12 Solid Strategies for Teaching Critical Thinking Skills
Teaching critical thinking skills is a necessity with our learners because they’re crucial for living life. As such, every teacher is looking for exciting ways to integrate it into classrooms. However, what exactly are these skills, and what are some of the best strategies teachers can use for teaching them?
Thinking critically is more than just thinking clearly or rationally; it’s about thinking independently. It means formulating your own opinions and drawing your conclusions regardless of outside influence. It’s about the discipline of analysis and seeing the connections between ideas, and being wide open to other viewpoints and opinions.
You can use these techniques for teaching critical thinking skills in every lesson and subject. Get creative and find different ways to incorporate them into your teaching practices.
12 Ways of Teaching Critical Thinking Skills
1. Begin with a Question
Starting with a question is the most straightforward foray into a subject. What do you want to explore and discuss? It shouldn’t be a question you can answer with a ‘yes’ or a ‘no.’ You want to develop essential questions here, ones that inspire a quest for knowledge and problem-solving. They’ll support the development of critical thinking skills beautifully.
When you pose your question to learners, encourage brainstorming. Write down possible answers on a chalkboard or oversized pad as a reference. Having open discussions with learners is a big part of defining the problem.
2. Create a Foundation
Learners cannot think critically if they do not have the information they need. Begin any exercise with a review of related data which ensures they can recall facts pertinent to the topic.
These may stem from things like:
reading assignments and other homework
previous lessons or exercises
a video or text
3. Consult the Classics
Classical literary works are a perfect launchpad for exploring great thinking. Use them for specific lessons on character motivation, plot predictions, and themes. Here are some links to explore for resources:
4. Create a Country
This could be a tremendous project-based learning scenario about learning what makes a country. In the process, learners experience history, geography, politics, and more. Here are some resources to help you:
5. Use Information Literacy
Mastering the proper use of information is crucial to our student's success in school and life. It’s about learning how to dig through knowledge to find the most useful and appropriate facts for solving a problem. Students must learn to amass the proper expertise to inform their thinking. Teaching critical thinking skills can be supported by an understanding of how to analyze, organize, and clarify information.
6. Utilize Peer Groups
There is comfort in numbers, as the saying goes. Digital learners thrive in environments involving teamwork and collaboration. A learner’s peers are an excellent source of information, questions, and problem-solving techniques.
7. Try One Sentence
Try this exercise: form groups of 8-10 learners. Next, instruct each learner to write one sentence describing a topic on a piece of paper. The learner then passes the paper to the next one who adds their understanding of the next step in a single sentence. This time, though, the learner folds the paper down to cover their sentence. Now only their sentence is visible and no other, so each time they pass the paper you can see only one sentence.
The object is for learners to keep adding the next step of their understanding. This teaches them to home in on a specific moment in time. Additionally, they learn to apply their knowledge and logic to explain themselves as clearly as possible.
8. Activate Problem-Solving
Assigning a specific problem is one of the best avenues for teaching critical thinking skills. Leave the goal or “answer” open-ended for the broadest possible approach. This is the essence of asking essential questions requiring the discovery and synthesis of knowledge through critical thinking. Ultimately, with the correct process to guide you, it's best to teach critical thinking and problem-solving skills simultaneously.
9. Return to Role-Playing
Role-playing has always been an excellent method for exercising critical thinking. It’s why actors do tireless research for their roles as it involves inhabiting another persona and its characteristics. Becoming someone else calls upon stretching both your analytical and creative mind.
Pair learners up and have them research a conflict involving an interaction between two famous historical figures. Then lead them to decide which character they each choose to play. They’ll each have different points of view in this conflict. Have them discuss it until they can mutually explain the other’s point of view. Their final challenge will be to each suggest a compromise.
10. Speaking Through Sketching
Though we are inherently visual learners, it can be challenging to communicate an idea without words effectively. Nevertheless, translating thoughts to picture form encourages critical thinking beautifully. It guides learners to think using a different mental skill set, and it’s also a great way to get them truly invested in an idea.
11. Make it a Priority
Every subject offers opportunities for critical thinking, so put teaching critical thinking skills at the forefront of your lessons. Check to understand and provide room for discussion, even if such periods are brief. You’ll begin to see critical thinking as a culture rather than just an activity.
12. Change Their Misconceptions
Critical thinking involves intensive work and concentration, but learners should practice it themselves for much of the process. That said, it can be helpful to step in partway through their process. Apart from correcting misconceptions or assumptions, you’ll offer more vibrant lessons, more in-depth exploration, and better lifelong learning.
Teaching the Critical Path
Teaching critical thinking skills carries the potential to exhibit a profound impact on a learner's intellectual development and overall success in life. By encouraging critical thinking constantly, educators empower their learners with the ability to analyze information, evaluate its credibility and relevance, and make informed decisions.
And here’s even better news—teaching critical thinking also cultivates creativity, empathy, and open-mindedness, skills that enable any learner to approach complex issues from multiple perspectives, engage in constructive debates, and develop well-rounded arguments. Ultimately, though, it is through teaching critical thinking that we help learners become better citizens and contributors to an ever-changing world.
