaluate multiple texts (including primary sources) and share the reasoning for their perspectives through discussion and writing. Students grappled with ideas and their beliefs and employed deep critical-thinking skills to develop arguments for their claims. Embedding critical-thinking skills in curriculum that students care about and connect with can ignite powerful learning experiences.

2. Make Local Connections: Keep it real

At The Possible Project , an out-of-school-time program designed to promote entrepreneurial skills and mindsets, students in a recent summer online program (modified from in-person due to COVID-19) explored the impact of COVID-19 on their communities and local BIPOC-owned businesses. They learned interviewing skills through a partnership with Everyday Boston , conducted virtual interviews with entrepreneurs, evaluated information from their interviews and local data, and examined their previously held beliefs. They created blog posts and videos to reflect on their learning and consider how their mindsets had changed as a result of the experience. In this way, we can design powerful community-based learning and invite students into productive struggle with multiple perspectives.

3. Create Authentic Projects: Keep it rigorous

At Big Picture Learning schools, students engage in internship-based learning experiences as a central part of their schooling. Their school-based adviser and internship-based mentor support them in developing real-world projects that promote deeper learning and critical-thinking skills. Such authentic experiences teach “young people to be thinkers, to be curious, to get from curiosity to creation … and it helps students design a learning experience that answers their questions, [providing an] opportunity to communicate it to a larger audience—a major indicator of postsecondary success.” Even in a remote environment, we can design projects that ask more of students than rote memorization and that spark critical thinking.

Our call to action is this: As educators, we need to make opportunities for critical thinking available not only to the affluent or those fortunate enough to be placed in advanced courses. The tools are available, let’s use them. Let’s interrogate our current curriculum and design learning experiences that engage all students in real, relevant, and rigorous experiences that require critical thinking and prepare them for promising postsecondary pathways.

Critical Thinking & Student Engagement

Dr. PJ Caposey is an award-winning educator, keynote speaker, consultant, and author of seven books who currently serves as the superintendent of schools for the award-winning Meridian CUSD 223 in northwest Illinois. You can find PJ on most social-media platforms as MCUSDSupe:

When I start my keynote on student engagement, I invite two people up on stage and give them each five paper balls to shoot at a garbage can also conveniently placed on stage. Contestant One shoots their shot, and the audience gives approval. Four out of 5 is a heckuva score. Then just before Contestant Two shoots, I blindfold them and start moving the garbage can back and forth. I usually try to ensure that they can at least make one of their shots. Nobody is successful in this unfair environment.

I thank them and send them back to their seats and then explain that this little activity was akin to student engagement. While we all know we want student engagement, we are shooting at different targets. More importantly, for teachers, it is near impossible for them to hit a target that is moving and that they cannot see.

Within the world of education and particularly as educational leaders, we have failed to simplify what student engagement looks like, and it is impossible to define or articulate what student engagement looks like if we cannot clearly articulate what critical thinking is and looks like in a classroom. Because, simply, without critical thought, there is no engagement.

The good news here is that critical thought has been defined and placed into taxonomies for decades already. This is not something new and not something that needs to be redefined. I am a Bloom’s person, but there is nothing wrong with DOK or some of the other taxonomies, either. To be precise, I am a huge fan of Daggett’s Rigor and Relevance Framework. I have used that as a core element of my practice for years, and it has shaped who I am as an instructional leader.

So, in order to explain critical thought, a teacher or a leader must familiarize themselves with these tried and true taxonomies. Easy, right? Yes, sort of. The issue is not understanding what critical thought is; it is the ability to integrate it into the classrooms. In order to do so, there are a four key steps every educator must take.

• Integrating critical thought/rigor into a lesson does not happen by chance, it happens by design. Planning for critical thought and engagement is much different from planning for a traditional lesson. In order to plan for kids to think critically, you have to provide a base of knowledge and excellent prompts to allow them to explore their own thinking in order to analyze, evaluate, or synthesize information.
• SIDE NOTE – Bloom’s verbs are a great way to start when writing objectives, but true planning will take you deeper than this.

QUESTIONING

• If the questions and prompts given in a classroom have correct answers or if the teacher ends up answering their own questions, the lesson will lack critical thought and rigor.
• Script five questions forcing higher-order thought prior to every lesson. Experienced teachers may not feel they need this, but it helps to create an effective habit.
• If lessons are rigorous and assessments are not, students will do well on their assessments, and that may not be an accurate representation of the knowledge and skills they have mastered. If lessons are easy and assessments are rigorous, the exact opposite will happen. When deciding to increase critical thought, it must happen in all three phases of the game: planning, instruction, and assessment.

TALK TIME / CONTROL

• To increase rigor, the teacher must DO LESS. This feels counterintuitive but is accurate. Rigorous lessons involving tons of critical thought must allow for students to work on their own, collaborate with peers, and connect their ideas. This cannot happen in a silent room except for the teacher talking. In order to increase rigor, decrease talk time and become comfortable with less control. Asking questions and giving prompts that lead to no true correct answer also means less control. This is a tough ask for some teachers. Explained differently, if you assign one assignment and get 30 very similar products, you have most likely assigned a low-rigor recipe. If you assign one assignment and get multiple varied products, then the students have had a chance to think deeply, and you have successfully integrated critical thought into your classroom.

Thanks to Dara, Patrick, Meg, and PJ for their contributions!

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Why schools should teach critical thinking

From online misinformation and divisive political discourse to science skepticism, there are many challenges when it comes to making sense of the world around us. Having critical thinking skills is essential in ensuring students can navigate the increasingly complex events and contexts they will encounter throughout their lives.

And in a world calling out for problem-solvers, the value of critical thinking skills is recognized far beyond the classroom walls. Let’s take a look at how prioritizing teaching critical thinking skills benefits students and sets them up for success.

What are critical thinking skills for students?

Critical thinking is the art of clear thinking that is rational and reasoned. Critical thinkers don’t simply accept information at face-value but rather interpret and analyze it to arrive at their own conclusions grounded in evidence. They come at a question from different perspectives, seeking out opposing viewpoints, and questioning their assumptions.

For students, critical thinking skills are relevant across subject areas and crucial in guiding them to become independent thinkers. What’s more, schools are in a good position to help nurture the required skills! Let’s explore their role and the benefits of making critical thinking an educational goal.

