Contemporary curriculum content often includes a critical thinking component. Developing critical thinking skills have become a large part of how teachers structure their teaching methods. What is critical thinking and why is it so important that students learn to develop it at school?

Critical Thinking in a Modern World
At its very core, critical thinking involves reflecting and evaluating one’s own understanding and knowledge of information that has been presented. It requires a student to consider other points of view, question the validity of the information and predict the outcome of a particular action. With the proliferation of easily available information online these days, it’s important that students question the credibility of the source information and learn to gather data or research from multiple sources.

“Critical thinking is a skill that a lot of kids are lacking,” says Tracy Calabrice, a cycle three elementary school teacher. Calabrice explains that because information is so readily available with just a few clicks online, there is little opportunity to think about the credibility of the source or even consider various points of view. “It’s so important that we teach the skills necessary to question the how and the why […] and let students explore the topic rather than teach it to them in a formulaic way.”

Critical Thinking Skills at All Ages
Teaching critical thinking at an elementary level can be different from the way it’s taught at a high school level, but the core principles are generally the same. A staple teaching method is to allow students to explore a new topic in the curriculum before demonstrating the “correct” way to proceed. Exploratory learning can be utilized in just about any teaching and learning scenario, even those that tend to lean toward specific tried-and-true methodology, such as Math.

“I won’t say to my students ‘This is how you do long division’. I’ll ask my students to figure out the most efficient way to do it and see what they come up with,” says Calabrice. In her classroom, Calabrice fosters teamwork through a student-centered engineering process: devise a plan, execute a plan and revise the plan. Calabrice says this method encourages a growth mindset.

Critical Thinking for the Future
Developing solid critical thinking skills has its benefits in an academic context but it’s also a helpful skill to have later in life, such as on the job. While elementary or high school students may learn to work within a team for a project with shared responsibility, the same can be true of many workplaces requiring collaboration with one’s colleagues. Fact-checking and doing well-rounded research is often a requirement in a professional work environment.

It's never too early or too late to develop your own critical thinking skills. The next time you are presented with new information or need to learn a new skill, pause to reflect on varying points of view and evaluate multiple ways of achieving a goal or solving a problem.