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Critical Thinking and Social Studies

Critical Thinking and the Social Studies Teacher

by Mike Yell

                        The advance of knowledge has been achieved not because the mind is capable of memorizing what teachers say but because it can be disciplined to ask probing questions and pursue them in a reasoned, self-critical way. Scholars pursuing knowledge submit their thinking to rigorous discipline. 

~Richard Paul

One of the most used and highlighted books in my professional library is Critical Thinking: How to Prepare Students for a Rapidly Changing World by Richard Paul, an international leader in critical thinking movement. We often hear about the need for critical thinking, but we seldom hear sound definitions, or, in my opinion, see comprehensive models that we can apply to what we do in our classrooms. To my mind the works of Richard Paul, and his colleagues Linda Elder Gerald Nosich, and others at the Foundation for Critical Thinking put flesh on the bones of the concept of critical thinking; a concept all too rarely made substantive.

While there are many different approaches to, and definitions of, critical thinking, the Paul/Elder view is that critical thinking is the development of discipline organized thinking that monitors itself and is guided by intellectual standards . Further, they hold that reasoning must be at the heart of good teaching, sound learning, and preparation for college, career, and civic life. Rather than lectures, worksheets, and didactic instruction, it is through reasoning and thinking their way through the curriculum, that students really learn. This approach to critical thinking, I believe, puts this model of critical thinking head and shoulders above others.

To read the full article, join the   Center for Critical Thinking Community Online   – the world’s leading online community dedicated to teaching and advancing critical thinking. Featuring the world's largest library of critical thinking articles, videos, and books, as well as learning activities, study groups, and a social media component, this interactive learning platform is essential to anyone dedicated to developing as an effective reasoner in the classroom, in the professions, in business and government, and throughout personal life.  

Join the community and learn explicit tools of critical thinking.

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Critical Thinking in the Social Studies Classroom

JUNE 17, 2024

Today’s students are growing up in a highly interconnected, complex and global world—which means social studies, history and civic education have never been so important. To understand contemporary issues and participate fully in civic life, students need a solid grounding not only in basic facts, but also in essential critical thinking skills. Thinking Maps can help students develop the thinking skills they need to ask relevant questions, detect bias and misinformation, connect past and current events, and understand the changing world around them.

The Importance of Critical Thinking in Social Studies

Social studies education is about much more than naming the three branches of government or reciting a list of Revolutionary War battles. In a recent survey of K-12 social studies teachers by the American Historical Association (AHA), 97% of teachers identified critical thinking as one of the top goals of social studies education , followed closely by informed citizenship. Higher-order thinking skills such as making connections and inferences, evaluating sources, drawing conclusions, and forming opinions are key not only in the classroom but also in the voting booth and other aspects of civic life. 

Social studies education aims to cultivate these essential skills, enabling students to navigate the complexities of our modern world effectively. Some of the key goals of social studies education include the following. 

• Building Informed Citizens : One of the primary objectives of social studies education is to prepare students to be informed and engaged citizens. This involves understanding the principles and functioning of democracy, the rights and responsibilities of citizens, and the significance of civic participation. Critical thinking is fundamental in this process, as it allows students to evaluate political rhetoric, understand policy implications, and engage in meaningful discussions about governance and public policy.
• Navigating Information and Media Literacy : In today’s digital age, the ability to critically evaluate information is more important than ever. With the proliferation of information (and disinformation!) from diverse sources, including social media, news outlets, and online platforms, students must develop strong media literacy skills. Social studies education plays a crucial role in teaching students how to identify credible sources, recognize bias, and avoid disinformation. Critical thinking in social studies involves scrutinizing primary and secondary sources, understanding the context and perspective of the information presented, and questioning the authenticity and reliability of data. 
• Addressing Complex Global Issues : The world today faces numerous complex and interconnected challenges, such as climate change, global health crises, and social inequality. Social studies education equips students with the knowledge and skills to understand these issues, analyze their root causes, and explore potential solutions. Critical thinking is essential for unpacking the complexities of these global challenges and considering the perspectives of various stakeholders. 
• Enhancing Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Skills : Critical thinking in social studies also enhances students’ problem-solving and decision-making abilities. By engaging with historical case studies, current events, and hypothetical scenarios, students learn to apply analytical skills to real-world situations. This involves identifying problems, evaluating possible solutions, considering the consequences of different actions, and making reasoned decisions.

Fostering Empathy and Cultural Understanding : Another important aspect of social studies education is fostering empathy and cultural understanding. By studying diverse cultures, histories, and perspectives, students develop a deeper appreciation for the experiences of others. Critical thinking plays a key role in this process, as it encourages students to consider multiple viewpoints, understand the context of different cultures, and reflect on their own biases and assumptions.

Developing Critical Thinking Skills for Social Studies

Thinking Maps can help students master social studies content and hone the critical thinking skills they need to be informed citizens and active participants in our democracy. They are vital tools in the social studies classroom that can be used across all social studies disciplines: history (ancient, modern, American and world), geography, civics and government, economics, political science and sociology. The visual Thinking Maps are simple enough to be applied even at the PreK level, but powerful enough to be used for analysis of complex information in high school, college, grad school and beyond. 

Here are a few ways that Thinking Maps can be used to develop critical thinking in social studies.

Enhancing Comprehension of Social Studies Content and Concepts

Thinking Maps enable students to visually organize complex information, making it easier to understand relationships between concepts and events. For instance, students can use Thinking Maps to understand the sequence of historical events or categorize information about historical periods, geographic regions, or economic systems. This visual organization helps students see patterns and connections that might not be immediately apparent. By breaking down information and making it visual, Thinking Maps reduce the cognitive load of learning and improve comprehension and retention of complex information.

Building Metacognitive Skills

Thinking Maps support reflection and metacognitive processes by making students’ thinking visible. After completing a unit, for example, students can create Thinking Maps to reflect on what they have learned, how their understanding has evolved, and what questions remain. This reflective process enables deeper comprehension and helps students develop an awareness of their own learning processes.

Understanding Historical Events

Thinking Maps help students analyze historical events, put them in context, and make connections across time and geography. For example, students can use a Flow Map to understand the sequence of events, a Multi-Flow Map to analyze the causes and effects of an event, a Double-Bubble Map to compare and contrast two different events or time periods, or a Tree Map to classify events, civilizations or time periods.

Evaluating Sources, Points of View and Influences

Students also learn to use the “Frame of Reference” to evaluate sources, identify influences and points of view, and draw conclusions from information. This type of reflective thinking helps students learn to “Think Like a Historian” when analyzing historical events and information.

Analyzing Current Events and Issues

Thinking Maps facilitate the critical analysis of current events and issues by encouraging students to examine various aspects of a topic systematically. For instance, when analyzing a political decision, students can map out the different stakeholders, their motivations, and the potential impacts of the decision. They can also use Thinking Maps to make connections between current events and their historical roots. This systematic analysis helps students develop a more nuanced understanding of complex issues.

