why is asking questions so important in critical thinking

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Critical Thinking Is About Asking Better Questions

• John Coleman

Six practices to sharpen your inquiry.

Critical thinking is the ability to analyze and effectively break down an issue in order to make a decision or find a solution. At the heart of critical thinking is the ability to formulate deep, different, and effective questions. For effective questioning, start by holding your hypotheses loosely. Be willing to fundamentally reconsider your initial conclusions — and do so without defensiveness. Second, listen more than you talk through active listening. Third, leave your queries open-ended, and avoid yes-or-no questions. Fourth, consider the counterintuitive to avoid falling into groupthink. Fifth, take the time to stew in a problem, rather than making decisions unnecessarily quickly. Last, ask thoughtful, even difficult, follow-ups.

Are you tackling a new and difficult problem at work? Recently promoted and trying to both understand your new role and bring a fresh perspective? Or are you new to the workforce and seeking ways to meaningfully contribute alongside your more experienced colleagues? If so, critical thinking — the ability to analyze and effectively break down an issue in order to make a decision or find a solution — will be core to your success. And at the heart of critical thinking is the ability to formulate deep, different, and effective questions.

• JC John Coleman is the author of the HBR Guide to Crafting Your Purpose . Subscribe to his free newsletter, On Purpose , or contact him at johnwilliamcoleman.com . johnwcoleman

Partner Center

Importance of Questioning: Unlocking Critical Thinking Skills

By: Author Paul Jenkins

Posted on April 7, 2023

Categories Self Improvement

Questioning is one of the most powerful tools in our repertoire. Whether we’re engaged in thoughtful conversations with someone else, actively exploring a problem to find a solution, or simply looking to understand ourselves better and the world around us – questioning plays a vital role! Asking the right questions can spark insightful dialogue, uncover new perspectives, stimulate creativity, and inspire meaningful growth. In today’s society, it can be easy to accept ideas without pause; however, just a moment to interrogate our thoughts can open up countless possibilities. We invite you to join us on this journey as we explore why questioning should be at the heart of all learning experiences!

The Importance of Questioning in Enhancing Critical Thinking and Learning

Questioning plays a crucial role in the development of critical thinking and learning.

Students, for example, engage in deeper analysis and evaluate the information presented by asking questions. This process helps them not only to retain new knowledge but also to comprehend complex ideas and make meaningful connections between different concepts.

The act of questioning promotes curiosity and enhances thinking, ultimately improving the overall learning experience.

Intentional questioning can significantly influence the quality of teaching and learning. Teachers who ask thought-provoking questions encourage students to think critically and exercise their problem-solving skills.

Moreover, better questions stimulate students’ curiosity and motivate them to participate actively in learning.

The practice of questioning not only improves critical thinking but also enhances communication skills. Students who engage in questioning-based learning are more likely to articulate their thoughts and ideas effectively. This fosters a culture of independent thinking and enriches the learning environment.

Furthermore, implementing questioning techniques within classrooms helps students develop vital skills for the future.

In a rapidly changing world, asking better questions and analyzing problems thoroughly are essential for success. Using questions as a foundation for learning, students can acquire the mental agility to navigate the complexities of the 21st century.

Roles of Questioning

Critical thinking.

Questioning plays a crucial role in developing critical thinking skills. By asking questions, we are encouraged to think deeply and analyze the information before reaching a conclusion. This approach helps us develop the ability to evaluate and synthesize data, improving our decision-making and problem-solving skills.

Furthermore, questioning helps us understand different perspectives by challenging assumptions.

Active Learning

Employing questioning techniques supports active learning.

When we actively ask and answer questions, we are more likely to retain information and gain a deeper understanding of the material. We can use various questions, such as open-ended, closed, leading, or probing, to engage in topics and create an interactive learning environment.

When encouraged to participate in questioning, we become more invested in learning and more likely to acquire new knowledge and skills.

Building Engagement

Questioning fosters engagement and curiosity. We can stimulate and maintain our interest in subjects by asking thought-provoking and relevant questions. Engaging our minds through questioning increases participation, enhancing learning outcomes.

Effective questioning techniques can establish a positive climate where we feel comfortable expressing our ideas and opinions.

