MISSION:  To improve K-12 instruction of critical thinking skills.

Everyone agrees critical thinking is paramount, but it doesn’t appear evident in political partisans, science deniers, and conspiracy theorists. They have access to all the same information, but they lack the skills to distin­guish fact from misinformation, all while claiming they are the true critical thinkers.

Schools often highlight critical thinking as one of their highest goals. But the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are very sparse about critical thinking. Furthermore, data below shows critical thinking skills get very little instruction time, even by well meaning teachers.

“Critical thinking” is a rather abstract goal with a broad definition, so the first step is to clarify the definition and identify specific teachable skills:

Note that logic is the application of objective rules, which is taught through math and other subjects. Analysis is breaking down ideas into smaller components, which is also taught. Knowledge helps inform your judgment. Critical thinking incorporates all to make a subjective judgment. The component skills are just exercises to help develop critical thinking.

In the CCSS & NGSS this is how many standards mention each skill. For comparison, notice that Quadratic Equations are cited much more than critical thinking skills:

Actual classroom data shows a similar imbalance where critical thinking skills are taught significantly less. Below are relatively how many assignments and tests are given for various topics. Do you think this reflects what is most important for students to learn in life?

These skills need to be practiced regularly, not just taught once. If critical thinking is at least as important as math and vocabulary, then it should be taught just as much.

Since the CCSS & NGSS do not specifically require many component skills for critical thinking, this is probably why many teachers spend so little time on them. We need to revise these and the state curriculum standards. In the meanwhile, we can augment the district and school curriculum.

Of course class time is limited, so adding more requirements means reducing other parts of the curriculum, which is a difficult and painful decision. It would be wise to identify what knowledge and skills are rarely used or remembered beyond school, to replace that instruction time with more critical thinking skills. To paraphrase a proverb:

To fill gaps in the curriculum, I am developing free learning apps, and more curriculum developers need to create more content for these skills.