Problem Solving and Decision-Making

Thinking Maps support structured problem-solving and decision-making processes by outlining steps and considerations visually. When addressing a contemporary social issue, for instance, students can map out potential solutions, weigh pros and cons, and plan actions based on their analysis. This structured approach helps students develop effective problem-solving skills.

Questioning and Inquiry-Based Learning

Students learn to use Thinking Maps and the Frame of Reference to ask better questions and provide a framework for developing their own answers. Rigorous questioning is an important element of thinking historically and analyzing current events. Thinking Maps are also ideal for project-based learning and inquiry-based learning, where students generate questions, seek out information, and synthesize their findings. This inquiry-based approach promotes critical thinking and deeper learning in the social studies classroom.

Want to know more about how Thinking Maps can be used in social studies? Contact your Thinking Maps Representative .

Continue Reading

August 16, 2024

Artificial intelligence (AI) models like ChatGPT and Gemini are profoundly changing the way people interact with technology, information, and each other. Are they also changing the way we think? We must help our students avoid the temptation of outsourcing their critical thinking to AI.

May 16, 2024

Mastering Science Concepts and Content in K12 | Thinking Maps Support student mastery of the Core Ideas and Crosscutting Concepts in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) with Thinking Maps. Learn more on the blog:

April 15, 2024

Scientific thinking empowers students to ask good questions about the world around them, become flexible and adaptable problem solvers, and engage in effective decision making in a variety of domains. Thinking Maps can help teachers nurture a scientific mindset in students and support mastery of important STEM skills and content.

February 15, 2024

A majority of teachers believe that students are finally catching up from pandemic learning losses. But those gains are far from evenly distributed—and too many students were already behind before the pandemic. To close these achievement gaps, schools and districts need to focus on the underlying issue: the critical thinking gap.

Improving Social Studies Students’ Critical Thinking

• First Online: 01 January 2014

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• Khe Foon Hew 3 &
• Wing Sum Cheung 4  

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Education ((BRIEFSEDUCAT))

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The ability to think critically along with an awareness of local and global issues have been identified as important competencies that could benefit students as they journey through life in the 21st century (Voogt and Roblin 2012 ). Social studies, as a subject discipline, could serve as a conducive environment for the development of such competencies because it not only aims to equip students with information about important social-cultural issues within and without a country but also to inculcate critical thinking ability whereby students review, analyze, and make appropriate judgments based on particular evidences or ideas presented. This chapter reports a study that examines the effect of using blended learning approaches on social studies students’ critical thinking. This study relied on objective measurements of students’ critical thinking such as their actual performance scores, rather than students’ self-report data of their critical thinking levels. It employed a one-group pre- and post-test research design to examine the impact of a Socratic question-blogcast model on grade 10 students’ ability to critically evaluate controversial social studies issues. A paired-samples t -test was conducted to determine the potential critical thinking gain using a validated rubric. There was a significant difference in critical thinking between pre-intervention ( M  = 2.33 SD  = 1.240) and post-intervention ( M  = 3.19 SD  = 1.388), t (26) = −3.690, p  < 0.001, with an effect size of 0.67. We also reported students’ perceptions of the Socratic question-blogcast blended learning approach to provide additional qualitative insights into how the approach was particularly helpful to the students.

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Authors and affiliations.

Faculty of Education, Division of Information and Technology Studies, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong SAR

Khe Foon Hew

Learning Sciences and Technologies, NIE, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

Wing Sum Cheung

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4.1.1 Activity 1

1. Instructions

Getting started:

Podcast your answer:

Study the background information, sources and question. Then answer the question orally and record it to audacity. Just say out whatever comes to mind. Do not worry if your ideas do not flow. This is only your first draft. You will be given a chance to improve on your answers later. Upload your podcast onto your blogcast account, which have been created for you. Do not spend more than 15 min on this activity!

2. The Question

Study this question carefully.

Study Source A

How reliable is the source as evidence to suggest that the Tamils formed a militant group due to the unfair university admission criteria? Explain your answer.

3. The Background Information

Read this carefully. It may help you to answer the questions.

After 1970, the government introduced new university admission criteria. Tamil students had to score higher marks than the Sinhalese students to enter the same courses in the universities. A fixed number of places were also reserved for the Sinhalese. Admission was no longer based solely on academic results. This became the main point of the conflict between the government and Tamil leaders. Tamil youths, resentful by what they considered discrimination against them, formed a militant group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), more popularly known as Tamil Tigers, and resorted to violence to achieve its aim.

4. The Sources

A cartoon about university admission in Sri Lanka by a Tamil artist.

http://www.slideshare.net/khooky/srilanka-conflict-v09

A view expressed by a Sinhalese about the Tamils in Sri Lanka, 1995.

The LTTE terrorists complain that the Tamils have been treated unfairly. This is unfair. This is no longer true. They say they have been the victims of discrimination in university education, employment and in other matters controlled by the government. But most of their demands were met long ago. Discrimination exists in every society but in Sri Lanka it is less serious than in some countries. It certainly does not give them the right to kill people. The Tamils do not need to be freed by a group of terrorists. Discrimination is not the real reason for terrorism, it is just an excuse.

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Hew, K.F., Cheung, W.S. (2014). Improving Social Studies Students’ Critical Thinking. In: Using Blended Learning. SpringerBriefs in Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-089-6_4

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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.

Eight Instructional Strategies for Promoting Critical Thinking

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(This is the first post in a three-part series.)

The new question-of-the-week is:

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

This three-part series will explore what critical thinking is, if it can be specifically taught and, if so, how can teachers do so in their classrooms.

Today’s guests are 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.

You might also be interested in The Best Resources On Teaching & Learning Critical Thinking In The Classroom .

Current Events

Dara Laws Savage is an English teacher at the Early College High School at Delaware State University, where she serves as a teacher and instructional coach and lead mentor. Dara has been teaching for 25 years (career preparation, English, photography, yearbook, newspaper, and graphic design) and has presented nationally on project-based learning and technology integration:

There is so much going on right now and there is an overload of information for us to process. Did you ever stop to think how our students are processing current events? They see news feeds, hear news reports, and scan photos and posts, but are they truly thinking about what they are hearing and seeing?

I tell my students that my job is not to give them answers but to teach them how to think about what they read and hear. So what is critical thinking and how can we integrate it into the classroom? There are just as many definitions of critical thinking as there are people trying to define it. However, the Critical Think Consortium focuses on the tools to create a thinking-based classroom rather than a definition: “Shape the climate to support thinking, create opportunities for thinking, build capacity to think, provide guidance to inform thinking.” Using these four criteria and pairing them with current events, teachers easily create learning spaces that thrive on thinking and keep students engaged.

One successful technique I use is the FIRE Write. Students are given a quote, a paragraph, an excerpt, or a photo from the headlines. Students are asked to F ocus and respond to the selection for three minutes. Next, students are asked to I dentify a phrase or section of the photo and write for two minutes. Third, students are asked to R eframe their response around a specific word, phrase, or section within their previous selection. Finally, students E xchange their thoughts with a classmate. Within the exchange, students also talk about how the selection connects to what we are covering in class.

