ways to improve critical thinking among students

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Helping Students Hone Their Critical Thinking Skills

Used consistently, these strategies can help middle and high school teachers guide students to improve much-needed skills.

Critical thinking skills are important in every discipline, at and beyond school. From managing money to choosing which candidates to vote for in elections to making difficult career choices, students need to be prepared to take in, synthesize, and act on new information in a world that is constantly changing.

While critical thinking might seem like an abstract idea that is tough to directly instruct, there are many engaging ways to help students strengthen these skills through active learning.

Make Time for Metacognitive Reflection

Create space for students to both reflect on their ideas and discuss the power of doing so. Show students how they can push back on their own thinking to analyze and question their assumptions. Students might ask themselves, “Why is this the best answer? What information supports my answer? What might someone with a counterargument say?”

Through this reflection, students and teachers (who can model reflecting on their own thinking) gain deeper understandings of their ideas and do a better job articulating their beliefs. In a world that is go-go-go, it is important to help students understand that it is OK to take a breath and think about their ideas before putting them out into the world. And taking time for reflection helps us more thoughtfully consider others’ ideas, too.

Teach Reasoning Skills 

Reasoning skills are another key component of critical thinking, involving the abilities to think logically, evaluate evidence, identify assumptions, and analyze arguments. Students who learn how to use reasoning skills will be better equipped to make informed decisions, form and defend opinions, and solve problems. 

One way to teach reasoning is to use problem-solving activities that require students to apply their skills to practical contexts. For example, give students a real problem to solve, and ask them to use reasoning skills to develop a solution. They can then present their solution and defend their reasoning to the class and engage in discussion about whether and how their thinking changed when listening to peers’ perspectives. 

A great example I have seen involved students identifying an underutilized part of their school and creating a presentation about one way to redesign it. This project allowed students to feel a sense of connection to the problem and come up with creative solutions that could help others at school. For more examples, you might visit PBS’s Design Squad , a resource that brings to life real-world problem-solving.

Ask Open-Ended Questions 

Moving beyond the repetition of facts, critical thinking requires students to take positions and explain their beliefs through research, evidence, and explanations of credibility. 

When we pose open-ended questions, we create space for classroom discourse inclusive of diverse, perhaps opposing, ideas—grounds for rich exchanges that support deep thinking and analysis. 

For example, “How would you approach the problem?” and “Where might you look to find resources to address this issue?” are two open-ended questions that position students to think less about the “right” answer and more about the variety of solutions that might already exist. 

Journaling, whether digitally or physically in a notebook, is another great way to have students answer these open-ended prompts—giving them time to think and organize their thoughts before contributing to a conversation, which can ensure that more voices are heard. 

Once students process in their journal, small group or whole class conversations help bring their ideas to life. Discovering similarities between answers helps reveal to students that they are not alone, which can encourage future participation in constructive civil discourse.

Teach Information Literacy 

Education has moved far past the idea of “Be careful of what is on Wikipedia, because it might not be true.” With AI innovations making their way into classrooms, teachers know that informed readers must question everything. 

Understanding what is and is not a reliable source and knowing how to vet information are important skills for students to build and utilize when making informed decisions. You might start by introducing the idea of bias: Articles, ads, memes, videos, and every other form of media can push an agenda that students may not see on the surface. Discuss credibility, subjectivity, and objectivity, and look at examples and nonexamples of trusted information to prepare students to be well-informed members of a democracy.

One of my favorite lessons is about the Pacific Northwest tree octopus . This project asks students to explore what appears to be a very real website that provides information on this supposedly endangered animal. It is a wonderful, albeit over-the-top, example of how something might look official even when untrue, revealing that we need critical thinking to break down “facts” and determine the validity of the information we consume. 

A fun extension is to have students come up with their own website or newsletter about something going on in school that is untrue. Perhaps a change in dress code that requires everyone to wear their clothes inside out or a change to the lunch menu that will require students to eat brussels sprouts every day. 

Giving students the ability to create their own falsified information can help them better identify it in other contexts. Understanding that information can be “too good to be true” can help them identify future falsehoods. 

Provide Diverse Perspectives 

Consider how to keep the classroom from becoming an echo chamber. If students come from the same community, they may have similar perspectives. And those who have differing perspectives may not feel comfortable sharing them in the face of an opposing majority. 

To support varying viewpoints, bring diverse voices into the classroom as much as possible, especially when discussing current events. Use primary sources: videos from YouTube, essays and articles written by people who experienced current events firsthand, documentaries that dive deeply into topics that require some nuance, and any other resources that provide a varied look at topics. 

I like to use the Smithsonian “OurStory” page , which shares a wide variety of stories from people in the United States. The page on Japanese American internment camps is very powerful because of its first-person perspectives. 

Practice Makes Perfect 

To make the above strategies and thinking routines a consistent part of your classroom, spread them out—and build upon them—over the course of the school year. You might challenge students with information and/or examples that require them to use their critical thinking skills; work these skills explicitly into lessons, projects, rubrics, and self-assessments; or have students practice identifying misinformation or unsupported arguments.

Critical thinking is not learned in isolation. It needs to be explored in English language arts, social studies, science, physical education, math. Every discipline requires students to take a careful look at something and find the best solution. Often, these skills are taken for granted, viewed as a by-product of a good education, but true critical thinking doesn’t just happen. It requires consistency and commitment.

In a moment when information and misinformation abound, and students must parse reams of information, it is imperative that we support and model critical thinking in the classroom to support the development of well-informed citizens.

Classroom Q&A

With larry ferlazzo.

In this EdWeek blog, an experiment in knowledge-gathering, Ferlazzo will address readers’ questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other issues facing teachers. Send your questions to [email protected]. Read more from this blog.

Integrating Critical Thinking Into the Classroom

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(This is the second post in a three-part series. You can see Part One here .)

The new question-of-the-week is:

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

Part One ‘s guests were 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.

Today, Dr. Kulvarn Atwal, Elena Quagliarello, Dr. Donna Wilson, and Diane Dahl share their recommendations.

‘Learning Conversations’

Dr. Kulvarn Atwal is currently the executive head teacher of two large primary schools in the London borough of Redbridge. Dr. Atwal is the author of The Thinking School: Developing a Dynamic Learning Community , published by John Catt Educational. Follow him on Twitter @Thinkingschool2 :

In many classrooms I visit, students’ primary focus is on what they are expected to do and how it will be measured. It seems that we are becoming successful at producing students who are able to jump through hoops and pass tests. But are we producing children that are positive about teaching and learning and can think critically and creatively? Consider your classroom environment and the extent to which you employ strategies that develop students’ critical-thinking skills and their self-esteem as learners.

Development of self-esteem

One of the most significant factors that impacts students’ engagement and achievement in learning in your classroom is their self-esteem. In this context, self-esteem can be viewed to be the difference between how they perceive themselves as a learner (perceived self) and what they consider to be the ideal learner (ideal self). This ideal self may reflect the child that is associated or seen to be the smartest in the class. Your aim must be to raise students’ self-esteem. To do this, you have to demonstrate that effort, not ability, leads to success. Your language and interactions in the classroom, therefore, have to be aspirational—that if children persist with something, they will achieve.

Use of evaluative praise

Ensure that when you are praising students, you are making explicit links to a child’s critical thinking and/or development. This will enable them to build their understanding of what factors are supporting them in their learning. For example, often when we give feedback to students, we may simply say, “Well done” or “Good answer.” However, are the students actually aware of what they did well or what was good about their answer? Make sure you make explicit what the student has done well and where that links to prior learning. How do you value students’ critical thinking—do you praise their thinking and demonstrate how it helps them improve their learning?

Learning conversations to encourage deeper thinking

We often feel as teachers that we have to provide feedback to every students’ response, but this can limit children’s thinking. Encourage students in your class to engage in learning conversations with each other. Give as many opportunities as possible to students to build on the responses of others. Facilitate chains of dialogue by inviting students to give feedback to each other. The teacher’s role is, therefore, to facilitate this dialogue and select each individual student to give feedback to others. It may also mean that you do not always need to respond at all to a student’s answer.

Teacher modelling own thinking

We cannot expect students to develop critical-thinking skills if we aren’t modeling those thinking skills for them. Share your creativity, imagination, and thinking skills with the students and you will nurture creative, imaginative critical thinkers. Model the language you want students to learn and think about. Share what you feel about the learning activities your students are participating in as well as the thinking you are engaging in. Your own thinking and learning will add to the discussions in the classroom and encourage students to share their own thinking.

Metacognitive questioning

Consider the extent to which your questioning encourages students to think about their thinking, and therefore, learn about learning! Through asking metacognitive questions, you will enable your students to have a better understanding of the learning process, as well as their own self-reflections as learners. Example questions may include:

• Why did you choose to do it that way?
• When you find something tricky, what helps you?
• How do you know when you have really learned something?

‘Adventures of Discovery’

Elena Quagliarello is the senior editor of education for Scholastic News , a current events magazine for students in grades 3–6. She graduated from Rutgers University, where she studied English and earned her master’s degree in elementary education. She is a certified K–12 teacher and previously taught middle school English/language arts for five years:

Critical thinking blasts through the surface level of a topic. It reaches beyond the who and the what and launches students on a learning journey that ultimately unlocks a deeper level of understanding. Teaching students how to think critically helps them turn information into knowledge and knowledge into wisdom. In the classroom, critical thinking teaches students how to ask and answer the questions needed to read the world. Whether it’s a story, news article, photo, video, advertisement, or another form of media, students can use the following critical-thinking strategies to dig beyond the surface and uncover a wealth of knowledge.

A Layered Learning Approach

Begin by having students read a story, article, or analyze a piece of media. Then have them excavate and explore its various layers of meaning. First, ask students to think about the literal meaning of what they just read. For example, if students read an article about the desegregation of public schools during the 1950s, they should be able to answer questions such as: Who was involved? What happened? Where did it happen? Which details are important? This is the first layer of critical thinking: reading comprehension. Do students understand the passage at its most basic level?

Ask the Tough Questions

The next layer delves deeper and starts to uncover the author’s purpose and craft. Teach students to ask the tough questions: What information is included? What or who is left out? How does word choice influence the reader? What perspective is represented? What values or people are marginalized? These questions force students to critically analyze the choices behind the final product. In today’s age of fast-paced, easily accessible information, it is essential to teach students how to critically examine the information they consume. The goal is to equip students with the mindset to ask these questions on their own.

Strike Gold

The deepest layer of critical thinking comes from having students take a step back to think about the big picture. This level of thinking is no longer focused on the text itself but rather its real-world implications. Students explore questions such as: Why does this matter? What lesson have I learned? How can this lesson be applied to other situations? Students truly engage in critical thinking when they are able to reflect on their thinking and apply their knowledge to a new situation. This step has the power to transform knowledge into wisdom.

Adventures of Discovery

There are vast ways to spark critical thinking in the classroom. Here are a few other ideas:

• Critical Expressionism: In this expanded response to reading from a critical stance, students are encouraged to respond through forms of artistic interpretations, dramatizations, singing, sketching, designing projects, or other multimodal responses. For example, students might read an article and then create a podcast about it or read a story and then act it out.
• Transmediations: This activity requires students to take an article or story and transform it into something new. For example, they might turn a news article into a cartoon or turn a story into a poem. Alternatively, students may rewrite a story by changing some of its elements, such as the setting or time period.
• Words Into Action: In this type of activity, students are encouraged to take action and bring about change. Students might read an article about endangered orangutans and the effects of habitat loss caused by deforestation and be inspired to check the labels on products for palm oil. They might then write a letter asking companies how they make sure the palm oil they use doesn’t hurt rain forests.
• Socratic Seminars: In this student-led discussion strategy, students pose thought-provoking questions to each other about a topic. They listen closely to each other’s comments and think critically about different perspectives.
• Classroom Debates: Aside from sparking a lively conversation, classroom debates naturally embed critical-thinking skills by asking students to formulate and support their own opinions and consider and respond to opposing viewpoints.

Critical thinking has the power to launch students on unforgettable learning experiences while helping them develop new habits of thought, reflection, and inquiry. Developing these skills prepares students to examine issues of power and promote transformative change in the world around them.

‘Quote Analysis’

Dr. Donna Wilson is a psychologist and the author of 20 books, including Developing Growth Mindsets , Teaching Students to Drive Their Brains , and Five Big Ideas for Effective Teaching (2 nd Edition). She is an international speaker who has worked in Asia, the Middle East, Australia, Europe, Jamaica, and throughout the U.S. and Canada. Dr. Wilson can be reached at [email protected] ; visit her website at www.brainsmart.org .

Diane Dahl has been a teacher for 13 years, having taught grades 2-4 throughout her career. Mrs. Dahl currently teaches 3rd and 4th grade GT-ELAR/SS in Lovejoy ISD in Fairview, Texas. Follow her on Twitter at @DahlD, and visit her website at www.fortheloveofteaching.net :

A growing body of research over the past several decades indicates that teaching students how to be better thinkers is a great way to support them to be more successful at school and beyond. In the book, Teaching Students to Drive Their Brains , Dr. Wilson shares research and many motivational strategies, activities, and lesson ideas that assist students to think at higher levels. Five key strategies from the book are as follows:

• Facilitate conversation about why it is important to think critically at school and in other contexts of life. Ideally, every student will have a contribution to make to the discussion over time.
• Begin teaching thinking skills early in the school year and as a daily part of class.
• As this instruction begins, introduce students to the concept of brain plasticity and how their brilliant brains change during thinking and learning. This can be highly motivational for students who do not yet believe they are good thinkers!
• Explicitly teach students how to use the thinking skills.
• Facilitate student understanding of how the thinking skills they are learning relate to their lives at school and in other contexts.

Below are two lessons that support critical thinking, which can be defined as the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment.

Mrs. Dahl prepares her 3rd and 4th grade classes for a year of critical thinking using quote analysis .

During Native American studies, her 4 th grade analyzes a Tuscarora quote: “Man has responsibility, not power.” Since students already know how the Native Americans’ land had been stolen, it doesn’t take much for them to make the logical leaps. Critical-thought prompts take their thinking even deeper, especially at the beginning of the year when many need scaffolding. Some prompts include:

• … from the point of view of the Native Americans?
• … from the point of view of the settlers?
• How do you think your life might change over time as a result?
• Can you relate this quote to anything else in history?

Analyzing a topic from occupational points of view is an incredibly powerful critical-thinking tool. After learning about the Mexican-American War, Mrs. Dahl’s students worked in groups to choose an occupation with which to analyze the war. The chosen occupations were: anthropologist, mathematician, historian, archaeologist, cartographer, and economist. Then each individual within each group chose a different critical-thinking skill to focus on. Finally, they worked together to decide how their occupation would view the war using each skill.

For example, here is what each student in the economist group wrote:

• When U.S.A. invaded Mexico for land and won, Mexico ended up losing income from the settlements of Jose de Escandon. The U.S.A. thought that they were gaining possible tradable land, while Mexico thought that they were losing precious land and resources.
• Whenever Texas joined the states, their GDP skyrocketed. Then they went to war and spent money on supplies. When the war was resolving, Texas sold some of their land to New Mexico for $10 million. This allowed Texas to pay off their debt to the U.S., improving their relationship.
• A detail that converged into the Mexican-American War was that Mexico and the U.S. disagreed on the Texas border. With the resulting treaty, Texas ended up gaining more land and economic resources.
• Texas gained land from Mexico since both countries disagreed on borders. Texas sold land to New Mexico, which made Texas more economically structured and allowed them to pay off their debt.

This was the first time that students had ever used the occupations technique. Mrs. Dahl was astonished at how many times the kids used these critical skills in other areas moving forward.

Thanks to Dr. Auwal, Elena, Dr. Wilson, and Diane for their contributions!

Please feel free to leave a comment with your reactions to the topic or directly to anything that has been said in this post.

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at [email protected] . When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it’s selected or if you’d prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

You can also contact me on Twitter at @Larryferlazzo .

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Critical Thinking: Facilitating and Assessing the 21st Century Skills in Education

So many times we hear our students say, “Why am I learning this?”

I believe that Critical Thinking is the spark that begins the process of authentic learning. Before going further, we must first develop an idea of what learning is… and what learning is not.  So many times we hear our students say, “Why am I learning this?” The reason they ask is because they have not really experienced the full spectrum of learning, and because of this are actually not learning to a full rewarding  extent! We might say they are being exposed to surface learning and not authentic (real) learning. The act of authentic learning is actually an exciting and engaging concept. It allows students to see real meaning and begin to construct their own knowledge.  Critical Thinking is core to learning. It is rewarding, engaging, and life long. Without critical thinking students are left to a universe of concepts and memorization.  Yes… over twelve years of mediocrity! When educators employ critical thinking in their classrooms, a whole new world of understanding is opened up.   What are some reasons to facilitate critical thinking with our students? Let me begin:

Ten Reasons For Student Critical Thinking in the classroom

• Allows for necessary inquiry that makes learning exciting
• Provides a method to go beyond memorization to promote understanding.
• Allows students to visualize thoughts, concepts, theories, models & possibilities.
• Promotes curriculum standards, trans-disciplinary ideas & real world connections.
• Encourages a classroom culture of collaboration that promotes deeper thinking.
• Builds skills of problem solving, making implications, & determining consequences.
• Facilitates goal setting, promotion of process, and perseverance to achieve.
• Teaches self reflection and critique, and the ability to listen to others’ thoughts.
• Encourages point of view  while developing persuasive skills.
• Guides interpretation while developing a skill to infer and draw conclusions.

