How to Develop Critical Thinking Skills in Students

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How to Develop Critical Thinking Skills in
Students Help your students develop critical
thinking skills. There are plenty of strategies
that you can use. Here are some of the best ones
that you can put to try out. Consider your
students, how they learn, what techniques work
for them and pick out which strategies will work
best in your classroom. Be Clear About What It
is First, before you undertake anything, you'll
want to be clear about what critical thinking is.
What skills make up this quality? It usually
includes communication and information skills. It
also includes skills in thinking and solving
problems, interpersonal and self-directional and
collaboration. Your Indian high school students
need to have all these skills for their critical
thinking to improve. Now that you're clear about
the qualities you need to strengthen and
encourage in your students, you're ready to hear
the strategies. Encourage Discovery The best
IB schools in Dubai recognize the vital discovery
in shaping up the kids' learning experience.
That's why their curriculums are designed to
encourage learning through discovery. Critical
thinking is achieved when the students are
empowered to seek out answers on their own.
That's against the traditional learning model
wherein kids usually listen passively in class.
You'll want to create opportunities in class,
too, that allow your students to learn by
discovering ideas or concepts. Only Facilitate
the Discussion In the past, teachers were often
the centre of the discussion. They started the
lecture, and students were required to listen.
If there were any questions, they were
discouraged. It was considered the norm to wait
until the lecture was over before one could ask
anything. That's not the way schools with a
holistic approach work, though. Instead of the
discussion centred around the teacher, the
opposite is true. Discussions are always centred
around the students and their learning needs. The
most significant difference is that the students
and not the teachers drive the discussion
forward. Teachers are only there to steer the
conversation in the right direction. However, if
it's going well, then they're not going to step
in. They are only there to guide the
conversation, which gives the students so many
chances to dominate the discussion. Let Them
Ask Questions Encourage your students to keep
asking questions. Don't tell them to wait until
the lecture is done. Also, keep answering their
questions even if they tend to ask the same ones.
It might be tiring to have to answer the same
question several times, but that's how students
learn. By taking the time to be patient with
them, you strengthen their resolve. You encourage
them to be more active in discussions. Teach
Them to Follow Up Don't let them stop at one
question. Teach them how to follow up on an idea
or subject. Show them how they can follow a
thought until it spawns multiple ideas and
variations. Walk them through your thought
process to see what questions bring out more of
the topic or subject.
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Assign Creative Projects Another way to
encourage the kids to be critical thinkers is to
encourage their interest in creative projects.
Art helps improve critical thinking. Just make
sure you don't focus too much on what the right
kind of art is. Instead, encourage them to
express their thoughts. Encourage them to create
their products, for instance. You can ask them
to build a snowman. They can put their twist on
the snowman. This could represent what they
feel, the style they're more attracted to, and
even the kind of art that resonates with them.
Ask them why, too. The articulation will help
build critical thinking skills.