There was a controversial Pepsi ad in 2017 involving Kylie Jenner and a protest with a police presence. The imagery in the photo was strikingly similar to a photo that went viral with a young lady standing opposite a police line. Using that image from a current event engaged my students and gave them the opportunity to critically think about events of the time.

Here are the two photos and a student response:

F - Focus on both photos and respond for three minutes

In the first picture, you see a strong and courageous black female, bravely standing in front of two officers in protest. She is risking her life to do so. Iesha Evans is simply proving to the world she does NOT mean less because she is black … and yet officers are there to stop her. She did not step down. In the picture below, you see Kendall Jenner handing a police officer a Pepsi. Maybe this wouldn’t be a big deal, except this was Pepsi’s weak, pathetic, and outrageous excuse of a commercial that belittles the whole movement of people fighting for their lives.

I - Identify a word or phrase, underline it, then write about it for two minutes

A white, privileged female in place of a fighting black woman was asking for trouble. A struggle we are continuously fighting every day, and they make a mockery of it. “I know what will work! Here Mr. Police Officer! Drink some Pepsi!” As if. Pepsi made a fool of themselves, and now their already dwindling fan base continues to ever shrink smaller.

R - Reframe your thoughts by choosing a different word, then write about that for one minute

You don’t know privilege until it’s gone. You don’t know privilege while it’s there—but you can and will be made accountable and aware. Don’t use it for evil. You are not stupid. Use it to do something. Kendall could’ve NOT done the commercial. Kendall could’ve released another commercial standing behind a black woman. Anything!

Exchange - Remember to discuss how this connects to our school song project and our previous discussions?

This connects two ways - 1) We want to convey a strong message. Be powerful. Show who we are. And Pepsi definitely tried. … Which leads to the second connection. 2) Not mess up and offend anyone, as had the one alma mater had been linked to black minstrels. We want to be amazing, but we have to be smart and careful and make sure we include everyone who goes to our school and everyone who may go to our school.

As a final step, students read and annotate the full article and compare it to their initial response.

Using current events and critical-thinking strategies like FIRE writing helps create a learning space where thinking is the goal rather than a score on a multiple-choice assessment. Critical-thinking skills can cross over to any of students’ other courses and into life outside the classroom. After all, we as teachers want to help the whole student be successful, and critical thinking is an important part of navigating life after they leave our classrooms.

‘Before-Explore-Explain’

Patrick Brown is the executive director of STEM and CTE for the Fort Zumwalt school district in Missouri and an experienced educator and author :

Planning for critical thinking focuses on teaching the most crucial science concepts, practices, and logical-thinking skills as well as the best use of instructional time. One way to ensure that lessons maintain a focus on critical thinking is to focus on the instructional sequence used to teach.

Explore-before-explain teaching is all about promoting critical thinking for learners to better prepare students for the reality of their world. What having an explore-before-explain mindset means is that in our planning, we prioritize giving students firsthand experiences with data, allow students to construct evidence-based claims that focus on conceptual understanding, and challenge students to discuss and think about the why behind phenomena.

Just think of the critical thinking that has to occur for students to construct a scientific claim. 1) They need the opportunity to collect data, analyze it, and determine how to make sense of what the data may mean. 2) With data in hand, students can begin thinking about the validity and reliability of their experience and information collected. 3) They can consider what differences, if any, they might have if they completed the investigation again. 4) They can scrutinize outlying data points for they may be an artifact of a true difference that merits further exploration of a misstep in the procedure, measuring device, or measurement. All of these intellectual activities help them form more robust understanding and are evidence of their critical thinking.

In explore-before-explain teaching, all of these hard critical-thinking tasks come before teacher explanations of content. Whether we use discovery experiences, problem-based learning, and or inquiry-based activities, strategies that are geared toward helping students construct understanding promote critical thinking because students learn content by doing the practices valued in the field to generate knowledge.

An Issue of Equity

Meg Riordan, Ph.D., is the chief learning officer at The Possible Project, an out-of-school program that collaborates with youth to build entrepreneurial skills and mindsets and provides pathways to careers and long-term economic prosperity. She has been in the field of education for over 25 years as a middle and high school teacher, school coach, college professor, regional director of N.Y.C. Outward Bound Schools, and director of external research with EL Education:

Although critical thinking often defies straightforward definition, most in the education field agree it consists of several components: reasoning, problem-solving, and decisionmaking, plus analysis and evaluation of information, such that multiple sides of an issue can be explored. It also includes dispositions and “the willingness to apply critical-thinking principles, rather than fall back on existing unexamined beliefs, or simply believe what you’re told by authority figures.”

Despite variation in definitions, critical thinking is nonetheless promoted as an essential outcome of students’ learning—we want to see students and adults demonstrate it across all fields, professions, and in their personal lives. Yet there is simultaneously a rationing of opportunities in schools for students of color, students from under-resourced communities, and other historically marginalized groups to deeply learn and practice critical thinking.

For example, many of our most underserved students often spend class time filling out worksheets, promoting high compliance but low engagement, inquiry, critical thinking, or creation of new ideas. At a time in our world when college and careers are critical for participation in society and the global, knowledge-based economy, far too many students struggle within classrooms and schools that reinforce low-expectations and inequity.

If educators aim to prepare all students for an ever-evolving marketplace and develop skills that will be valued no matter what tomorrow’s jobs are, then we must move critical thinking to the forefront of classroom experiences. And educators must design learning to cultivate it.

So, what does that really look like?

Unpack and define critical thinking

To understand critical thinking, educators need to first unpack and define its components. What exactly are we looking for when we speak about reasoning or exploring multiple perspectives on an issue? How does problem-solving show up in English, math, science, art, or other disciplines—and how is it assessed? At Two Rivers, an EL Education school, the faculty identified five constructs of critical thinking, defined each, and created rubrics to generate a shared picture of quality for teachers and students. The rubrics were then adapted across grade levels to indicate students’ learning progressions.

At Avenues World School, critical thinking is one of the Avenues World Elements and is an enduring outcome embedded in students’ early experiences through 12th grade. For instance, a kindergarten student may be expected to “identify cause and effect in familiar contexts,” while an 8th grader should demonstrate the ability to “seek out sufficient evidence before accepting a claim as true,” “identify bias in claims and evidence,” and “reconsider strongly held points of view in light of new evidence.”

When faculty and students embrace a common vision of what critical thinking looks and sounds like and how it is assessed, educators can then explicitly design learning experiences that call for students to employ critical-thinking skills. This kind of work must occur across all schools and programs, especially those serving large numbers of students of color. As Linda Darling-Hammond asserts , “Schools that serve large numbers of students of color are least likely to offer the kind of curriculum needed to ... help students attain the [critical-thinking] skills needed in a knowledge work economy. ”

So, what can it look like to create those kinds of learning experiences?

