Tips for Critical Thinking
How can we incorporate critical thinking opportunities in our projects? Here are seven ways to ensure
your projects challenge students to problem solve and think critically.
1. Ask probing questions
Encourage students to find solutions to complicated problems or predict the outcome in unfamiliar
situations by asking questions that drive the inquiry. Questions such as “How does this work?” and
“How do you know that?” and “Why do you say so?” get students to move beyond easy answers, and
require them to use information to draw conclusions. For example, in a science project, a staff member
may ask students to predict what will happen when they add an unknown powdery substance to water.
When the students predict it will dissolve, ask them “Why?” and “What makes you say that?”
2. Present a challenge or problem to solve
When your project is set up as a challenge, students will naturally work to solve it. This ensures that
students will practice thinking critically. For example, challenge teams of students to build a balloonpowered car that will travel the farthest. Rather than studying concepts, like propulsion or
aerodynamics, in the abstract, students will spend their project time applying these concepts by building
prototypes and testing their designs. Ask them targeted questions to help them overcome barriers and
meet their goals.
3. Higher-order Thinking
The terms “higher-order thinking” and “Bloom’s Taxonomy” may be familiar, but what does this mean in
practice? It means planning activities that require students to do more than just remember a fact or
understand a concept. Higher-order thinking means giving students the opportunity to apply
knowledge, analyze information, evaluate, and/or create something new. It means moving beyond
memorization and getting students to think for themselves.
4. Strong content
The project needs strong academic content as a jumping off point for critical thinking. Narrow, familiar
topics are less likely to prompt students to explore the concepts, think critically, and draw their own
conclusions. Moreover, staff members need the content knowledge to set up quality learning
experiences. In a project on African storytelling, for example, a staff member who knows the subject
matter will recognize that a storyteller’s body language figures into the story. This staff member can
then ask students to analyze what different storytellers are conveying through their movements. A staff
member with no background knowledge on African storytelling might not steer students to look for such
connections.
5. Student Decision-Making
In Project Based Learning, staff should serve as facilitators and guides. Take a step back and empower
the students to make meaningful decisions in the project. Asking good questions again comes into play
here—through effective questioning, staff encourage youth to anticipate likely outcomes and to make
informed decisions. For example, if youth want to plan a recycling campaign, staff can ask them “Who
should we get involved?” and “What area are we going to cover?” rather than telling students to get the
principal’s permission and limit their campaign to the school.
6. Use Students’ Experience
Research shows that we learn in patterns and connect new information to what we already know.
Connect the content of the project to students’ own experience. In a project that looks at social
injustice, ask students to reflect on their own experience with injustice or how they would cope in a
similar situation.
7. Develop a Critical Thinking Mindset
While we should plan activities that develop critical thinking, we should also take opportunities as they
arise throughout the project. Perhaps in your planning you didn’t anticipate that your high school
students would strongly disagree about a political issue. But now that a passionate argument has
arisen, use this as an opportunity to teach persuasive arguments. Set up a debate between teams of
students and ask them to present their most convincing evidence and arguments. Additionally, staff
may need to practice their own critical thinking. Consider facilitating activities in staff meetings that
help staff develop critical thinking habits, such as a game where staff can only speak and respond in
questions or having staff develop and solve riddles.