I am excited by the spark that critical thinking ignites to support real and authentic learning in the classroom. I often wonder how much time students spend in the process of critical thinking in the classroom. I ask you to reflect on your typical school day. Are your students spending time in area of surface learning , or are they plunging into the engaging culture of deeper (real) learning?  At the same time … how are you assessing your students? So many times as educators, we are bound by the standards, and we forget the importance of promoting that critical thinking process that makes our standards come alive with understanding. A culture of critical thinking is not automatic, though with intentional planning  it can become a reality. Like the other 21st century skills, it must be built and continuously facilitated. Let’s take a look at how, we as educators, can do this.

Ten Ways to Facilitate Student Critical Thinking in the Classroom and School

• Design Critical Thinking Activities.  (This might include mind mapping, making thinking visible, Socratic discussions, meta-cognitive mind stretches, Build an inquiry wall with students and talk about the process of thinking”
• Provide time for students to collaborate.  (Collaboration can be the button that starts critical thinking. It provides group thinking that builds on the standards. Have students work together while solving multi-step and higher order thinking problems. Sometimes this might mean slow down to increase the learning.)
• Provide students with a Critical Thinking rubric.  (Have them look at the rubric before a critical thinking activity, and once again when they are finished)
• Make assessment of Critical Thinking an ongoing effort.  (While the teacher can assess, have students assess themselves. Self assessment can be powerful)
• Concentrate on specific indicators in a rubric.  (There are various indicators such as; provides inquiry, answers questions, builds an argument etc. Concentrate on just one indicator while doing a lesson. There can even be an exit ticket reflection)
• Integrate the idea of Critical Thinking in any lesson.  ( Do not teach this skill in isolation. How does is work with a lesson, stem activity, project built, etc. What does Critical Thinking look like in the online or blended environment? Think of online discussions.)
• Post a Critical Thinking Poster in the room.  (This poster could be a copy of a rubric or even a list of “I Can Statements”. Point it out before a critical thinking activity.
• Make Critical Thinking part of your formative  and summative assessment.   (Move around the room, talk to groups and students, stop the whole group to make adjustments.)
• Point out Critical Thinking found in the content standards.  (Be aware that content standards often have words like; infer, debate, conclude, solve, prioritize, compare and contrast, hypothesize, and research. Critical Thinking has always been part of the standards. Show your students Bloom’s Taxonomy and post in the room. Where are they in their learning?
• Plan for a school wide emphasis.  (A culture that builds Critical Thinking is usually bigger then one classroom. Develop school-wide vocabulary, posters, and initiatives.)

I keep talking about the idea of surface learning and deeper learning. This can best be seen in  Bloom’s Taxonomy. Often we start with Remembering.  This might be essential in providing students the map to the further areas of Bloom’s. Of course, we then find the idea of Understanding. This is where I believe critical thinking begins. Sometimes we need to critically think in order to understand. In fact, you might be this doing right now. I believe that too much time might be spent in Remembering, which is why students get a false idea of what learning really is. As we look at the rest of Bloom’s ( Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, and Create) we can see the deeper learning take place. and even steps toward the transfer and internalization of the learning. Some educators even tip Bloom’s upside down, stating that the Creating at the top will build an understanding. This must be done with careful facilitation and intentional scaffold to make sure there is some surface learning. After-all, Critical Thinking will need this to build on.

I have been mentioning rubrics and assessment tools through out this post. To me, these are essential in building that culture of critical thinking in the classroom. I want to provide you with some great resources that will give your some powerful tools to assess the skill of Critical Thinking.  Keep in mind that students can also self assess and journal using prompts from a Critical Thinking Rubric.

Seven Resources to Help with Assessment and Facilitation of Critical Thinking

• Habits of Mind  – I think this is an awesome place to help teachers facilitate and assess critical thinking and more. Check out the  free resources page  which even has some wonderful posters. One of my favorites is the rubrics found on this  research page . Decide on spending some time because there are a lot of great resources.
• PBLWorks  – The number one place for PBL in the world is at PBLWorks. You may know it as the BUCK Institute or BIE. I am fortunate to be part of their National Faculty which is probably why I rank it as number one. I encourage you to visit their site for everything PBL.  This link brings you to the resource area where you will discover some amazing  rubrics to facilitate Critical Thinking. You will find rubrics for grade bands K-2, 3-5, and 6-12. This really is a great place to start. You will need to sign up to be a member of PBLWorks. This is a wonderful idea, after-all it is free!
• Microsoft Innovative Learning  – This   website  contains some powerful rubrics for assessing the 21st Century skills. The link will bring you to a PDF file with Critical Thinking rubrics you can use tomorrow for any grade level. Check out this  two page document  defining the 4 C’s and a  movie  giving you even more of an explanation.
• New Tech School  – This amazing PBL group of schools provide some wonderful Learning Rubrics in their free area.  Here you will find an interesting collection of rubrics that assesses student learning in multiple areas. These are sure to get you off and started.
• Foundation for Critical Thinking  –  Check out this  amazing page  to help give you descriptors.
• Project Zero  – While it is not necessarily assessment based, you will find some powerful  routines for making thinking visible . As you conduct these types of activities you will find yourself doing some wonderful formative assessment of critical thinking.
• Education Week  – Take a look at this resource that provides some great reasoning and some interesting links that provide a glimpse of critical thinking in the classroom.

Critical Thinking “I Can Statements”

As you can see, I believe that Critical Thinking is key to PBL, STEM, and Deeper Learning. It improves Communication and Collaboration, while promoting Creativity.  I believe every student should have these following “I Can Statements” as part of their learning experience. Feel free to copy and use in your classroom. Perhaps this is a great starting place as you promote collaborative and powerful learning culture!

• I can not only answer questions, but can also think of new questions to ask 
• I can take time to see what I am thinking to promote even better understanding 
• I can attempt to see other peoples’ thinking while explaining my own 
• I can look at a problem and determine needed steps to find a solution 
• I can use proper collaboration skills to work with others productively to build solutions 
• I can set a goal, design a plan, and persevere to accomplish the goal. 
• I can map out strategies and processes that shows the action involved in a task. 
• I can define and show my understanding of a concept, model, theory, or process. 
• I can take time to reflect and productively critique my work and the work of others 
• I can understand, observe, draw inferences, hypothesize and see implications.

cross-posted at  21centuryedtech.wordpress.com

Michael Gorman oversees one-to-one laptop programs and digital professional development for Southwest Allen County Schools near Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is a consultant for Discovery Education, ISTE, My Big Campus, and November Learning and is on the National Faculty for The Buck Institute for Education. His awards include district Teacher of the Year, Indiana STEM Educator of the Year and Microsoft’s 365 Global Education Hero. Read more at  21centuryedtech.wordpress.com .

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How To Promote Critical Thinking In Your Classroom

Promoting Thinking

November 25, 2006, by The Critical Thinking Co. Staff

Modeling of critical thinking skills by instructors is crucial for teaching critical thinking successfully. By making your own thought processes explicit in class - explaining your reasoning, evaluating evidence for a claim, probing the credibility of a source, or even describing what has puzzled or confused you - you provide a powerful example to students, particularly if you invite them to join in; e.g., "Can you see where we're headed with this?" "I can't think of other explanations; can you?" "This idea/principle struck me as difficult or confusing at first, but here's how I figured it out." You can encourage students to emulate this by using them in demonstrations, asking them to "think out loud" in order for classmates to observe how they reason through a problem.

Develop the habit of asking questions that require students to think critically, and tell students that you really expect them to give answers! In particular, Socratic questioning encourages students to develop and clarify their thinking: e.g., "Would your answer hold in all cases?" "How would you respond to a counter-example or counter-argument?" "Explain how you arrived at that answer?"

This is another skill that students can learn from your example, and can use in working with each other. Providing regular opportunities for pair or small group discussions after major points or demonstrations during lectures is also important: this allows students to process the new material, connect it to previously learned topics, and practice asking questions that promote further critical thinking. Obviously, conveying genuine respect for student input is essential. Communicating the message that you value and support student contributions and efforts to think critically increases confidence, and motivates students to continue building their thinking skills. An essential component of this process is the creation of a climate where students feel comfortable with exploring the process of reasoning through a problem without being "punished" for getting the wrong answer.

Researchers have found consistently that interaction among students, in the form of well-structured group discussions plays a central role in stimulating critical thinking. Discussing course material and its applications allows students to formulate and test hypotheses, practice asking thought-provoking questions, hear other perspectives, analyze claims, evaluate evidence, and explain and justify their reasoning. As they become more sophisticated and fluent in thinking critically, students can observe and critique each others' reasoning skills.

The Importance of Critical Thinking Skills for Students

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Brains at Work!

If you’re moving toward the end of your high school career, you’ve likely heard a lot about college life and how different it is from high school. Classes are more intense, professors are stricter, and the curriculum is more complicated. All in all, it’s very different compared to high school.

Different doesn’t have to mean scary, though. If you’re nervous about beginning college and you’re worried about how you’ll learn in a place so different from high school, there are steps you can take to help you thrive in your college career.

If you’re wondering how to get accepted into college and how to succeed as a freshman in such a new environment, the answer is simple: harness the power of critical thinking skills for students.

What is critical thinking?

Critical thinking entails using reasoning and the questioning of assumptions to address problems, assess information, identify biases, and more. It's a skillset crucial for students navigating their academic journey and beyond, including how to get accepted into college . At its crux, critical thinking for students has everything to do with self-discipline and making active decisions to 'think outside the box,' allowing individuals to think beyond a concept alone in order to understand it better.

Critical thinking skills for students is a concept highly encouraged in any and every educational setting, and with good reason. Possessing strong critical thinking skills will make you a better student and, frankly, help you gain valuable life skills. Not only will you be more efficient in gathering knowledge and processing information, but you will also enhance your ability to analyse and comprehend it.

Importance of critical thinking for students

Developing critical thinking skills for students is essential for success at all academic levels, particularly in college. It introduces reflection and perspective while encouraging you to question what you’re learning! Even if you’ve seen solid facts. Asking questions, considering other perspectives, and self-reflection cultivate resilient students with endless potential for learning, retention, and personal growth.A well-developed set of critical thinking skills for students will help them excel in many areas. Here are some critical thinking examples for students:

1. Decision-making

If you’re thinking critically, you’re not making impulse decisions or snap judgments; you’re taking the time to weigh the pros and cons. You’re making informed decisions. Critical thinking skills for students can make all the difference.

2. Problem-solving

Students with critical thinking skills are more effective in problem-solving. This reflective thinking process helps you use your own experiences to ideate innovations, solutions, and decisions.

3. Communication

Strong communication skills are a vital aspect of critical thinking for students, helping with their overall critical thinking abilities. How can you learn without asking questions? Critical thinking for students is what helps them produce the questions they may not have ever thought to ask. As a critical thinker, you’ll get better at expressing your ideas concisely and logically, facilitating thoughtful discussion, and learning from your teachers and peers.

4. Analytical skills

Developing analytical skills is a key component of strong critical thinking skills for students. It goes beyond study tips on reviewing data or learning a concept. It’s about the “Who? What? Where? Why? When? How?” When you’re thinking critically, these questions will come naturally, and you’ll be an expert learner because of it.

How can students develop critical thinking skills

Although critical thinking skills for students is an important and necessary process, it isn’t necessarily difficult to develop these observational skills. All it takes is a conscious effort and a little bit of practice. Here are a few tips to get you started:

1. Never stop asking questions

This is the best way to learn critical thinking skills for students. As stated earlier, ask questions—even if you’re presented with facts to begin with. When you’re examining a problem or learning a concept, ask as many questions as you can. Not only will you be better acquainted with what you’re learning, but it’ll soon become second nature to follow this process in every class you take and help you improve your GPA .

2. Practice active listening

As important as asking questions is, it is equally vital to be a good listener to your peers. It is astounding how much we can learn from each other in a collaborative environment! Diverse perspectives are key to fostering critical thinking skills for students. Keep an open mind and view every discussion as an opportunity to learn.

3. Dive into your creativity

Although a college environment is vastly different from high school classrooms, one thing remains constant through all levels of education: the importance of creativity. Creativity is a guiding factor through all facets of critical thinking skills for students. It fosters collaborative discussion, innovative solutions, and thoughtful analyses.

4. Engage in debates and discussions

Participating in debates and discussions helps you articulate your thoughts clearly and consider opposing viewpoints. It challenges the critical thinking skills of students about the evidence presented, decoding arguments, and constructing logical reasoning. Look for debates and discussion opportunities in class, online forums, or extracurricular activities.

5. Look out for diverse sources of information 

In today's digital age, information is easily available from a variety of sources. Make it a habit to explore different opinions, perspectives, and sources of information. This not only broadens one's understanding of a subject but also helps in distinguishing between reliable and biased sources, honing the critical thinking skills of students.

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6. Practice problem-solving

Try engaging in challenging problems, riddles or puzzles that require critical thinking skills for students to solve. Whether it's solving mathematical equations, tackling complex scenarios in literature, or analysing data in science experiments, regular practice of problem-solving tasks sharpens your analytical skills. It enhances your ability to think critically under pressure.

Nurturing critical thinking skills helps students with the tools to navigate the complexities of academia and beyond. By learning active listening, curiosity, creativity, and problem-solving, students can create a sturdy foundation for lifelong learning. By building upon all these skills, you’ll be an expert critical thinker in no time—and you’ll be ready to conquer all that college has to offer! 

Frequently Asked Questions

What questions should i ask to be a better critical thinker, how can i sharpen critical thinking skills for students, how do i avoid bias, can i use my critical thinking skills outside of school, will critical thinking skills help students in their future careers.

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50 Super-Fun Critical Thinking Strategies to Use in Your Classroom

by AuthorAmy

Teaching students to be critical thinkers is perhaps the most important goal in education. All teachers, regardless of subject area, contribute to the process of teaching students to think for themselves. However, it’s not always an easy skill to teach. Students need guidance and practice with critical thinking strategies at every level.

One problem with teaching critical thinking is that many different definitions of this skill exist. The Foundation for Critical Thinking offers four different definitions of the concept. Essentially, critical thinking is the ability to evaluate information and decide what we think about that information, a cumulative portfolio of skills our students need to be successful problem solvers in an ever-changing world.

Here is a list of 50 classroom strategies for teachers to use to foster critical thinking among students of all ages.

1. Don’t give them the answers  

Learning is supposed to be hard, and while it may be tempting to jump in and direct students to the right answer, it’s better to let them work through a problem on their own. A good teacher is a guide, not an answer key. The goal is to help students work at their “challenge” level, as opposed to their “frustration” level.

2. Controversial issue barometer

In this activity, a line is drawn down the center of the classroom. The middle represents the neutral ground, and the ends of the line represent extremes of an issue. The teacher selects an issue and students space themselves along the line according to their opinions. Being able to articulate opinions and participate in civil discourse are important aspects of critical thinking.

3. Play devil’s advocate

During a robust classroom discussion, an effective teacher challenges students by acting as devil’s advocate, no matter their personal opinion. “I don’t care WHAT you think, I just care THAT you think” is my classroom mantra. Critical thinking strategies that ask students to analyze both sides of an issue help create understanding and empathy.

4. Gallery walk

In a gallery walk, the teacher hangs images around the classroom related to the unit at hand (photographs, political cartoons, paintings). Students peruse the artwork much like they are in a museum, writing down their thoughts about each piece.

5. Review something

A movie, TV show , a book, a restaurant, a pep assembly, today’s lesson – anything can be reviewed. Writing a review involves the complex skill of summary without spoilers and asks students to share their opinion and back it up with evidence.

6. Draw analogies

Pick two unrelated things and ask students how those things are alike (for example, how is a museum like a snowstorm). The goal here is to encourage creativity and look for similarities.

7. Think of 25 uses for an everyday thing

Pick an everyday object (I use my camera tripod) and set a timer for five minutes. Challenge students to come up with 25 things they can use the object for within that time frame. The obvious answers will be exhausted quickly, so ridiculous answers such as “coatrack” and “stool” are encouraged.

8. Incorporate riddles

Students love riddles. You could pose a question at the beginning of the week and allow students to ask questions about it all week.

9. Crosswords and sudoku puzzles

The games section of the newspaper provides great brainteasers for students who finish their work early and need some extra brain stimulation.

10. Fine tune questioning techniques

A vibrant classroom discussion is made even better by a teacher who asks excellent, provocative questions. Questions should move beyond those with concrete answers to a place where students must examine why they think the way they do.

11. Socratic seminar

The Socratic seminar is perhaps the ultimate critical thinking activity. Students are given a universal question, such as “Do you believe it is acceptable to break the law if you believe the law is wrong?” They are given time to prepare and answer, and then, seated in a circle, students are directed to discuss the topic. Whereas the goal of a debate is to win, the goal of a Socratic discussion is for the group to reach greater understanding.

12. Inquiry based learning

In inquiry-based learning, students develop questions they want answers to, which drives the curriculum toward issues they care about. An engaged learner is an essential step in critical thinking.

13. Problem-based learning

In problem-based learning, students are given a problem and asked to develop research-based solutions. The problem can be a school problem (the lunchroom is overcrowded) or a global problem (sea levels are rising).

14. Challenge all assumptions

The teacher must model this before students learn to apply this skill on their own. In this strategy, a teacher helps a student understand where his or her ingrained beliefs come from. Perhaps a student tells you they believe that stereotypes exist because they are true. An effective teacher can ask “Why do you think that?” and keep exploring the issue as students delve into the root of their beliefs. Question everything.

15. Emphasize data over beliefs

Data does not always support our beliefs, so our first priority must be to seek out data before drawing conclusions.

16. Teach confirmation bias

Confirmation bias is the human tendency to seek out information that confirms what we already believe, rather than letting the data inform our conclusions. Understanding that this phenomenon exists can help students avoid it.

17. Visualization

Help students make a plan before tackling a task.

18. Mind mapping

Mind mapping is a visual way to organize information. Students start with a central concept and create a web with subtopics that radiate outward.

