Teaching Critical Thinking Skills to Foster Social-Emotional Learning

Abstract

Critical thinking, once promoted in classrooms only for gifted and talented students, is now found to be in the curriculum for every student. Why is this the case? We are experiencing a fast and complex shift in the global workforce where many routine and rote skills have been replaced with the need for analytical and communication skills. Today's worker not only has to problem solve on the job but must work collaboratively with others to get the job done efficiently. At the same time, this modern-day worker must learn how to adapt to a constant changing workforce. Therefore, it is important to prepare our students by teaching them how to critically think, a learning skill needed to adequately prepare our students for the 21st century, not just for their future workforce, but for their success in school and their personal, social, and emotional lives.