How To Develop Your Child’s Critical Thinking Skills

What is Critical Thinking?

To put it in lucid language Critical thinking is the aptitude or the competence to dissect facts, corroborate and observation of evidence, and assessing the information congregated and come up with a knowledgeable decision. Critical thinking involves pragmatic application of logical arguments backed up by sound reasoning.

Actively interrogating oneself and challenging one’s own decision making skills is of paramount importance. Critical thinking also means clarification of our own thought processes or provide a reasoning or justification of other people’s arguments. In the Current generation, where there is cut-throat competition, critical thinking skills are considered of utmost importance.

Why is Critical Thinking Important?

It is better to develop Critical thinking skills in the formative years of a child as that would empower a child and enhance independent thinking. It encourages the child to be curious and he develops a compulsive need to understand or analyze the happenings around him. It not only amplifies growth on a professional front but has a huge effect on the happenings at his personal space.

Students empowered with Critical thinking skills adapt to life situations in a much better way and solve problems far more efficiently in comparison to others.

People exercise critical thinking by using rationality to determine what to do or believe in a specific situation.A student who is a critical thinker doesn’t only accumulate information well, but they also know how to use the information to deduce facts and determine outcomes. By visualizing outcomes, critical thinkers tend to be better at solving problems than students who simply memorize information or study just for the heck of learning.

Critical Thinking skills are life skills as we use them in our every day life even without realizing it. It makes us study or analyze a situation or scenario, weigh the pros and cons and then make pragmatic decisions, and also understand the potential complications or consequences of their decisions. We need to categorize Critical thinking as a life skill as it abets a student understand their own perception and also try to make sense of the fact that viewpoints can be different from person to person.

How to hone Critical thinking Skills in a Child?

Brainstorming

The marriage between brainstorming and critical thinking is excellent as far as decision making is concerned. Now, What exactly is Brainstorming? Brainstorming is nothing but initiation of ideas by an individual or group in a short period of time. The main purpose is to come up with maximum ideas, possibilities and probabilities, perceptions and alternatives. Ideas should not be judged or censored. All these ideas are critically analyzed , interpreted, evaluated using logical reasoning, validation and solid criteria. It helps us to arrive at level-headed and practical decisions and opinions based on resolute facts and knowledge. It also helps us avoid biases, errors and fallacies in the decision making process.

Teamwork

Group work or Teamwork pertains to a collaborative effort by a group of students\people who are working towards achieving a common goal. The main motto is to achieve desirable results in an effective and an efficient way. Each and every individual have their own set of skills and strengths. But they do say that all 5 fingers are not equal. In a team each and every member may possess a different skill set. It gives everyone an opportunity to learn from each other without implicating or pointing fingers at someone. As the individuals are working in a group, it helps in building resources, and the team becomes better equipped to deal with challenges. It also ameliorates the past errors taken by the group thereby reducing the flaws to a bare minimum.

Inspire Creativity

What exactly is Creativity? Creativity is the ability to generate new or novel ideas. An individual needs to go beyond his constraints or impediments and try to be innovative and distinctive as far as his ideas are concerned. Creativity goes hand in hand with innovation as ideas presented are divergent. We often tend to ask open-ended questions and these questions raise a lot of speculations and it also throws up a plethora of arguments. Students will enrich their learning experiences when these two skills match. It not only solves the problems in hand but also makes an individual analyze a problem in an innovative way to stay ahead of competition.

Ask Questions

It is imperative for people involved in the decision making process to ask questions. By asking questions a person gets his answers, clarifies his thought-process, gets a different perspective compared to his own and also challenges the assumptions made by another individual. Questions open up communication as it facilitates interactions, improves generation of ideas and also helps us understand the perspective of the other person. The most important questions that needed to be asked are Who, What, When, Where and How. By asking these questions we may get answers to most of our questions if not all.

Connect different ideas

Individuals need to think logically towards a problem so that they can break it down into smaller ones, when a problem breaks down we can think about it carefully as we tend to detail it out. This process not only provides answers but we also understands new concepts. When we comprehend an idea, we are able to apply it later in different walks of life. Connecting the dots or the ideas ensures that we fully grasp the concept and we think about it in a much more critical and nuanced or refined manner. We see how our ancestors use their past experiences to solve present day problems and scenarios thereby providing a more synergistic and holistic approach towards learning.

Incorporate different perspectives

There is a saying “ Not all five fingers are equal”. Each and every person is bound to have a perspective. Different opinions or viewpoints help us understand the perspective of another person. It helps us consider their views, believes, and experiences. By doing this we evaluate our own viewpoint and study the comparison. We also learn to trust the other person and learn humility which is a vital component of any relationships. Again, by acknowledging the perception of others we become open to acceptance of ideas which fosters new learning and increases intellectual or academic humility.

Encouraging decision making

When an individual trusts his or her instincts and comes up with a decision, it makes the person be open minded and be more realistic about accepting things. By arriving at a correct decision it shows that he has used the 360 - degree framework to work out the pros and cons. It makes him confident of his decisions and he is adopts a more proactive approach than a reactive one. This process creates more Start-up owners or entrepreneurs. It also enables us to make more conscious choices that would ensure that life is peaceful, happy and contented.

To encapsulate, it is of paramount importance that we hone the critical thinking skills at a very young age. By empowering them with to navigate complex challenges, weigh the pros and cons and come to a making a crucial decision we make them think objectively and critically. In today’s world where there is a rat race, we would want our children to rise head and shoulders among peers and competitors. By enriching theirs skills, we make them shrewd and they possess a good sense of judgement. In short, we turn them into “WORLD LEADERS” thereby resolving critical and significant issues.

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Article Author

Ramya Rajgopal

A Corporate Trainer with 20+ years of experience within the technology industry, specializing in curriculum design, talent development, and e-learning. A proven track record of delivering sales training and leadership development programs to build world-class sales organizations. She specialize in Process training and Communications training for kids and adults. and also a Business Communications and an IELTS trainer and have trained many students to achieve their desired band score.

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