Designing experiences for critical thinking

After defining a shared understanding of “what” critical thinking is and “how” it shows up across multiple disciplines and grade levels, it is essential to create learning experiences that impel students to cultivate, practice, and apply these skills. There are several levers that offer pathways for teachers to promote critical thinking in lessons:

1.Choose Compelling Topics: Keep it relevant

A key Common Core State Standard asks for students to “write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.” That might not sound exciting or culturally relevant. But a learning experience designed for a 12th grade humanities class engaged learners in a compelling topic— policing in America —to analyze and evaluate multiple texts (including primary sources) and share the reasoning for their perspectives through discussion and writing. Students grappled with ideas and their beliefs and employed deep critical-thinking skills to develop arguments for their claims. Embedding critical-thinking skills in curriculum that students care about and connect with can ignite powerful learning experiences.

2. Make Local Connections: Keep it real

At The Possible Project , an out-of-school-time program designed to promote entrepreneurial skills and mindsets, students in a recent summer online program (modified from in-person due to COVID-19) explored the impact of COVID-19 on their communities and local BIPOC-owned businesses. They learned interviewing skills through a partnership with Everyday Boston , conducted virtual interviews with entrepreneurs, evaluated information from their interviews and local data, and examined their previously held beliefs. They created blog posts and videos to reflect on their learning and consider how their mindsets had changed as a result of the experience. In this way, we can design powerful community-based learning and invite students into productive struggle with multiple perspectives.

3. Create Authentic Projects: Keep it rigorous

At Big Picture Learning schools, students engage in internship-based learning experiences as a central part of their schooling. Their school-based adviser and internship-based mentor support them in developing real-world projects that promote deeper learning and critical-thinking skills. Such authentic experiences teach “young people to be thinkers, to be curious, to get from curiosity to creation … and it helps students design a learning experience that answers their questions, [providing an] opportunity to communicate it to a larger audience—a major indicator of postsecondary success.” Even in a remote environment, we can design projects that ask more of students than rote memorization and that spark critical thinking.

Our call to action is this: As educators, we need to make opportunities for critical thinking available not only to the affluent or those fortunate enough to be placed in advanced courses. The tools are available, let’s use them. Let’s interrogate our current curriculum and design learning experiences that engage all students in real, relevant, and rigorous experiences that require critical thinking and prepare them for promising postsecondary pathways.

Critical Thinking & Student Engagement

Dr. PJ Caposey is an award-winning educator, keynote speaker, consultant, and author of seven books who currently serves as the superintendent of schools for the award-winning Meridian CUSD 223 in northwest Illinois. You can find PJ on most social-media platforms as MCUSDSupe:

When I start my keynote on student engagement, I invite two people up on stage and give them each five paper balls to shoot at a garbage can also conveniently placed on stage. Contestant One shoots their shot, and the audience gives approval. Four out of 5 is a heckuva score. Then just before Contestant Two shoots, I blindfold them and start moving the garbage can back and forth. I usually try to ensure that they can at least make one of their shots. Nobody is successful in this unfair environment.

I thank them and send them back to their seats and then explain that this little activity was akin to student engagement. While we all know we want student engagement, we are shooting at different targets. More importantly, for teachers, it is near impossible for them to hit a target that is moving and that they cannot see.

Within the world of education and particularly as educational leaders, we have failed to simplify what student engagement looks like, and it is impossible to define or articulate what student engagement looks like if we cannot clearly articulate what critical thinking is and looks like in a classroom. Because, simply, without critical thought, there is no engagement.

The good news here is that critical thought has been defined and placed into taxonomies for decades already. This is not something new and not something that needs to be redefined. I am a Bloom’s person, but there is nothing wrong with DOK or some of the other taxonomies, either. To be precise, I am a huge fan of Daggett’s Rigor and Relevance Framework. I have used that as a core element of my practice for years, and it has shaped who I am as an instructional leader.

So, in order to explain critical thought, a teacher or a leader must familiarize themselves with these tried and true taxonomies. Easy, right? Yes, sort of. The issue is not understanding what critical thought is; it is the ability to integrate it into the classrooms. In order to do so, there are a four key steps every educator must take.

• Integrating critical thought/rigor into a lesson does not happen by chance, it happens by design. Planning for critical thought and engagement is much different from planning for a traditional lesson. In order to plan for kids to think critically, you have to provide a base of knowledge and excellent prompts to allow them to explore their own thinking in order to analyze, evaluate, or synthesize information.
• SIDE NOTE – Bloom’s verbs are a great way to start when writing objectives, but true planning will take you deeper than this.

QUESTIONING

• If the questions and prompts given in a classroom have correct answers or if the teacher ends up answering their own questions, the lesson will lack critical thought and rigor.
• Script five questions forcing higher-order thought prior to every lesson. Experienced teachers may not feel they need this, but it helps to create an effective habit.
• If lessons are rigorous and assessments are not, students will do well on their assessments, and that may not be an accurate representation of the knowledge and skills they have mastered. If lessons are easy and assessments are rigorous, the exact opposite will happen. When deciding to increase critical thought, it must happen in all three phases of the game: planning, instruction, and assessment.

TALK TIME / CONTROL

• To increase rigor, the teacher must DO LESS. This feels counterintuitive but is accurate. Rigorous lessons involving tons of critical thought must allow for students to work on their own, collaborate with peers, and connect their ideas. This cannot happen in a silent room except for the teacher talking. In order to increase rigor, decrease talk time and become comfortable with less control. Asking questions and giving prompts that lead to no true correct answer also means less control. This is a tough ask for some teachers. Explained differently, if you assign one assignment and get 30 very similar products, you have most likely assigned a low-rigor recipe. If you assign one assignment and get multiple varied products, then the students have had a chance to think deeply, and you have successfully integrated critical thought into your classroom.

Thanks to Dara, Patrick, Meg, and PJ 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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15 Questions that Teachers and Parents Can Ask Kids to Encourage Critical Thinking

By Maureen Leming

Each student walks across the graduation stage, diploma in one hand and a proverbial toolbox in the other. Inside the box is every skill and piece of knowledge they've learned throughout their childhood. The contents of this toolbox will be their building blocks to success beyond high school.

In addition to impressive classroom discoveries — like producing electricity from potatoes or building their own paper mache volcano — there's a vital skill every student should possess: critical thinking. They'll use this skill to assess, critique, and create, propelling them to thrive in the real world as they participate in engaging conversations and offer constructive solutions to real-world issues.

Fortunately, this valuable skill can be developed both inside and out of the classroom. Teachers and parents can encourage kids to think deeply and critically about the world by asking good questions. We'll explore why, as parents and teachers, the questions we ask our kids matter — and what we can be asking to help them excel.

How Questions Guide Young Students’ Critical Thinking 

Critical thinking is about so much more than simply knowing the facts. Thinking critically involves applying reason and logic to assess arguments and come to your own conclusions. Instead of reciting facts or giving a textbook answer, critical thinking skills encourage students to move beyond knowing information and get to the heart of what they really think and believe. 

15 Questions to Encourage Critical Thinking

What is one of the best ways to encourage critical thinking? By asking excellent questions! 

We have compiled a list of 15 questions that you, as a teacher or parent, can ask to encourage kids to think outside the box. Let's dive in.