This environment promotes collaboration and peer learning together to explore and analyze ideas.

Types of Questions

Questioning promotes learning, fosters critical thinking, and facilitates communication. This section introduces different types of questions that can be used to elicit various responses and stimulate meaningful conversations. It is important to be aware of these distinctions when constructing questions, whether in an educational, professional, or personal context.

Open-Ended Questions

Open-ended questions encourage a comprehensive, thoughtful response and foster an open conversation. These questions typically begin with words such as “what,” “how,” “why,” or “describe.” Some examples of open-ended questions:

• What did you learn from that experience?
• How would you approach this problem?
• Why do you think this is the best course of action?

Open-ended questions can be used to probe further into a topic, foster creative thinking, or gather opinions or insights about a specific issue. They allow respondents to express their thoughts and opinions more freely and deeply than closed-ended questions.

When making documentary films, I found open-ended questions essential in garnering worthy testimonies from interviewees on camera.

Closed-Ended Questions

Closed-ended questions typically have a limited set of possible answers, such as “yes” or “no,” “true” or “false,” or a choice between multiple options. These questions help obtain specific information or gauge someone’s knowledge. Examples of closed-ended questions:

• Did you complete the project on time?
• Is that statement true or false?
• Which option do you prefer: A, B, or C?

While closed-ended questions can limit the depth of responses, they can provide focused answers and streamline decision-making in certain situations. Additionally, closed-ended questions are effective for surveys or assessments requiring quantitative data analysis.

Socratic Questioning

Socratic questioning refers to a disciplined and thoughtful style of questioning that encourages critical thinking and deep reflection. Socratic questioning can include clarifying, analyzing, probing assumptions, questioning viewpoints, and exploring implications. Examples of Socratic questions:

• What evidence supports your claim?
• What might be the consequences of that decision?
• Can you explain the reasoning behind your opinion?

Socratic questioning can enrich discussions, stimulate critical thinking, and challenge assumptions or biases. This approach helps develop a deeper understanding of a topic and fosters an environment of inquiry and intellectual curiosity.

Benefits of Questioning

Questioning serves a crucial role in personal and professional growth. This section discusses the various benefits of questioning, focusing on three key sub-sections: Improved Decision Making, Enhanced Problem Solving, and Increased Creativity.

Improved Decision Making

Asking the right questions helps individuals gather vital information to make informed decisions. It allows them to explore different perspectives and weigh the pros and cons of each option.

Furthermore, questioning promotes critical thinking, enabling individuals to evaluate the credibility of sources and the accuracy of information. In the long run, a proper questioning practice builds a foundation for sound decision-making skills and helps individuals achieve better outcomes.

Enhanced Problem Solving

Questioning is a powerful tool for identifying the root causes of problems and developing efficient solutions. By asking relevant questions, individuals can isolate the critical aspects of a challenge and connect the dots between different pieces of information. This process fosters clarity and understanding, which are essential for effective problem-solving.

The habit of questioning also helps individuals develop the skills of pattern recognition, analysis, and synthesis, contributing to their overall problem-solving abilities.

Increased Creativity

One of the main drivers of creativity and innovation is the ability to ask open-ended, thought-provoking questions. Effective questioning encourages individuals to think outside the box, foster curiosity, and cultivate a sense of wonder.

When people engage in questioning, they form new patterns and connections in the brain, resulting in increased mental flexibility and adaptability. This enhanced mental agility enables individuals to consider alternative viewpoints and generate unique ideas, ultimately leading to heightened creativity.

Questioning in Education

The role of questioning in promoting a deeper understanding of subject matter.

Questioning is crucial in promoting a deeper understanding of the subject matter. Educators can stimulate discussion, foster creative and critical thinking, and identify student misconceptions by engaging students with thought-provoking questions.

This process helps students review, restate, and emphasize essential concepts, making them more likely to retain and apply their knowledge meaningfully.

Different Types of Questions and Their Impact on Student Learning

In the classroom, various types of questions can impact student learning differently. Some examples include:

• Lower-order questions: These questions typically focus on recalling information and basic comprehension. While they help build a foundation, they may not push students to develop higher-order thinking skills.
• Higher-order questions require students to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information, promoting deeper learning and critical thinking.
• Inquiry-based questions are open-ended and designed to inspire curiosity, empowering students to participate in their learning journey actively.