Why schools are well-placed to teach critical thinking skills

Developing critical thinking skills is an ongoing process, requiring guidance and deliberate practice. Schools can take a longer-term and systematic approach to teaching critical thinking by integrating it into the curriculum. This provides students with a structured learning environment with access to expert educators who use pedagogy to support students in building on existing skills, promoting transfer , and fostering thinking skills. 

Added to that, domain knowledge is a crucial factor in thinking skills and educators can integrate domain-specific skills to support critical thinking alongside content delivery in the classroom.

How educators can successfully teach critical thinking skills to students

Educators are in a strong position to teach critical thinking skills, whether by cultivating a classroom environment that values inquiry, modeling thinking processes through think-alouds, or giving attention to key skills such as perspective-taking. 

Importantly, educators can foster critical thinking skills in real-world contexts while building curriculum knowledge to emphasize their practical application. 

Using collaborative learning strategies, teachers can expose students to different perspectives or integrate activities that prompt students to justify their thinking, such as through discussion or argument mapping on Kialo Edu . And though developing critical thinking skills takes time, students reap unparalleled benefits that last them a lifetime. 

How students benefit from critical thinking skills

Critical thinking improves student learning outcomes.

Helping students learn how to think critically ensures they aren’t simply passive recipients of information, but rather can interpret and apply their knowledge across subject areas. It is immensely satisfying to watch them learn to take control of their learning, ask important questions, and actively engage with material with a discerning eye. This type of dialogic teaching sets them up to become independent learners. 

Not only that, critical thinking skills also help students become better communicators . Effective communication relies on the ability to organize our thoughts clearly and logically — a central element of developed thinking!

Students hone 21st-century skills with critical thinking

Critical thinking sits alongside creativity, collaboration, and communication as a key 21st-century skill . These skills are vital to helping students respond to the demands of a rapidly changing world, whether that involves dealing with information overload, adapting to new technologies or understanding diverse perspectives in a multi-cultural context.

By working on critical thought in the classroom, students will be better equipped to deal with whatever the future brings. For example, you can encourage students to become active participants in conversations on changes happening around them by having a Kialo discussion on how AI will impact the world .

Students use critical thinking skills to battle against misinformation

To fully benefit from today’s information-rich world, students need to successfully identify and evaluate good sources, assessing the reams of (credible and not-so-credible) content at their fingertips. A combination of information literacy and critical thinking skills makes for a well-rounded skill set, supporting students to come to reasoned conclusions amid the deluge of information available. 

Critical thinking skills complement civic literacy

As another closely intertwined skill set, civic l i teracy works hand-in-hand with critical thinking skills to nurture informed and engaged citizenship. An ability to recognize different points of view, question political and media rhetoric, and understand the broader implications of policy decisions empowers students to participate in meaningful discussions about how society and structures function around them. 

To engage students on these topics, try choosing a Kialo discussion from the Civics and Society section in our Topics Library to help scaffold these complex topics. Students might discuss the relevance of democracy to their lives or debate whether voting should be a civic duty expected of all!

Is democracy a good form of government? — kialo-edu.com

Students can make better decisions with critical thinking skills

The power to make thoughtful, well-informed decisions can positively impact every aspect of our lives, and critical thinking is the linchpin for effective decision-making. A critical thinker makes decisions from a place of objective understanding and sound evidence. Educators can help students weigh up arguments from different perspectives and become aware of cognitive biases , making students better placed to compensate for such influences as groupthink , the availability heuristic and confirmation bias.

To develop decision-making skills in a clear context, try a classic desert island survival discussion. This lighthearted approach can still emphasize real-world applications in making difficult choices around resource allocation . You might even get students to explore their own capacity for decision-making with a discussion on the implications of turning 18 !  

Students can better their problem-solving skills through critical thinking

Problem-solving is a highly complex skill, essential in our personal and professional lives to deal with the inevitable challenges that come our way. And critical thinking is a core component of good problem-solving, helping students systematically approach a problem and ask the right questions to get to the root cause.

By giving students the opportunity to work on true problems in the classroom, teachers can contextualize and model effective problem-solving processes and rational thinking . One approach is to task your students to practice engaging with more than one solution to a given problem, such as exploring an argument map on proposed responses to climate change . Or create your own to get your students exploring challenges in your preferred curricular area.

Critical thinking boosts student creativity

Another 21st-century skill, creativity has the potential to enhance learning and student well-being. Closely intertwined with problem-solving, creative thinking is essential to generating novel and innovative solutions. Those solutions, however, need to be useful and address the underlying issue! 

Students versed in critical thinking can examine their creative ideas, identifying areas for modification or recognizing fundamental flaws that make them unfeasible. Not only that, students can reflect on the outcomes of their ideas to inform future creative processes, enhancing the quality and effectiveness of their ideas beyond the task they’re working on.

Critical thinking helps student self-reflect on their actions

An ability to engage in meaningful reflection is integral for students to develop positive relationships and work towards meaningful goals. These goals can be for an academic achievement, or other personal goals that motivate them. By utilizing critical thinking skills, students are better placed to identify lessons learned from past experiences or to engage in an honest assessment of their personal strengths and weaknesses. 

We’d love to know what benefits you see from working on critical thinking in your classroom! Get in touch at [email protected] , or on any of our social media platforms. And if you haven’t yet tried a class discussion to activate your students’ critical thinking skills, take some inspiration from some of our ready-made debate topics !

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The Importance of Critical Thinking, For Students and Ourselves

Critical thinking is a vital skill, yet it’s often neglected. In higher education, we know the importance of learning objectives that let us measure learner success. Starting with a clear definition of critical thinking allows us to identify the associated skills that we want to imbue in our students and ourselves.

Defining Critical Thinking

According to the Oxford Languages dictionary , critical thinking is “the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment.” It sounds relatively simple, yet we often form judgments without that all-important objective analysis/evaluation piece.

