One of history’s most prolific critical thinkers – Albert Einstein humbly said once, “It’s not that I’m so smart; it’s just that I stay with problems longer”. He also added that when there is an hour to solve a problem, he prefers spending 5 minutes on the solution and the other 55 minutes in defining and researching the problem. His innate ability to conceptualize complex problems and seek out-of-the-box solutions became a hallmark of his critical thinking skill. And this is the main reason why we should consider ‘Critical Thinking’ as an essential ability of a child to become an effective problem-solver and dynamic leader in the future.
What is Critical Thinking?
Critical thinking skills are higher-level thinking skills that allows an individual to question the situation, analyze the problems, predict consequences, process information, draw inferences and make judgements accordingly. It is the ability of the child to make rational conclusions based on evidences and facts, and thereby involves engagement in reflective and independent thinking. Numerous scientific studied have indicated that children — who are taught critical thinking skills at an early age, tend to perform better at language comprehension, computational thinking and problem-solving, while demonstrating a higher IQ and CQ than others. Critical thinkers are usually curious and reflective persons – who like to explore new areas while seeking knowledge, clarification, and new solutions.
Why Critical Thinking is important?
In order to understand why critical thinking needs to be inculcated at an early-age of your child, let’s have a rundown through the benefits of it: Encourage Curiosity: Curiosity is a natural part of the child’s life, and when nurtured and encouraged effectively, it can grow into something even more meaningful. And Early-childhood development programs are the place where the journey from ‘Curiosity to inquiry’ begins. Integrating application-based and exploratory activities in the curricula of early childhood programs can essentially inculcate the value of ‘curiosity and creativity’ in the young minds. Additionally, it will not only help your child to gain a deeper understanding of the world surrounding us but also enhance their knowledge, strengths and capabilities effectively.
Re-enforce the Problem-solving skills: Problem-solving is one of the essential skills that will help the child to excel in classroom, as well as in life, in the longer run. Those who think critically tend to be instinctual problem-solvers and great observers. As the children of today are the leaders of tomorrow, it is obvious that they will face complex challenges in the future market and therefore they would require a good critical thinking capacity to engineer imaginative solutions. Critical Thinking is considered central to problem solving and decision making in an extremely wide variety of contexts and at all educational and professional levels. So, in order to become independent and self-sufficient individuals, your child should be encouraged to become active learners rather than passive recipients of information.
Essential skill in the new knowledge economy: The emergence of global knowledge economy has spawned a new “emphasis” on skill-based tasks and information & technology driven workforce. Thus, in order to be successful academically and professionally, your child should be able to deal with the new-world changes in an effective manner. Since the new economy is increasing its demands on flexible intellectual skills, more focus has to be laid on the ability to analyze information and integrate diverse sources of knowledge in solving problems. This clearly demonstrates that your child should be well-equipped with spatial thinking, cognitive understanding, observational and critical skills, to survive in the fast-changing world. Such higher-order skills are necessary for any academic and professional situation that calls for reflection, analysis, planning, and effective judgment. No matter whether your child would make a career in finance, management, research, science or legal field, ‘Critical Thinking Skills’ will always prove as an asset for any career option.
Conclusion:
Critical Thinking is more than just a concept, it is a real-life model upon which your child can strengthen experimentation, creative expression and improvisation skills – that would prove highly valuable for academic success and professional upfront. As your child grow into pre-adolescents and teenagers, critical thinking will allow them to develop skills such as communication, literacy, language, self-reflection, and creativity. It will also help the child to see the world around them with a different perspective, ask the right questions out of curiosity, figure out things and make independent judgements.
How BeyondSkool can fuel creativity, curiosity and critical thinking in your child? Thinking reflexively about what already informs your child’s perspective, behavior and belief is the key to ensure their intellectual and emotional development. In this regard, BeyondSkool helps in developing solid critical thinking skill in your child and prepare them to face the complex problems – that would matter the most in this competitive world. At BeyondSkool, our IQ+EQ+CQ integrated curriculum coupled with interactive learning environment will help the child to boost their capability in critical and creative thinking – while evaluating knowledge, clarifying concepts and ideas, seeking possibilities and solving problems accordingly. The BeyondSkool pedagogy is based on inquiry-based learning – where educator-to-child and child-to-child engagement is the only priority. The comprehensive pedagogy and explicit style of teaching tends to empower the child’s mind with ‘Imagination and Innovation’ through application-based learning, thought-provoking discussions, design thinking and creative approach towards problem. In a nutshell, BeyondSkool can help your child to sharpen their IQ (Intelligence Quotient), magnify their CQ (Creative Quotient) and empower their ‘Imagination and innovation’ streak, while preparing them for overall success.
So, what are you waiting for? Fuel your child’s curiosity and help them to grow intellectually with BeyondSkool right away!