19. Develop empathy

Empathy is often cited as an aspect of critical thinking. To do so, encourage students to think from a different point of view. They might write a “con” essay when they believe the “pro,” or write a letter from someone else’s perspective.

20. Summarization

Summarizing means taking all the information given and presenting it in a shortened fashion.

21. Encapsulation

Encapsulation is a skill different from summarization. To encapsulate a topic, students must learn about it and then distill it down to its most relevant points, which means students are forming judgements about what is most and least important.

22. Weigh cause and effect

The process of examining cause and effect helps students develop critical thinking skills by thinking through the natural consequences of a given choice.

23. Problems in a jar

Perfect for a bell-ringer, a teacher can stuff a mason jar with dilemmas that their students might face, such as, “Your best friend is refusing to talk to you today. What do you do?” Then, discuss possible answers. This works well for ethical dilemmas, too.

24. Transform one thing into another

Give students an object, like a pencil or a mug. Define its everyday use (to write or to drink from). Then, tell the students to transform the object into something with an entirely separate use. Now what is it used for?

25. Which one doesn’t belong?

Group items together and ask students to find the one that doesn’t belong. In first grade, this might be a grouping of vowels and a consonant; in high school, it might be heavy metals and a noble gas.

26. Compare/contrast

Compare and contrast are important critical thinking strategies. Students can create a Venn diagram to show similarities or differences, or they could write a good old-fashioned compare/contrast essay about the characters of Romeo and Juliet .

27. Pick a word, find a related word

This is another fun bell-ringer activity. The teacher starts with any word, and students go around the room and say another word related to that one. The obvious words go quickly, meaning the longer the game goes on, the more out-of-the-box the thinking gets.

28. Ranking of sources

Give students a research topic and tell them to find three sources (books, YouTube videos, websites). Then ask them, what resource is best – and why.

29. Hypothesize

The very act of hypothesizing is critical thinking in action. Students are using what they know to find an answer to something they don’t know.

30. Guess what will happen next

This works for scientific reactions, novels, current events, and more. Simply spell out what we know so far and ask students “and then what?”

31. Practice inference

Inference is the art of making an educated guess based on evidence presented and is an important component of critical thinking.

32. Connect text to self

Ask students to draw connections between what they are reading about to something happening in their world. For example, if their class is studying global warming, researching how global warming might impact their hometown will help make their studies relevant.

33. Levels of questioning

There are several levels of questions (as few as three and as many as six, depending on who you ask). These include factual questions, which have a right or wrong answer (most math problems are factual questions). There are also inferential questions, which ask students to make inferences based on both opinion and textual evidence. Additionally, there are universal questions, which are “big picture” questions where there are no right or wrong answers.

Students should practice answering all levels of questions and writing their own questions, too.

34. Demand precise language

An expansive vocabulary allows a student to express themselves more exactly, and precision is a major tool in the critical thinking toolkit.

35. Identify bias and hidden agendas

Helping students to critically examine biases in sources will help them evaluate the trustworthiness of their sources.

36. Identify unanswered questions

After a unit of study is conducted, lead students through a discussion of what questions remain unanswered. In this way, students can work to develop a lifelong learner mentality.

37. Relate a topic in one subject area to other disciplines

Have students take something they are studying in your class and relate it to other disciplines. For example, if you are studying the Civil War in social studies, perhaps they could look up historical fiction novels set during the Civil War era or research medical advancements from the time period for science.

38. Have a question conversation

Start with a general question and students must answer your question with a question of their own. Keep the conversation going.

39. Display a picture for 30 seconds, then take it down

Have students list everything they can remember. This helps students train their memories and increases their ability to notice details.

40. Brainstorm, free-write

Brainstorming and freewriting are critical thinking strategies to get ideas on paper. In brainstorming, anything goes, no matter how off-the-wall. These are great tools to get ideas flowing that can then be used to inform research.

41. Step outside your comfort zone

Direct students to learn about a topic they have no interest in or find particularly challenging. In this case, their perseverance is being developed as they do something that is difficult for them.

42. The answer is, the question might be

This is another bell-ringer game that’s great for engaging those brains. You give students the answer and they come up with what the question might be.

43. Cooperative learning

Group work is a critical thinking staple because it teaches students that there is no one right way to approach a problem and that other opinions are equally valid.

44. What? So what? Now what?

After concluding a unit of study, these three question frames can be used to help students contextualize their learning.

45. Reflection

Ask students to reflect on their work – specifically, how they can improve moving forward.

46. Classify and categorize

These are higher level Bloom’s tasks for a reason. Categorizing requires students to think about like traits and rank them in order of importance.

47. Role play

Roleplay allows students to practice creative thinking strategies. Here, students assume a role and act accordingly.

48. Set goals

Have students set concrete, measurable goals in your class so they understand why what they do matters.

No matter your subject area, encourage students to read voraciously. Through reading they will be exposed to new ideas, new perspectives, and their worlds will grow.

50. Cultivate curiosity

A curious mind is an engaged mind. Students should be encouraged to perform inquiry simply for the sake that it is a joy to learn about something we care about.

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Distance Learning

Using technology to develop students’ critical thinking skills.

by Jessica Mansbach

What Is Critical Thinking?

Critical thinking is a higher-order cognitive skill that is indispensable to students, readying them to respond to a variety of complex problems that are sure to arise in their personal and professional lives. The  cognitive skills at the foundation of critical thinking are  analysis, interpretation, evaluation, explanation, inference, and self-regulation.  

When students think critically, they actively engage in these processes:

• Communication
• Problem-solving

To create environments that engage students in these processes, instructors need to ask questions, encourage the expression of diverse opinions, and involve students in a variety of hands-on activities that force them to be involved in their learning.

Types of Critical Thinking Skills

Instructors should select activities based on the level of thinking they want students to do and the learning objectives for the course or assignment. The chart below describes questions to ask in order to show that students can demonstrate different levels of critical thinking.

*Adapted from Brown University’s Harriet W Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning

Using Online Tools to Teach Critical Thinking Skills

Online instructors can use technology tools to create activities that help students develop both lower-level and higher-level critical thinking skills.

• Example: Use Google Doc, a collaboration feature in Canvas, and tell students to keep a journal in which they reflect on what they are learning, describe the progress they are making in the class, and cite course materials that have been most relevant to their progress. Students can share the Google Doc with you, and instructors can comment on their work.
• Example: Use the peer review assignment feature in Canvas and manually or automatically form peer review groups. These groups can be anonymous or display students’ names. Tell students to give feedback to two of their peers on the first draft of a research paper. Use the rubric feature in Canvas to create a rubric for students to use. Show students the rubric along with the assignment instructions so that students know what they will be evaluated on and how to evaluate their peers.
• Example: Use the discussions feature in Canvas and tell students to have a debate about a video they watched. Pose the debate questions in the discussion forum, and give students instructions to take a side of the debate and cite course readings to support their arguments.  
• Example: Us e goreact , a tool for creating and commenting on online presentations, and tell students to design a presentation that summarizes and raises questions about a reading. Tell students to comment on the strengths and weaknesses of the author’s argument. Students can post the links to their goreact presentations in a discussion forum or an assignment using the insert link feature in Canvas.
• Example:  Use goreact, a narrated Powerpoint, or a Google Doc and instruct students to tell a story that informs readers and listeners about how the course content they are learning is useful in their professional lives. In the story, tell students to offer specific examples of readings and class activities that they are finding most relevant to their professional work. Links to the goreact presentation and Google doc can be submitted via a discussion forum or an assignment in Canvas. The Powerpoint file can be submitted via a discussion or submitted in an assignment.

Pulling it All Together

Critical thinking is an invaluable skill that students need to be successful in their professional and personal lives. Instructors can be thoughtful and purposeful about creating learning objectives that promote lower and higher-level critical thinking skills, and about using technology to implement activities that support these learning objectives. Below are some additional resources about critical thinking.

Additional Resources

Carmichael, E., & Farrell, H. (2012). Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Online Resources in Developing Student Critical Thinking: Review of Literature and Case Study of a Critical Thinking Online Site.  Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice ,  9 (1), 4.

Lai, E. R. (2011). Critical thinking: A literature review.  Pearson’s Research Reports ,  6 , 40-41.

Landers, H (n.d.). Using Peer Teaching In The Classroom. Retrieved electronically from https://tilt.colostate.edu/TipsAndGuides/Tip/180

Lynch, C. L., & Wolcott, S. K. (2001). Helping your students develop critical thinking skills (IDEA Paper# 37. In  Manhattan, KS: The IDEA Center.

Mandernach, B. J. (2006). Thinking critically about critical thinking: Integrating online tools to Promote Critical Thinking. Insight: A collection of faculty scholarship , 1 , 41-50.

Yang, Y. T. C., & Wu, W. C. I. (2012). Digital storytelling for enhancing student academic achievement, critical thinking, and learning motivation: A year-long experimental study. Computers & Education , 59 (2), 339-352.

Insight Assessment: Measuring Thinking Worldwide

http://www.insightassessment.com/

Michigan State University’s Office of Faculty  & Organizational Development, Critical Thinking: http://fod.msu.edu/oir/critical-thinking

The Critical Thinking Community

http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766

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9 responses to “ Using Technology To Develop Students’ Critical Thinking Skills ”

This is a great site for my students to learn how to develop critical thinking skills, especially in the STEM fields.

Great tools to help all learners at all levels… not everyone learns at the same rate.

Thanks for sharing the article. Is there any way to find tools which help in developing critical thinking skills to students?

Technology needs to be advance to develop the below factors:

Understand the links between ideas. Determine the importance and relevance of arguments and ideas. Recognize, build and appraise arguments.

Excellent share! Can I know few tools which help in developing critical thinking skills to students? Any help will be appreciated. Thanks!

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Brilliant post. Will be sharing this on our Twitter (@refthinking). I would love to chat to you about our tool, the Thinking Kit. It has been specifically designed to help students develop critical thinking skills whilst they also learn about the topics they ‘need’ to.

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College Info Geek

7 Ways to Improve Your Critical Thinking Skills

C.I.G. is supported in part by its readers. If you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Read more here.

When I was in 7th grade, my U.S. history teacher gave my class the following advice:

Your teachers in high school won’t expect you to remember every little fact about U.S. history. They can fill in the details you’ve forgotten. What they will expect, though, is for you to be able to think ; to know how to make connections between ideas and evaluate information critically.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but my teacher was giving a concise summary of critical thinking. My high school teachers gave similar speeches when describing what would be expected of us in college: it’s not about the facts you know, but rather about your ability to evaluate them.

And now that I’m in college, my professors often mention that the ability to think through and solve difficult problems matters more in the “real world” than specific content.

Despite hearing so much about critical thinking all these years, I realized that I still couldn’t give a concrete definition of it, and I certainly couldn’t explain how to do it. It seemed like something that my teachers just expected us to pick up in the course of our studies. While I venture that a lot of us did learn it, I prefer to approach learning deliberately, and so I decided to investigate critical thinking for myself.

What is it, how do we do it, why is it important, and how can we get better at it? This post is my attempt to answer those questions.

In addition to answering these questions, I’ll also offer seven ways that you can start thinking more critically today, both in and outside of class.

What Is Critical Thinking?

“Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.” – The Foundation for Critical Thinking

The above definition from the Foundation for Critical Thinking website  is pretty wordy, but critical thinking, in essence, is not that complex.

Critical thinking is just deliberately and systematically processing information so that you can make better decisions and generally understand things better. The above definition includes so many words because critical thinking requires you to apply diverse intellectual tools to diverse information.

Ways to critically think about information include:

• Conceptualizing
• Synthesizing

That information can come from sources such as:

• Observation
• Communication

And all this is meant to guide:

You can also define it this way:

Critical thinking is the opposite of regular, everyday thinking. 

Moment to moment, most thinking happens automatically. When you think critically, you  deliberately  employ any of the above intellectual tools to reach more accurate conclusions than your brain automatically would (more on this in a bit).

This is what critical thinking is. But so what?

Why Does Critical Thinking Matter?

Most of our everyday thinking is uncritical.

If you think about it, this makes sense. If we had to think deliberately about every single action (such as breathing, for instance), we wouldn’t have any cognitive energy left for the important stuff like D&D. It’s good that much of our thinking is automatic.

We can run into problems, though, when we let our automatic mental processes govern important decisions. Without critical thinking, it’s easy for people to manipulate us and for all sorts of catastrophes to result. Anywhere that some form of fundamentalism led to tragedy (the Holocaust is a textbook example), critical thinking was sorely lacking.

Even day to day, it’s easy to get caught in pointless arguments or say stupid things just because you failed to stop and think deliberately.

But you’re reading College Info Geek, so I’m sure you’re interested to know why critical thinking matters in college.

Here’s why:

According to Andrew Roberts, author of The Thinking Student’s Guide to College , c ritical thinking matters in college because students often adopt the wrong attitude to thinking about difficult questions. These attitudes include:

Ignorant Certainty

Ignorant certainty is the belief that there are definite, correct answers to all questions–all you have to do is find the right source (102). It’s understandable that a lot of students come into college thinking this way–it’s enough to get you through most of your high school coursework.

In college and in life, however, the answers to most meaningful questions are rarely straightforward. To get anywhere in college classes (especially upper-level ones), you have to think critically about the material.

Naive Relativism

Naive relativism is the belief that there is no truth and all arguments are equal (102-103). According to Roberts, this is often a view that students adopt once they learn the error of ignorant certainty.

While it’s certainly a more “critical” approach than ignorant certainty, naive relativism is still inadequate since it misses the whole point of critical thinking: arriving at a more complete, “less wrong” answer.

Part of thinking critically is evaluating the validity of arguments (yours and others’). Therefore, to think critically you must accept that some arguments are better (and that some are just plain awful).

Critical thinking also matters in college because:

• It allows you to form your own opinions and engage with material beyond a superficial level. This is essential to crafting a great essay  and having an intelligent discussion with your professors or classmates. Regurgitating what the textbook says won’t get you far.
• It allows you to craft worthy arguments and back them up. If you plan to go on to graduate school or pursue a PhD., original, critical thought is crucial
• It helps you evaluate your own work. This leads to better grades (who doesn’t want those?) and better habits of mind.

Doing college level work without critical is a lot like walking blindfolded: you’ll get  somewhere , but it’s unlikely to be the place you desire.

The value of critical thinking doesn’t stop with college, however. Once you get out into the real world, critical thinking matters even more. This is because:

• It allows you to continue to develop intellectually after you graduate. Progress shouldn’t stop after graduation –you should keep learning as much as you can. When you encounter new information, knowing how to think critically will help you evaluate and use it.
• It helps you make hard decisions. I’ve written before about how defining your values  helps you make better decisions. Equally important in the decision-making process is the ability to think critically. Critical thinking allows you compare the pros and cons of your available options, showing that you have more options than you might imagine .
• People can and will manipulate you . At least, they will if you take everything at face value and allow others to think for you. Just look at ads for the latest fad diet or “miracle” drug–these rely on ignorance and false hope to get people to buy something that is at best useless and at worst harmful. When you evaluate information critically (especially information meant to sell something), you can avoid falling prey to unethical companies and people.
• It makes you more employable (and better paid). The best employees not only know how to solve existing problems–they also know how to come up with solutions to problems no one ever imagined. To get a great job after graduating , you need to be one of those employees, and critical thinking is the key ingredient to solving difficult, novel problems.

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7 Ways to Think More Critically

Now we come to the part that I’m sure you’ve all been waiting for: how the heck do we get better at critical thinking?  Below, you’ll find seven ways to get started.

1. Ask Basic Questions

“The world is complicated. But does every problem require a complicated solution?” – Stephen J. Dubner

Sometimes an explanation becomes so complex that the original question get lost. To avoid this, continually go back to the basic questions you asked when you set out to solve the problem.

Here are a few key basic question you can ask when approaching any problem:

• What do you already know?
• How do you know that?
• What are you trying to prove, disprove, demonstrated, critique, etc.?
• What are you overlooking?

Some of the most breathtaking solutions to problems are astounding not because of their complexity, but because of their elegant simplicity.  Seek the simple solution  first.

2. Question Basic Assumptions

“When you assume, you make an ass out of you and me.”

The above saying holds true when you’re thinking through a problem. it’s quite easy to make an ass of yourself simply by failing to question your basic assumptions.

Some of the greatest innovators in human history were those who simply looked up for a moment and wondered if one of everyone’s general assumptions was wrong. From Newton to Einstein to Yitang Zhang , questioning assumptions is where innovation happens.

You don’t even have to be an aspiring Einstein to benefit from questioning your assumptions. That trip you’ve wanted to take? That hobby you’ve wanted to try? That internship you’ve wanted to get? That attractive person in your World Civilizations class you’ve wanted to talk to?

All these things can be a reality if you just question your assumptions and critically evaluate your beliefs about what’s prudent, appropriate, or possible.

If you’re looking for some help with this process, then check out Oblique Strategies . It’s a tool that musician Brian Eno and artist Peter Schmidt created to aid creative problem solving . Some of the “cards” are specific to music, but most work for any time you’re stuck on a problem.

3. Be Aware of Your Mental Processes

Human thought is amazing, but the speed and automation with which it happens can be a disadvantage when we’re trying to think critically. Our brains naturally use heuristics (mental shortcuts) to explain what’s happening around us.

This was beneficial to humans when we were hunting large game and fighting off wild animals, but it can be disastrous when we’re trying to decide who to vote for.

A critical thinker is aware of their cognitive biases   and personal prejudices and how they influence seemingly “objective” decisions and solutions.

All of us have biases in our thinking. Becoming aware of them is what makes critical thinking possible.

4. Try Reversing Things

A great way to get “unstuck” on a hard problem is to try reversing things. It may seem obvious that X causes Y, but what if Y caused X?

The “chicken and egg problem” a classic example of this. At first, it seems obvious that the chicken had to come first. The chicken lays the egg, after all. But then you quickly realize that the chicken had to come from somewhere, and since chickens come from eggs, the egg must have come first.  Or did it?