Supporting Inquiry-Based Learning

Educators can support inquiry-based learning by fostering an environment in which questions are encouraged and valued. This approach prioritizes student curiosity, allowing them to explore the subject matter through their questions and ideas rather than relying solely on teacher-led instruction.

Inquiry-based learning helps students develop essential skills such as independent thinking, problem-solving, and effective communication.

Developing Essential Skills

Effective questioning techniques can help students develop essential skills beyond the classroom. By engaging with meaningful questions, students learn to think critically, communicate complex ideas, and collaborate with peers to solve problems. These abilities are vital for academic success and personal and professional growth.

Overcoming Barriers to Effective Questioning

Effective questioning is essential in promoting learning and critical thinking. However, specific barriers may hinder the questioning process.

Dealing with Fear

Fear is one of the main barriers to effective questioning, as it may discourage us from asking questions or expressing our thoughts. To address this issue:

• We should foster an open, non-judgmental atmosphere where everyone feels comfortable asking questions.
• Encourage people to practice asking questions in a non-threatening setting, such as small groups or pair works.
• Offer positive reinforcement for questioning, emphasizing the value of curiosity and learning from mistakes.
• In an educational context, teach students how to ask clear, concise questions by providing examples and guidance.

Cultivating a Positive Environment

A positive environment is also crucial in facilitating effective questioning. We can cultivate a conducive learning atmosphere by:

• Modeling open-mindedness and demonstrating respect for diverse opinions.
• Creating opportunities for collaborative learning that encourage inquiry and problem-solving.
• Recognizing and addressing any biases, stereotypes, or misconceptions that may hinder questioning.
• Building trust by consistently assigning equal value to their contributions and promoting a sense of camaraderie.

Encouraging Peer Support

Peer support plays a vital role in overcoming the barriers to effective questioning. To nurture peer support with students, for example:

• Implement collaborative learning activities, such as group discussions, debates, or projects, where students work together towards a common goal.
• Teach students the importance and value of supporting their peers in the quest for knowledge, highlighting the collective benefits of a knowledge-sharing culture.
• Encourage students to offer positive feedback and constructive criticism.
• Provide opportunities for students to teach and learn from each other, illustrating the power of a knowledge-sharing network.

By implementing these strategies for Dealing with Fear, Cultivating a Positive Environment, and Encouraging Peer Support, teachers can effectively overcome the barriers to questioning in the learning environment.

Professional Development for Effective Questioning

Effective questioning is crucial for educators, team leaders, and professionals in various fields. As such, seeking professional development opportunities to hone this skill is essential. Focusing on different questioning techniques can lead to better communication, enhanced problem-solving, and improved group dynamics.

One way to develop questioning skills is by attending workshops, seminars, or communication and questioning techniques courses. Examples include the Chicago Center for Teaching and the Center for Teaching Innovation programs. These offerings provide information on asking open-ended questions, encouraging higher-order thinking, and stimulating group discussion.

Another approach is self-reflective practice, which involves reviewing and evaluating one’s questioning habits. This can be done by:

• Auditing the types of questions you ask in various contexts
• Analyzing the impact of your questions on group dynamics
• Identifying areas for improvement and setting specific goals

Online resources, like articles on questioning techniques and professional advice, can also help supplement professional development efforts. These sources offer tips and examples of effective probing, leading, and open questions that can be adapted to various settings.

Finally, engaging with peers and mentors is essential to professional development. Participating in professional learning communities, seeking feedback from colleagues, and observing skilled questioners in action can provide valuable insights on improving one’s questioning techniques.

The Impact of Effective Questioning on Comprehension and Idea Generation

Effective questioning is crucial in fostering deep comprehension and promoting idea generation. Using thought-provoking questions, we can actively engage with the content and think critically about the subject matter.

This approach reinforces learning and encourages us to develop our perspectives and ideas.

Utilizing various questioning techniques allows us to address different learning styles and preferences, catering to our diverse needs.

Why Questions Are More Important Than Answers

Why are questions more important than answers? Because answers stop learning while questions start it, contextualizing what we don’t know.

