Critical Thinking is a trendy topic and it seems obvious, if associated with teaching, that teachers develop critical thinking but nowadays, it is needed to foster again and again the need to improve critical thinking skills in students of the future generations. 

This course introduces a substantive conception of critical thinking and how to infuse this concept throughout teaching at school. It fosters an understanding of how to teach critical thinking skills to students through any subject or discipline, and at any level of instruction. In this course, teachers are introduced to the elements of reasoning, universal intellectual standards, and intellectual traits through readings, discussions, and practical application activities. Teachers have the chance to redesign lessons and strategies using the concepts and principles of critical thinking, practice strategies for Socratic discussions, help students to learn to consciously use critical thinking concepts and strategies in learning, and in their lives. 

Critical thinking is connected with creativity, problem-solving, and leadership. These skills are fundamental, especially after the long and very stressful period of the COVID pandemic. 

In order to equip students with the necessary competencies to face the real world outside, new and future job placements and the other persons, they will meet while growing (colleagues, competitors, mentors, friends) with the role they will want to have. 

Critical thinking is and continues to be, a deeply misunderstood cognitive skill set. Although all educators can agree on its importance, views remain split on what exactly critical thinking is, or how to effectively teach this skill to students.

The course covers strategies to not only develop students’ critical thinking skills but also blend critical thinking lessons into an instructor's specific discipline and subject matter.

 

Participants explore the complex topic of critical thinking and get a perspective on how a student conceptualizes—and practices—critical thinking in the classroom.

Through this course, teachers will learn how to

 

• build critical thinking learning outcomes, assessments, and learning experiences into a discipline-based course

• understand which are the best tips to follow to design classes focused on developing critical thinking 

• formulate critical thinking assessments to fit your subject matter

• transfer to students the ability to ask high-level questions that trigger critical thinking in your students

• combine their critical thinking assessments, learning outcomes, and student learning experiences to ensure maximum effectiveness of the learning

• avoid typical mistakes in teaching critical thinking

 

Target group

Teachers can be any kind of teacher working in a public or private school or educational institutions

 

Like with all our programs, the present one is flexible and adaptable to special requests, depending on the subject taught or on the starting level of the participant. 

Furthermore, in line with the JUMP Academy method, our courses are based on a strategic balance between formal and non-formal education, indoor and outdoor education and the team takes care of a very important aspect of international mobility which is the intercultural learning which we develop with short excursions and facilitating the interaction with local partners, especially schools of the territory. 

We always try to connect our learners to local teachers and students to cooperate in developing innovation and networking for future projects. If possible, inside the program, a morning is spent inside a local school, visiting, observing, and cooperating in the realization of one or more lessons. The proposed program JUMP works, in European dimension and with an international spirit, at the local level and, according to the period of the training along the year and the weather, it is possible to change some sessions and add visits and meetings, in cooperation with our network of partners including schools involved in European projects).