How to Teach Children Critical Thinking Skills
The sheer number of questions that children ask can drive a parent to distraction. Parents who have learned to turn the questions back on to the children with an added twist are not just trying to make their life easier ̵2; they are imparting critical thinking skills to their children. It is important to remember that thinking is driven by questions ̵2; stifle the child̵7;s questions and you have effectively killed the motivation to learn. Teaching your child critical thinking is quite simply teaching him to think about his thinking. Using the right techniques can make this an enjoyable experience. The result: problem-solving skills that help kids do better in academics and, more importantly, in life.
Instructions
Encourage questioning. Buy books that explain concepts of how things work using pictures and diagrams. Read these together with your child. Find out if your child understands what is being read by asking things like, "What does this mean?", "Does this make sense to you?", "What do you feel about this?", "Why do you think so?", "Is there another way to do this?" or "What if it had been done in this way?" Asking open-ended questions like these encourages your child to think with clarity. Welcome questions. Children have loads of questions about the how, what, why and why-not of things. Never snub their questions ̵2; find a way of answering them to the best of your ability. Explain with examples, such as using pen and paper to make simple block diagrams that show the sequence of things. Ask questions as you are explaining. Leave some part of the questions unanswered and ask your child to think about it. When a younger sibling asks the same question, get your older kid to explain the answer. The process of explaining things helps the child understand the concept with greater clarity. Promote discussion of thoughts. If your child expresses an opinion about something, don̵7;t jump to label it as right or wrong. Ask him a few such questions, giving him time to think and answer each one before you ask the next. Decide the further questions taking cues from the answers you receive. For instance, if he says he hates Tom, ask, "Why do you say so?", "What happened to make you feel this way?", "Are you feeling mad at him for not sharing his toys?", "Does he always do this, or was this the first time?", "Why do you think he did so?", "This is what it sounds like to me ̵2; is this what you meant?" and so on. The purpose of this exercise is to teach your child to examine the accuracy of his thoughts and to clearly state what he means. It should guide him toward thinking if his thoughts are fair, logical and relevant. Teach by example. Make a habit of thinking aloud when your children are around. Involve them in the process of deciding things by using comparison and judgment. Say things like, "We have two things to do ̵2; go to the park and buy groceries at the supermarket. Which shall we do first?" Ask for their opinion, listen to the answers and ask them to reason out why they think it should be done in a particular sequence. Point out anything you wish to draw their attention to and explain why you think the supermarket trip should be done first. After you are through explaining, ask if the answer you gave makes sense to them.
