How to Develop Critical Thinking Skills in Students
                      
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. 
 
  
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.