Employers on the Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) Social Sciences Advisory Board tell us that they want to hire people with critical thinking skills, but applicants often lack this ability. According to Professor of Science Dr. Norman Herr , critical thinking skills can be boiled down to the following key sequential elements:

• Identification of premises and conclusions — Break arguments down into logical statements
• Clarification of arguments — Identify ambiguity in these stated assertions
• Establishment of facts — Search for contradictions to determine if an argument or theory is complete and reasonable
• Evaluation of logic — Use inductive or deductive reasoning to decide if conclusions drawn are adequately supported
• Final evaluation — Weigh the arguments against the evidence presented

As educators, we must teach our students those critical thinking skills and practice them ourselves to objectively analyze an onslaught of information. Ideas, especially plausible-sounding philosophies, should be challenged and pass the credibility litmus test.

Red Flag Alert

The School Library Journal lists four types of information that should raise red flags when we’re watching the news, reading social media, or at any point in our everyday lives when we are confronted with something purported to be “fact:”

• Fake news, which refers to purported news that is demonstrably untrue.
• Misinformation, which is spread by those who don’t realize that it’s false or only partially true.
• Disinformation, which is deliberately spread by people who know that it’s not accurate and who want to spread a false message.
• Propaganda, which is information that is spread with a specific agenda. It may or may not be false, but it’s intended to get an emotional reaction.

Get With the Times

SNHU, and other colleges and universities across the U.S., must use updated tools to help their students think critically about the information they consume. Currently, many institutions of higher learning fail to teach students how to identify misinformation sources. Sam Wineburg and Nadiv Ziv , professors of education at Stanford University, argue that many colleges offer guides to evaluating website trustworthiness, but far too many of them base their advice on a 1998 report on assessing websites. They warn that it makes no sense for colleges to share 20-year-old advice on dealing with the rapidly-changing online landscape, where two decades feels like a century.

Further, as educators in institutions of higher education, we must afford learners as many opportunities as possible to hone their critical thinking skills when interacting with instructors and fellow students. Greg Lukianoff and Johnathan Haidt , authors of The Coddling of the American Mind , contend that “one of the most brilliant features of universities is that, when they are working properly, they are communities of scholars who cancel out one another’s confirmation biases .” Without exploring opposing viewpoints, students may fall prey to confirmation bias, further cementing ideas that they already believe to be true. Being inclusive when it comes to viewpoint diversity is indispensable for avoiding these echo chambers that circumvent having one’s ideas challenged.

Separating Wheat from Chaff: Critical Thinking Examples

As we teach our students the importance of critical thinking, how do we equip them to sift through the onslaught of information they encounter every day, both personally and in their educational pursuits? And how do we do the same for ourselves?

Here are four critical thinking examples that anyone can apply when evaluating information:

• Consider whether the person who wrote or is sharing the information has any vested interest in doing so. For example, a writer may have a degree and professional experience that gives them expertise to write an article on specific communication techniques. Be aware that the writer’s credibility can be affected by outside interests. These include being paid to write a book with a certain viewpoint, giving paid seminars, affiliation with certain organizations or anything else that creates a financial or personal interest in promoting a specific perspective.
• Consider the venue in which the person is sharing the information. Newscasts and newspapers once were slanted more toward neutrality, although there was never an era when bias was completely absent. The 19th century even had its own version of “clickbait” in the form of yellow journalism . Today, it’s getting more difficult for those with critical thinking skills to find unbiased sources. Websites like Towards Data Science publish lists rating major sites on their leanings; check these lists to view content on biased sites through a more skeptical lens, verifying their claims for yourself.
• Read beyond clickbait headlines. Websites create headlines to generate traffic and ad revenue, not to support critical thinking or give accurate information. Too many people go by what the headline says without reading more deeply, even though media misrepresentation of studies is rampant . Often, the information contained within the article is not accurately represented in the headline. Sometimes there’s even a direct contradiction, or the publication is focusing on one single study that may mean nothing because other studies have contradictory results.
• Use Snopes , Fact Check , and other fact-checking websites. Ironically, Snopes itself has been the victim of misinformation campaigns designed to discredit its efforts to promote the importance of critical thinking.

Anyone in a teaching position should point their students toward reliable references. For example, at SNHU, instructors can point their students towards the Shapiro Library for their assignments. No matter where you teach, the main objective is to give them opportunities to apply critical thinking skills by evaluating material that they encounter in everyday life. Another way to do this at SNHU or in any online classroom is by incorporating elements of the four points into your announcements, discussion posts and feedback. For example, you might post two articles with differing viewpoints on the week’s material. For each, break down the publication’s possible slant, the way in which any research-based material is presented and the author’s credentials. Hypothetically, ask students whether those factors might be playing into the opinions expressed.

Misinformation Morphs into Disinformation

Misinformation, if not addressed, easily turns into disinformation when it is readily shared by students, individuals and groups that may know it is wrong. They may continue to intentionally spread it to cast doubt or stir divisiveness. Students listen to their peers, and the more critical thinking is addressed in a course, the more we prepare students not to fall into the misinformation trap.

Courtney Brown and Sherrish Holland , of the Center for the Professional Education of Teachers, argue that for educators, the challenge is now far more about how they need to inform their students to interpret and assess the information they come across and not simply how to gain access to it. The term “fake news” is used to discredit anyone trying to clarify fact from fiction. Fake news is a cover for some people when they are being deliberately deceptive. As educators become clearer about the distinction, it can be better communicated to students.

Anyone Can Promote Critical Thinking

Even if you don’t teach, use those points in conversations to help others hone their critical thinking skills, along with a dose of emotional intelligence. If someone shares misinformation with you, don’t be combative. Instead, use probing statements and questions designed to spark their critical thinking.

Here are some examples:

“That’s very interesting. Do you think the person they’re quoting might be letting his business interests color what he’s saying?”

“I know that sometimes the media oversimplifies research. I wonder who funded that study and if that’s influencing what they’re saying.”

Of course, you need to adapt to the situation and to make what you say sound organic and conversational, but the core idea remains the same. Inspire the other person to use critical thinking skills. Give them reasons to look more deeply into the topic instead of blindly accepting information. Course activities that stimulate interaction and a deep dive into course-related ideas will encourage perspective-taking and foster new avenues of thought along the path to life-long learning. As American cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead said, “Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.” While Mead was referring to younger children, this statement is apropos for learners in higher education who are tasked with dissecting volumes of information.