1. How Do You Know This? 

Whether it was by word of mouth, classroom knowledge, or a news report, this question prompts students to consider whether their source of information is reputable.

2. How Would Your Perspective Be Different If You Were on the Opposing Side?

This question encourages kids to role-play from an opposing person’s viewpoint and discover a perspective outside their own so that they can better understand the broader situation. Extracurriculars like debate class — mandatory for all Hun middle school students — is a powerful way to accomplish this goal, as students must thoughtfully anticipate their opposition's arguments in order to counter them.

3. How Would You Solve This Problem?

Finding creative solutions to common problems is a valuable life skill. This question is the perfect opportunity to encourage young minds to wander!

4. Do You Agree or Disagree — and Why?

Choosing a side in any debate challenges students to consider both perspectives, weigh the arguments, and make an informed choice. 

5. Why? Why? Why?

Just like when you were a young kid, ask why repeatedly to push students beyond a simple first, second, or even third answer, to get to the real depth. Be careful, though, not to ask them to the point of frustration — you want learning and exploring to be a positive experience.

6. How Could We Avoid This Problem in the Future?

Ask students to apply critical thinking by analyzing how they could prevent a certain issue from reoccurring.

7. Why Does It Matter?

Whether they're learning about a historical event or a mathematical concept, it's important to understand why the topic is relevant today.

8. What's Another Way to Look at This Issue?

It can be easy to learn one worldview and automatically believe it is the only, or the best, way. Challenging kids to think of a creative alternate perspective encourages them to think more broadly.

9. Can You Give Me an Example?

Inventing an example, or pulling from experience to share a real one, is an excellent way to apply critical thinking skills.

10. How Could It Have Ended Differently?

It takes some innovation and careful analysis to storyboard a different ending, considering "what could have been" rather than "what is." 

11. When Will We Be Able to Tell If It Worked?

Kids will be pushed to consider what constitutes success and how it can be measured in scenarios where the results aren't set in stone.

12. Why did you ask that question?

Instead of answering a question at face value, this question encourages kids to think about what the merits of the question may be.

13. Who Would Be Affected by This?

Students as the next generation of leaders and game-changers. When making any decision, it's important to consider who will be impacted and how.

14. What Can This Story Teach Us About Our Own Lives?

From literature to social studies, students interact with all kinds of different stories. Help them take these narratives one step further by examining how it relates to their lives.

15. Why Is This a Problem?

Analyzing why something is a problem — rather than just accepting that it is — will help students develop strong problem-solving skills of their own.

The Hun School of Princeton Teaches Critical Thinking

At the Hun School of Princeton, our teachers ask these questions, and more, in combination with our student-centered learning approach that helps kids of all ages think critically about what they’re learning. 

As a premier private school in Princeton, NJ , we aim to help students think deeply and develop well-rounded skill sets through immersive, problem-based learning . 

Schedule a tour today to see our program in action!

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5 Active Classroom Activities to Help Your Students Build Critical Thinking Skills

Thinking is hard. At least, that is what our students tend to believe. They sigh when we ask them to complete a research assignment, or to write an analytical essay. Even the most basic questions asked of them, can be responded with a grunt.

As I write this, my students are working on a career research project. One student claimed that he did not know three things that a musician did (even though that is what he wanted to be), and another claimed he did not know why a mechanical engineer would be beneficial for a community (even though that was his chosen career path). They do not want to think through these problems.

Students want to be given the answers without thinking about it. And, who can fault them really? Children are growing up in a world where they have easy access to information, products, and entertainment. However, this is why it is crucial to teach our students how to think critically. They need to be able to stand on their own two feet when it comes to finding information or solving problems. As social studies teachers, we can do our part in helping our students fine tune their brains and grow critical thinking skills through our classes. Active Classroom has many series that offer ways to sharpen critical thinking skills, and, the below are some of my favorite to utilize in the classroom.

Decision Making in History

This series is one of my “go-to” activities when planning a history lesson. In a nutshell, Decision Making in History presents students with a historical problem, scenario, or situation, and offers multiple solutions for students to “mull over” to help decide how they would solve the issue. I love this series because it creates opportunities for teachers to discuss the problem-solving process with students, as well as, allow students to make decisions independently or in a group to solve historical problems. However, as we all know, history tends to repeat itself, so these problems can relate to real-life issues and current events. Students actively think through a problem and contemplate as a team what would be the best solution. At the end of the activity, the teacher reveals what happened in real-life, and what the historical figures did to try to resolve the issue.

History’s Mysteries

The History’s Mysteries series are fun activities that engages students, and is even enjoyable for the teacher. Throughout the activities, students must do a different kind of thinking. They must think like a criminalist to solve “the crime of the times.” Students are presented with a case file that contains a crime scene, police report, and detective notes. The goal is for your students to examine and analyze the evidence to solve the mystery. They go through a step-by-step process of gathering information, analyzing photographs, and reading case files to figure out what happened during that historical time period. This is a unique series because it gives students the opportunity to think and do the work of a criminalist, a profession that may spark their interest and enlighten a career path.

Debating the Documents

The activities in Debating the Documents are rich is developing many student skills: analyzing, debating, writing, which, in turn, fosters critical thinking.  First, students must analyze sets of primary sources, examining photographs, close-read documents, or both. Then, they must decide which set of sources would be most useful to a historian studying that time period. But, students are not done with this activity just yet. They must justify why they chose a particular set, which can be difficult because both sets could be useful. Students need to be able to back up their choices, and really think about the value of primary sources.

Conquering Close Reading

Conquering Close Reading  is great series to help students apply critical thinking skills and analyze what they read. The activities are intended to be used with Joy Hakim’s Freedom: A History of US ; however, they are just as beneficial as stand-alone assignments. In each activity, there is a snippet of reading, followed by several close reading strategies to help students dig deeper into the text. Strategies include: “wrecking the text,” “read with a pencil,” and citing evidence, just to name a few.

History Unfolding

History Unfolding  is another series that I have used with success in my classroom, especially with middle-school aged students. Basically, students examine images by answering increasingly complex analysis questions. What I love about this series is the flexibility it offers in how you present the material to the class. I have done it in many different ways: from presenting the information in a whole class format, to setting up images around the room and having students analyze them in a rotation. But, not only is the presentation flexible, my class has seen some great discussion as a result of analyzing these images. Students who would not normally speak out in class would offer great, insightful thoughts that would keep us engaged as a class.

Sure, thinking can be hard for students, but if we give them the right tools to help them grow this essential skill, we can start to see them transform into more independent thinkers.

What successful critical thinking activities have you used in your classroom?

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Jessica Hayes has been teaching for five years. She completed a bachelors’ degree in Social Science Education at Auburn University in 2009, and a master’s degree in English Education from Jacksonville State University in 2014. Recently, she has received her Instructional Leadership certificate. In her work as a certified trainer for  Active Classroom , she builds curriculum maps and trains educators on using the program. In her spare time, she loves reading and learning new technology/productivity skills.