Questions Are More Important Than Answers

by Terry Heick

Imagine the dogged pursuit of a proper clock-maker, day after day bound up in design and measurement and function and orderly thinking, forcing exactitude on little bits of metal that never asked for it. And then finally getting it right–so many decisions and matters of design suddenly set the clock off ticking forever.

Get inside the mind of a clock-maker—one who still experiments with matters of design, improving their craft with minor revisions of planning and execution—and suddenly you’re seeing from ground zero how things come to be, first in a humble glow, then a blinding white starlight that bleaches everything.

There’s a lesson here. But first, some background on questions–and bad questions, specifically.

The Irony of Bad Questions

Briefly put, questions are more important than answers because questions seek to understand–to clarify and frame and evaluate while answers, at their best, are temporary responses whose relative quality can decay over time, needing to be reformed and remade and reevaluated as the world itself changes.

Of course, questions need to be updated too. And like ‘wrong’ answers, there can be bad questions. There is an irony to bad questions, in that they can be more difficult to answer than a good question.

Questioning is the art of learning. Learning to ask important questions is the best evidence of understanding there is, far surpassing the temporary endorphins of a correct ‘answer.’

So what makes a question bad? Well, that depends on what you think a question should ‘do.’

Produce a nice and tidy answer?

Cause a student to reconsider a position?

Force someone to go back and look more closely at how they know what they know?

Assess understanding?

All make sense, and a good question can do all of that.

But a bad question? They halt, freeze, deflate, and derail thinking.

See What Is The Purpose Of A Question?

A question can be ‘bad’ for a number of reasons: it could be irrelevant to the situation, it could be based on faulty premises, it could be loaded with cognitive biases, logical fallacies, or other irrational patterns of thinking. It could be outside of the Zone of Proximal Development for the person it’s asked to (i.e., too easy or too difficult). It may not be too difficult for some students but it’s language or syntax could be unnecessarily complex.

A question is a strategy for learning. A tool. You might, then, think of a ‘bad question’ like a ‘bad tool’: it simply doesn’t do what it’s intended to do. In education, this usually means that it fails to facilitate learning in the short-term and long-term for the student.

That’s not to say that good questions shouldn’t be challenging and that students might not hit a spot where they feel confused. They might. But a challenged learner and a confused learner are not the same.

It’s not all about ‘rigor’ either. Bad questions can be rigorous—force learners to think on higher-level planes—synthesis, evaluation, close analysis—and still be bad.

The Hallmark of a Bad Question

A bad question can be judged so because it gets at the wrong content, is full of unnecessary jargon, or is syntactically corrupt.

But more than anything else, the most telling hallmark of a bad question is that it encourages learners to guess what the teacher’s thinking.

To try to get into the mind of the question-maker.

This, mind you, is decidedly different than understanding the mind of a clock-maker. A clock’s design inspires design thinking. What that clockmaker was thinking matters.

But a question maker is not a clock-maker–different, at best only a mediator between the student and content. Their intent can be noble, well-researched, and justified, but the maker can not—or should not–linger like a good question.

There is also the troubling matter of timing. Ask even the right question at the wrong time, and rather than front-loading, priming, scaffolding, or causing curiosity, students end up bewildered, their thinking scattershot, internalizing all the wrong things—social expectation, tempting recall, your relationship with them, or their own anxiety with the content.

Rarely, though, do they sit with the content and its context and metacognition, but rather the question itself and the false promise of a correct response.

The Abstraction of the Question

The right question at the right time can make a learning experience, because more than anything read, drawn, or even written, a question is acute and properly troubling. It creates a needle-point of light even as it suggests darkness.

Even if it’s multi-part and inclusive, it’s somehow singular.

It jabs and fingers at a learner’s mind, then burrows in like a drill.

A bad question is sloppy—it doesn’t burrow anywhere, but bangs around and makes a troubling noise. It forces the learner to come to the question and frown and decode. Decoding can be cognitively demanding and thus helpful, but not if it mars the student’s thinking.

A precise, well-timed question keeps the learner in the content, in their own mind, in the mind of model thinking—in the mind of the clock-maker and not the question-maker.