It’s crucial to teach our students to question what they read and hear. Jerry Baldasty , provost at the University of Washington, believes that democracies live and die by the ability of their people to access information and engage in robust discussions based upon facts. It is the facts that are being attacked by misinformation. The result is a growing distrust of our core societal institution. People have lost confidence in religious organizations, higher education, government and the media as they believe deliberately deceptive information they come across.

Baldasty argues, “this is why it is crucial that we educate our students how to think critically, access and analyze data, and, above all, question the answers.” Students need critical thinking skills for much more than their self-enlightenment. They will become our leaders, politicians, teachers, researchers, advocates, authors, business owners and perhaps most importantly, voters. The more we can imbue them with critical thinking skills, the better.

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A Critical Thinking Framework for Elementary Students

Guiding young students to engage in critical thinking fosters their ability to create and engage with knowledge.

Critical thinking is using analysis and evaluation to make a judgment. Analysis, evaluation, and judgment are not discrete skills; rather, they emerge from the accumulation of knowledge. The accumulation of knowledge does not mean students sit at desks mindlessly reciting memorized information, like in 19th century grammar schools. Our goal is not for learners to regurgitate facts by rote without demonstrating their understanding of the connections, structures, and deeper ideas embedded in the content they are learning. To foster critical thinking in school, especially for our youngest learners, we need a pedagogy that centers knowledge and also honors the ability of children to engage with knowledge.

This chapter outlines the Critical Thinking Framework: five instructional approaches educators can incorporate into their instruction to nurture deeper thinking. These approaches can also guide intellectual preparation protocols and unit unpackings to prepare rigorous, engaging instruction for elementary students. Some of these approaches, such as reason with evidence, will seem similar to other “contentless” programs professing to teach critical thinking skills. But others, such as say it in your own words or look for structure, are targeted at ensuring learners soundly understand content so that they can engage in complex thinking. You will likely notice that every single one of these approaches requires students to talk—to themselves, to a partner, or to the whole class. Dialogue, specifically in the context of teacher-led discussions, is essential for students to analyze, evaluate, and judge (i.e., do critical thinking ). 

The Critical Thinking Framework

Say it in your own words : Students articulate ideas in their own words. They use unique phrasing and do not parrot the explanations of others. When learning new material, students who pause to explain concepts in their own words (to themselves or others) demonstrate an overall better understanding than students who do not (Nokes-Malach et al., 2013). However, it’s not enough for us to pause frequently and ask students to explain, especially if they are only being asked to repeat procedures. Explanations should be effortful and require students to make connections to prior knowledge and concepts as well as to revise misconceptions (Richey & Nokes-Malach, 2015).

Break it down : Students break down the components, steps, or smaller ideas within a bigger idea or procedure. In addition to expressing concepts in their own words, students should look at new concepts in terms of parts and wholes. For instance, when learning a new type of problem or task, students can explain the steps another student took to arrive at their answer, which promotes an understanding that transfers to other tasks with a similar underlying structure. Asking students to explain the components and rationale behind procedural steps can also lead to more flexible problem solving overall (Rittle-Johnson, 2006). By breaking down ideas into component parts, students are also better equipped to monitor the soundness of their own understanding as well as to see similar patterns (i.e., regularity) among differing tasks. For example, in writing, lessons can help students see how varying subordinating conjunction phrases at the start of sentences can support the flow and readability of a paragraph. In math, a solution can be broken down into smaller steps.

Look for structure : Students look beyond shallow surface characteristics to see deep structures and underlying principles. Learners struggle to see regularity in similar problems that have small differences (Reed et al., 1985). Even when students are taught how to complete one kind of task, they struggle to transfer their understanding to a new task where some of the superficial characteristics have been changed. This is because students, especially students who are novices in a domain, tend to emphasize the surface structure of a task rather than deep structure (Chi & Van Lehn, 2012).

By prompting students to notice deep structures—such as the characteristics of a genre or the needs of animals—rather than surface structures, teachers foster the development of comprehensive schemata in students’ long-term memories, which they are more likely to then apply to novel situations. Teachers should monitor for student understanding of deep structures across several tasks and examples.

Notice gaps or inconsistencies in ideas : Students ask questions about gaps and inconsistencies in material, arguments, and their own thinking . When students engage in explanations of material, they are more likely to notice when they misunderstand material or to detect a conflict with their prior knowledge (Richey & Nokes-Malach, 2015). In a classroom, analyzing conflicting ideas and interpretations allows students to revise misconceptions and refine mental models. Noticing gaps and inconsistencies in information also helps students to evaluate the persuasiveness of arguments and to ask relevant questions.

Reason with evidence : Students construct arguments with evidence and evaluate the evidence in others’ reasoning. Reasoning with evidence matters in every subject, but what counts for evidence in a mathematical proof differs from what is required in an English essay. Students should learn the rules and conventions for evidence across a wide range of disciplines in school. The habits of looking for and weighing evidence also intersect with some of the other critical thinking approaches discussed above. Noticing regularity in reasoning and structure helps learners find evidence efficiently, while attending to gaps and inconsistencies in information encourages caution before reaching hasty conclusions.

Countering Two Critiques

Some readers may be wondering how the Critical Thinking Framework differs from other general skills curricula. The framework differs in that it demands application in the context of students’ content knowledge, rather than in isolation. It is a pedagogical tool to help students make sense of the content they are learning. Students should never sit through a lesson where they are told to “say things in their own words” when there is nothing to say anything about. While a contentless lesson could help on the margins, it will not be as relevant or transferable. Specific content matters. A checklist of “critical thinking skills” cannot replace deep subject knowledge. The framework should not be blindly applied to all subjects without context because results will look quite different in an ELA or science class.

Other readers may be thinking about high-stakes tests: how does the Critical Thinking Framework fit in with an overwhelming emphasis on assessments aligned to national or state standards? This is a valid concern and an important point to address. For teachers, schools, and districts locked into an accountability system that values performance on state tests but does not communicate content expectations beyond general standards, the arguments I make may seem beside the point. Sure, knowledge matters, but the curriculum demands that students know how to quickly identify the main idea of a paragraph, even if they don’t have any background knowledge about the topic of the paragraph.

