Critical thinking is one of those terms tossed around in the world of education quite often, but what exactly is critical thinking and why is it important for students to learn? To define the term simply, critical thinking is the process of thinking carefully about a problem or situation and analyzing potential outcomes or solutions. Although it may sound like an easy task, critical thinking is extremely multidimensional as it requires a number of internal steps to be taken. From observing to evaluating, critical thinking encompasses a wide array of useful skills. Let’s look at some of the main aspects of critical thinking and what each provides to students.

Finding Solutions

As mentioned before, critical thinking is most often applied to situations where a problem needs to be solved. This process requires students to think through every possible solution, weigh the pros and cons of each solution, and determine which solution provides the best possible outcome. Problem solving skills such as these are highly important for students to attain. These skills will serve them well into adulthood and in their chosen career fields.

Conducting Research

When students are researching a particular topic, students must think critically about the information they find. They must organize their findings in order to determine its accuracy and usefulness. This specific critical thinking skill serves students as they are writing reports, completing research projects, and much more!

Improving Ideas

Sometimes, students are tasked with the challenge of improving ideas. As with all critical thinking situations, students must complete a process of evaluation. They must evaluate the subject at hand in order to determine how it can be improved, made better, or more effective. Students can use these particular skills in and out of the classroom, but they are especially catered to math, science, or any of the other STEM subject areas.

Removal of Personal Biases and Opinions

When thinking critically, there is no room for personal bias or opinion as this “pollutes” potential outcomes and somewhat skews informational accuracy. Students cannot allow their personal attitudes toward the problem or task at hand to interfere in the thinking process. Students must think objectively. They must remember that their job in thinking critically is to examine and evaluate information without allowing personal emotions to influence their thinking.

As students enter college and/or pursue a career, critical thinking skills are extremely important and highly sought after. Potential employers want employees who can handle and solve problems independently, create innovative solutions, and cooperate with others to advance ideas. All of these require critical thought; thus, critical thinking skills are truly invaluable to students as they are used so frequently in virtually all career fields and in life.

What is a Keyword Search?

A keyword search is essentially what you place in the search box in any search engine (like Google, DuckDuckGo, Bing, and so on). Keyword searches are completed in order to discover relevant links to pages on a chosen topic on the internet. These searches can provide excellent information to students conducting research, but the results must be deciphered as not all links are relevant or appropriate to a student’s research. Because of this, critical thinking plays a necessary role in keyword searches.

Encouraging Critical Thinking Using Keywords

It is important to understand that searching a keyword on the internet will not always provide students with applicable results. When searching keywords, students will be required to look objectively at the search results and determine which are credible source material and resources.

First, students must develop an understanding of how to successfully conduct keyword searches for meaningful information. To help students learn how to navigate keyword search results, teachers can facilitate special learning experiences that are tailored to evaluating search results for their relevance. Modeling is an extremely effective instructional tool that teachers should utilize when teaching new subject matter. To show the critical thinking process, a teacher could complete a keyword search for the class as an example for how students should begin the process on their own. By using a Smartboard or another interactive whiteboard, teachers can display a search engine and begin the keyword search. When the links are displayed, the teacher can model his or her thinking aloud for the class. This provides students with a first hand account of the process for evaluating keyword search results by giving them valuable insights and questions to ask themselves when completing their own keyword search.

Once students understand how to conduct research using a keyword search, the real fun can begin! Teachers can continue fostering and encouraging critical thinking through the following activities:

Group Projects: The teacher should place students into small groups. Each group should be given a topic that is relevant to the current unit of study. Students should conduct their own research on the topic using a keyword search. After allowing an adequate amount of time for research, group members will return together to discuss their findings. Students should present the information that they found to be most useful and compare it to the information found by the others in the group. Essentially, this activity provides a “check” system for search engine results as all students in the group are evaluating the same results.

Sorting Project: For this activity, students will work individually to decipher search engine results. Teachers should give the entire class the same keyword. Students should examine the first 10 links given in the search results (the number of links examined can be adjusted by the teacher as necessary). Students will determine whether the link should be considered relevant to the topic at hand or not. Teachers may provide students with a T-chart or ask students to make a chart on notebook paper to organize their findings. This particular activity can even be used as a game to challenge students to sort the results for their relevance as quickly as possible.

