Any methods to train kids on critical thinking skills?

[Philosophy4Children]

I got to know these wonderful programmes while completing my master degree at NIE

[Philosophy4Children]

just one last thing which I forgot to add in - these programmes have proven that our kids will be able to transfer these critical thinking skills into their academic work, their decision making arenas, and especially in their lives. In short, the transferability of these learnt skills have been proven through research in these programmes which I am offering.

[hui siang]

Hi. I am keen.

[Troublemum]

i am keen

[kat123]

Hi,


I heard of a good enrichment centre at Bukit Timah that specialises in teaching critical thinking skills to kids, pri-jc level. You can check it out, the teachers all supposedly hold postgrad qualifications. Looks good!

http://www.thelooking-glass.org

kat.

[milkbun]

wow…feels like advertisement here!

[kat123]

Haha good centre must advertise! I can only say I heard, but whether you want to try is up to you

[joannelim1975]

can play some really good games especially the traditional tangram shapes… my kids play that in their tuition and really can see them improve in solving math problems and also better interpretations of problems. Apart from the tangram shapes, their tuition teacher also has some other games that she used with my kids, can’t rmb the name though… i don’t mind the games as long as my kids learn and improve, at least they learn happily too

[2bb]

cheerfulmummy:

Hello, I want to train my child to learn how to solve problems and challenges from young. My child is 5 years old.


Anyone mind to share some tips/recommendations?

Thank you.

I am offering critical thinking/Brain stimulation program/ability training for Pre-schoolers. just sent you a PM, please check.

[russ123]

Experimental interventions suggest that we can teach critical thinking skills to middle school students, and maybe even younger kids.

And as for parents with very young kids–the kids who might be watching Mickey Mouse?

We should take seriously the research about the effects of pedagogy on preschoolers – the studies showing that children become less questioning when adults issue authoritative pronouncements about how things work.

If we want to encourage young children to think for themselves, we should probably avoid addressing them in lecture-mode. As I explain in this article, adults may encourage critical thinking by asking more questions and offering fewer answers.

This approach might have other benefits, too, because critical thinking goes hand-in-hand with unblinkered, innovative thinking.

In a new experiment, researchers found that 4- and 5-year-old children were better than college students at figuring out how an unusual new device worked. The children were constrained by fewer assumptions, and paid more attention to the evidence at hand.

So we should monitor the messages our children are getting–from people, books, electronic media–and discuss the errors we spot with our kids. We need to teach our kids that sometimes even smart, authoritative adults make mistakes.

And most of all, our kids need positive reinforcement for thinking critically, for being logical, and for offering unconventional solutions to problems. Before we correct a child’s wrong answer, we should reflect on whether or not it really is wrong.