A bad question also creates the illusion of an end-point to thinking—of the student having arrived at some place where they understand the mind of the clock-maker. And when that happens, everything just kind of dissolves, and they sit passively and wait for another question, thinking they’ve won.

This, of course, is tragedy. The mind must never exhale, but grapple! Wrestle with a text, a concept, or a question until they’ve found a new question is better suited to the task. Taking a piece of literature, an engineering problem, or an ethical issue and reducing it to a series of question is a dangerous kind of reductionism.

Questions are links to other questions, and that’s it. Little fragments of curiosity that get at the marrow of important issues that resonate and thrum and linger . Statements of opinion, answers, and other lies are fine, provided they move aside to let the questions through.

When you ask questions—on exams, in person, in your next Socratic discussion—insist on good questions. Great questions. Model their development. Revise their wording. Toy with their tone. Simplify their syntax or implications over and over again until the confusion has been bleached and there’s only thinking left.

Until the question asks exactly what it should, and nothing more.

Lock the students out of your head—and away from guess-what-the-teacher’s-thinking, proficiency, false confidence, and overly-simple labels of ‘understanding.’

Instead, encourage them inside the mind of the clock-maker. Let them huddle, and sit in awkward silence.

Let them think you’re a little bit crazy.

And then watch for the questions.

Watch for the glow.

This post has been updated from its original publishing in 2012; Why Questions Are More Important Than Answers

Founder & Director of TeachThought

• TMLC Support
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To Get Better Thinking, Ask Better Questions

APRIL 12, 2023

Every child is born with a questioning mind. Two-year-olds are famous for continually asking “why?”—and never being satisfied with the first answer. They are always trying to get to the “why beyond the why,” that next-level reasoning behind our first response. 

To build critical thinking skills, we need to nurture this questioning mind as children get older. Too often, children are trained (intentionally or unintentionally) to see learning as a process of finding the one “right answer.” But the heart of critical thinking is looking beyond simple answers and getting to deeper levels of understanding—“the why beyond the why.” Students who continually question to test their understanding, dig deeper into a topic, or even challenge the status quo are developing the critical thinking skills they will need to become lifelong learners and problem solvers. In fact, it is precisely the ability to keep asking better questions that leads to great discoveries and new ways of thinking in all disciplines and fields. Here’s how you can help students take “Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How” to the next level to support higher levels of learning. 

Critical Thinking and Questioning  

Socrates recognized the importance of questioning for developing understanding and reasoning skills more than 2,000 years ago. The Socratic Method of teaching through questioning still stands up today. But even more important than asking questions is teaching students how to ask their own questions. In many ways, this can be considered the essence of critical thinking. Paul and Elder (2000), in Critical Thinking: Basic Theory and Practice , explain, “Thinking is not driven by answers but by questions. Had no questions been asked by those who laid the foundation for a field…the field would never have developed in the first place.”

Questioning is closely tied to the process of metacognition , or “thinking about our own thinking.” Metacognitive questions that support higher-level thinking include: 

• What do I already know about this?
• How do I know this?
• How reliable and unbiased are my sources of information? 
• When would I use this, and for what purpose?
• How does this connect to other things I know? 
• How does this change my thinking about a related topic?
• What pieces of this do I still not understand?
• What else do I need to find out, and where can I find the information?

Beyond the Five Ws: Increasing the Rigor of Our Questions  

We often teach children questioning through the “5 Ws and 1 H”: Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How. Often, we think of the first four questions—the Who, What, When, and Where—as basic knowledge questions and Why and How as higher-level questions. But it’s not always that simple. It is possible to create both higher-level and lower-level questions for all the Ws (and H). Consider the difference between these “Who” questions: 

• Who drafted the Marshall Plan?
• Who were the primary beneficiaries of the Marshall Plan?

The first question is a basic knowledge question—Google it, write it down, move on to the next question. The second question asks students to think about what the treaty says, who it was written to benefit, and in what ways—a much higher-level task. 