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I am a retired 45 year+ teacher which includes being a literacy facilitator/ administrator. I am transitioning back to the classroom next fall. Currently taking courses (S.S./Lang.Arts/Tech) for teacher license renewal. Your information will be very helpful to help teachers and students.

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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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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.

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Effective Social Studies Practices: Thinking Like a Scholar

Tuesday, august 13, 2024 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm edt.

Presented by Brian Thomas, Curriculum Developer, TCI

Sponsored by Teachers’ Curriculum Institute (TCI)

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Teachers’ Curriculum Institute (TCI) uses six core instructional practices that make social studies engaging and accessible for every student. One of TCI’s strategies for classroom activities is the Social Studies Skill Builder, which uses short, fast-paced activities to teach skills and content. After quickly modeling a skill, such as analyzing political ads, you can let your students practice the skill repeatedly.

In this edWebinar, Brian Thomas, TCI curriculum specialist, guides you through this teaching strategy, offering practical tips and real-world examples to help you implement them in your classroom. Viewers discover how to foster critical thinking, encourage collaboration, and make social studies come alive for your students.

This recorded edWebinar is of interest to K-12 social studies teachers, school leaders, and education technology leaders.

About the Presenter

Brian Thomas is a former classroom teacher and current Learning Designer at TCI. He has been with TCI since 2004. Brian has worked in sales, professional development, content development, and social media at TCI.

Prior to TCI, Brian taught middle school social studies in the Lakota Local School District for twelve years near his home in Cincinnati, OH. During that time, he served as a department chairperson as well as Athletic Director.

Brian’s education includes a B.S.Ed. from Miami University, Oxford, OH in Secondary Education – Social Studies (1992). He also holds a M.S.Ed. in Learning Design & Technology from Purdue University, Lafayette, IN (2016).

Join the K-12 Social Studies and Civics: Educating Tomorrow’s Citizens  community to network with educators, participate in online discussions, receive invitations to upcoming edWebinars, and view recordings of previous programs to earn CE certificates.

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Social Studies Skills and 21st Century Skills

Lower elementary students should learn 21 st century skills at a foundational level in order to use them throughout their education. Social studies courses provide an excellent platform for incorporating these skills at a young age. As we design our elementary heritage studies materials, we use these skills as a guide to incorporate the best learning standards for your students. Here are some suggestions for integrating 21 st century skills into your elementary social studies course.

Learning and Innovation Skills

Creativity and innovation.

Social studies encourages creativity in students by exposing them to new ideas and perspectives. Stories such as biographical accounts of people who used their creativity to initiate change help students see how they can use their own skills. In-class activities should challenge students to find creative solutions to school or classroom issues, such as how to include other students who may feel left out. Through these activities, students will learn how to use their creativity to contribute to society. Social studies can also teach students that any career path, whether becoming a doctor, a veterinarian, or a government official, requires creativity and innovation. This work stems from our identity as image bearers of the Creator as we fulfill God’s command to subdue the earth in Genesis 1:28.

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

Encourage students to identify problems in their community and find ways to solve them (e.g. cleaning up litter on the roadside or bringing meals to families in need). The reality of the Fall makes critical thinking very important for students to find truth and apply discernment in their everyday life. Assignments that ask about how to interpret current or historical events encourage students to ask these important questions for themselves. Another way to promote critical thinking is to have students analyze diagrams, artwork, and photos.

Communication

Communication is important in social studies as students learn to interact with their families, classmates, and communities. Students develop oral and written communication skills when they articulate thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively through speaking and writing activities. Journal assignments help students practice writing skills, while class presentations develop speaking skills. An important aspect of learning to communicate is to communicate things that honor God and encourage other people.

Collaboration

Students should learn to work productively with others. Social studies encourages students to be good Christian citizens by valuing the image of God in other people. Collaboration in group discussions or projects helps students learn to be sociable and interact well with others. In lower elementary, encourage collaboration during learning games and activities. When students collaborate, they learn to be flexible and cooperative and to take responsibility for their actions.

Information, Media, and Technology Skills

Information literacy.

Because social studies relies heavily on informational texts, students must learn informational literacy to succeed in the course. Teachers can encourage informational literacy by helping students work with informational texts in the textbook, by helping students evaluate information, and by supporting students’ recall through formative and summative assessments. Asking review questions orally in class and on written work pages will help students learn how to recall and process information. Comparing and contrasting texts, analyzing visual information, and creating graphic organizers from given information improve students’ informational literacy.

Media Literacy

Students should learn how information can change based on the audience. Teachers can highlight how students talk differently to their teachers, friends, parents, and siblings because they have different kinds of relationships. In media, information can be framed in different ways depending on the intended audience. Because information in media changes so frequently, it is important to remember that God’s Word is the standard for truth and we can always trust it.

ICT Literacy (Information, Communications, and Technology)

Students should learn to use technology appropriately for information gathering and digital communication. Teach them that technology is a tool that they can use as an aid for accessing and using information. Teachers can create guided research assignments for students to find biographical information using age-appropriate educational websites. Technology in a classroom should enhance and not distract from the students’ learning experience. Students should learn that God cares how people use technology, so they should use it with discernment. Technology can be a tool to know and serve God better.

Life and Career Skills

Flexibility and adaptability.

A social studies course can equip students to adapt to varied roles and responsibilities. Projects should encourage them to face new and potentially uncomfortable situations to help them work in diverse environments. Having students frequently participate in new classroom roles will foster adaptability and flexibility. An important aspect of flexibility and adaptability is learning to trust God’s control and love other people, even when plans change.

Initiative and Self Direction

Students should learn to take responsibility for their own work and practice developing an understanding of their abilities. Giving students assessments helps them evaluate their own progress. In class, hold them accountable for using time wisely, but also encourage them to work efficiently without supervision. When students take learning into their own hands, they are in the process of becoming lifelong learners.

Social and Cross-Cultural Skills

Teachers can encourage a classroom that appreciates and respects diversity. Create an environment in which each student is seen as a vital part of the classroom. A social studies assignment could have students share about their cultural background with the class. Students could present research about a different culture to broaden the class’s understanding of other cultures. Bridging cultural differences and inviting differing perspectives increase innovation and the quality of work and teaches students to understand that God values people from every culture. Students will learn to practice the respect for others that the teacher models.

Productivity and Accountability

Teachers should set appropriately challenging standards and goals for students. Consistently enforcing deadlines and time limits encourages students to display diligence and a positive work ethic. Students should learn to value and practice punctuality and reliability.

Leadership and Responsibility

The teacher can encourage students to see themselves as leaders by enlisting them as classroom community helpers. Keeping students accountable for how they act in leadership rolls instills integrity and ethical behavior in them. Remind students that leadership as Jesus demonstrates is humble and servant minded.

To support the teacher’s instruction and modeling, our heritage studies textbooks help students develop social studies skills and 21 st century skills in their immediate context of family, school, and the regional community. Christians should be peaceable and responsible citizens who contribute positively to society. Whether it is information, technology, innovation, life, or media, these skills help students learn diligence and love for God and others. These skills help students look outside themselves and their abilities to help other people with the resources God gave them.