Even if it turns out that the reverse  isn’t  true, considering it can set you on the path to finding a solution.

5. Evaluate the Existing Evidence

“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” – Isaac Newton

When you’re trying to solve a problem, it’s always helpful to look at other work that has been done in the same area. There’s no reason to start solving a problem from scratch when someone has already laid the groundwork.

It’s important, however, to evaluate this information critically, or else you can easily reach the wrong conclusion. Ask the following questions of any evidence you encounter:

• Who gathered this evidence?
• How did they gather it?

Take, for example, a study showing the health benefits of a sugary cereal. On paper, the study sounds pretty convincing. That is, until you learn that a sugary cereal company funded it.

You can’t automatically assume that this invalidates the study’s results, but you should certainly question them when a conflict of interests is so apparent.

6. Remember to Think for Yourself

Don’t get so bogged down in research and reading that you forget to think for yourself –sometimes this can be your most powerful tool.

Writing about Einstein’s paper “On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies” (the paper that contained the famous equation  E=mc 2 ), C.P. Snow observed that “it was as if Einstein ‘had reached the conclusions by pure thought, unaided, without listening to the opinions of others. To a surprisingly large extent, that is precisely what he had done'”(121).

Don’t be overconfident, but recognize that thinking for yourself is essential to answering tough questions. I find this to be true when writing essays–it’s so easy to get lost in other people’s work that I forget to have my own thoughts. Don’t make this mistake.

For more on the importance of thinking for yourself, check out our article on mental laziness .

7. Understand That No One Thinks Critically 100% of the Time

“Critical thinking of any kind is never universal in any individual; everyone is subject to episodes of undisciplined or irrational thought.” – Michael Scriven and Richard Paul

You can’t think critically all the time, and that’s okay. Critical thinking is a tool that you should deploy when you need to make important decisions or solve difficult problems, but you don’t need to think critically about everything.

And even in important matters, you will experience lapses in your reasoning. What matters is that you recognize these lapses and try to avoid them in the future.

Even Isaac Newton, genius that he was, believed that alchemy was a legitimate pursuit .

As I hope you now see, learning to think critically will benefit you both in the classroom and beyond. I hope this post has given you some ideas about how you can think more critically in your own life. Remember: learning to think critically is a lifelong journey, and there’s always more to learn.

For a look at critical thinking principles in action, check out our guide to strategic thinking .

• http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766
• http://calnewport.com/blog/2015/11/25/the-feynman-notebook-method/
• The Thinking Student’s Guide to College by Andrew Roberts (the source of several of the seven ways to think more critically)
• What the Best College Teachers Do by Ken Bain (the source of several of the seven ways to think more critically)
• A Short History of Nearly Everything   by Bill Bryson (the source for the C.P. Snow quote about Einstein and the information about Isaac Newton).

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Why Schools Need to Change Yes, We Can Define, Teach, and Assess Critical Thinking Skills

Jeff Heyck-Williams (He, His, Him) Director of the Two Rivers Learning Institute in Washington, DC

Today’s learners face an uncertain present and a rapidly changing future that demand far different skills and knowledge than were needed in the 20th century. We also know so much more about enabling deep, powerful learning than we ever did before. Our collective future depends on how well young people prepare for the challenges and opportunities of 21st-century life.

Critical thinking is a thing. We can define it; we can teach it; and we can assess it.

While the idea of teaching critical thinking has been bandied around in education circles since at least the time of John Dewey, it has taken greater prominence in the education debates with the advent of the term “21st century skills” and discussions of deeper learning. There is increasing agreement among education reformers that critical thinking is an essential ingredient for long-term success for all of our students.

However, there are still those in the education establishment and in the media who argue that critical thinking isn’t really a thing, or that these skills aren’t well defined and, even if they could be defined, they can’t be taught or assessed.

To those naysayers, I have to disagree. Critical thinking is a thing. We can define it; we can teach it; and we can assess it. In fact, as part of a multi-year Assessment for Learning Project , Two Rivers Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., has done just that.

Before I dive into what we have done, I want to acknowledge that some of the criticism has merit.

First, there are those that argue that critical thinking can only exist when students have a vast fund of knowledge. Meaning that a student cannot think critically if they don’t have something substantive about which to think. I agree. Students do need a robust foundation of core content knowledge to effectively think critically. Schools still have a responsibility for building students’ content knowledge.

However, I would argue that students don’t need to wait to think critically until after they have mastered some arbitrary amount of knowledge. They can start building critical thinking skills when they walk in the door. All students come to school with experience and knowledge which they can immediately think critically about. In fact, some of the thinking that they learn to do helps augment and solidify the discipline-specific academic knowledge that they are learning.

The second criticism is that critical thinking skills are always highly contextual. In this argument, the critics make the point that the types of thinking that students do in history is categorically different from the types of thinking students do in science or math. Thus, the idea of teaching broadly defined, content-neutral critical thinking skills is impossible. I agree that there are domain-specific thinking skills that students should learn in each discipline. However, I also believe that there are several generalizable skills that elementary school students can learn that have broad applicability to their academic and social lives. That is what we have done at Two Rivers.

Defining Critical Thinking Skills

We began this work by first defining what we mean by critical thinking. After a review of the literature and looking at the practice at other schools, we identified five constructs that encompass a set of broadly applicable skills: schema development and activation; effective reasoning; creativity and innovation; problem solving; and decision making.

We then created rubrics to provide a concrete vision of what each of these constructs look like in practice. Working with the Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning and Equity (SCALE) , we refined these rubrics to capture clear and discrete skills.

For example, we defined effective reasoning as the skill of creating an evidence-based claim: students need to construct a claim, identify relevant support, link their support to their claim, and identify possible questions or counter claims. Rubrics provide an explicit vision of the skill of effective reasoning for students and teachers. By breaking the rubrics down for different grade bands, we have been able not only to describe what reasoning is but also to delineate how the skills develop in students from preschool through 8th grade.

Before moving on, I want to freely acknowledge that in narrowly defining reasoning as the construction of evidence-based claims we have disregarded some elements of reasoning that students can and should learn. For example, the difference between constructing claims through deductive versus inductive means is not highlighted in our definition. However, by privileging a definition that has broad applicability across disciplines, we are able to gain traction in developing the roots of critical thinking. In this case, to formulate well-supported claims or arguments.

Teaching Critical Thinking Skills

The definitions of critical thinking constructs were only useful to us in as much as they translated into practical skills that teachers could teach and students could learn and use. Consequently, we have found that to teach a set of cognitive skills, we needed thinking routines that defined the regular application of these critical thinking and problem-solving skills across domains. Building on Harvard’s Project Zero Visible Thinking work, we have named routines aligned with each of our constructs.

For example, with the construct of effective reasoning, we aligned the Claim-Support-Question thinking routine to our rubric. Teachers then were able to teach students that whenever they were making an argument, the norm in the class was to use the routine in constructing their claim and support. The flexibility of the routine has allowed us to apply it from preschool through 8th grade and across disciplines from science to economics and from math to literacy.

Kathryn Mancino, a 5th grade teacher at Two Rivers, has deliberately taught three of our thinking routines to students using the anchor charts above. Her charts name the components of each routine and has a place for students to record when they’ve used it and what they have figured out about the routine. By using this structure with a chart that can be added to throughout the year, students see the routines as broadly applicable across disciplines and are able to refine their application over time.

Assessing Critical Thinking Skills

By defining specific constructs of critical thinking and building thinking routines that support their implementation in classrooms, we have operated under the assumption that students are developing skills that they will be able to transfer to other settings. However, we recognized both the importance and the challenge of gathering reliable data to confirm this.

With this in mind, we have developed a series of short performance tasks around novel discipline-neutral contexts in which students can apply the constructs of thinking. Through these tasks, we have been able to provide an opportunity for students to demonstrate their ability to transfer the types of thinking beyond the original classroom setting. Once again, we have worked with SCALE to define tasks where students easily access the content but where the cognitive lift requires them to demonstrate their thinking abilities.

These assessments demonstrate that it is possible to capture meaningful data on students’ critical thinking abilities. They are not intended to be high stakes accountability measures. Instead, they are designed to give students, teachers, and school leaders discrete formative data on hard to measure skills.

While it is clearly difficult, and we have not solved all of the challenges to scaling assessments of critical thinking, we can define, teach, and assess these skills . In fact, knowing how important they are for the economy of the future and our democracy, it is essential that we do.

Jeff Heyck-Williams (He, His, Him)

Director of the two rivers learning institute.

Jeff Heyck-Williams is the director of the Two Rivers Learning Institute and a founder of Two Rivers Public Charter School. He has led work around creating school-wide cultures of mathematics, developing assessments of critical thinking and problem-solving, and supporting project-based learning.

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13 Easy Steps To Improve Your Critical Thinking Skills

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With the sheer volume of information that we’re bombarded with on a daily basis – and with the pervasiveness of fake news and social media bubbles – the ability to look at evidence, evaluate the trustworthiness of a source, and think critically is becoming more important than ever. This is why, for me, critical thinking is one of the most vital skills to cultivate for future success.

Critical thinking isn’t about being constantly negative or critical of everything. It’s about objectivity and having an open, inquisitive mind. To think critically is to analyze issues based on hard evidence (as opposed to personal opinions, biases, etc.) in order to build a thorough understanding of what’s really going on. And from this place of thorough understanding, you can make better decisions and solve problems more effectively.

To put it another way, critical thinking means arriving at your own carefully considered conclusions instead of taking information at face value. Here are 13 ways you can cultivate this precious skill:

1. Always vet new information with a cautious eye. Whether it’s an article someone has shared online or data that’s related to your job, always vet the information you're presented with. Good questions to ask here include, "Is this information complete and up to date?” “What evidence is being presented to support the argument?” and “Whose voice is missing here?”

2. Look at where the information has come from. Is the source trustworthy? What is their motivation for presenting this information? For example, are they trying to sell you something or get you to take a certain action (like vote for them)?

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3. Consider more than one point of view. Everyone has their own opinions and motivations – even highly intelligent people making reasonable-sounding arguments have personal opinions and biases that shape their thinking. So, when someone presents you with information, consider whether there are other sides to the story.

4. Practice active listening. Listen carefully to what others are telling you, and try to build a clear picture of their perspective. Empathy is a really useful skill here since putting yourself in another person's shoes can help you understand where they're coming from and what they might want. Try to listen without judgment – remember, critical thinking is about keeping an open mind.

5. Gather additional information where needed. Whenever you identify gaps in the information or data, do your own research to fill those gaps. The next few steps will help you do this objectively…

6. Ask lots of open-ended questions. Curiosity is a key trait of critical thinkers, so channel your inner child and ask lots of "who," "what," and "why" questions.

7. Find your own reputable sources of information, such as established news sites, nonprofit organizations, and education institutes. Try to avoid anonymous sources or sources with an ax to grind or a product to sell. Also, be sure to check when the information was published. An older source may be unintentionally offering up wrong information just because events have moved on since it was published; corroborate the info with a more recent source.

8. Try not to get your news from social media. And if you do see something on social media that grabs your interest, check the accuracy of the story (via reputable sources of information, as above) before you share it.

9. Learn to spot fake news. It's not always easy to spot false or misleading content, but a good rule of thumb is to look at the language, emotion, and tone of the piece. Is it using emotionally charged language, for instance, and trying to get you to feel a certain way? Also, look at the sources of facts, figures, images, and quotes. A legit news story will clearly state its sources.

10. Learn to spot biased information. Like fake news, biased information may seek to appeal more to your emotions than logic and/or present a limited view of the topic. So ask yourself, “Is there more to this topic than what’s being presented here?” Do your own reading around the topic to establish the full picture.

11. Question your own biases, too. Everyone has biases, and there’s no point pretending otherwise. The trick is to think objectively about your likes and dislikes, preferences, and beliefs, and consider how these might affect your thinking.

12. Form your own opinions. Remember, critical thinking is about thinking independently. So once you’ve assessed all the information, form your own conclusions about it.

13. Continue to work on your critical thinking skills. I recommend looking at online learning platforms such as Udemy and Coursera for courses on general critical thinking skills, as well as courses on specific subjects like cognitive biases.

Read more about critical thinking and other essential skills in my new book, Future Skills: The 20 Skills & Competencies Everyone Needs To Succeed In A Digital World . Written for anyone who wants to surf the wave of digital transformation – rather than be drowned by it – the book explores why these vital future skills matter and how to develop them.

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Improving students’ critical thinking skills

Literacy is not limited to simply being able to read and write. For students to show academic progress, they also need to display a solid comprehension of information, proficiency in the subject, and critical thinking skills.

Studies show that students in the Philippines have struggled with reading comprehension, and do not process written information adequately. The effects of this are evident in society through the many young people who share information on social media without processing or verifying it—a practice that leads to the spread of misinformation.

There is a critical need to deepen students’ literacy and enable them to analyze and scrutinize information objectively. Educational institutions need to build students’ ability to determine the reliability of sources to ensure the integrity of academic research, and review their writing before submission. Leveraging technology solutions can aid in honing and improving Filipino students’ collective critical thinking skills.

Although 97.95 percent of the Philippines is literate, this statistic masks serious deficiencies in reading comprehension skills, as the country has not evolved over the last few decades to meet the information processing requirements of the modern world. This gap in critical literacy contributes to troubling sociopolitical trends today, including the rapid spread of misinformation via social media platforms.

To reverse this trend, education institutions must shift toward instruction that empowers students to analyze, read between the lines, and identify credible sources for their own work.

A recent International Literacy Association survey of educators from 65 countries, including the Philippines, found teachers believe that, “determining effective instructional strategies for struggling readers” and “teaching critical literacy skills and how to analyze source material and authorial intent” are the top ways to improve literacy outcomes. Students who build their reading comprehension and critical literacy skills in the classroom have a stronger foundation for upholding academic integrity in their work—and becoming citizens with the ability to evaluate the reliability of news sources. Achieving this academic integrity requires a mutual commitment to honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage between educators and students.

Educators also need to reinforce the importance of conducting checks of their own work to build a culture of academic integrity in their classrooms.

The first is fact-checking the sources cited in research papers by finding a reliable source that disagrees with the opinion presented in the paper. While the citations may be correct, it is still important for students to fact-check to uncover any weak sources and catch debatable or false information. Spelling and grammar are also important for students to habitually check before submitting papers. While basic word processors and other technologies check for errors, they are not replacements for human analysis and getting another set of eyes to catch mistakes.

Students also need to learn to check the clarity of their writing to ensure that ideas are laid out as simply as possible. The more clearly they can present information, the lower the chance of the information being misconstrued. Finally, teaching students to check papers for plagiarism and ensure that information is not copied from sources before submitting is crucial. There are a number of ways to support this, including the “cleanroom writing” technique which teaches students to clearly separate the writing process from their readings of other people’s work. This will help students be 100-percent sure that carefully cited sources are not copied.

Teaching students these simple steps to check papers before submission can go a long way in reinforcing academic integrity in classrooms. To improve critical literacy in the Philippines, students also need to develop a foundation that will help them analyze online sources and news information confidently. The right mix of technology tools can help both educators and students ensure academic integrity in the classroom, and facilitate deeper reading comprehension among students.

——————

Jack Brazel is Southeast Asia’s head of business partnerships of Turnitin, a US-based education solutions provider.

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Active Learning Strategies to Promote Critical Thinking

Stacy E. Walker, PhD, ATC, provided conception and design; acquisition and analysis and interpretation of the data; and drafting, critical revision, and final approval of the article.

To provide a brief introduction to the definition and disposition to think critically along with active learning strategies to promote critical thinking.

Data Sources:

I searched MEDLINE and Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) from 1933 to 2002 for literature related to critical thinking, the disposition to think critically, questioning, and various critical-thinking pedagogic techniques.

Data Synthesis:

The development of critical thinking has been the topic of many educational articles recently. Numerous instructional methods exist to promote thought and active learning in the classroom, including case studies, discussion methods, written exercises, questioning techniques, and debates. Three methods—questioning, written exercises, and discussion and debates—are highlighted.

Conclusions/Recommendations:

The definition of critical thinking, the disposition to think critically, and different teaching strategies are featured. Although not appropriate for all subject matter and classes, these learning strategies can be used and adapted to facilitate critical thinking and active participation.

The development of critical thinking (CT) has been a focus of educators at every level of education for years. Imagine a certified athletic trainer (ATC) who does not consider all of the injury options when performing an assessment or an ATC who fails to consider using any new rehabilitation techniques because the ones used for years have worked. Envision ATCs who are unable to react calmly during an emergency because, although they designed the emergency action plan, they never practiced it or mentally prepared for an emergency. These are all examples of situations in which ATCs must think critically.

Presently, athletic training educators are teaching many competencies and proficiencies to entry-level athletic training students. As Davies 1 pointed out, CT is needed in clinical decision making because of the many changes occurring in education, technology, and health care reform. Yet little information exists in the athletic training literature regarding CT and methods to promote thought. Fuller, 2 using the Bloom taxonomy, classified learning objectives, written assignments, and examinations as CT and nonCT. Athletic training educators fostered more CT in their learning objectives and written assignments than in examinations. The disposition of athletic training students to think critically exists but is weak. Leaver-Dunn et al 3 concluded that teaching methods that promote the various components of CT should be used. My purpose is to provide a brief introduction to the definition and disposition to think critically along with active learning strategies to promote CT.