Increasing the rigor of the questions we ask—and the questions we teach students to ask for themselves—is one of the key ways that we increase rigor for the assignment as a whole. Here are some examples of lower-level and higher-level questions for the 5Ws and H: 

The questions in the figure above are only a few examples out of hundreds of possible questions at every level of Bloom’s taxonomy. And of course, there are hundreds more that don’t fit within the “5 Ws and H” framework. Questions like:

• Do you believe…?
• Can you create…?
• Is there a better solution for…?
• Can you think of an example of…?
• Could this have happened if….? 

Support for Rigorous Questioning with Thinking Maps and the Frame of Reference 

To move students to higher levels of rigor, encourage them to keep asking questions—to get to the “why (and how) behind the why.” The best kinds of questions are those that don’t have a simple answer that can be found through a Google search or expressed as a multiple-choice question. In a Ted-Ed Blog , Mary Halton (2019) recommends four strategies (based on the work of Brian Oshiro) for moving beyond the superficial: 

• Go beyond “what” and ask “how?” and “why?”
• Follow up with “How do you know this?” 
• Prompt them to think about perspective. 
• Ask them how to solve the problem. 

For example, if you want students to understand the impacts of a new piece of legislation, you can start with the question, “what are the intended outcomes of this legislation?” It’s not a bad question—but you can take it further with related “how” and “why” questions. For example: 

• How will this legislation achieve those outcomes?
• Why should our community vote for or against this legislation? 

Students can work through these questions using a multiple-Map Thinking Maps exercise. 

• A Multi-Flow Map is used to show the intended outcomes of the bill (cause-and-effect). 
• A Flow Map could be used to show the mechanisms leading to each outcome—what actually happens in the chain of events from legislation to outcome?
• They could use Tree Maps to explore the pros and cons of the legislation or show how it impacts different groups of stakeholders. 
• A writing Flow Map can be used to help them organize their ideas for an opinion piece. 

Students can continue to go deeper with questions like, “What unintended effects might result from this legislation?” and “How would you change this bill to avoid those unintended effects?” Students can use and combine Thinking Maps in a variety of ways to explore these higher-level questions. 

“How do you know this?” and “What is the perspective?” are important questions, too. Students need to be able to determine the source of their information and understand the perspectives and potential biases that may be influencing the way information is presented. In a Thinking Maps school, students learn to use the Frame of Reference to explore questions such as:

• Where did you get your information?
• What is the point of view that is influencing this information source?
• What conclusions can you draw from this information?

As students learn to show their thinking through Thinking Maps, they are also learning to use and apply the academic language that corresponds to each Map, including questioning language. Using the Maps, students learn how to ask, and answer, questions at all levels of thinking. 

Going further: 

• Download a whitepaper: Metacognition . 
• Watch a webinar: Building a Deep Structure for Critical Thinking
• Check out this month’s Navigator: Rigor, Bloom, and Webb’s Depth of Knowledge (For Thinking Maps Learning Community (TMLC) members only.)

To learn more about implementing Thinking Maps, talk to your Thinking Maps representative . 

Continue Reading

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A majority of teachers believe that students are finally catching up from pandemic learning losses. But those gains are far from evenly distributed—and too many students were already behind before the pandemic. To close these achievement gaps, schools and districts need to focus on the underlying issue: the critical thinking gap.

Questioning approaches: why ask questions?

Part of Big Questions Little Questions (BQLQ), critical thinking skills for sixth form students from the University of Oxford

A huge part of critical thinking is about learning when to ask the right questions, at the right time, about the right thing. This is a difficult skill to master but the more you practice it and learn good habits the easier it gets. This can help you more than in just coming to well-formed, academically sound judgments: it can help you in your daily life too!

Think about it. You ask yourself hundreds of small questions everyday: and don’t even realise it!

For example, say you left out a glass of water and you come across it later. Unconsciously, you’d ask yourself,  ‘how long has it been there for?’ , ‘is it warm now?’ and ‘will it taste weird when I drink it?’ This is essentially the premise of critical thinking:  taking this innate skill we have and channelling it in a critical, productive way to form sound judgments.

In trying to apply this skill to your studies, let’s take Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby as an example. Say you’re thinking about what the green light in the book means, you might ask yourself ‘what does the colour ‘green’ suggest?’, ‘why is the light so far away?’ and/or ‘how often does it reoccur in the book?’.