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When you  post a link to content on or through the Service, you represent and warrant that (a) you have all the rights and/or licenses necessary to use, reproduce, publish, publicly display, publicly perform, distribute, and otherwise exploit such content in connection with the Service, including the right to grant to others all of the rights and licenses contemplated herein; (b) the content will not infringe or otherwise violate the copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights of any third party; and (c) you have the consent, release, and/or permission of each identifiable person depicted in your content to upload, transmit, publish, sublicense, and/or disseminate their name and/or likeness through the Service. You retain ownership of any rights – including, but not limited to, copyrights and trademark rights – you claim to your submitted content. Nothing in the Service or in these Terms limits the existing rights of Members under the Copyright Act, including but not limited to rights under Sections 110(1) (classroom teaching), 110(2) (distance learning), or 107 (fair use) of the Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. 101 et seq.).

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In consideration of your use of the Service, you represent that you are at least 18 years of age and are not a person barred from receiving these services under the laws of the United States or other applicable jurisdiction. You also agree to: (a) provide true, accurate, current, and complete information about yourself as prompted by the Service’s registration form (the “Member Data”) and (b) maintain and promptly update the Member Data to keep it true, accurate, current, and complete at all times. If you provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current, or incomplete, or if Teacher Tools Online ®  has reasonable grounds to suspect that such information is untrue, inaccurate, not current, or incomplete, without limiting any other remedies, Teacher Tools Online ®  has the right to suspend or terminate your Member Account and refuse any and all current or future use of the Service (or any portion thereof). Please see our Privacy Policy for further information.

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This Service and affiliate services are provided by BJU Press. You understand and agree to the following:

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- upload, post, email, transmit, or otherwise make available to Members or visitors any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letters,” “pyramid schemes,” “affiliate links,” or any other form of solicitation;

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- transmit email or any other content that includes personal or identifying information about another person without that person’s explicit consent;

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- offer stolen goods and/or materials that infringe a patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights of another person, or entity or that violate any rights of privacy or publicity, or that defame or libel any person or entity, or offer content that you do not have a right to make available under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships (including without limitation any goods purchased or obtained by you without right of resale such as promotional materials or school market-restricted materials);

- include hyperlinks, on Teacher Tools Online ® , to the website of any other platform or service offering or facilitating the sale of teaching materials or other educational products.

- advertise any illegal products or services or the sale of any items the sale of which is prohibited or restricted by applicable law, including without limitation items the sale of which is prohibited or regulated by applicable law;

- provide materials or any other content for download that contain viruses or any other code, files, or programs designed to interrupt, destroy, or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;

- disrupt the normal flow of dialogue with an excessive number of messages (flooding attack) to the Service, or in any manner that otherwise negatively affects Members’ and visitors’ ability to use the Service;

- employ misleading email or IP addresses, or forged headers, or otherwise manipulated identifiers in order to disguise the origin of content transmitted through the Service;

- attempt to gain unauthorized access to Teacher Tools Online ® ’s computer systems or engage in any activity that disrupts, diminishes the quality of, interferes with the performance of, or impairs the functionality of, the Service;

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- collect any personally identifying data about Members or visitors for commercial or unlawful purposes; or

- use automated means, including spiders, robots, crawlers, data mining tools, or the like to download data from the Service-except for internet search engines (e.g., Google or Yahoo!) and non-commercial public archives (e.g., archive.org) that comply with our robots.txt file, or that are “well-behaved” web services/RSS/Atom clients. We reserve the right to define what we mean by “well-behaved,” and to develop, invoke, or utilize any means to disrupt, diminish the quality of, interfere with the performance of, or impair the functionality of any automated means you may use to access the Service.

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You are fully responsible for your behavior on Teacher Tools Online ® , which includes the way that you utilize any aspect of the Teacher Tools Online ® service.

1. You are completely and solely responsible for the content you post on Teacher Tools Online ® , which includes, but is not limited to, photos, messages, chat, personal profiles, community posts, broadcasts, blogs, events, audio and video clips. Unauthorized or illegal content includes, but is not limited to:

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(g) the display of information about another person without their express consent, or the posting of any copyrighted material that you do not have legal authorization to use.

BJU Press has the right, in its sole discretion, to determine whether content is unauthorized, offensive, harmful, illegal, or in violation of the rights of others.

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3. You understand and agree that you can only use Teacher Tools Online ® for academic use. You cannot use Teacher Tools Online ®  for any commercial or business purposes.

4. Any member who demonstrably harasses or abuses another member will be removed from Teacher Tools Online ® .

5. Other unauthorized or illegal behaviors include, but are not limited to:

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(d) the posting of information that implicitly or explicitly implies that it is endorsed by Teacher Tools Online ®

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Teacher Tools Online ®  prohibits certain user conduct and content described above and, without obligation, will use reasonable efforts to eliminate such conduct and content from the Service. Nevertheless, you acknowledge and agree that (i) Teacher Tools Online ®  is not and cannot be responsible for any content, information, or materials posted by users on the Service, (ii) you may be exposed to any such materials, information, or content, and (iii) you must bear all risks associated with the exposure to and/or use of any such materials, information, or content, including without limitation any reliance on the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of such materials, information, or content. Without limitation of the foregoing, Teacher Tools Online ®  has the right to, but may or may not, pre-screen and/or monitor content posted on the Service, and without limiting any remedies, may remove, edit, move, or close, in whole or in part, any content, information or materials, or thread or posting in any chat room and/or similar feature on the Service, at any time for any reason, in Teacher Tools Online ® ’s sole discretion.

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The Service contains links to other websites or resources. Teacher Tools Online ®  has no control over such external sites and resources. You agree that (i) Teacher Tools Online ®  is not responsible for the availability or accuracy of such external sites and resources, and (ii) Teacher Tools Online ®  does not endorse nor is it responsible or liable for any content, advertising, products, services or materials on or available from such external sites and resources. Any reliance on the contents or services of such an external website or resource is done at your own risk and you assume all responsibilities and consequences resulting from such reliance.

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BJU Press respects copyright and other laws. BJU Press requires all users to comply with copyright and other laws.

BJU Press does not provide you with file-sharing ability so that you can violate the copyright of third parties.

As a member of Teacher Tools Online ® , you agree that you must not use Teacher Tools Online ®  to infringe the intellectual property of others in any way. The unauthorized reproduction, distribution, modification, or posting of copyrighted work is a violation of copyright law.

You are responsible for your behavior on Teacher Tools Online ®  and for making sure that it does not violate any copyright laws. If you violate copyright laws, then you may be exposed to civil and criminal liability, including possible fines and jail time.

We respect the intellectual property rights of others, and we ask that our Members and users do the same. It is our policy to disable access to or remove material that we believe in good faith to be infringing on a copyrighted work. We also disable and/or terminate the accounts of users who we believe in good faith are repeatedly infringing copyrighted works. Our Copyright Policy has been developed in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and other applicable laws. By accepting these Terms of Service, you agree to be bound by our Copyright Policy, which is by this reference expressly incorporated into this Agreement.