DEFINITION OF CRITICAL THINKING

Four commonly referenced definitions of critical thinking are provided in Table ​ Table1. 1 . All of these definitions describe an individual who is actively engaged in the thought process. Not only is this person evaluating, analyzing, and interpreting the information, he or she is also analyzing inferences and assumptions made regarding that information. The use of CT skills such as analysis of inferences and assumptions shows involvement in the CT process. These cognitive skills are employed to form a judgment. Reflective thinking, defined by Dewey 8 as the type of thinking that consists of turning a subject over in the mind and giving it serious and consecutive consideration, can be used to evaluate the quality of judgment(s) made. 9 Unfortunately, not everyone uses CT when solving problems. Therefore, in order to think critically, there must be a certain amount of self-awareness and other characteristics present to enable a person to explain the analysis and interpretation and to evaluate any inferences made.

Various Definitions of Critical Thinking

DISPOSITION TO THINK CRITICALLY

Recently researchers have begun to investigate the relationship between the disposition to think critically and CT skills. Many believe that in order to develop CT skills, the disposition to think critically must be nurtured as well. 4 , 10 – 12 Although research related to the disposition to think critically has recently increased, as far back as 1933 Dewey 8 argued that possession of knowledge is no guarantee for the ability to think well but that an individual must desire to think. Open mindedness, wholeheartedness, and responsibility were 3 of the attitudes he felt were important traits of character to develop the habit of thinking. 8

More recently, the American Philosophical Association Delphi report on critical thinking 7 was released in 1990. This report resulted from a questionnaire regarding CT completed by a cross-disciplinary panel of experts from the United States and Canada. Findings included continued support for the theory that to develop CT, an individual must possess and use certain dispositional characteristics. Based upon the dispositional phrases, the California Critical Thinking Dispositional Inventory 13 was developed. Seven dispositions (Table ​ (Table2) 2 ) were derived from the original 19 published in the Delphi report. 12 It is important to note that these are attitudes or affects, which are sought after in an individual, and not thinking skills. Facione et al 9 purported that a person who thinks critically uses these 7 dispositions to form and make judgments. For example, if an individual is not truth seeking, he or she may not consider other opinions or theories regarding an issue or problem before forming an opinion. A student may possess the knowledge to think critically about an issue, but if these dispositional affects do not work in concert, the student may fail to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize the information to think critically. More research is needed to determine the relationship between CT and the disposition to think critically.

Dispositions to Think Critically 12

METHODS TO PROMOTE CRITICAL THOUGHT

Educators can use various instructional methods to promote CT and problem solving. Although educators value a student who thinks critically about concepts, the spirit or disposition to think critically is, unfortunately, not always present in all students. Many college faculty expect their students to think critically. 14 Some nursing-specific common assumptions made by university nursing teaching faculty are provided 15 (Table ​ (Table3) 3 ) because no similar research exists in athletic training. Espeland and Shanta 16 argued that faculty who select lecture formats as a large part of their teaching strategy may be enabling students. When lecturing, the instructor organizes and presents essential information without student input. This practice eliminates the opportunity for students to decide for themselves what information is important to know. For example, instead of telling our students via lecture what medications could be given to athletes with an upper respiratory infection, they could be assigned to investigate medications and decide which one is appropriate.

Common Assumptions of Nursing Faculty 15

Students need to be exposed to diverse teaching methods that promote CT in order to nurture the CT process. 14 , 17 – 19 As pointed out by Kloss, 20 sometimes students are stuck and unable to understand that various answers exist for one problem. Each ATC has a different method of taping a sprained ankle, performing special tests, and obtaining medical information. Kloss 20 stated that students must be exposed to ambiguity and multiple interpretations and perspectives of a situation or problem in order to stimulate growth. As students move through their clinical experiences, they witness the various methods for taping ankles, performing special tests, and obtaining a thorough history from an injured athlete. Paul and Elder 21 stated that many professors may try to encourage students to learn a body of knowledge by stating that body of knowledge in a sequence of lectures and then asking students to internalize knowledge outside of class on their own time. Not all students possess the thinking skills to analyze and synthesize information without practice. The following 3 sections present information and examples of different teaching techniques to promote CT.

Questioning

An assortment of questioning tactics exists to promote CT. Depending on how a question is asked, the student may use various CT skills such as interpretation, analysis, and recognition of assumptions to form a conclusion. Mills 22 suggested that the thoughtful use of questions may be the quintessential activity of an effective teacher. Questions are only as good as the thought put into them and should go beyond knowledge-level recall. 22 Researchers 23 , 24 have found that often clinical teachers asked significantly more lower-level cognitive questions than higher-level questions. Questions should be designed to promote evaluation and synthesis of facts and concepts. Asking a student to evaluate when proprioception exercises should be included in a rehabilitation program is more challenging than asking a student to define proprioception. Higher-level thinking questions should start or end with words or phrases such as, “explain,” “compare,” “why,” “which is a solution to the problem,” “what is the best and why,” and “do you agree or disagree with this statement?” For example, a student could be asked to compare the use of parachlorophenylalanine versus serotonin for control of posttreatment soreness. Examples of words that can be used to begin questions to challenge at the different levels of the Bloom Taxonomy 25 are given in Table ​ Table4. 4 . The Bloom Taxonomy 25 is a hierarchy of thinking skills that ranges from simple skills, such as knowledge, to complex thinking, such as evaluation. Depending on the initial words used in the question, students can be challenged at different levels of cognition.

Examples of Questions 23

Another type of questioning technique is Socratic questioning. Socratic questioning is defined as a type of questioning that deeply probes or explores the meaning, justification, or logical strength of a claim, position, or line of reasoning. 4 , 26 Questions are asked that investigate assumptions, viewpoints, consequences, and evidence. Questioning methods, such as calling on students who do not have their hands up, can enhance learning by engaging students to think. The Socratic method focuses on clarification. A student's answer to a question can be followed by asking a fellow student to summarize the previous answer. Summarizing the information allows the student to demonstrate whether he or she was listening, had digested the information, and understood it enough to put it into his or her own words. Avoiding questions with one set answer allows for different viewpoints and encourages students to compare problems and approaches. Asking students to explain how the high school and the collegiate or university field experiences are similar and different is an example. There is no right or wrong answer because the answers depend upon the individual student's experiences. 19 Regardless of the answer, the student must think critically about the topic to form a conclusion of how the field experiences are different and similar.

In addition to using these questioning techniques, it is equally important to orient the students to this type of classroom interaction. Mills 22 suggested that provocative questions should be brief and contain only one or two issues at a time for class reflection. It is also important to provide deliberate silence, or “wait” time, for students upon asking questions. 22 , 27 Waiting at least 5 seconds allows the students to think and encourages thought. Elliot 18 argued that waiting even as long as 10 seconds allows the students time to think about possibilities. If a thought question is asked, time must be given for the students to think about the answer.

Classroom Discussion and Debates

Classroom discussion and debates can promote critical thinking. Various techniques are available. Bernstein 28 developed a negotiation model in which students were confronted with credible but antagonistic arguments. Students were challenged to deal with the tension between the two arguments. This tension is believed to be one component driving critical thought. Controversial issues in psychology, such as animal rights and pornography, were presented and discussed. Students responded favorably and, as the class progressed over time, they reported being more comfortable arguing both sides of an issue. In athletic training education, a negotiation model could be employed to discuss certain topics, such as the use of heat versus ice or the use of ultrasound versus electric stimulation in the treatment of an injury. Students could be assigned to defend the use of a certain treatment. Another strategy to promote students to seek both sides of an issue is pro and con grids. 29 Students create grids with the pros and cons or advantages or disadvantages of an issue or treatment. Debate was used to promote CT in second-year medical students. 30 After debating, students reported improvements in literature searching, weighing risks and benefits of treatments, and making evidence-based decisions. Regardless of the teaching methods used, students should be exposed to analyzing the costs and benefits of issues, problems, and treatments to help prepare them for real-life decision making.

Observing the reasoning skills of another person was used by Galotti 31 to promote CT. Students were paired, and 4 reasoning tasks were administered. As the tasks were administered, students were told to talk aloud through the reasoning process of their decisions. Students who were observing were to write down key phrases and statements. This same process can be used in an injury-evaluation class. One student performs an evaluation while the others in the class observe. Classroom discussion can then follow. Another alternative is to divide students into pairs. One student performs an evaluation while the other observes. After the evaluation is completed, the students discuss with each other the evaluation (Table ​ (Table5 5 presents examples). Another option is to have athletic training students observe a student peer or ATC during a field evaluation of an athlete. While observing, the student can write down any questions or topics to discuss after the evaluation, providing the student an opportunity to ask why certain evaluation methods were and were not used.

Postevaluation Questions

Daily newspaper clippings directly related to current classroom content also allow an instructor to incorporate discussion into the classroom. 32 For example, an athlete who has been reported to have died as a result of heat illness could provide subject matter for classroom discussion or various written assignments. Such news also affords the instructor an opportunity to discuss the affective components involved. Students could be asked to step into the role of the ATC and think about the reported implications of this death from different perspectives. They could also list any assumptions made by the article or follow-up questions they would ask if they could interview the persons involved. This provides a forum to enlighten students to think for themselves and realize that not each person in the room perceives the article the same way. Whatever the approach taken, investigators and educators agree that assignments and arguments are useful to promote thought among students.

Written Assignments

In-class and out-of-class assignments can also serve as powerful vehicles to allow students to expand their thinking processes. Emig 33 believed that involving students in writing serves their learning uniquely because writing, as process and product, possesses a cluster of attributes that correspond uniquely to certain powerful learning strategies. As a general rule, assignments for the purpose of promoting thought should be short (not long term papers) and focus on the aspect of thinking. 19 Research or 1-topic papers may or may not be a student's own thoughts, and Meyers 32 argued that term papers often prove to be exercises in recapitulating the thoughts of others.

Allegretti and Frederick 34 used a variety of cases from a book to promote CT regarding different ethical issues. Countless case-study situations can be created to allow students to practice managing situations and assess clinical decision making. For example, after reading the National Athletic Trainers' Association position statement on lightning, a student can be asked to address the following scenario: “Explain how you would handle a situation in which a coach has kept athletes outside practicing unsafely. What information would you use from this statement to explain your concerns? Explain why you picked the specific concerns.” These questions can be answered individually or in small groups and then discussed in class. The students will pick different concerns based on their thinking. This variety in answers is not only one way to show that no answer is right or wrong but also allows students to defend their answers to peers. Questions posed on listservs are excellent avenues to enrich a student's education. Using these real-life questions, students read about real issues and concerns of ATCs. These topics present excellent opportunities to pose questions to senior-level athletic training students to examine how they would handle the situation. This provides the students a safe place to analyze the problem and form a decision. Once the students make a decision, additional factors, assumptions, and inferences can be discussed by having all students share the solution they chose.

Lantz and Meyers 35 used personification and assigned students to assume the character of a drug. Students were to relate themselves to the drug, in the belief that drugs exhibit many unique characteristics, such as belonging to a family, interaction problems, adverse reactions, and so forth. The development of analogies comes from experience and comparing one theory or scenario to another with strong similarities.

Fopma-Loy and Ulrich 36 identified various CT classroom exercises educators can implement to promote higher-order thought (Table ​ (Table6). 6 ). Many incorporate a personal reaction from the student and allow the student to link that learning to his or her feelings. This personal reaction of feelings to cognitive information is important to show the relevance of material.

Exercises to Promote Critical Thought 36

Last, poems are another avenue that can be used to promote CT. 20 Although poems are widely thought of as an assignment in an English class, athletic training students may benefit from this creative writing activity. The focus of this type of homework activity should be on reviewing content creatively. The lines of the poem need not rhyme as long as appropriate content is explained in the poem. For example, a poem on the knee could be required to include signs, symptoms, and anatomical content of one injury or various injuries. A poem on head injuries could focus on the different types of history questions that should be asked. Students should understand that the focus of the assignment is a creative review of the material and not a test of their poetic qualities. The instructor should complete a poem as well. To break the ice, the instructor's poem can be read first, followed by a student volunteering to read his or her poem.

CONCLUSIONS

Regardless of the methods used to promote CT, care must be taken to consider the many factors that may inhibit a student from thinking critically. The student's disposition to think critically is a major factor, and if a deficit in a disposition is noticed, this should be nurtured. Students should be encouraged to be inquisitive, ask questions, and not believe and accept everything they are told. As pointed out by Loving and Wilson 14 and Oermann, 19 thought develops with practice and evaluation over time using multiple strategies. Additionally, faculty should be aware of their course goals and learning objectives. If these goals and objectives are stated as higher-order thought outcomes, then activities that promote CT should be included in classroom activities and assignments. 14 Finally, it is important that CT skills be encouraged and reinforced in all classes by teaching faculty, not only at the college level but at every level of education. Although huge gains in CT may not be reflected in all college students, we can still plant the seed and encourage students to use their thinking abilities in the hope these will grow over time.

Critical Thinking Is All About “Connecting the Dots”

Why memory is the missing piece in teaching critical thinking..

Updated July 17, 2024 | Reviewed by Monica Vilhauer

• Critical thinking requires us to simultaneously analyze and interpret different pieces of information.
• To effectively interpret information, one must first be able to remember it.
• With technology reducing our memory skills, we must work on strengthening them.

I have a couple of questions for my regular (or semi-regular) readers, touching on a topic I’ve discussed many times on this blog. When it comes to power, persuasion , and influence, why is critical thinking so crucial? Alternatively, what are some common traps and pitfalls for those who prioritize critical thinking? It's not necessary that you go in to great detail—just any vague or general information that comes to mind will do.

Great! Regardless of whether you recalled anything specific, the key is you made the effort to remember something. Like many questions I pose here, the real purpose is to illustrate a point. If you aim to be influential and persuasive—i.e., successful—in both work and life, you must be proficient in critical thinking. To achieve this proficiency, you need to cultivate and exercise your memory , a skill that is increasingly at risk in a technology-saturated age.

Remembering Is the Foundation of Knowing

Learning and remembering something are often discussed as if they are two separate processes, but they are inextricably linked . Consider this: Everything you know now is something you once had to learn, from basic facts to complex knowledge and skills. Retaining this information as actual knowledge, rather than fleeting stimuli, depends entirely on memory. Without memory, there is no knowledge. Consequently, there can be no critical thinking, as it relies on prior knowledge, which in turn relies on memory.

Students sometimes tell me that they want to learn how to be good critical thinkers but complain about having to “memorize stuff.” On these occasions I will often say, in a playfully teasing manner, “What I hear you saying is that you're bothered by having to remember stuff.” This usually helps them see how silly and unreasonable it is to complain about memorizing information, as there isn’t a single course in existence that doesn’t require remembering something . The ability to remember is at the core of critical thinking, and I often use the simple visual demonstration that follows to illustrate this point.

Collecting Dots and Connecting the Dots

Benjamin Bloom, an educational psychologist, developed a model known as the “Taxonomy of Learning.” Originally intended for educational psychology, this model also highlights why memory is the foundation of critical thinking—or any kind of thinking at all.

Humans are creatures of interpretation, constantly processing the information we perceive. This ability has made us the scientists, inventors, and artists that we are today. To interpret information, however, we must first remember it—not all information, obviously, as that’s impossible. Thanks to technology (which we’ll get to momentarily) we have vast amounts of information potentially at our fingertips. But how do you know what information to look up in a given situation? To know where to start and avoid endlessly searching irrelevant data, you need to remember enough of the right kind of information.

Think of a crime movie where an investigator, while reviewing evidence, suddenly has an epiphany and rushes off to confirm their hunch. These scenes illustrate that while the investigator needs more information, they remember enough to know what to search for.

Here’s a visual demonstration I use in class to help my students understand. Imagine you have pieces of information represented as five dots:

Now let’s say that any coherent shape or picture you can draw using these dots is an interpretation of the information. When examined together, what might these five dots mean? Here’s one way to connect the dots.

What does this shape represent? Many people will quickly say it’s a house, a common and reasonable interpretation. But not everyone sees it as a house. Some might say it’s the home plate used in baseball. Even when people connect the dots (i.e., interpret a cluster of information) the same way using the same lines, they don’t necessarily interpret the picture the same way. The situation becomes more complex when people connect the dots differently, creating a completely different shape or picture.

Now, having connected the dots differently, instead of a house, we have a star. Or at least some would consider it a star; others might say it’s an occult or magic symbol—these are all very different interpretations. This shows that with the same pieces of information, people can “connect the dots” differently, and even when they connect them the same way, they see different things.

Now what happens when additional information is added or an alleged “missing dot” is perceived by others?

With just one additional dot, what could have previously been interpreted as a 5-pointed star can now be reasonably interpreted as the Star of David.

Finally, sometimes the additional information can lead to a completely different shape or image, resulting in a “eureka” moment of insight. What previously appeared as different types of stars now looks like a circle.

I use this classroom demonstration to illustrate how people can interpret the same objective information in highly subjective ways, creating different narratives for themselves and others. This is a crucial point to remember when aiming to influence or persuade others—i.e., the need to see things from their perspective. Additionally, this activity powerfully underscores the importance of “collecting dots”—that is, the importance of remembering crucial bits of information. Without enough such dots, you lack the basic information needed to form meaningful ideas. Without meaningful ideas, you can’t think critically, influence, or persuade. It’s as straightforward as that.

Memory in the Age of Omnipresent Technology

Why is it so crucial to recognize that memory is foundational to critical thinking, power, influence, and persuasion? Partly because this fact isn’t widely acknowledged—and it needs to be. Additionally, we live in an era where memory is under unprecedented assault. While technology allows us to achieve remarkable feats unimaginable to previous generations, it comes at a cost. One such cost is “digital-induced amnesia,” where our memory capabilities atrophy due to information overload and technology taking over many of the cognitive tasks we used to perform ourselves.

Memory doesn’t exist in isolation. It’s closely tied to traits like the ability to focus and pay attention . If you’re not paying attention, you can’t absorb the information that you want or need to remember. Unfortunately, technology also impacts our ability to focus , and this doesn’t even touch on the dramatic ways AI ’s explosive development might undermine our thinking skills .