These smaller questions are the basis of how you answer your bigger question, and are the key to getting there. Behind all big discoveries are little questions and these questions can be about things in everyday life, just as much as they can be about academic matters. By asking these sorts of questions, we can expand our horizons, and sometimes it’s the answers to the little questions that take us down unexpected lines of enquiry, and ultimately lead us a different angle or answer than we might have initially expected. This helps you to really develop your own arguments and opinions: another great skill to develop, and a part of critical thinking!

These questions are at the route of developing our knowledge on certain topics. This is something that is very important to develop in the academic world, as just presenting facts isn’t what’s encouraged at university level and beyond, but forming ideas, opinions, and arguments routed in knowledge is. Besides, facts are just the most commonly agreed upon consensus, too, so being able to differentiate when you’re presenting fact versus knowledge is really important!

To recap, it’s important to ask questions in academic and everyday life. It can help to expand our horizons and sometimes leads us to answer big questions in unexpected ways but learning to recognise that we already ask ourselves questions and harnessing this skill in your studies is key to building critical thinking skills. It can also help you to start building up your knowledge, opinions and arguments.

Now take a look at the worksheet below. Pick one of the big questions below and come up with as many little questions as you can.

You can print it off and fill it in, or write your own notes in a notepad or wherever you’d like. The point is to start breaking down an unwieldy topic into manageable ones.

Why ask questions? worksheet

Download a PDF

Questioning approaches introduction

BQLQ resource hub

Types of questions

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15 Questions that Teachers and Parents Can Ask Kids to Encourage Critical Thinking

By Maureen Leming

Each student walks across the graduation stage, diploma in one hand and a proverbial toolbox in the other. Inside the box is every skill and piece of knowledge they've learned throughout their childhood. The contents of this toolbox will be their building blocks to success beyond high school.

In addition to impressive classroom discoveries — like producing electricity from potatoes or building their own paper mache volcano — there's a vital skill every student should possess: critical thinking. They'll use this skill to assess, critique, and create, propelling them to thrive in the real world as they participate in engaging conversations and offer constructive solutions to real-world issues.

Fortunately, this valuable skill can be developed both inside and out of the classroom. Teachers and parents can encourage kids to think deeply and critically about the world by asking good questions. We'll explore why, as parents and teachers, the questions we ask our kids matter — and what we can be asking to help them excel.

How Questions Guide Young Students’ Critical Thinking 

Critical thinking is about so much more than simply knowing the facts. Thinking critically involves applying reason and logic to assess arguments and come to your own conclusions. Instead of reciting facts or giving a textbook answer, critical thinking skills encourage students to move beyond knowing information and get to the heart of what they really think and believe. 

15 Questions to Encourage Critical Thinking

What is one of the best ways to encourage critical thinking? By asking excellent questions! 

We have compiled a list of 15 questions that you, as a teacher or parent, can ask to encourage kids to think outside the box. Let's dive in.

1. How Do You Know This? 

Whether it was by word of mouth, classroom knowledge, or a news report, this question prompts students to consider whether their source of information is reputable.

2. How Would Your Perspective Be Different If You Were on the Opposing Side?

This question encourages kids to role-play from an opposing person’s viewpoint and discover a perspective outside their own so that they can better understand the broader situation. Extracurriculars like debate class — mandatory for all Hun middle school students — is a powerful way to accomplish this goal, as students must thoughtfully anticipate their opposition's arguments in order to counter them.

3. How Would You Solve This Problem?

Finding creative solutions to common problems is a valuable life skill. This question is the perfect opportunity to encourage young minds to wander!

4. Do You Agree or Disagree — and Why?

Choosing a side in any debate challenges students to consider both perspectives, weigh the arguments, and make an informed choice. 

5. Why? Why? Why?

Just like when you were a young kid, ask why repeatedly to push students beyond a simple first, second, or even third answer, to get to the real depth. Be careful, though, not to ask them to the point of frustration — you want learning and exploring to be a positive experience.

6. How Could We Avoid This Problem in the Future?

Ask students to apply critical thinking by analyzing how they could prevent a certain issue from reoccurring.

7. Why Does It Matter?

Whether they're learning about a historical event or a mathematical concept, it's important to understand why the topic is relevant today.

