Teaching Critical Thinking Skills

The four-corners activity prompt, "critical thinking is applicable for ANY subject, including Math, Phys. Ed, etc," from the facilitating complex thinking seminar inspired a great classroom discussion. Critical thinking is one of the most important skills teachers teach their students. While students may not remember how to calculate the area of a circle or what the plot of a book was, they will have hopefully extended their critical thinking skills in doing so.  

I think critical thinking is applicable to any subject. Good critical thinking shouldn't require obvious thinking time, meaning you shouldn't be thinking to yourself, "I'm thinking critically right now." Once the skills are developed, you think critically without even realizing it. For example, when playing a strategic board game, you may want to think a few steps ahead of your opponent. You may have to strategize when the best time to make a good move is, and when you can catch your opponent off guard to do so. This is a great example of critical thinking, and most likely, the players are having fun while playing. I think this can similarly be applied to subjects that don't seem like critical thinking is applied, such as physical education. There are layers to the strategies applied in sports or other games played in gym class. These skills not only require critical thinking, but also pair it with collaboration, determination, and resilience. This is what helps student become well-rounded in their thinking abilities.

(Thadomal Shahani Centre For Management, 2021)

Critical thinking is arguably one of the most important skills developed in school. It improves decision-making, problem-solving skills, research abilities, creativity, and can stimulate curiosity. Each of these has significant applications outside of school. For example, in the digital age, having critical thinking skills are important to decipher whether something is true or not. Critical thinking skills can also help you determine why something like an ad is being shown to you. These applications can help people consider the information they have been given effectively and make the best decision with it.

In a subject like math or science, critical thinking skills can easily be found when applying yourself to challenging questions. However, critical thinking skills are not always built into the subjects automatically. In a subject like gym, activities that require less thinking such as rallying could be played, which do not challenge the students as much as other ways of practicing, like scrimmage games. When creating lessons or questions, considering how to challenge students to use their critical thinking skills is important. Practicing critical thinking helps them develop stronger, resulting in students being better prepared for their futures.

Reference - Thadomal Shahani Centre For Management. (2021, April 1). The benefits of Critical Thinking for Students. Critical Thinking Skills. Tscfm.org. https://tscfm.org/blogs/the-benefits-of-critical-thinking-for-students/

                                                                 NatalieM@OTU