It is crucial that elementary practitioners be connected to both evolving research on learning and the limiting realities we teach within. Unfortunately, I can provide no easy answers beyond saying that teaching is a balancing act. The tension, while real and relevant to teachers’ daily lives, should not cloud our vision for what children need from their school experiences.

I also argue it is easier to incorporate the demands of our current standardized testing environment into a curriculum rich with history, science, art, geography, languages, and novels than the reverse. The Critical Thinking Framework presents ways to approach all kinds of knowledge in a way that presses students toward deeper processing of the content they are learning. If we can raise the bar for student work and thinking in our classrooms, the question of how students perform on standardized tests will become secondary to helping them achieve much loftier and important goals. The choice of whether to emphasize excellent curriculum or high-stakes tests, insofar as it is a choice at all, should never be existential or a zero-sum game.

From Critical Thinking in the Elementary Classroom: Engaging Young Minds with Meaningful Content (pp. 25–29) by Erin Shadowens, Arlington, VA: ASCD. Copyright © 2023 by ASCD. All rights reserved.

Integrated Education and Learning pp 319–336 Cite as

Critical Thinking for Teachers

• Diler Oner 3 &
• Yeliz Gunal Aggul 3  
• First Online: 02 January 2023

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Part of the book series: Integrated Science ((IS,volume 13))

Developing critical thinking is an important educational goal for all grade levels today. To foster their students’ critical thinking, future teachers themselves must become critical thinkers first. Thus, critical thinking should be an essential aspect of teacher training. However, despite its importance, critical thinking is not systematically incorporated into teacher education programs. There exist several conceptualizations of critical thinking in the literature, and these have different entailments regarding the guidelines and instructional strategies to teach critical thinking. In this paper, after examining the critical thinking literature, we suggested that critical thinking could be conceptualized in two distinct but complementary ways—as the acquisition of cognitive skills (instrumental perspective) and as identity development (situated perspective). We discussed the implications of these perspectives in teacher education. While the instrumental perspective allowed us to consider what to teach regarding critical thinking, the situated perspective enabled us to emphasize the broader social context where critical thinking skills and dispositions could be means of active participation in the culture of teaching.

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Critical thinking.

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Oner, D., Aggul, Y.G. (2022). Critical Thinking for Teachers. In: Rezaei, N. (eds) Integrated Education and Learning. Integrated Science, vol 13. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15963-3_18

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Critical Thinking Skills Guide

Critical thinking is important. Generally speaking, critical thinking refers to the ability to understand the logical connections between ideas. When a person understands these connections, it makes it easier to construct logical arguments based on those ideas. It also becomes easier to evaluate the arguments that other people make to see if those arguments are based on sound reasoning.

Since critical thinking involves connecting important concepts and ideas, critical thinkers often find it easier to solve problems in a systematic fashion. Critical thinkers can also prioritize which ideas are most relevant to their own arguments.

From this general idea of what critical thinking involves, it should be easy to see why critical thinking would be important to students. Students who become critical thinkers are better equipped to deal with a wide range of problems that they encounter in school.

These students are better able to build new concepts upon previous ideas that they’ve learned. This is a useful skill throughout school. Advanced mathematics are built upon simpler math ideas. Science experiments require basic understanding of various substances used in the lab. Advanced argumentation is rooted in the simple ability to identify information that supports the argument’s basic premise.

Despite all the potential advantages that may come with possessing critical skills, these skills are not themselves taught directly in school. Such skills may be inadvertently taught during the course of various lessons and school work but, for the most part, critical thinking skills aren’t typically directly addressed.

There are no classes committed to teaching critical thinking skills alone, leading teachers across multiple subjects to have to find ways of integrating critical thinking into their lessons independently.

Critical Thinking by the End of High School

Entering college, students have hopefully learned several advanced critical thinking skills that will support them through their college work. Specifically, there are six critical thinking skills that will support upper high school students and college students. These skills can help students to perform better in a range of subjects.

Identification

Identification is important to critical thinking because it refers to the ability for a student to identify the existing problem and what factors impact that problem. This first critical thinking skill is what gives students the ability to see the scope of the problem and start thinking about how to solve the issue.

In a new situation, learners ask what the problem is, why it might be happening, and what the outcome is. From this initial set of questions, they come to an understanding of the problem’s scope and potential solutions.

Research of a problem cannot begin until identification has taken place. Once identification occurs, a learner can start researching that problem. How much research is necessary will depend on the scope of the problem. Mathematical problems, for instance, may rely on researching examples of the problem and reviewing more fundamental formulas.

More complex problems, such as addressing large social issues, still rely on the same process of understanding the scope of the issue and identifying what materials need to be referenced to address the problem. Research is also important when it comes to understanding claims.

Students should be able to hear a statement, question it, and verify that statement using objective evidence discovered through research. This is in contrast to the uncritical response of simply accepting the statement.

Identifying Biases

Identifying bias is one of the more difficult skills for students to grasp. Everyone has bias, including students themselves. A learner needs to be able to identify bias in the materials that they’re looking at that might impact what’s being written. Authors may write things that favor a certain point of view, which would impact how much a reader could trust the material.

On the other hand, students should also be able to examine their own biases. It’s important not to write in favor of one’s own view, which becomes increasingly important as a person progresses upward in their studies through higher education. It’s important for students to challenge their own perspectives but also to challenge the evidence that they read.

Making Inferences

The ability to make inferences is a critical skill for students to learn as they learn how to analyze data and piece together information. During the course of putting together information, it’s always important to learn how to draw conclusions based on that information.

Students need to be able to look at a body of evidence and make a determination of what that data might mean. Not all inferences will be correct, so students also need to be able to reassess their inferences as new data comes up or as existing evidence is reassessed.

Determining Relevance

To make correct inferences and formulate arguments, students need to be able to determine the relevance of the information that they receive. This is not an issue of examining bias so much as being able to identify the information that’s appropriate to solving a problem or making an argument.

This is particularly important as students get into more advanced areas of research. For instance, as students start getting asked to write papers, they need to be able to search through primary and secondary documents that can support their argument.

The more skilled that a student becomes at being able to determine the relevance of these documents, the less time students will have to spend sorting through irrelevant documents that don’t support their research.

