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Spotlight on Critical Thinking

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The Education Week Spotlight on Critical Thinking is a collection of articles hand-picked by our editors for their insights on teaching problem-solving, how teachers are boosting reading comprehension, and how educators are teaching students to critically evaluate media sources.

You get the articles below in a downloadable PDF.

From left, first-graders Devlin Griffin, 7, Kollin Coleman, 8, and Ledger Hardy, 7, wait nervously to determine whether the "nest" they engineered with aluminum foil will support the weight of a raw egg in a "tree" of paper towel rolls made by science teacher Julie Neidhardt. In Julie Neidhardt's science lab at Hutchens Elementary School in Mobile, Ala., Neidhardt teaches kindergarteners and first graders basic concepts in physics, genetics, biology and ecology through experiments with chicken eggs, Thursday, April 26, 2018.
First graders Devlin Griffin, Kollin Coleman, and Ledger Hardy wait nervously to determine whether the “nest” they engineered with aluminum foil will support the weight of a raw egg in a “tree” of paper towel rolls. The exercise was part of an inquiry-based science lesson last year at Hutchens Elementary School in Mobile, Ala.
Meggan Haller/Keyhole Photo for Education Week
Teaching Students Learn More From Inquiry-Based Teaching, International Study Finds
A experiment involving 17,000 students in four countries finds gains for inquiry-, or problem-based teaching over traditional approaches.
Sarah D. Sparks, October 8, 2019
5 min read
Technology classroom with diverse students using laptops
iStock/Getty Images Plus
School & District Management Does Technology Help Boost Students' Critical Thinking Skills?
When it comes to the PISA, there's little evidence that technology use has a positive impact on student scores, and some evidence that it could actually drag it down, a new report finds.
Alyson Klein, June 6, 2019
3 min read
Ashley Palmer, a kindergarten teacher in Matthews, Mo., works with students on letter names using flashcards.
Ashley Palmer, a kindergarten teacher in Matthews, Mo., works with students on letter names using flashcards.
Houston Cofield for Education Week
Reading & Literacy More Than Phonics: How to Boost Comprehension for Early Readers
Learning how to decode words is essential to becoming a reader. But building a strong vocabulary and knowledge-base is crucial as well.
Sarah Schwartz, December 3, 2019
10 min read
School & District Management Two Ways to Add 'Computational Thinking' to Middle School Science
The Next Generation Science Standards call for more "computational thinking" in middle school science. Two pilot projects at the American Educational Research Association meeting look at why that's difficult, and ways to do it.
Sarah D. Sparks, April 9, 2019
5 min read
Student Achievement Opinion 5 Steps to Teaching Students a Problem-Solving Routine
Students can use the five steps in this simple routine to solve problems across the curriculum and throughout their lives.
Contributing Blogger, January 7, 2019
5 min read
teacher tutor student librarian 1137620335
SDI Productions/E+
School & District Management Opinion Critically Thinking About Critical Thinking
Despite being an objective of education since before the 21st century, critical thinking continues to be an increasingly important skill.
Beth Holland, June 11, 2018
4 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
Getty
Families & the Community Opinion Teens Need to Be Able to Discern Fact From Fiction. That's Where Adults Come In
Media literacy is becoming more challenging by the day. That's why teacher and parents need to team up, argues Mike Stone.
Mike Stone, May 17, 2019
4 min read