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We take the privacy of our users’ and Members’ information very seriously. Our Privacy Policy is available at www.TeacherToolsOnline.com/Privacy-Policy. By accepting these Terms of Service, you agree to be bound by our Privacy Policy, which is by this reference expressly incorporated into this Agreement.

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IN NO EVENT, SITUATION, OR CIRCUMSTANCE WILL BJU PRESS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OR RESULTING FROM YOUR USE OF TEACHER TOOLS ONLINE ® , WHETHER OR NOT BJU PRESS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THIS INCLUDES, BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO DAMAGES FROM UPLOADED OR DOWNLOADED THIRD PARTY CONTENT, AND DAMAGES FROM THE INTERRUPTION OR TERMINATION OF THE TEACHER TOOLS ONLINE ®  SERVICES. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OF EXCLUSION OF LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IN NO EVENT, SITUATION, OR CIRCUMSTANCE WILL BJU PRESS BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR AN AMOUNT EXCEEDING FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($500.00).

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BJU Press can refuse membership to anyone at its sole discretion. In addition, Teacher Tools Online ®  can terminate the membership and delete any related information of any member at any time for any reason. If BJU Press terminates your membership, then you can no longer use the Teacher Tools Online ®  service or the services of any of its affiliates.

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Social Barriers to Critical Thinking

Thinking about the application of critical thinking in public settings..

Posted August 13, 2024 | Reviewed by Michelle Quirk

• We must acknowledge our biases when evaluating research presented via media and strive to find the source.
• In situations that have important consequences, how we deal with the bias-based conflict is what matters.
• Those living in places where free speech is protected are lucky; this right should not be taken for granted.

I recently wrote a research paper on cognitive barriers to critical thinking (CT), discussing flaws in thinking associated with intuitive judgment, emotion , bias , and epistemological misunderstanding, as well as inadequate CT skills and dispositions (Dwyer, 2023). A colleague progressed this thinking by asking me about social barriers to CT, through a number of specific questions. After thinking about these questions for a bit, I thought it useful to answer some of them here as consideration for CT in social situations.

What happens when people believe they’re thinking critically, but they are just repeating some party line?

The simple answer is that because the individual isn’t thinking critically and they’re just telling you what they believe, it’s up to you to decide whether or not it’s worth the effort to tell them. This depends on who the person is and how open they are to changing their mind —which people are quite hesitant to do; so, this might well be a futile endeavour. I probably would avoid engaging unless it’s someone I care about, who’s about to make an important decision based on erroneous information. Context is important here.

Of course, the folly is an example of in-group bias. The individual likely believes that their "group" has thought critically about the topic in question because they believe said party is credible with respect to the information they present. Thus, the individual might fail to evaluate the claim themselves because they are using their party’s thinking as some form of "expert opinion," even when there might be no relevant expertise to cite.

But, let’s say some research has been cited. Though the individual is right to talk about the research in the sense that research represents the most credible source of evidence , it does not ensure that this particular piece of research is credible. For example, consider how most people hear about new research. Academics know to read the relevant peer-reviewed journals, but not everyone is an academic. Most people hear about research from the news. It’s easy for a TV program or news radio show to talk about new research, but how sure can we be that such sources know how to properly interpret said research? Moreover, how do we know that the research was adequately conducted? We are hearing about research from a secondary source as opposed to the people who conducted it. This is problematic because a lot can be lost in the translation from the initial source, through the "middleman," and onto the public. As consumers of information, we must acknowledge our own potential biases when evaluating research presented to us through media outlets and strive to find the source of the research to ensure that we’re getting the full story.

Does one’s ideology and self-interest play a role in CT?

Ideology and self-interest are essentially bias-based cognitive structures; so, yes, they can affect one’s CT. However, if your decision is made in light of ideology and/or self-interest, then what you’re doing is not CT. If the information a person is presented with aligns with their pre-existing worldviews, they are likely to treat it as new information or as additional knowledge. Simply, if the information supports what we already believe, we are more likely to trust it (i.e., consider confirmation bias ). However, if the information contradicts such worldviews, we’re more likely to declare " fake news " without looking into it much further or, instead, pick flaws in it. This happens to the best of us from time to time, especially if the stakes aren’t particularly high (i.e., the decision you make doesn’t bear any important consequences ).

But, in situations that have important consequences, how we deal with the bias-based conflict is what matters. Our intuitive judgment will always tell us our gut feeling on a matter, but whether or not we engage in reflective judgment and dig deeper into the matter will determine whether or not we think critically . A critical thinker will look further into an important idea that they initially considered silly and might find that it’s actually well-supported by evidence (or it may not be, but at least they made the effort to further evaluate). Such evidence might lead them to further question the perspective and, ultimately, change their mind.

Is it worth sharing one’s CT in environments that punish CT?

This is a tough question because there are two equally acceptable answers—an idealistic one (yes) and a practical one (no)—the application of which, again, comes down to context. Some environments might discourage or even punish CT if the conclusions drawn contradict what is deemed "acceptable" (be it socially, politically, or even legally). In such cases, staying "quiet" seems like a practical and prudent move (even though it contradicts what many might view as intellectual integrity). That is, what’s more important, being right or avoiding punishment ? Another way of looking at this is thinking about whether speaking up is just a matter of being right, or the other party’s mistake is going to impact you in an important way. Is that "important way" worth potential punishment? Context is a key consideration here. Of course, environments where free speech is encouraged change things a bit; but if your CT contradicts the status quo, though you may not be "punished" for your conclusions, you might risk other negative knock-on effects. Sure, the ideal might seem more palatable in this context (i.e., sharing your CT), but there are many who might well stay quiet for reasons of practicality. Again, it depends on their own personal contexts (e.g., are you only risking offending someone or could you potentially put your employment in danger by stating your conclusions?).

All in all, each situation requires evaluation and appraisal of whether or not it is worth sharing one’s CT. From an idealistic perspective, this is a shame . Ideally , one should always feel free to share their thinking if CT has been applied. However, this is not always the practical strategy. Ultimately, what one can actually gain from sharing their conclusions (relative to what is likely to be lost), is what should determine whether or not such thinking is shared (e.g., Are you in a meaningful position to genuinely elicit positive change? ). The only real conclusion I can draw in this context is that those living in places where free speech is protected are truly very lucky, and this right should not be taken for granted. It should be practiced and maintained, but it is also imperative that it is well-informed. If it’s not, someone else with the right to speak freely, who has conducted CT, will hopefully call out that erroneous information. Of course, I recognise how that might seem a bit idealistic, because, unfortunately, as discussed above, many people often believe they have thought critically, even when they have not.

Dwyer, C.P. (2023). An evaluative review of barriers to critical thinking in educational and real-world settings. Journal of Intelligence: Critical Thinking in Everyday Life (Special Issue) , 11:105, doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence11060105.

Christopher Dwyer, Ph.D., is a lecturer at the Technological University of the Shannon in Athlone, Ireland.

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