Perhaps counterintuitively, it’s also important for people to learn how to curb their curiosity. Curiosity is important in that it drives research and exploration of a topic. However, consistent with the need to determine relevance is the need to identify where to end a line of inquiry.

Curiosity can send people exploring any number of topics during research that only burns time instead of informing a student’s research. The more skilled a student becomes at learning how to end certain paths of research the more they can focus on supporting their studies and finding evidence that will work in their research.

Teaching Critical Thinking Skills

Actually teaching critical thinking skills is something that teachers have instincts about and teach inadvertently without actually understanding how their lessons actually impact those skills. In truth, teachers should try to make critical thinking integral to their instructional design.

Almost any instructor can begin teaching critical thinking by simply modeling the behavior for their students. They can assess information, its sources, and its biases. But to get in-depth critical thinking skills, teachers also need to present broad problems and scenarios that students need to explore for themselves.

By presenting a problem or scenario that needs to be addressed and allowing students time to debate the issue, they can be guided to see the value of other arguments while learning how to construct their own arguments.

This is also a process through which students can learn how to identify information that will help them present those arguments. Teachers can also provide feedback on these arguments to help students improve their research and argumentation process in the future.

Another important part of teaching critical thinking skills includes asking questions. The questioning approach helps students to reassess their own perspectives and the evidence of others. When bringing up a topic or problem, instructors should ask some of the following:

• What do you think about this issue and why do you think that?
• Where did you get your information on this issue and why do you believe it?
• What is the implication of what you’ve learned and what conclusions can be reached?
• How do you view the problem and your information, and what other view could you take on it?

The importance in these lines of questions is to make students consider their own perspectives as well as contrary evidence. By asking these questions, students get to reevaluate what they believe and questions whether they actually should believe it. Sometimes people hold certain beliefs without truly understanding why they believe it.

By asking questions about one’s own knowledge, it becomes possible to understand one’s own knowledge base more deeply and discard information that may be inaccurate or too heavily biased.

There are also writing activities that teachers can use as well. During writing, students can be asked to write freely about any number of topics. The point of this free writing session is to let students arrive at a conclusion about what they believe about a topic. This isn’t a critical thinking phase of writing but is instead simply meant to allow student freedom to reach a conclusion about what they believe.

After the student has freely explored the topic, they move onto the critical thinking phase of their writing project. At this stage, the student begins to examine what sort of biases impacted the position they took on the topic and review their conclusions. The student determines whether their inferences were accurate.

This is essentially a reflective period in which students need to refine their writing and attack their own work to make it better while continually asking themselves whether their evidence is sound and whether their biases impacted the final work.

Critical Thinking Barriers

There are often several barriers that keep students from fully developing critical thinking skills. Ironically, one of the biggest problems to critical thinking is the existing curriculum a school is using. Particularly when curriculum is heavily standardized, it makes it difficult for teachers to find opportunities to teach critical thinking.

Too heavy of a focus on teaching standardized tests, including curriculum oriented toward making sure that students hit certain test scores, often means heavily fact based teaching that expects rote memorization. This leads to few chances to actually ask open questions in which students can question their knowledge base and critically assess a given situation.

There are, of course, other barriers to critical thinking. Sometimes, the problem lies with the fact that teachers are simply unused to teaching these skills. Partly as a result of feeling pressured to achieve highly standardized test scores, teachers often focus too much on fact teaching and rarely get into asking the sort of open ended questions that can help to cultivate critical thinking.

However, even when they have the opportunity to do so, teachers sometimes lack the training necessary to encourage critical thinking among students. Teachers may know many activities to teach students with without a concrete idea of how each contributes to the development of such skills. Teachers tend to be trained in how to pass along content rather than encouraging critical thinking.

One of the major problems that teachers face is an issue of time. Teaching content knowledge or teaching to the test involves passing along content that can help teachers teach the information that will help students pass their exams. Passing along vast quantities of information for rote memorization can be done efficiently by simply giving students lots of information to learn.

A significant amount of information can be passed along within a class when teaching an exam, but it’s much harder to teach critical thinking skills. Teaching critical thinking, on the other hand, requires instructors to set aside extensive periods of time to question and debate. Considering that teachers already struggle sometimes to fit in all of their activities, it’s difficult to ask them to accommodate large periods of time for passing along critical thinking skills.

Creatively finding solutions to this problem requires teachers finding small periods in which to fit in critical thinking discussions, perhaps through the use of smaller question and answer activities during lectures. Or, teachers can try to change the format of their classes completely to make them more hands on, engaging environments in which critical thinking is ongoing.

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Discover valuable resources to assist you in your program search and decision-making process.

The Importance of Critical Thinking in Grad School (and Everywhere Else)

Philosophers such as Plato and Socrates have waxed about the art of critical thinking for ages. The ability to make well-informed, conscious decisions based on information and thoughtful reflection before acting or expressing an opinion is a skill that has always been highly valued. In today’s landscape of information overload and dubious sources, the art of critical thinking has become more challenging. Some would even say it has become a lost art.

However, in the worlds of graduate school and employment, the ability to think critically has become an important soft skill that both graduate program admissions committees and companies are looking for.

Why is critical thinking so important?

The ability to think independently from outside forces, including those in positions of power and authority, is a valuable skill that can lead to innovative ideas, productive and engaging debate, and promote leadership skills that are invaluable both in the classroom and the workspace. Contemplating a topic in an objective way, evaluating various points of view, and recognizing the strengths and weaknesses within an issue, all enable an individual to successfully navigate say, a challenging graduate program or a leadership position within a company.

In fact, 60% of hiring managers feel that critical thinking is the most lacking soft skill among college graduates. And, despite its allegedly inadequate levels amongst students, it’s also one of the most desired when looking for a successful candidate. It allows you to engage in effective problem solving, decision making, productive and sound judgements of peers, professors and clients, and to focus on the facts in any situation without becoming distracted by debatable influences or sources.

If you just blindly accept every piece of information you are presented with without vetting it and analyzing its worth and legitimacy, then how can you expect others to trust your decision-making, leadership or research skills? And the benefits to having and employing these skills will certainly extend beyond the classroom, lab or office and into your personal life as well as you navigate the information onslaught that likely invades your phone and computer daily.

