Samuel Joseph Thomson of Southington, CT works as a teacher, assistant football coach and camp counselor. In the following article, Samuel Thomson discusses the importance of critical thinking skills and how to teach this strategy to students of any age.
Critical thinking is a necessary task for not only leaders, but all human beings hoping to live a successful and happy life, regardless of their field of study. Learning critical thinking is a process that starts throughout the developmental years.
Samuel Joseph Thomson of Southington, CT says that according to the experts at EdWeek.org, the best way to teach critical thinking skills is to encourage the question “why?” At the same time, an educator must be capable of balancing a student’s development of asking this question with the open-mindedness that must also be encouraged.
In this article, Samuel Joseph Thomson of Southington, CT provides a step-by-step guide on how to teach critical thinking skills to any student or child at any level of development. The suggestions below should lead any would-be educator or even parent to a bold and confident strategy that results in a child being well on their way to successful critical thinking know-how.
Sam Thomson on the Skills to Achieve
Samuel Joseph Thomson of Southington, CT says that with the steps listed below, the attempt to eliminate the overwhelming nature of this task is the focus. Let’s take a look at these steps to gain a better understanding of how to teach these valuable skills to students and children:
- Define Open-Mindedness
- Utilize Examples of Conflicting Ideas
- Emphasize the Importance of the Question “Why?”
- Encourage Open-Mindedness Once More
Below, a breakdown of each part of the strategy is discussed in greater detail. This way, any educator can jump into the task with confidence in their own ability and the eventual success of the strategy!
Define Open-Mindedness
Samuel Joseph Thomson of Southington, CT says that the word “critical” is an important connotation in critical thinking. It is imperative that students of all ages are first shown the importance of having an open mind. After all, it takes just as much open-mindedness to believe something as it does to question it, which is essential to these important life skills.
The first step, even with students of an older age, is to define open-mindedness at its core. Remember, having an open mind means entering a question with a willingness to believe anything that has enough evidence behind it, not just believing something that already agrees with a prejudice or viewpoint they may have begun with.
One good way to show the necessity of open-mindedness is through asking an open-ended question, and only answering with encouraging responses no matter what they are. Samuel Joseph Thomson of Southington, CT says that this generates creativity as well as critical use of that ingenuity because fear of being incorrect is removed.
Utilize Examples of Conflicting Ideas
Next, provide students with age-appropriate examples of ideas that are in direct confliction with one another. For example, one could make a pro and con list for two separate categories. Students should be asked to list the pros for a category like “swimming in a community pool” as well as cons, versus “swimming at the beach.”
Sam Thomson of Southington, CT explains that what this does, even for students in kindergarten, is allow them to see that there is not always a wrong or right answer to every given problem. This further emphasizes the importance of an open mind, or multiple “right” answers, but also exercises the students’ ability to make a decision based on many facts rather than one or two that they already agree with.
Emphasize the Importance of the Question “Why?”
When students answer an open-ended or vague question, ask the question “why?” over and over. This is a way to teach the analysis of an issue. If a student’s class typically focuses on a topic like history or science, or even art, the question “why?” can be applied to topics like these as a way to blend the two.
This gives students a chance to see that the question “why?” should always be asked in order to determine the validity of the answer or motive.
Encourage Open-Mindedness Again
Finally, Sam Thomson of Southington, CT says that to finish up the lesson in critical thinking skills with encouraging open-mindedness once more. Even with the critical thinking skills built up throughout the lesson, students of all ages may have a hard time applying these skills to lifestyles and mindsets that they have long been accustomed to holding.
If students are going to apply critical thinking to areas of life like merchandising or research validity, they need to know the value of truth that is inherent to critical thinking.
In Conclusion
Sam Thomson of Southington, CT says that teaching critical thinking skills to students of all ages is certainly possible. All it takes is a thorough, step-by-step strategy that can apply to any level of learning with understanding and patience.
The first of these steps involves encouraging open-mindedness; without it, critical thinking cannot take place! The next two involve understanding facts and asking the question “why?” to prove those facts’ importance in application. Finally, open-mindedness should be emphasized again for all student ages!