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Critical thinking does not have just one definition, but one way to explain it is that it is “thinking about one’s thinking.” A critical thinker does not always take things at face value and will question ideas to further understand them. Critical thinkers also have the ability to see past the surface of something, and they possess important skills such as the ability to analyze, interpret, make inferences, and problem-solve. Critical thinkers also tend to be inquisitive about many issues, have a concern to remain well-informed, and embrace and even seek out critical thinking opportunities. Simply stated, critical thinkers think deep thoughts.

What is the Importance of Critical Thinking for Students?

Back in the day, school was different! Honestly, even a year ago, school was far different than it is now, but there is currently so much more emphasis on the “why” and the “how” than just knowing what the answer is. Critical thinking skills are important for students because of the curricula they are exposed to. “Right there” questions are few and far between and students have to rely on their own ability to dig deeper and read between the lines. There is a lot of emphasis placed on college and career readiness, and part of that is to prepare students to problem solve when there is no apparent answer.

Critical thinking provides students opportunities to acquire the higher-level thinking skills that will be needed for career and beyond. It is important to teach students at a young age that you cannot find the answer to everything in a book or through Google. You have to look within yourself to find many answers and, most importantly, justify why that is your answer. There are many ways teachers can incorporate these types of questions throughout the day, you just have to change your mindset a bit!

Critical Thinking Questions to Use in Class

A teacher will ask questions that usually contain one of the following components: who, what, where, when, how, or why. Using good questioning techniques is important and not always as difficult as it seems. Just changing the way that you start a question can change the way students think about an answer or solution. For example, instead of asking students “Who stole the pizza?”, ask students, “Why would that character want to steal the pizza?”

A critical thinking question should aim to make you think. It should lead students to ponder the answer and discuss possible solutions. Critical thinking questions can even lead to disagreements and arguments that can turn into an impressive teachable moment.

One way to incorporate a solid critical thinking question into a math lesson is to have the students solve a problem, and then ask students how they solved the problem. You can have the students talk it out or have each student write down a written explanation and then share it out. Either of these techniques gives various perspectives on how to solve the same problems and can help students to develop math sense.

Another way to incorporate critical thinking questions into math is to present a problem that is solved incorrectly and have students analyze the mistake. Students will have to solve for the correct answer and determine where the mistake occurred. To make this even more challenging, present a word problem or a multi-step story problem to further present critical thinking challenges.

Making inferences is generally one of the most difficult skills for students to learn. This is where students must use their critical thinking skills to understand what is not written or observed. Students must use evidence and couple it with reasoning skills to form a conclusion. A basic example would be looking at a photograph of a dog holding a leash in its mouth and coming to the conclusion that the dog would like to go for a walk.

Morning journals for students can present the perfect opportunity to enhance critical thinking skills. Instead of asking basic questions with basic answers, create questions that force students to think outside the box. For example, ask the question, “Is creativity something that can be measured? Should it be?” Instead of asking what creativity is and giving an example, this question makes a student pause and think about the answer before beginning to respond. These are the types of questions that can frustrate students “in a good way.”

A great way to encourage critical thinking in ELA is to ask students to write an alternate ending to a story. This promotes creativity and deep thinking. Then, students can explain how changing the ending of the story could have an impact on not just the novel, but the world. Encouraging students to think on a more global level also encourages a higher-level of thinking as well as a better understanding of the culture of the world, not just the small bubble they reside in.

Science is a subject perfect for inquiry! Having students think as an engineer would is a critical thinking skill at it’s finest. Students have to design a solution, test it, and then design an even better solution in order to combat weaknesses in the original design. This can be applied at any grade level.

A terrific way to incorporate critical thinking in Social Studies is similar to ELA by changing the outcome of important events in history. For example, have students discuss how our lives would be different if the Civil War had been won by the South. How would it have changed subsequent events in our history and what would life be like today? The opportunities are endless.