This is why many universities and companies are beginning to assess soft skills, such as critical thinking, as part of a holistic evaluation of a prospective candidate.

How to become a critical thinker

Much of the groundwork for critical thinking can be learned both at home and in school from a very young age. This, of course, would depend on whether you were raised to question things or just do as you were told. The school system, from the elementary level on, is also an environment in which critical thinking skills can not only be taught — but encouraged. Teaching and reinforcing critical thinking skills from an early age benefits students when they eventually enter the higher ed world.

As you contemplate grad school, you may feel that your critical thinking skills could be improved. There are plenty of ways to teach yourself how to be a better critical thinker using several resources from books to mini courses to situational prompts.

Ensuring your critical thinking skills are up to par won’t just make you a more viable grad school applicant but may in fact help you choose the best program for you. In general, accepting things at face value without any introspection or investigation can be detrimental when forming opinions or deciding to act on something. As a true critical thinker, you aren’t only questioning outside opinions and information, but your own opinions as well. You put everything you know, or think you know, on trial to come up with a conclusion based on intelligent contemplation and facts.

The bottom line

Think of critical thinking skills this way: If a plate of smoking hot food is set before you, you don’t just start eating because the person who put it in front of you told you it was safe to consume. You test it first and make sure it won’t burn you. If you apply that same logic to the information that is put in front of you, whether learning in a classroom, working as a professional or watching the news, you will feel more confident in your decisions and opinions, as will those around you.

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THE IMPORTANCE OF CRITICAL THINKING IN EDUCATION

Being a student in 2021 is quite different from being one is 2011. In a span of 10 years, the world of education has witnessed a sea change. As the world keeps facing new challenges, especially due to COVID-19, younger generations, and the education system they are a part of, has also become dynamic. However, there are certain foundations to any education system that has stood the test of time. One key element that has always been stressed upon and practiced by educators in the liberal education spectrum is imparting Critical Thinking skills.

Enhancing a student’s critical thinking skills is particularly essential in a liberal education model, which believes in teaching students how to think and not what to think.

Here are some of the reasons why students need critical thinking skills in today’s age-

Enhancing creativity and curiosity:

A student who is encouraged to be a critical thinker invariably develops a sense of curiosity of happenings around him/her. A strong and genuine sense of curiosity leads to students wanting to analyse and assimilate information and events. In the process, they form their own informed ideas, mostly out-of-the-box ones, that in turn improves their creativity. Creativity is a skill that all critical thinkers will dally with in their professional and personal life. In the process of finding answers in a logical and rational manner, they will usually be able to get their creative juices flowing.

Promoting self-assertion and self-reflection:

Critical thinking is essentially self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking. When one thinks critically, it is done is a self-directed manner. There is an internalization of the issue at hand and a deep understanding of it in an objective fashion. Critical thinking is at the forefront of learning, as it aids a student reflect and understand their points of views. This skill helps a student figure out how to make sense of the world, based on personal observation and understanding. It makes learners self-assertive and confident as they know that the outcome is the result of a thought process that yields results. Students also gain confidence and the ability to learn from mistakes both of which are crucial in their personal and professional lives.

Boosting career prospects:

Critical thinking is not confined to the classroom. In the aftermath of COVID-19, the new economy places a lot of demand on a flexible workforce and employee’s ability to analyse information from various sources and come up with ingenuous solutions towards the same. An employee with strong critical thinking skills will be valued in a fast-changing workplace.

Nurturing problem-solvers and innovators:

One of the by-products of critical thinking skills is the ability to analyse and look at problems in a creative and constructive method. Critical thinkers are invariably good problem solvers. A good critical thinker will be able to separate facts from opinions and fiction and examine the issue from all angles before making rational decisions towards solving a problem. They will also be able to produce bias free solutions to problems, a fact that is crucial to note in the employment arena. As universal challenges like global warming, pollution, pandemics, continue to plague the world, youngsters of today – who will become the leaders of tomorrow – will be expected to take the mantle of finding effective solutions. Critical thinkers will engineer creative and lasting solutions.

Fostering allied life skills:

Critical thinking fosters allied life skills such as organisational skills, planning, open-mindedness, communication skills among others. Being a life skill by itself, critical thinking enables you to take on challenges in the personal and professional world with ease. It encourages confidence and independence, thereby shaping successful lives. As a critical thinker, one will learn from their mistakes, thereby notching up their productivity in all spheres of life.

As education takes different forms in a world hit by a pandemic, it is extremely crucial for students to possess skills like critical thinking, that will prepare them for tomorrow. After all, children of today are the leaders of tomorrow. Thinking critically boost creativity and enhance the way we use and manage our time and critical thinking not only describes the ability to think in accordance with the rules of logic and probability, but also the ability to apply these skills to real-life problems, which are not content-independent. . Critical thinking can provide you with a more insightful understanding of yourself. It will offer you an opportunity to be objective, less emotional, and more open-minded as you appreciate others’ views and opinions. By thinking ahead, you will gain the confidence to present fresh perspectives and new insights into burden some concerns.

Critical thinking occurs when students are analyzing, evaluating, interpreting, or synthesizing information and applying creative thought to form an argument, solve a problem, or reach a conclusion. The aim of Critical Thinking is to promote independent thinking, personal autonomy and reasoned judgment in thought and action. This involves two related dimensions:

• The ability to reason well and
• The disposition to do so.

Critical thinking involves logic as well as creativity. It may involve inductive and deductive reasoning, analysis and problem-solving as well as creative, innovative and complex approaches to the resolution of issues and challenges. One of the significant aims of education is to produce learners who are well informed, that is to say, learners should understand ideas that are important, useful, beautiful and powerful. Another is to create learners who have the appetite to think analytically and critically, to use what they know to enhance their own lives and also to contribute to their society, culture and civilization. Every pupil should have an effective skill of critical thinking, and they must not accept anything for granted It’s the ability of the child to think about anything and everything. An ability of critical thinking

Critical thinking should be encouraged. Traditional concepts of learning are loosing its charm. Text based passive learning is giving way to active thinking and learning process. The vital goal of education is to promote critical thinking in students, not making them reflect like a parrot. EYFS and KHDA are new terms that aim at improving the quality in education.

