What is critical thinking? It is a way of thinking and questioning things around us in order to make better decisions. It can be defined as the ability to think clearly and rationally, and to understand the logical connections between ideas. It is the ability to enter into a process of independent and reflective thinking.

Connection to deeper learning

Critical thinking requires us to use the skill of reasoning. It involves active learning and not just being a passive recipient of incoming information. People who use critical thinking question the ideas they receive instead of accepting them as straight facts. These people are also determined to test their ideas, whether they are accepted by the majority or not and whether they can be contradicted.

The characteristics of a critical thinkers are that they:

• understand the connections between ideas

• determine the importance of arguments and ideas

• recognize, construct and evaluate arguments

• identify inconsistencies and errors in reasoning

• approach problems consciously and systematically

• reflect on the justification of their own beliefs, thoughts and values

Our lives are full of events that involve non-stop problem solving and decision making. We are inundated with information from various media outlets and social media platforms. What is the best car to buy? Who should I vote for? People need to know how to sift through all this information and decide what are reliable and credible sources of information to use in their daily lives. And we want to be able to do this in a thoughtful and logical manner.

Critical thinking therefore enables us to analyze, interpret, reflect, evaluate, infer, and explain information to be able to solve problems and make decisions. That is why critical thinking is an essential component of deeper learning. Deeper learning can be described as the capacity for learning how to learn. It also helps us evaluate how to approach learning, what topics are relevant for us, or rather, which ones to focus on more, depending on our specific needs.

Different components of critical thinking

It is important to remember that the elements of critical thinking need to be taught explicitly, rather than assuming the learners will automatically pick up on the when trainers run through complex material with adult learners. For learners to develop critical thinking skills, they must put that knowledge to work through deliberate practice, that specifically focuses on development of critical-thinking skills. That can be accomplished through carefully designed activities and assignments that provide learners opportunities to practice applying critical-thinking principles to answer questions and solve problems.

Critical thinking process can be divided into several steps:

• Analysis – thinking about a topic or issue objectively and critically. This could start with clarifying the issue. For example, the issue of climate change is about sustainability and future generations. Interpretation/reflection – by identifying and reflecting on the different arguments relating to an issue. In our example, this includes identifying and reflecting on the arguments presented by the man-made climate change advocates and those supporting ‘natural’ climate change.

• Evaluation – critically evaluating how strong and valid are different points of view, including any weaknesses or negative aspects in the evidence or argument.

• Inference – considering the implications there might be behind a statement or argument. For example, considering the ramifications a decision will have for yourself and others.

• Problem solving and decision making – giving structured reasoning and support for your choice.

How to support increasing critical thinking skills?

While there are numerous methods and activities that can be used to increase and practice critical thinking, this article does not serve as a methodological plan, but rather offers general rules and principles that you can apply during your training courses.

Don't take things for granted

The first step to increasing critical thinking is to evaluate the information we receive. Explain to the learners that before they do something because it's what they've always done, or before they accept a truth that's been stated as such, they should think. Tell them to ask themselves what the problem is and what the possible solutions are? Of course, they have to choose what to believe and what to decide and what to do. But by evaluating things they are more likely to make better, more sensible decisions.

Define your goals

Ask them a question – “What do you want to achieve?” Defining the goal or end point is an essential step in developing an action plan and strategy to get there. By illustrating the pathway to the selected goal, the learner evaluates all the aspects and obstacles that might arise, as well as links between different types of information.

Investigate

We are constantly confronted with information, which can be an asset when it comes to making a good decision. When faced with a problem to solve, a prospect to evaluate or a difficult decision to make, it is advised to search the Internet, investigate, read about it. Explain to them that they should look for other sources of information, other types of arguments and opinions. They should find out if there is conflicting information. The more information they have, the better prepared they will be to make a better decision.

Don't assume you are right

It is gratifying to know that a person is right. We all enjoy it. But believing that one’s arguments are valid does not necessarily close the door to other points of view. Try to explicate to the learners that thoughts, beliefs and arguments are only one possible explanation, but there are many others that are just as valid. Get them to open their mind to other perspectives.

Keep it simple

There is a way of thinking that is often used in scientific research to find out what the correct hypothesis is, called Occam's razor. It consists in always preferring the simplest possible explanation, until it is proven wrong. For example, if you have a headache, your first thought will not be “oh no, I’m dying” but rather, that you forgot to drink enough water that day - try not to overcomplicate the poble, if it’s not necessary.

Break the problem into parts

When dealing with a complex problem, get the learners to try to break it down into smaller parts. This way, these smaller parts will be easier to evaluate and address one by one, individually, and then put them together to arrive at a solution.

Critical thinking in the learning process

Most educational systems are built around a way of teaching through passive learning of knowledge, which may or may not be useful to learners for their future. One of the primary objectives that should be established in education is, more than teaching specific knowledge, to teach to think, to argue, to investigate and to find information about different topics. On the other hand, while non-formal education often eliminates these strict or passive principles, it can sometimes feel too unstructured, or unregulated.

It is fundamental for everyday life that we learn to question things and not take them for granted, and that we, or in this case , the learners do not believe everything they read, hear or see. Sometimes even people in the position of authorities, or experts can make a mistake, and this is why we should always encourage learners to look at and argue both sides of the issue, pros and cons.

And remember, critical thinking is a tool for making better decisions. However, it does not have to be used all the time. Not every decision we make is important or life threatening. In these cases, it is not necessary to use critical thinking, but perhaps more intuitive thinking, in order to save time and psychological effort.

Summary

When we speak about critical thinking, we speak about questioning things around us, so we can make better decisions. It’s important to not just be a passive recipient of information, but to think about the presented data and evaluate it. We make thousands of decisions every day, and if we want to make the best ones to our ability, we must assess the information and decide what is reliable and credible information and how to work with these facts in the future. Critical thinking is a crucial element used in deeper learning because it helps us evaluate our approach and decide what to pay more attention to. The critical thinking process can be divided into several steps: analysis, interpretation/reflection, evaluation, inference and problem solving and decision making.