This article won’t delve into specifics on improving focus and memory in an age of tech ubiquity. Fortunately, resources from Psychology Today can help with that. My goal here is to convince you why memory is so vital for anyone who wishes to be a critical thinker and a persuasive, influential person. Now you know. Whether you’ll remember or not...only time will tell.

Craig Barkacs, MBA, JD, is a professor of business law at the University of San Diego School of Business and a trial lawyer with three decades of experience as an attorney in high-profile cases.

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Analysis of the contribution of critical thinking and psychological well-being to academic performance.

• 1 Faculty of Human Sciences, Universidad Icesi, Cali, Colombia
• 2 Department of Basic Psychology, Psychobiology and Methodology of Behavioral Sciences, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
• 3 Psychology Research Centre (CIPsi/UM), Department of Basic Psychology, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

This study examines the influence of critical thinking and psychological well-being on the academic performance of first-year college students. It emphasizes the importance of a model of psychological well-being focused on self-acceptance, environmental mastery and purpose in life, along with a critical thinking approach oriented to problem solving and decision making. A total of 128 first-year psychology students from a Spanish public university participated, assessed by means of Ryff’s psychological well-being scale (PWBS) and the PENCRISAL critical thinking test, complemented with grades obtained in a critical thinking course. The results show positive correlations between psychological well-being, critical thinking and academic performance, with a stronger relationship between critical thinking and academic performance. However, psychological well-being also plays a significant role in academic performance. The findings highlight the need for holistic pedagogical approaches that combine cognitive skills and personal development to enhance first-year students’ learning.

1 Introduction

In the context of the increasing demands of contemporary societies, in this study we address how critical thinking (CT) and psychological well-being (PWB) influence academic performance within the university setting. Upon entering university, first-year students are faced with the challenge of adapting to new academic dynamics and demands, which they must balance with the pursuit of personal satisfaction ( Acee et al., 2012 ; Casanova et al., 2018 ). The adaptation process, which involves the achievement of academic goals and the projection of long-term life objectives, is fundamental to academic performance, considered a key indicator of successful adaptation and a reflection of the competencies required in the professional environment ( Alonso-Borrego and Romero-Medina, 2016 ; Frick and Maihaus, 2016 ).

The goal of this research is to show the link between CT, which is characterized by analyzing and evaluating information, making evidence-based inferences, and reflecting on one’s own thought process for decision making and problem solving ( Bailin et al., 1999 ; Ennis, 2015 ; Jahn and Kenner, 2018 ; Saiz, 2020 ; Halpern and Dunn, 2023 ), and the PWB, which focuses on personal development ( Ryff, 1989 , 2013 ; Ryff and Keyes, 1995 ); and analyze how both contribute to academic performance. Despite the complexity of the factors that can influence academic performance, in this study we want to combine cognitive and socio-affective variables to better understand these dynamics. Based on The Ryff Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWBS), we examine how well-being, especially through self-acceptance, environmental mastery, and purpose in life impacts academic performance. As a starting point we recognize that CT may have an even greater effect on academic performance. This holistic approach seeks to contribute to the debate on the competencies needed for the 21st century through the relevance of CT and PWB in university education and their role in the formation of individuals capable of coping with contemporary demands.

1.1 Contextualization and characterization of academic performance

In the university context, academic performance is influenced by a series of factors ranging from pedagogical practices and student satisfaction with them to more personal and intrinsic elements. These include the student’s motivation and emotional state, academic background, IQ, personality traits and level of psychological maturity. This multi-layered approach focuses the complexity underlying academic performance and emphasizes the interaction between the educational environment and the individual qualities of each student.

A study by Oliván Blázquez et al. (2019) highlights the flipped classroom (FC) method in comparison to traditional lecture-based learning (LB) and shows that FC not only improves students’ grades, but also maintains their satisfaction with learning without increasing their perceived workload. Although FC was initially perceived as more difficult, this did not have a negative impact on satisfaction or long-term learning, underscoring the importance of student perceptions and involvement in the learning process. These results support the introduction of FC in higher education and point to the need for continuous adjustments based on student feedback to maximize academic performance and develop critical and practical skills.

Beyond educational practices, Gilar-Corbi et al. (2020) investigated how motivational and emotional factors and prior academic performance influence college students’ success. The study used the Motivated Strategies Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) and the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS) to measure motivational learning strategies and emotional intelligence. The findings show that scores obtained in the diagnostic tests have a strong influence on academic performance, while emotional attention has a minor influence. The study points out that prior performance, together with self-efficacy and appropriate emotional regulation, plays a crucial role in predicting academic success. Thus, the authors suggest that interventions focused on improving self-efficacy and emotional intelligence may be key to optimizing students’ academic outcomes.

In the same context, this time with more variables, Morales-Vives et al. (2020) investigate the influence of intelligence, psychological maturity and personality traits on the academic performance of adolescents, and find that these factors combined explain about 30% of their variability. Intelligence, especially in reasoning and numerical aptitude, emerges as the most significant predictor, while psychological maturity, reflected in work orientation, and traits such as conscientiousness and openness to experience, have an indirect influence. These findings show that, although intelligence plays a decisive role, maturity and personality are in a lesser proportion.

These conclusions and the recommendations derived from them resemble recent advances in academic research. One example is the work of Mammadov (2022) , which draws attention to cognitive ability as the main predictor of academic performance, but also points to the relevance of conscientiousness, a personality trait associated with self-discipline and organization, which explains a significant part of the variability in academic performance. Mammadov also suggests that the influence of personality on performance varies by educational level, showing the dynamics between a student’s personality and his or her educational context. These findings demonstrate the need for educational strategies that promote both cognitive development and the reinforcement of positive personality traits.

Recent research on academic performance shows two consensuses. First, there is a growing understanding of the influence of the interaction between intrinsic and extrinsic factors, including pedagogical methods and motivational, emotional and cognitive elements, in improving the performance and satisfaction of students in higher education. The studies reviewed highlight the relevance of cognitive ability and personality traits such as consciousness, and promote a holistic educational approach that integrates the development of cognitive and personality dimensions. Second, academic achievement is recognized as a multidimensional construct, objectively assessed through quantitative indicators such as grade point average (GPA) and standardized assessment scores. These reflect the attainment of educational objectives and the accumulation of knowledge and skills over time.

1.2 Contextualization and characterization of critical thinking

Halpern (1998 ) argues that intrinsic effort and a willingness to analyze and solve complex problems are key competencies for learning and adapting to a constantly changing environment. According to Halpern (1998) CT transcends the mere acquisition of analytical skills and requires the development of an active predisposition to question assumptions, consider diverse perspectives, and persist in cognitive effort. This disposition is by no means innate, but can be cultivated through a pedagogy that explicitly integrates the teaching of critical skills such as logical analysis, argument evaluation, and information synthesis, and that emphasizes problem structuring to facilitate skill transfer and metacognitive self-regulation. Halpern proposes an educational framework that promotes the acquisition of these skills and encourages reflection on the thinking process so that students are able to apply CT effectively in diverse contexts and continuously improve. This methodical and structured approach characterizes CT as a set of advanced cognitive skills and an exercise of conscious judgment that is essential for informed, evidence-based decision making, which integrates non-cognitive elements ( Halpern and Dunn, 2023 ).

Throughout the development of the discourse on CT, various theories and their empirical foundations have evolved into meaningful educational practices, recognized in diverse academic settings. Meta-analyses, particularly those by Abrami et al. (2008 , 2015) have contributed significantly to the understanding of effective teaching of CT and have emphasized the need for specific and tailored teaching strategies that incorporate clear CT objectives into educational programs. These studies demonstrate that CT, defined as a process of intentional, self-regulated judgment that includes interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and inference, is increasingly recognized as essential in the knowledge era. Abrami et al. (2008) note that critical skills and dispositions are developed through explicit pedagogical interventions, as opposed to spontaneous acquisition, which challenges traditional pedagogical paradigms and fosters a shift towards intentional educational practices, placing students at the center of learning.

In addition, a more detailed analysis by Abrami et al. (2015) identifies that strategies that encourage interactive dialogue, confrontation with real problems, and individual tutorials are particularly effective. This suggests that active and meaningful learning outperforms traditional methods in the development of critical skills. This approach not only enhances students’ analytical and synthesis skills, but also facilitates the transfer of knowledge to new contexts, a key skill for the 21st century. The research reinforces the view that CT is a cross-cutting competency, crucial for navigating the complexity of contemporary challenges, and argues for an education that integrates these skills into all areas of learning.

Despite in-depth analyses of the need for CT, the growing discrepancy between rapid progress, the availability of information and the ability to critically analyze it poses a major challenge. Dwyer et al. (2014) point out that the exponential increase in global information has outpaced the ability of traditional education systems to teach effective CT skills, creating a gap that may inadequately prepare students for the challenges of today’s world. The authors argue that the ability to critically evaluate, synthesize, and apply knowledge is crucial for academic success and survival in the 21st century. This approach highlights how CT, by fostering analytical and reflective skills, transcends academia to positively impact individual and collective well-being, and argues for educational strategies that bridge the gap between information acquisition and critical analytical skills.

Recent research on this topic points to the indisputable relevance of CT as an essential component of academic performance and points to its role as a key predictor of success in educational processes. Rivas et al. (2023) show that CT transcends conventional cognitive skills. This is because CT is characterized as a rigorous practice that fosters in-depth analysis, critical evaluation and synthesis of information oriented to decision making and problem solving, fundamental skills to understand and apply knowledge in complex contexts. Research shows that CT skills not only maintain a positive correlation with academic performance, but can be significantly improved through targeted educational programs. For this reason, the authors advocate their integration into curricula and educational assessment systems to prepare students for the challenges of the 21st century, especially when phenomena such as artificial intelligence acquire greater prominence in social and professional dynamics ( Saiz and Rivas, 2023 ).

The literature on CT identifies two fundamental consensuses: first, it defines it as an intentional and deep process, oriented to problem solving and decision making, based on meticulous analysis that goes beyond logical reasoning to include a critical evaluation of the basis for judgments. In addition, it involves detailed scrutiny and integration of new information in changing contexts, as well as metacognition, i.e., conscious self-regulation of thinking that facilitates adaptation and continuous improvement of cognitive strategies in accordance with the major demands and obstacles of our first half century ( Dwyer, 2023 ). In its practical application, CT enables daily challenges to be met through informed judgments and a willingness to question and adjust perspectives in response to new information. Characterized by curiosity and adaptability, CT is essential for making responsible decisions and achieving successful outcomes, underscoring its practical value in both personal and professional settings.

Second, CT, beyond its theoretical value, can be conceived as a key theory of action for academic performance and PWB ( Saiz, 2020 ; Saiz and Rivas, 2023 ), by enhancing in individuals the ability to face and solve problems in an effective and grounded manner. CT involves crucial skills such as analysis, evaluation and synthesis, indispensable for acquiring and retaining knowledge, and also for applying it in new contexts, which improves academic performance and has, in principle, positive effects on quality of life. Thus, CT emerges as an academic competence and an essential tool for everyday life ( Dumitru and Halpern, 2023 ; Guamanga et al., 2023 ). Therefore, to synthesize theoretical paths with a practical function, we understand that “to think critically is to arrive at the best explanation of a fact, phenomenon or problem in order to know how to solve it effectively” ( Saiz, 2024 , p. 19).

1.3 Contextualization and characterization of psychological well-being

The task of relating concepts that are difficult to operationalize, such as well-being, is a major challenge; but it is necessary to approach it, more within a framework of CT understood as a means to achieve broad objectives than as an end in itself. Thinking critically transcends the mere application of skills or the accumulation of goal-oriented knowledge. In fact, it requires a detailed examination of the effect that such management has on the environment and how the satisfaction derived from reaching certain achievements is related to subjective aspects.

CT by its very deliberative and goal-oriented nature goes beyond the search for how to reach effective solutions and addresses a wider range of human and social consequences resulting from these actions ( Facione, 1990 ; Elder, 1997 ; Jahn, 2019 ). The idea is to involve non-cognitive aspects that occupy a central place in academia, and that are crucial in the interaction between specific knowledge and skills, elements widely explored in the discourse of CT. In this sense, PWB has been selected as the focus of study, recognizing it as a desirable attribute in educational processes. The challenges this poses are not lost sight of, especially when it comes to quantifying transient, subjective and normatively mediated judgments about what states or conditions are considered good, healthy or desirable in the complexity of human experience, as detailed by Flanagan et al. (2023) .

Ryff (1989 , 2013) , Ryff and Keyes (1995) contribution to the conceptual understanding and dissemination of PWB is notorious and highly valued in different fields of knowledge ( Van Dierendonck and Lam, 2023 ). The imprint of his research has been marked by criticism of a reductionist conception of PWB that simplifies well-being to the presence of positive affective states ( Ryff, 1989 ). Consequently, Ryff defends a much more complex multidimensional concept that seeks to attune the attainment of goals with the development of potentialities. Ryff’s thesis is that PWB is a multidimensional construct that transcends happiness or mere life satisfaction ( Ryff and Keyes, 1995 ).

Carol Ryff’s theory of PWB, based on humanistic, clinical and developmental psychology, as well as Aristotelian eudaimonia, focuses on self-actualization, the search for meaning and purpose in life as the core of well-being. As detailed in the text Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being ( Ryff, 1989 ) the model consists of six dimensions that converge in personal development: autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations with others, purpose in life, and self-acceptance.

The first dimension, self-acceptance, implies a positive attitude towards oneself and an acceptance of all aspects of one’s identity, including both positive and negative qualities. As for positive relationships with others, Ryff states that these are interpersonal relationships characterized by warmth, trust and genuine concern for the well-being of others; this dimension is dominated by the value of empathy in human well-being. Autonomy is defined by an individual’s capacity to maintain independence and resist social pressures in order to regulate their behavior according to internal personal norms. This dimension emphasizes self-determination as a compass for the pursuit of well-being. On the other hand, environmental mastery emphasizes the ability to effectively manage and control the external environment, which implies a feeling of competence and control over personal and professional life. Finally, purpose in life and personal growth refer to the possession of goals, direction and a sense of development and fulfillment of one’s potential. These dimensions reflect the search for meaning and continuous personal evolution as fundamental components of PWB.

Ryff’s PWBS has established itself as a key instrument in positive psychology. Research after 1989 ( Ryff and Keyes, 1995 ; Ryff, 2013 ) has explored the variability of these dimensions with age and across genders. These studies showed the influence of sociodemographic factors on well-being, so the model has been extended to consider the development of PWB across the lifespan and determined by more contextual factors such as health. The approach enriches the understanding of PWB and denotes the practical relevance of the construct in fields such as mental health and social policy. Ryff’s work has inspired other researchers to discuss and extend its principles ( Van Dierendonck and Lam, 2023 ). For example, Huppert (2009) complements Ryff’s dimensions by emphasizing the management of negative emotions and resilience as key components of sustainable well-being; Huppert aligns this view with the World Health Organization (WHO) definition of health and adds a dynamic dimension on overcoming adversity. This theoretical and practical deepening demonstrates the robustness and adaptability of Ryff’s model. The synthesis of these contributions confirms the value and applicability of Ryff’s PWBS; they reveal how the eudaemonic model not only reinforces an academic discourse, but also guides practices that promote well-being in different contexts and consolidates itself as a vital field in human development.

However, due to the same complexity and extension of the PWB construct, Ryff’s PWBS has different observations that question its theoretical and statistical foundations. On the first aspect, the work of Disabato et al. (2016) , by examining the distinction between hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, problematizes the theoretical basis of this dichotomy. Through an analysis incorporating data from 7,617 individuals from 109 countries, the authors find that there is no clear distinction between hedonic well-being experiences, focused on pleasure, and eudaimonic ones, related to personal fulfillment. The results indicate a high correlation between the two types of well-being ( r  = 0.96). This suggests that people do not significantly differentiate between pleasure seeking and self-fulfillment in their perception of well-being. This implies that the hedonic-eudaimonic dichotomy may not hold empirically and, therefore, a unified model of well-being that reflects the current behavioral dynamics should be sought.

From a statistical perspective, Ryff and Keyes (1995) analyses show that the PWBS, composed of 18 items, meets psychometric criteria and shows strong internal and moderate correlations among different scales. Correlations between dimensions range from low to modest (0.13 to 0.46), suggesting that each dimension addresses unique aspects of well-being. From the theoretical model, this diversity underscores that, although interrelated, the dimensions represent unique aspects of psychological well-being. In terms of specific results, studies indicate that with age the dimensions of environmental mastery and autonomy increase, while purpose in life and personal growth tend to decrease, with no significant changes in self-acceptance and positive relationships with others. Women outperform men on positive relationships with others and personal growth, suggesting that changes in these dimensions reflect evolving priorities and perceptions of personal development across the life span ( Ryff and Keyes, 1995 ).

On the number of dimensions of PWBS, Blasco-Belled and Alsinet (2022) note that the six-dimensional theoretical model has generated debate even among experts in the field. Some suggest that a four-dimensional model-environmental mastery, personal growth, purpose in life, and self-acceptance-might represent a second-order PWB factor, indicating a possible conceptual overlap between Ryff’s original dimensions; others exclude positive relationships with others and autonomy from the model. The study of Ryff’s PWBS by network analysis conducted by Blasco-Belled and Alsinet (2022) shows four different dimensions, in one of these, the most important node of the network, self-acceptance, purpose in life and environmental mastery are grouped, with special emphasis on self-acceptance because of its centrality in the network at the item level.