It’s really important to instil the ability of critical thinking in children through education. Early Years Foundation Stage is providing better guidance for children at a very tender age, they believe in individual abilities of children. There are Government bodies such as the KHDA in Dubai who takes the responsibility of the growth and quality of private education institutions.

As far as 21st century learning is concerned, critical thinking is an important factor. Spoon-feeding system in education has changed for better. It’s an era of better education.

Dr. Mamta Singh

B.A | B.Ed | M.A | Persuing M.Ed School Principal at Rahul Education, Queen Mary’s High School

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Critical Thinking: A Simple Guide and Why It’s Important

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Critical Thinking: A Simple Guide and Why It’s Important was originally published on Ivy Exec .

Strong critical thinking skills are crucial for career success, regardless of educational background. It embodies the ability to engage in astute and effective decision-making, lending invaluable dimensions to professional growth.

At its essence, critical thinking is the ability to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information in a logical and reasoned manner. It’s not merely about accumulating knowledge but harnessing it effectively to make informed decisions and solve complex problems. In the dynamic landscape of modern careers, honing this skill is paramount.

The Impact of Critical Thinking on Your Career

☑ problem-solving mastery.

Visualize critical thinking as the Sherlock Holmes of your career journey. It facilitates swift problem resolution akin to a detective unraveling a mystery. By methodically analyzing situations and deconstructing complexities, critical thinkers emerge as adept problem solvers, rendering them invaluable assets in the workplace.

☑ Refined Decision-Making

Navigating dilemmas in your career path resembles traversing uncertain terrain. Critical thinking acts as a dependable GPS, steering you toward informed decisions. It involves weighing options, evaluating potential outcomes, and confidently choosing the most favorable path forward.

☑ Enhanced Teamwork Dynamics

Within collaborative settings, critical thinkers stand out as proactive contributors. They engage in scrutinizing ideas, proposing enhancements, and fostering meaningful contributions. Consequently, the team evolves into a dynamic hub of ideas, with the critical thinker recognized as the architect behind its success.

☑ Communication Prowess

Effective communication is the cornerstone of professional interactions. Critical thinking enriches communication skills, enabling the clear and logical articulation of ideas. Whether in emails, presentations, or casual conversations, individuals adept in critical thinking exude clarity, earning appreciation for their ability to convey thoughts seamlessly.

☑ Adaptability and Resilience

Perceptive individuals adept in critical thinking display resilience in the face of unforeseen challenges. Instead of succumbing to panic, they assess situations, recalibrate their approaches, and persist in moving forward despite adversity.

☑ Fostering Innovation

Innovation is the lifeblood of progressive organizations, and critical thinking serves as its catalyst. Proficient critical thinkers possess the ability to identify overlooked opportunities, propose inventive solutions, and streamline processes, thereby positioning their organizations at the forefront of innovation.

☑ Confidence Amplification

Critical thinkers exude confidence derived from honing their analytical skills. This self-assurance radiates during job interviews, presentations, and daily interactions, catching the attention of superiors and propelling career advancement.

So, how can one cultivate and harness this invaluable skill?

✅ developing curiosity and inquisitiveness:.

Embrace a curious mindset by questioning the status quo and exploring topics beyond your immediate scope. Cultivate an inquisitive approach to everyday situations. Encourage a habit of asking “why” and “how” to deepen understanding. Curiosity fuels the desire to seek information and alternative perspectives.

✅ Practice Reflection and Self-Awareness:

Engage in reflective thinking by assessing your thoughts, actions, and decisions. Regularly introspect to understand your biases, assumptions, and cognitive processes. Cultivate self-awareness to recognize personal prejudices or cognitive biases that might influence your thinking. This allows for a more objective analysis of situations.

✅ Strengthening Analytical Skills:

Practice breaking down complex problems into manageable components. Analyze each part systematically to understand the whole picture. Develop skills in data analysis, statistics, and logical reasoning. This includes understanding correlation versus causation, interpreting graphs, and evaluating statistical significance.

✅ Engaging in Active Listening and Observation:

Actively listen to diverse viewpoints without immediately forming judgments. Allow others to express their ideas fully before responding. Observe situations attentively, noticing details that others might overlook. This habit enhances your ability to analyze problems more comprehensively.

✅ Encouraging Intellectual Humility and Open-Mindedness:

Foster intellectual humility by acknowledging that you don’t know everything. Be open to learning from others, regardless of their position or expertise. Cultivate open-mindedness by actively seeking out perspectives different from your own. Engage in discussions with people holding diverse opinions to broaden your understanding.

✅ Practicing Problem-Solving and Decision-Making:

Engage in regular problem-solving exercises that challenge you to think creatively and analytically. This can include puzzles, riddles, or real-world scenarios. When making decisions, consciously evaluate available information, consider various alternatives, and anticipate potential outcomes before reaching a conclusion.

✅ Continuous Learning and Exposure to Varied Content:

Read extensively across diverse subjects and formats, exposing yourself to different viewpoints, cultures, and ways of thinking. Engage in courses, workshops, or seminars that stimulate critical thinking skills. Seek out opportunities for learning that challenge your existing beliefs.

✅ Engage in Constructive Disagreement and Debate:

Encourage healthy debates and discussions where differing opinions are respectfully debated.

This practice fosters the ability to defend your viewpoints logically while also being open to changing your perspective based on valid arguments. Embrace disagreement as an opportunity to learn rather than a conflict to win. Engaging in constructive debate sharpens your ability to evaluate and counter-arguments effectively.

✅ Utilize Problem-Based Learning and Real-World Applications:

Engage in problem-based learning activities that simulate real-world challenges. Work on projects or scenarios that require critical thinking skills to develop practical problem-solving approaches. Apply critical thinking in real-life situations whenever possible.

This could involve analyzing news articles, evaluating product reviews, or dissecting marketing strategies to understand their underlying rationale.

In conclusion, critical thinking is the linchpin of a successful career journey. It empowers individuals to navigate complexities, make informed decisions, and innovate in their respective domains. Embracing and honing this skill isn’t just an advantage; it’s a necessity in a world where adaptability and sound judgment reign supreme.

So, as you traverse your career path, remember that the ability to think critically is not just an asset but the differentiator that propels you toward excellence.