A favorite class focuses on the tendency to see meaningful patterns where there aren’t any, such as constellations of stars.
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A professor shows science students how humanities classes are the real stem that other disciplines sprout from. They learn that critical thinking and skepticism don’t stop when they leave the lab.
Key education policy decisions in the early 2000s have not produced the desired results. But broad bipartisan agreement is now needed to give children and teachers the greatest chance of success.
In the movie ‘WALL-E ,’ the technology-coddled humans of the future weren’t doing so well.
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Joe Árvai, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
AI has the potential to diminish the human experience in several ways. One particularly concerning threat is to the ability to make thoughtful decisions.
Listening to and learning from each other can help build future teachers’ empathy.
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Solving mathematical equations is only part of the job. Students should be spending more time thinking about the human dimensions of the problems they are trying to solve.
However Rodgers came to his decision to remain unvaccinated, he did not follow the tenets of critical thinking.
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Joe Árvai, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Critical thinking means seeking out new information – especially facts that might run contrary to what you believe – and being willing to change your mind. And it’s a teachable skill.
The annual BioArt competition highlights the hidden parts of biology revealed under a microscope.
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Scientists have been using art to illuminate and share their research with the public for centuries. And art could be one way to bolster K-12 science education and scientific literacy in the public.
Kids can ask the best questions.
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Critical thinking is being taught successfully in schools and universities around the world. Studies show it improves students’ thinking ability and even their standardised test scores.
Year 7 students at the International School of Helsinki, Finland, doing a sustainable development exercise with the author (top left) and fellow teacher Rachael Thrash.
Katja Lehtonen
My year of buying almost nothing saved me thousands of dollars – but also taught me valuable lessons as a teacher, including about the benefits of failure.
Legal battles require the same skills seen at the highest levels of chess.
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The same skills and talents that enable chess players to dominate the board will also serve aspiring lawyers well in the courtroom, a law scholar argues.
A recent report from RBC Royal Bank predicts increasing workplace demand for foundational skills such as critical thinking, coordination, social perceptiveness, active listening and complex problem solving. Here graduands attend spring convocation at the University of British Columbia in 2015.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A report from RBC Royal Bank reaffirms what thought leaders keep insisting – there will be more and more demand for a liberal arts education in our increasingly digital world.
Trends in education suggest an increased focus on the assessment and teaching of thinking skills in the future.
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To assess problem-solving, creative and critical thinking skills on NAPLAN would fit with broader movements in education internationally, but there are some questions to address first.
Bringing different philosophies together can empower students.
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The establishment of science centres for young people is one of many initiatives hoped to fix South Africa’s education system.
Readers should cast a more critical eye over information they use from the web, to make sure the knowledge built from it is trustworthy and accurate.
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We’re living in a time of rapid transformation in terms of what’s required for a country’s workforce. Design thinking is one way to prepare graduates for these changing times.
Dana and David Dornsife Professor of Psychology and Director of the Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
NRF Accredited & Senior Researcher; Lead Coordinator of the South-South Educational Collaboration & Knowlede Interchange Initiative, Cape Peninsula University of Technology