In the Spanish-speaking context, Nogueira et al. (2023) identified three main factors: autonomy, positive relationships with others, and competence. This suggests that PWBS may vary according to cultural and contextual factors. Furthermore, although it is not a study analyzing the dimensions of Ryff’s PWBS, the study by Páez-Gallego et al. (2020) applied the PWBS to Spanish adolescent students and found a strong positive correlation with the use of adaptive decision-making strategies. Specifically, the findings show that the adaptive approach is significantly associated with improvements in self-acceptance, environmental mastery, and purpose in life. In contrast, maladaptive strategies characterized by impulsivity and avoidance are associated with lower PWB. From this we infer that fostering effective decision-making skills is important for well-being and, in particular, we identify from empirical studies the dimensions of PWBS that correlate with post decisional skills.

Taken together, these findings suggest that Ryff’s PWBS, although pioneering and widely used, could benefit from revision to more accurately reflect the structure of PWB and its application in diverse cultural and educational contexts. The convergence of evidence from factorial and network analysis perspectives points to the need for a more integrated and adaptive model capable of capturing the complexity and dynamics of the underlying constructs. This underscores the continuing interest in PWB in research and practice. It is also an indication of the ongoing scholarly debate about its conceptualization and measurement. The recurrence of dimensions such as self-acceptance, environmental mastery, and purpose in life across analyses suggests a common core of PWB. This raises the question of whether these dimensions can be conceptually aligned with academic achievement and CT. In addition, questioning the boundaries between hedonic and eudaimonic raises the issue of whether a broader construct is needed to analyze well-being in educational settings. In this context, we start from the premise that self-acceptance, environmental mastery, and purpose in life are sufficient to explore college students’ PWB. These dimensions reflect students’ ability to recognize their strengths and weaknesses, set goals, and navigate effectively in their educational environment, aspects that could be considered part of the dispositional component necessary for the development of higher-level competencies such as those of the CT.

The research brings to empirical analysis the complex interplay between CT, PWB, and academic performance in the university context. We seek to answer how CT skills and PWB influence college students’ academic performance; and, how CT practices can be aligned with PWB to improve academic performance. We propose that the study variables converge in both a theoretical and an empirical model. The argumentative strategy consists of analyzing the direct impact of CT on academic performance, assessing whether PWB correlates with better academic outcomes, examining in detail the predictive factor of the relationship between CT and PWB on academic performance, and finally, according to the data obtained, proposing some dialogic bridges between cognitive and non-cognitive aspects of CT.

2 Methodology

2.1 participants.

The study involved 128 first-year psychology students from a Spanish public university. The vast majority were women (83.1%), with only 16.9% men, which is usual in social sciences and humanities degrees. Age ranged from 18 to 33 years, with a mean of 19.28 (SD = 1.73). The sample was essentially composed of students who had completed secondary education (75.3% of the students were 19 years old). Between the ages of the students according to sex — females ( M  = 19.09, SD = 0.814) and males ( M  = 20.20, SD = 3.78) — there were no statistical differences, but the age of the males was not only higher, but also more dispersed.

2.2 Instruments

The instruments applied were Ryff’s PWBS in its Spanish adaptation ( Díaz et al., 2006 ) and the PENCRISAL critical thinking test ( Saiz and Rivas, 2008 ; Rivas and Saiz, 2012 ). For academic performance, the academic records of the students participating in the critical thinking course in the first year of the psychology graduation were collected. The grades have an ascending interval from 1 to 10.

Ryff’s PWBS as mentioned in the previous discussion has different models. This instrument aims to measure psychological well-being, focusing on students’ own evaluations of their situations and perceived success in various aspects of life and personal development. It explores well-being through six main dimensions, self-acceptance (α: 0.83), positive relationships with others (α: 0.81), environmental mastery (α: 0.71), autonomy (α: 0.73), purpose in life (α: 0.83) and personal growth (α: 0.68). The questionnaire consists of 39 items, presented in a Likert scale format ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree) ( Díaz et al., 2006 ).

Consistent with the complexity of the scale and some data in common with other studies, we have chosen to consider only self-acceptance, environmental mastery and purpose in life. In support of this methodological decision, we have performed with our sample an exploratory factor analysis (principal components method) to see if these three dimensions converge in the same factor. The data confirm this convergence and show that this single factor has an eigenvalue of 2.43 and explains a very high value of the variance of its results (81.1%).

In the case of the PENCRISAL, the full version was applied, and the score was taken for each of the five dimensions and the total score. The PENCRISAL was applied to measure CT skills. This test consists of 35 problem situations that participants answer in an open-response format. The test is organized into five key areas: deductive reasoning, inductive reasoning, practical reasoning, decision making and problem solving.

The deductive and inductive component tests different forms of reasoning, such as propositional, categorical, causal, analogical and hypothetical. Decision-making measures the ability to make probabilistic judgments and to effectively use heuristics to identify potential biases. The problem-solving section poses participants with general and specific problems that require appropriate solution strategies. These sections are intended to encourage the application of strategies necessary for effective problem planning. The open-ended question format encourages participants to justify their answers, which are evaluated using a scoring system that rates the quality of their responses on a scale of 0 to 2. Responses are converted into numerical scores using item-specific criteria. These are used to describe and identify the thinking mechanisms underlying each response. A score of 0 indicates that the answer is incorrect, 1 indicates that the answer is correct but no or inadequate justification is provided, and 2 indicates that the answer is correct and adequate justification is provided. The PENCRISAL yields an overall score of the CT ranging between 0 and 70 and between 0 and 14 for each dimension. Reliability assessments show satisfactory accuracy, with a minimum Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.632 and a test–retest reliability of 0.786 ( Rivas and Saiz, 2012 ). The test is administered online through the SelectSurvey.NET V5 platform.

2.3 Procedures

Students gave their free and informed consent to participate in the study. The PWBS was carried out at the beginning of the semester of the CT course. The PENCRISAL test was taken at the beginning and at the end of the academic period. Only the results of students who completed both instruments are considered. Academic performance is represented by the grade obtained by students at the end of the course. Statistical analyses were performed with IBM/SPSS version 29.0. After performing the descriptive statistics, we proceeded to a correlation analysis and, finally, we evaluated the impact of the PWBS and the CT on the variance of academic performance by performing a regression analysis.

Table 1 presents the descriptive data of the students’ scores on the two instruments applied, and the measure of academic performance. In addition to the minimum and maximum values, the mean, standard deviation and indicators of skewness and kurtosis of the distribution of the results are presented.

Table 1 . Descriptive statistics for the measures used ( n  = 128).

Observing the results, we can see a distribution with a slight tendency towards values above the mean (m = 79.80) for the PWBS, which is reflected in a negative skewness (−0.437). With respect to the five dimensions of CT, it can be stated globally that the mean value of DR, IR and PS is moving away from the maximum value observed and towards the minimum value, which represents a positive symmetry. The opposite situation occurs with the RP dimension. Regarding the TCT, the data show a tendency to scores around the mean (m = 37.21), as can be deduced from the residual values of skewness and kurtosis. Regarding the AP, the data suggest a balanced distribution of academic scores around an intermediate value between 3.66 and 9.01 as scores at the lower and upper extremes (m = 6.10), with very low skewness and kurtosis.

In general, the results show good variability or dispersion, since the mean of each variable is located in the center of the data interval, which is desirable in research to adequately represent the population studied. Skewness and kurtosis indices close to zero for academic achievement are especially indicative of a normal or Gaussian distribution of values. The slightly higher kurtosis in the IR dimension of CT (2.248) is still acceptable.

Table 2 shows the correlations between the variables in this study. Since these were interval metric variables, Pearson’s product x moment method was used to calculate the correlations. For statistical significance, the two-tailed test was used and p  < 0.05 was set as the limit of significance.

Table 2 . Correlations between study variables.

According to the data, the highest correlation is found between TCT and AP, with the lowest correlation being between CT and PWBS measurement (no correlation). At an intermediate level is the correlation between PWBS and AP. Likewise, all the dimensions of the CT correlate with the AP with values between 0.183 (PS) and 0.337 (PR). As can be seen, there are variations in the correlations among the five dimensions of the CT, but all have high correlations with the total score (between 0.502 and 0.668). In this sense, only the TCT score is used for the regression statistical analysis.

In summary, the data suggest that there is a significant and positive relationship between PWBS and AP, as well as an even stronger and more significant relationship between TCT and AP. There is no evidence of a significant relationship between PWBS and TCT. To further explore the relationships between cognitive and noncognitive variables in AP, we turned to a regression analysis. We opted for a linear regression with PWBS and TCT as predictors and AP as the criterion or dependent variable. Table 3 presents the regression values obtained.

Table 3 . Impact of psychological well-being and critical thinking on academic performance.

The regression model was found to be statistically significant, with an F -value (2, 88) = 18.571, p  < 0.001. This indicates that, collectively, PWBS and TCT provide significant prediction of AP. The coefficient of determination (R 2 adj.) is 0.285, which means that approximately 30% of the variability in AP can be explained by the independent variables in the model. As can be seen from the t -values and significance, both variables have a significant impact on AP, although TCT has a greater impact.

In a complementary manner, with the objective of enriching the analysis of the influence of the CT on the PA, we have included additional measures to the grade obtained by the students in the course (NCT), such as the selectivity grade with which they entered the university (NEBAU), the average grade of the transcript (NMEXP), that is, the grades of the other courses that the students must take, and the pretest results obtained with the PENCRISAL (PCT). The data obtained are recorded in Table 4 .

Table 4 . Correlations between study variables and complementary measures.

Table 4 shows that the relationship between PWBS and NMEXP has a Pearson correlation of 0.075, with a p -value of 0.372. This low correlation indicates that the connection is minimal. In contrast, the relationship between TCT and NMEXP shows a stronger correlation of 0.464**, suggesting a moderate positive association. The significance of this correlation, less than 0.001, indicates a statistically significant relationship, which implies that this result is not likely to be a coincidence. A similar case occurs with the relationship between NEBAU and NMEXP.

Given this context, if we perform a multiple linear regression analysis with NMEXP as the dependent variable and PWBS and TCT as independent variables, we would expect TCT to have a more significant impact on NMEXP. This projection is based on the statistically significant correlation of these variables. On the other hand, NEBAU has a slightly lower correlation with NMEXP compared to TCT (0.455 vs. 0.464), but the difference is very small, indicating that both have similar impact capacity for NMEXP in terms of linear correlation.

Confirmation of these hypotheses by appropriate regression analysis will provide a more detailed and accurate understanding of how PWBS and TCT individually contribute to the prediction of NMEXP, considering the influence of interrelated variables. However, in performing this procedure, a reduction in sample size to only 64 cases were observed. This increases the risk of failing to detect significant differences or could lead to unstable effect estimates.

4 Discussion and conclusions

The CT seeks to understand and effectively solve problems, through a correct approach, the generation of solution alternatives filtered by the mechanism of explanation and the selection of a solution, all with the aim of achieving a desired change. The PENCRISAL test is based on this defining framework of the CT ( Saiz and Rivas, 2008 ; Rivas and Saiz, 2012 ). Therefore, if we start from this concept and look at the data, we can conclude that the CT is a good predictor of academic performance.

Table 2 shows a positive and moderate correlation (0.514) between the CT and academic performance, suggesting that an increase in the CT is associated with an improvement in academic performance. Meanwhile, Table 3 shows — with a B coefficient of 0.074 and a Beta of 0.473 — that CT has a stronger relationship with academic performance compared to PWBS. This means that for every unit increase in CT, academic performance increases on average 0.074 units, and this effect is considerably significant in the model. The robust correlation and the impact indicated as a dependent variable highlight that the CT is a determinant competence of academic performance and is suggested as a relevant diagnostic and formative tool in the educational field. Although it is not the only factor that influences academic performance, the CT is presented as a significant predictor and one that can be worked on or trained in the classroom.

Declaratively, the current study coincides with other results obtained and recorded in Rivas et al. (2023) . On that occasion, the authors found that CT is a predictor of academic performance and that the benefits of instruction can be sustained over time. The study showed a correlation between CT and academic performance of 0.32. The main difference between these two studies concerns the objectives. The previous study did not attend to the explicit discussion of how CT could influence well-being, or vice versa. The current work recovers this line and incorporates non-cognitive variables in the analysis framework to account for well-being, under the assumption that this construct should have a significant impact on academic performance.

More generally, if we consider that, although the construct intelligence is not the same as CT, they do have several points of convergence ( Butler et al., 2017 ), then we can establish a dialogue with other studies on the factors that influence academic performance. Intelligence represents the intrinsic capacity to learn, understand, reason, and meet challenges through problem solving to adapt to the environment ( Sternberg, 1985 ). This cognitive potentiality manifests itself in various ways, being the CT one of its most relevant expressions, particularly in situations that demand deep analysis, evaluation, and decisions based on logical reasoning ( Saiz, 2024 ). The CT, therefore, acts as an essential tool that intelligence employs to effectively navigate through complex and challenging real-world situations ( Halpern and Butler, 2018 ).

In this conceptual line, the current results partially coincide with studies that have shown that the best predictors of academic performance are cognitive components, such as measures of general intelligence, analogical reasoning, fluid intelligence, logical, verbal and quantitative reasoning ( Morales-Vives et al., 2020 ; Mammadov, 2022 ); as well as scores on the diagnostic and university entrance test ( Gilar-Corbi et al., 2020 ).

In our study the other factor of analysis was the PWB. Although due to its non-cognitive nature it would be per se at a disadvantage compared to cognitive factors, the data also show that its inclusion in educational research, especially to account for academic performance, is significant. In Table 2 , the analysis of the correlation between PWBS and academic performance reveals a positive relationship with a correlation coefficient of 0.336. Although the correlation is moderate and not as strong as that observed between CT and academic performance, it is still significant and should not be ignored in the pursuit of improving students’ academic performance. Table 3 shows that PWBS has a positive and significant influence on the dependent variable. The standardized coefficient (Beta) of 0.271 indicates that there is a positive relationship between PWBS and academic achievement. The unstandardized coefficient (B) shows that, holding all other variables constant, for each unit increase in PWBS, academic performance increases on average 0.022 units. This relationship, supported by a low standard error of 0.007, points to a moderate but significant contribution of PWBS compared to other variables.

These findings show that the integration of some aspects of PWBS could be an effective strategy to improve academic performance, evidencing a beneficial and significant relationship between both aspects. PWB can influence academic performance through non-cognitive conditions or factors involved in learning, such as motivation, academic satisfaction, effective coping with stress or anxiety, and the acceptance and management of limitations related to the process of appropriation and adaptation to one’s own identity.

However, it is important to emphasize that the PWB is a construct that requires careful theoretical and empirical review in the educational context, as the Ryff scale has open debates and the lack of uniqueness of criteria on the number of dimensions influences these results. To cite just one case, we have used three dimensions out of six, with statistical and literature support, but the data may be different with a different selection approach. This finding highlights the importance of students’ PWB as part of a comprehensive educational strategy, but also shows that the direct impact of PWB on academic performance may be less pronounced than the impact of cognitive skills, and that due to its very multidimensional and complex nature, it is not easy to converge in an instructional design. Despite this, higher education institutions can take care of the institutional and relational climate so that students feel good and take advantage of the formative and educational opportunities of the academic environment. In the case of CT, there are concrete and validated training strategies that make it possible to improve skills such as argumentation, explanation, problem solving and decision making ( Guamanga et al., 2023 ; Saiz, 2024 ). On the PWB side, the same cannot be said due to the lack of empirical support; however, some studies have proposed a path that incorporates socio-emotional competences in the training of CT, a proposal characterized by the cognitive-emotional methodology, with interesting results that still need to be explored and debated ( Hanna, 2013 ).

Table 2 shows low and non-significant correlations between PWBS and the different forms of reasoning (deductive, inductive and practical), as well as with decision making and problem solving. For example, the correlation between PWBS and deductive reasoning is −0.082, which is not only low, but also lacks statistical significance. Additionally, the correlation between PWBS and decision making is −0.132, which is also a low correlation and not significant. Although there is a positive correlation between PWBS and problem solving (0.040), it is very low and not statistically significant, so there is not enough evidence to claim a positive relationship between these variables. This reinforces the idea that there is not a direct and significant relationship between how a student feels psychologically and CT skills or, nuanced is not supported by the data from this sample. It is possible that there are unexamined mediating factors that influence these relationships or that the relationship exists in a different context or with different measures.

The results of the present study do not coincide with other research that has shown positive relationships between decision-making and PWBS, especially with self-acceptance, environmental mastery, and purpose in life. The study by Páez-Gallego et al. (2020) addresses this issue by exploring how the PWBS of adolescents in Madrid, Spain, is linked to their decision-making methods. The research concludes that there is a positive correlation between the use of adaptive decision-making strategies and PWBS. Adolescents who opt for a rational and systematic evaluation of available options report higher levels of well-being. Specifically, adaptive decision-making style correlates significantly with overall well-being (0.544) and with aspects such as self-acceptance (0.485), positive relationships with others (0.242), environmental mastery (0.472), autonomy (0.359), purpose in life (0.473), and personal growth (0.346). In contrast, those who resort to maladaptive strategies, marked by impulsivity or avoidance, show reduced PWBS (−0.458).

The discrepancy in results with this study could be due to the difference between the instruments used to assess decision making. While Páez-Gallego et al. (2020) used the Flinders Adolescent Decision Making Questionnaire (FADMQ), which focuses on personal perceptions and experiences of decision making, our study uses the PENCRISAL, which although not limited to decision making, does include this ability as an essential component of the CT. The latter measures the ability to identify, analyze and solve everyday problems through items that simulate real situations, assessing the ability to choose the best solution or action strategy. Because the PENCRISAL responses are open-ended, it allows for a detailed assessment of how participants describe or explain their decisions. Ultimately, the fundamental difference between these two measures is that one is a self-report of perceptions and experiences, while the other is a set of problems to be solved correctly; in other words, one collects impressions of decision making and the other collects realized decision making. Therefore, although both studies applied Ryff’s PWBS, the differences between instruments and approach to decision making explain the variations in the results. This divergence evidences the relevance of considering the context and the specific instrument when interpreting the relationship between the PWBS and decision making.

