Instilling Critical Thinking in Classroom

04:53:00 PICT Model School 0 Comments

Critical Thinking is a term often used by educators which means ‘making reasoned judgements’. Critical Thinking is to promote independent thinking and reasoned judgements which involve logic as well as creativity. Critical Thinking is important in life because it develops the power to evaluate, helps ‘out of the box thinking’ and present your thoughts in a persuasive manner.

Critical Thinking and Education
Education is no longer about producing well-informed individuals. The scope of education has never been wider as we see this day. It is about systematically training the brain to analyse complex concepts, evaluating them in real life context and thereby, modifying into actions. In order to allow Critical Thinking in classroom, educators have to create opportunities for group discussions, debates, cooperative learning (Active Learning Strategies) which will foster free thinking in learners.

How PICT has adopted Critical Thinking in classroom
Educators at PICT encourage Critical Thinking by conducting activities that promote Active Learning. They have come up with strategies which train learners to think critically. It has helped our learners to evaluate and analyse before concluding to a judgement. Designing academic lessons plans that promote critical thinking has not only helped our learners transfer critical thinking skills to other areas of their lives, but it has also improved the effectiveness of the lessons. Some of the strategies that we follow at PICT are:
- Thinking of imaginative ways and solutions while solving a problem
- Allowing sufficient time for students to reflect on the questions asked or problems posed
- Promoting interactions amongst students
- Finding analogies and other kinds of relationships between pieces of information

Educators at PICT know that without critical thinking systematically designed into instruction, learning is transitory and superficial. It is, therefore, essential that learners be prepared for thinking their way through the maze of challenges that life will present independently. This is why, at PICT, we have adopted Critical Thinking in our instructional strategies to empower our learners to think independently, analytically and in an innovative way.