Ending Thoughts

All in all, teachers can create many opportunities each and every day for students to use critical thinking skills. It is as simple as starting the day off with a critical thinking question and changing certain techniques. Even if you ask the students a basic question, follow it up with something that requires more depth of thought. As the great Albert Einstein once said, “Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.” Force students to think about their thinking, and get them ready for the real world!

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What is Low-Stakes Writing?

Low-stakes writing transitions writing from a formidable task to a form of daily self-expression. As its name suggests, a hefty grade is never on the line with this type of writing. These writing tasks are typically quick, thought-provoking, and loosely graded. The purpose of low-stakes writing is to build student confidence when articulating and sharing ideas. This type of on-demand writing is what prepares students for the daily demands of professional writing. Its cross-curricular nature makes it effective across all grade levels and subject areas. It is the opposite of the process writing and high-stakes timed writing that students are accustomed to in today’s classrooms. 

How Does Low-Stakes Writing Promote Risk-Taking and Critical Thinking? 

When writing isn’t attached to a major grade, students are able to express freely and authentically. Trusting and utilizing student voice can seem risky when a writing assignment is extensive or weighted heavily. With low-stakes writing, students understand that writing is a communication tool that they can leverage daily. Teacher feedback should lean toward commentary as opposed to evaluation. For example – ask thought provoking questions, make your own connections, or suggest ideas to consider. When students know that they are being heard as opposed to criticized, they are willing to take more risks in writing.

When students are comfortable taking risks, they are far more likely to think critically. One of the overarching goals of education is to produce critical thinkers – students who can go beyond regurgitating information and practice sound analysis and evaluation. The non-evaluative nature of low-stakes writing creates a safe space for expressing critical thoughts.

Ways to Implement Low-Stakes Writing in Your Classroom

Relax on Grammar and Spelling

A sure way to make writing intimidating is to consistently return papers with countless spelling and grammar errors marked. While spelling and grammar are important, the goal of low-stakes writing is to improve student comfort and confidence. As such, it is wise to limit your feedback to commentary and use other opportunities to reinforce proper language rules.

Provide Opportunities for Sharing

Writing, specifically in the academic and professional sense, was meant to be shared. Allowing students to share their low-stakes writing builds confidence and encourages an understanding of other viewpoints. If your students are reluctant, start small with partner sharing.

Incorporate Technology

Writing is no longer restricted to pen and paper, and it’s no secret that technology often increases student engagement. Tools like polleverywhere.com, Google Classroom, and Office365 are great tools for low-stakes writing. In addition to engaging students, incorporating technology can aid your feedback process and encourages student discussion and collaboration.

Less is More

Low-stakes writing does not need to be a page and doesn’t even require a full paragraph. Sometimes a sentence is sufficient. For example: have students write a one-sentence summary after learning about a topic or write a headline related to the topic.

Use it to Fuel Collaboration

Low-stakes writing is a great way to prepare students for collaborative work. Collaboration requires students to express and listen and is more effective when students have had some time to process individually. Practice low-stakes writing before collaboration to give students think-time.

Assign Open-Question Prompts

Prompts that intend to elicit a solitary response do not encourage students to think critically or explain in detail. When creating prompts for low-stakes writing, aim for prompts that are open as opposed to closed. Here is an example below:

Closed: What traits do the two characters share?\

Open: Compare and contrast the two characters. Explain how these characters relate to one another.

Open prompts should always compel students to relay their observations as opposed to providing one expected answer. 

Build up to Summative Writing Assessments

You should not throw high-stakes writing assignments out of the window. Instead, use low-stakes writing as a means of preparation for these culminating writing assessments. If students will end a unit by writing a character analysis essay, for example, provide multiple low-stakes writing assignments that require character analysis. This gives students practice and helps them to build a repertoire of written ideas that they can reference for the essay.

Writing is a lifelong skill that is primarily gained and polished in the classroom. Low-stakes writing increases the opportunities to write and encourages a healthy relationship with the craft. When the stakes are always high, there is no room for growth.

