HI. Using Technology To Develop Students’ Critical Thinking Skills - SPS | Distance Learning. What Is Critical Thinking? Critical thinking is a higher-order cognitive skill that is indispensable to students, readying them to respond to a variety of complex problems that are sure to arise in their personal and professional lives. The cognitive skills at the foundation of critical thinking are analysis, interpretation, evaluation, explanation, inference, and self-regulation. Below is an image that represents each of these skills (Facione, 2010, Critical thinking: What it is and why it counts). *Image retrieved from Rasmussen College When students think critically, they actively engage in these processes: CommunicationAnalysisSynthesisProblem-solvingEvaluationReflection *Adapted from Saint Petersburg College To create environments that engage students in these processes, instructors need to ask questions, encourage the expression of diverse opinions, and involve students in a variety of hands-on activities that force them to be involved in their learning.
Reflection activities. Articles.