Despite these findings, the need to further explore these interactions persists, especially given that the three selected dimensions-self-acceptance, environmental mastery, and life purpose-theoretically align with CT approaches focused on explanation and the development of post decisional skills, such as decision making and problem solving ( Guamanga et al., 2023 ). A CT approach that emphasizes the development of these skills must consider effects that transcend immediate or tangible outcomes. Therefore, it is crucial to understand how the concept of PWB, as examined above, relates to CT. Specifically, it must be determined whether some of these dimensions align directly to foster effective CT, or whether they instead lean more towards a conception of well-being in a more general sense, which could include hedonic aspects.

The emphasis on CT oriented to decision making and problem solving through the analysis of explanations and causalities should be evaluated for its pragmatic effects on PWB. At first glance this idea seems to confront parallel concepts paradoxically united by the same diachronic nature. In the case of the CT, this nature explains the high demands placed on it. For example, it is not enough to say that it contributes to tangible improvements in academic performance, but its usefulness is expected to transcend beyond academia and materialize in skills of interest to organizations in all sectors of the economy ( Casner-Lotto and Barrington, 2006 ; Atanasiu, 2021 ). However, their practical impact still presents serious challenges, especially when students, as active subjects of learning, face limitations in anticipating the usefulness and applicability of these critical skills for the future. This is partly explained by the fact that the educational system prioritizes academic performance over the comprehensive development required later in the professional sphere ( Saiz, 2020 ). Which means that the CT can be interpreted as an unfulfilled or partial promise. It is certainly a reading that omits the particular contexts, interests, motivations and concerns of students while they are part of these instructional programs and then the same factors analyzed by a student who knows that he or she must make the transition to the professional field.

A similar case happens with PWB as a diachronic phenomenon. An instant in time is not enough to understand and analyze students’ PWB. It is necessary to focus on how it changes and evolves through different stages, including through feelings of achievement or frustration in the academic process. Thus, it is recognized that PWB is not static and, therefore, evolves through lived experiences, among them, those comprising the applicability of a series of learned skills. This implies that as diachronic phenomena they can evolve and influence each other over time. This approach requires longitudinal studies to follow the evolution of the impact of curricular interventions aimed at strengthening cognitive skills such as those of the CT, in order to understand how these may influence the PWB in the long term.

The limitations of this study, beyond having a small sample that prevents the generalization of the results or having examined only certain dimensions of the PWBS, added to the theoretical impossibility of performing regression analyses with other performance measures, lie in the diachronic nature of the constructs studied. This characteristic makes it difficult, as has been argued, to give a definitive answer on the relationship.

Within the framework of the PWBS triad model we are analyzing, it is possible to theoretically group several key concepts. The development of the CT involves a process of self-acceptance, which is crucial given our inherent tendency for error. This process allows us, through a reflective evaluation of our past and present, to recognize and accept beliefs that we have discarded as erroneous. This self-acceptance facilitates deeper introspection, allowing us to see these errors as essential learning opportunities in our lives. On the other hand, any model that emphasizes post-decisional skills must also consider the non-linear complexity of our reality, and provide solid criteria for problem solving and decision making to master our environment more effectively. This is what allows us to adapt better, both biologically and socially. Finally, this approach to TC inevitably values purpose in life by seeking to ensure that it is in part determined by integrating the best tools of science, philosophy and education for a more effective life orientation, grounded in the principles of rationality. The importance of setting clear goals, recognizing that their achievement requires effort, discipline and determination, is essential to being an effective critical thinker.

Therefore, although each dimension proposed by Ryff’s PWBS possesses a conceptual richness that requires empirical validation, the dimensions selected for this study are aligned with a model of CT focused on problem solving and real-world decision making. Although we aspired to discover stronger links between PWB and CT, and to deepen their interrelationship, the theoretical parallelism analyzed is also reflected in the empirical results. Moreover, PWB as an operational concept, due to its complexity and multidimensionality, is subject to continuous revisions or possible unifications into a broader notion of well-being.

In future research on this topic, it is essential to include a broader set of variables predictive of academic performance. This includes, but is not limited to, students’ selectivity record and cumulative grades in other subjects. In addition, a more solid and theoretically robust concept of well-being must be adopted, one that fits contemporary educational and professional demands. This concept must transcend the simple distinction between eudaemonic and hedonic well-being, and address its diachronic nature. It is important to explore how these dimensions of well-being are interrelated, either as cause or effect; and to examine whether CT fosters a virtuous circle with well-being.

Data availability statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material; further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Ethics statement

Written informed consent was obtained from the individual(s) for the publication of any potentially identifiable images or data included in this article.

Author contributions

MG: Writing – original draft, Conceptualization, Investigation, Methodology, Writing – review & editing. CS: Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Validation, Writing – original draft. SR: Data curation, Investigation, Supervision, Validation, Writing – review & editing. LA: Formal analysis, Methodology, Validation, Writing – review & editing.

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was funded by the Universidad de Salamanca, Spain.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Keywords: critical thinking, psychological well-being, academic performance, higher education, assessment

Citation: Guamanga MH, Saiz C, Rivas SF and Almeida LS (2024) Analysis of the contribution of critical thinking and psychological well-being to academic performance. Front. Educ . 9:1423441. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2024.1423441

Received: 25 April 2024; Accepted: 28 June 2024; Published: 16 July 2024.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2024 Guamanga, Saiz, Rivas and Almeida. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Carlos Saiz, [email protected]

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Resilience is the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands.

A number of factors contribute to how well people adapt to adversities, including the ways in which individuals view and engage with the world, the availability and quality of social resources, and specific coping strategies.

Psychological research demonstrates that the resources and skills associated with resilience can be cultivated and practiced.

Adapted from the APA Dictionary of Psychology

Resources from APA

Building your resilience

Resilience for teens: 10 tips to build skills on bouncing back from rough times

Resilience guide for parents and teachers

Building Psychological Resilience in Military Personnel

Motivation Myth Busters

Nature Meets Nurture

The Pain Survival Guide, Rev. Ed.

Magination Press children’s books

Doug’s Dung

The Hugging Tree

Lucy's Light

Bounce Back

Out of the Fires

Journal special issues

Resilience and Perseverance for Human Flourishing

Somos Latinxs

Trauma, Aging, and Well-Being

Psychological Perspectives on Culture Change

Money blog: Classic chocolate bar to return to UK shelves one last time

Welcome to the Money blog, your place for personal finance and consumer news and tips. In a new series launching today, we ask the brands behind your favourite discontinued treats whether they might consider bringing them back. Share your favourite in the box below for a chance to feature.

Tuesday 23 July 2024 18:37, UK

• Nestle to bring back classic chocolate bar one last time
• Why petrol price should fall in coming weeks
• Ocado to launch robot warehouses
• Up to 600,000 Olympics tickets still up for grabs - here's where

Essential reads

• Ian King: Fears of retirement crisis resurface as number saving enough collapses
• Basically... What is equity? How it works, and how it can be used
• 'I constantly smell smoke from my neighbour's log burner - what can I do?'
• What happens when our gold mines run dry?
• We tried UK's cheapest three-course dinner* - here's what you get for £4 (or £5 if you want to splash out)
• Best of the Money blog - an archive of features

Ask a question or make a comment

After the revival of popular Cadbury's chocolate bar Top Deck earlier this year, we asked you which discontinued treat you would like to see brought back - and we got so many responses that we've decided to make a weekly feature of it called  Bring It Back . 

Every Tuesday, we'll pick one from our comments box and look at why it was so beloved and, crucially,  find out whether the companies in question might consider reintroducing them.

The first product in our new series is one that was only discontinued a relatively short time ago - Nestle Caramac.

The gold-coloured confectionary first hit the shelves in the UK in 1959 after being rolled out by its original creator, Mackintosh's.

However, sales had "steadily declined" over recent years, according to Nestle, which bought the brand as part of a takeover in 1998.

It announced it was withdrawing the product altogether in November - triggering a heady combination of horror and distress among its many fans.

Indeed, on asking readers about now discontinued items they most wanted to see back on sale, the Sky News Money blog received a deluge of responses expressing their dismay at the sudden disappearance of Caramac.

Among them was Jacqueline, who said: "Please bring back the Caramac bar!

"It was by far my favourite and there's really nothing like it in the shops any more. I'd do anything to get my hands on one again!"

Hainan Gal, meanwhile, said: "Bring back Caramac! It was totally different to anything else you can get."

In this case, we can exclusively reveal there is some good news for the army of diehard Caramac fans - with the bar to make an imminent comeback, albeit for a limited time only.

Lisa Butterworth, chocolate classics brand manager for Nestle UK and Ireland, told the Money blog: "The calls for the return of Caramac were heard loud and clear, and for this unique bar we wanted to create a special opportunity for fans to enjoy it once more.

"We hope that this limited release gives people the opportunity to savour and stock up on Caramac as a gesture of our appreciation for the longstanding support of our confectionery fans throughout the years."

She said the range will include the classic Caramac single bar, a convenient three-bar multipack and a sharing bag of Caramac buttons.

The confectionery treats will be available in retailers nationwide starting from this month - while stocks last. 

She added that since the bar's discontinuation, Nestle has launched a range of new products, including the ice cream-inspired Neapolitan flavour Aero Melts, Munchies Cookie Dough and Milkybar Raspberry Ripple pieces, Rowntree's Randoms Fizzy Cactuz, KitKat Chunky White with Lotus Biscoff and Aero Choco-Hazelnut flavour.

Which discontinued chocolate bar, crisps, sweets - or any other food product - would you like to see brought back, and why? Let us know in the comment box at the top!

Nationwide has launched new savings opportunities for customers with the issue of fixed-rate online bond and fixed rate branch bond schemes - and savers only need £1 to open an account.

The new offer means savers who lock their money away - in this case for a year - have a chance to generate hundreds of pounds.

The new rates are:

• 1 Year Fixed Rate Online Bond - 4.5% AER
• 1 Year Fixed Rate Branch Bond - 4.5% AER

If you have £5,000 to invest, for example, you would earn £225 in interest a year. 

Tom Riley, director of retail products at Nationwide, told Sky News the new one-year bond scheme pay an increased rate and are a "competitive option for those who like to save with a high-street brand they know and trust".

"We offer a range of accounts to suit the different needs of savers," he said.

"Some of our best rates are available for those with a lump sum who can lock their money away for a longer period."

Not sure what AER means? We explained everything you need to know in our Basically... series recently:

Logan Paul and KSI's Prime energy drinks brand is being sued by the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee for trademark infringement. 

In its lawsuit, the committee alleges the brand used trademarked Olympic phrases and symbols on a special edition of its hydration drink, which features Olympic gold medallist and NBA forward Kevin Durant.

Lawyers say this was "wilful, deliberate, and in bad faith".

The lawsuit comes a year after the brand faced scrutiny over its potentially dangerous levels of caffeine.

IKEA is set to launch 100 more click-and-collect points at Tesco stores across the UK.

More than 90% of consumers will be within five miles of a collection point when it is complete.

The Swedish retailer recently announced it had opened its 100th mobile pick-up point after national roll-out began in 2022.

More than 150 employees at an Asda store in Cambridgeshire are set to walk out for a second time next week over poor working conditions. 

The GMB union confirmed that workers at the superstore in Wisbech will walk out from 3am to 10pm on 2 August.

Staff carried out their first strike in March this year.

It's no secret that many Britons do not save enough to live off in retirement.

The bad news is that the number of people falling into that category is rising.

The annual retirement report published today by Scottish Widows, the life company, reveals that the percentage of people not on track for even a minimum retirement lifestyle has risen from 35% to 38% during the past year.

That equates to an extra 1.2 million people.

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) defines a minimum retirement lifestyle as covering all the needs of a retiree "with some left over for fun and social occasions" - a holiday in the UK, a meal out once a month and "affordable leisure activities about twice a week".

It estimates the cost of such a lifestyle to be £14,400 for a single retiree or £22,400 for a retired couple.

The PLSA assumes retirees qualify for a full state pension, which rose to £11,500 a year at the start of the current tax year, with retirees currently qualifying for the state pension at the age of 66. 

This is due to rise to 67 between May 2026 and the end of 2028.

The report, based on interviews in March and April with 5,072 people saving for retirement and deemed to be representative of the UK population, suggests that most people would like to retire at the age of 62 but just over half, 54%, think they will have to work longer than they would like - on average by seven years.

Just over a quarter of those quizzed, some 27%, said they don't feel they will ever be able to retire.

You can read the rest of my analysis  here :

A middle-class getaway favourite has been found to sell the cheapest beer of Europe's top holiday destinations.

A 330ml bottle of beer costs just £1.74 in Italy's Puglia resorts - the cheapest of 16 destinations analysed in the annual Post Office holiday report, produced with TUI.

Resorts in the Algarve have the second cheapest beer, at an average of £2.04, while five cities charged more than £5 for a bottle (Dubrovnik, Paris, Dublin, Stockholm and Nice).

While Puglia was cheap on beer, it was found to be one of the most expensive destinations overall for a general family holiday. 

Laura Plunkett, head of travel money at the Post Office, said: "Even though sterling is stronger now than last July, price inflation across Europe means that families need to allow for increases in meals, drinks and other tourist costs in their spending budget."

Phillip Iveson, commercial director at TUI UK & Ireland, said: "It's clear that it's not just the UK that is impacted by the cost of living."

The first blind Barbie has been released by toy company Mattel as parts of its expanding collection of inclusive dolls.

The blind doll has features that allow accessible play for children with sight loss as well as representing a visually impaired woman.

It comes with a cane with a marshmallow tip, sunglasses, textured, vibrant fabrics and Velcro fastenings on clothing.

Blind broadcaster and disability activist Lucy Edwards was the first blind person in the UK to meet the new Barbie.

She told Sky News the Barbie was "amazing".

Ms Edwards, who lost the sight in her right eye at the age of 11 before losing her remaining sight at 17 due to a rare genetic condition, said when she lost her vision she was "so worried about holding a long white cane".

"I used to hate my cane but now I go on red carpets and I glitz and glamour it and I match it to my outfits and now we've got representation in the most popular doll in the world.

"If Barbie can be blind and be cool and look amazing, anyone can feel confident in their blindness too."

With only days before the Paris Olympics begins, hundreds of thousands of tickets are still up for grabs.

Among them are seats for the women's 200m and men's 100m finals.

Organisers have confirmed that between 500,000 and 600,000 tickets for more than 20 sports were going back on sale before the Games start on Friday.

Seats from around £248 are available for the men's 100m final and tickets for the women's 200m final and going for £164.

Tickets for the closing ceremony are more expensive, with the cheapest tickets selling for £505 and the most expensive priced at £1,347.

Paris 2024 president Tony Estanguet has dismissed any suggestion a lack of interest is affecting ticket sales.

The Olympics begins on 26 July and will last for two weeks, concluding on 11 August with the closing ceremony.

You can nab your tickets here .

By James Sillars , business reporter

There's renewed hope for drivers around fuel pump prices now that the school holidays are in full swing across the UK.

Brent crude oil costs have now fallen by $5 a barrel over the month to date.

Coupled with a stronger pound versus the oil-priced US currency, it should mean that pump costs will ease in the coming weeks if the drop in oil prices is sustained.

It's all being put down to lower-than-expected demand in the global economy.

The FTSE 100 has been a bit topsy-turvy recently.

The gains of yesterday have been put under pressure in early dealing today, with the index 0.4% lower at 8,164.

Miners are leading the decline.

Among the gainers, Compass is at the top of the pile.

The catering firm's shares are up 3% after a second upgrade to its annual performance expectations.

Basically, equity can be used in the business and property sphere - but for homeowners, equity refers to how much of your home you actually own.

So to work out the amount of home equity you have, you subtract the amount left on your mortgage from the value of your home. You'll then be left in either positive or negative equity.

For example, if your property is worth £300,000 and you have £200,000 left to pay on your mortgage, your equity is £100,000 .

Once you've put a deposit down on your home, you have immediate equity.

Equity will fluctuate as house prices go up or down, and as you pay off your mortgage. It can be used to help you climb the property ladder to a bigger home or to free up money to downsize, if your next property ends up being a cheaper purchase.

In business terms, equity is the amount that would be returned to a company's shareholders if the business liquidated its assets and paid off its liabilities 

To work out the amount of shareholder equity a company has, its liabilities (debts or obligations it needs to fulfil in the future) are subtracted from its assets (eg, cash and investments).

For example, a business with assets of  £100,000  and liabilities/debts of  £20,000  has  £80,000  in equity.

Shareholder equity is sometimes referred to as a company's net worth.

How is shareholder equity used?

Shareholder equity is one of the first things bankers and analysts look at when evaluating a company's financial health.

Investors may also look beyond market prices when considering whether to buy or sell stock in a company and use shareholder equity to help them determine the real return being generated.

All this means it's a good idea for firms to regularly assess their shareholders' equity.

Read other entries in our Basically series...

By Mark Kleinman , city editor

Nadhim Zahawi, the former Conservative chancellor, is assembling a £600m bid for The Daily Telegraph that could up-end the auction of some of Britain’s most influential media assets.

Sky News has learnt that Mr Zahawi, who left parliament in May after opting not to stand again in his Stratford-on-Avon seat, has approached a number of billionaire backers about helping to finance an offer for the daily newspaper, its Sunday sister title and The Spectator magazine.

City sources said the Reuben family, which owns a vast swathe of property assets and a stake in Newcastle United Football Club, was among those to have been sounded out by Mr Zahawi in recent weeks.

The former cabinet minister, who also spent time as business secretary, education secretary and as the government's vaccines minister during the Covid-19 pandemic, is said to believe the Telegraph has significant scope to boost its profitability by expanding in the US.

Read more here .

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