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There are several techniques to engage students and help strengthen these skills. Here are some teaching strategies that prove to be effective.

Encourage Students to Question Everything

We are now living in a world where AI (artificial intelligence) is slowly making its way into the classrooms. With these innovations, it’s imperative today, more than ever, for students to question everything and understand how to verify information when making an informed decision. AI has the potential to spread misinformation or be biased. Teach students to be careful of what is and is not a reliable source. Discuss credibility and bias and have students look for examples of both trusted content and misinformation. By using different forms of media for this exercise, students will need to use their critical thinking skills to determine the validity of the information.

Activate Student Curiosity

You can activate a student’s curiosity by using the inquiry-based learning model. This approach involves posing questions or problems for students to discover the answers on their own. In this method, students develop questions they want to know the answers to, and their teacher serves as their guide providing support as needed along the way. This approach nurtures curiosity and self-directed learning by encouraging students to think critically and independently. Recent research from 2019 supports the assertion that the use of this model significantly enhances students’ critical thinking abilities.

Incorporate Project-Based Learning

Immerse students in real-world problem scenarios by having them partake in project-based learning. Engaging in hands-on projects where students need to collaborate, communicate, analyze information, and find solutions to their challenges is a great way to develop their critical thinking skills. Throughout the project, students must engage in higher-order thinking while gathering their information and making decisions throughout various stages.

This approach pushes students to think critically while they connect to a real-world issue, and it helps them understand the relevance this issue has in their lives. Throughout the project, students will hone their critical thinking skills because PBL is a process that requires reflection and continuous improvement.

Offer Diverse Perspectives

Consider offering students a variety of viewpoints. Sometimes classrooms are filled with students who share similar perspectives on their beliefs and cultural norms. When this happens, it hinders learners from alternative viewpoints or experiences. Exposing students to diverse perspectives will help to broaden their horizons and challenge them to think beyond their perspectives. In addition, being exposed to different viewpoints encourages students to be more open-minded so they are more equipped to develop problem-solving strategies and analytical skills. It also helps them to cultivate empathy which is critical for critical thinking because it helps them appreciate others more and be concerned for them.

To support diverse viewpoints in the classroom, use various primary sources such as documentaries and articles from people who have experienced current events firsthand. Or invite in a few guest speakers who can offer varying perspectives on the same topic. Bring diverse perspectives into the classroom through guest speakers or by watching documentaries from varying experts.

Assign Tasks on Critical Writing

Assign writing tasks that encourage students to organize and articulate their thoughts and defend their position. By doing so, you are offering students the opportunity to demonstrate their critical thinking skills as well as effectively communicate their thoughts and ideas. Whether it’s through a research paper or an essay, students will need to support their claims and show evidence to prove their point of view. Critical writing also requires students to analyze information, scrutinize different perspectives, and question the reliability of sources, all of which contribute to the development of their critical thinking skills.

Promote Collaboration

Collaborative learning is a powerful tool that promotes critical thinking among students. Whether it’s through group discussions, classroom debates, or group projects, peer interaction will help students develop the ability to think critically. For example, a classroom debate will challenge students to articulate their thoughts, defend their viewpoints, and consider opposing viewpoints.

It will also challenge students to have a deep understanding of the subject matter as well as sharpen their communication skills. Any group setting where students can work together and be exposed to the thought processes of their classmates will help them understand that their way of thinking is not the only way. Through peer interaction, students will develop the ability to think critically.

Critical thinking requires consistency and commitment. This means that to make the above teaching strategies effective, they must be used consistently throughout the year. Encourage students to question everything and verify all information and resources. Activate student curiosity by using the inquiry-based learning model. Incorporate a real-world project that students can work on throughout the entire semester or school year. Assign critical writing tasks that require students to analyze information and prove their point of view. Finally, foster peer interaction where students work with their classmates to sharpen their communication skills and gain a deeper understanding of other perspectives.

The ultimate goal is for students to become independent thinkers who are capable of analyzing and solving their own problems. By modeling and developing student’s critical thinking skills in the classroom we are setting the stage for our student’s growth and success in the future.

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