There are many ways to define critical thinking, but perhaps the most fitting in today’s context is that of Francis Bacon, who defined it as “the ability to analyze and evaluate the consistency of reasoning, especially of information that society accepts as true in the context of everyday life – such as fake news– relevant today because of its immediacy and virtualization.”
For this reason, fostering critical thinking in students from their early years is crucial since the ability to reflect and reason efficiently will allow them to problem-solve successfully.
Additionally, the increased amount of information on social networks does not always seek to inform. For this reason, generating the tools to interpret the content we are exposed to is essential.
Several activities help foster intellectual autonomy skills, like mathematical problems, analyzing news from a newspaper, solving riddles and challenges, etc., that encourage analytical thinking.
Encouraging and allowing autonomy of thought, inspiring questions, and debating are also ways to stimulate the development of critical thinking from an early age.
This practice is one of the skills that young people will need most in the future: adapting to high levels of information and being able to analyze and discuss it with others.