8. What's Another Way to Look at This Issue?

It can be easy to learn one worldview and automatically believe it is the only, or the best, way. Challenging kids to think of a creative alternate perspective encourages them to think more broadly.

9. Can You Give Me an Example?

Inventing an example, or pulling from experience to share a real one, is an excellent way to apply critical thinking skills.

10. How Could It Have Ended Differently?

It takes some innovation and careful analysis to storyboard a different ending, considering "what could have been" rather than "what is." 

11. When Will We Be Able to Tell If It Worked?

Kids will be pushed to consider what constitutes success and how it can be measured in scenarios where the results aren't set in stone.

12. Why did you ask that question?

Instead of answering a question at face value, this question encourages kids to think about what the merits of the question may be.

13. Who Would Be Affected by This?

Students as the next generation of leaders and game-changers. When making any decision, it's important to consider who will be impacted and how.

14. What Can This Story Teach Us About Our Own Lives?

From literature to social studies, students interact with all kinds of different stories. Help them take these narratives one step further by examining how it relates to their lives.

15. Why Is This a Problem?

Analyzing why something is a problem — rather than just accepting that it is — will help students develop strong problem-solving skills of their own.

The Hun School of Princeton Teaches Critical Thinking

At the Hun School of Princeton, our teachers ask these questions, and more, in combination with our student-centered learning approach that helps kids of all ages think critically about what they’re learning. 

As a premier private school in Princeton, NJ , we aim to help students think deeply and develop well-rounded skill sets through immersive, problem-based learning . 

Schedule a tour today to see our program in action!

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How To Ask Questions That Prompt Critical Thinking

Jan 1, 2021

I believe and I’ve seen some bumper stickers that would back up the idea and the fact   that we are living in an international critical thinking deficit, right? Live  in this world where people come to conclusions so quickly don’t really research information all  that much. They take something at face value and they run with it and make decisions or  maybe even worse judgments or start yelling at people because of it. In this video, we’re going to unpack how do you ask questions that promote critical thinking. And I’m going to be sharing one really brilliant strategy that I learned from Brandon Stanton,  the founder of Humans Of New York, if you’re familiar with that. 

Blog Note:  The following is an adapted and edited transcript of one of our daily YouTube tutorials. We know sometimes it is easier to scroll through written content which is why we are publishing here. Because of that, there may be typos or phrases that seem out of context. You’ll definitely be able to get the main idea. To get the full context, visit our YouTube channel  here .  And if you want to watch the video on this topic specifically, you can scroll down to the bottom of this post to access it as well. 

And the second strategy,  I’m going to share one of my absolute favorite, I think one of the coolest practical tools in Me and Will’s book called Ask Powerful Questions Create Conversations that matter. The only kind of fluff I like is marshmallowy and sits on a sandwich. Let’s get into it.  

Hearing Brandon Stanton uh speak one time. If you’re not familiar with the Humans of New   York, by the way, he basically set out originally, set out to do portrait photography of 10,000  people in new york city to create this library of stories. He very simply used to… I  haven’t followed him in the last like handful of months. But he used to post a picture with just   a quote from that story. Now, the quote would be usually phenomenal. It would just breathe so much  like depth and humanity into that 2-dimensional image that he shared. The technique of how he  got there, right? Because you don’t just walk up to somebody on the street and say, “Can I take  your picture and can you share this really intense beautiful quote with me so I can put it in my post today?”Right? You’ve got to actually get to there in conversation. And you’ve got to ask questions  that promote really critical thought about things that potentially people have never shared out loud  before that they’ve never thought deeply about. And his technique that he shared, he used the image of a spiral. He talked about spiraling down in conversation. 

From Here to There

Going from, “Hey, how are you doing?” to eventually a story about their grandmother on a chair when they were 5,  that really transformed their life, right? How do you go from here to here? And he used the idea of a spiral you kind of just get deeper and deeper and deeper. But  you might go around, right? It’s you’re not… Oh, you’re not just like drilling straight down  because that feels very invasive. To keep the conversation natural, you’re kind of  spiraling down. And I love that idea in terms of promoting critical thinking. You know, if you’re familiar with the idea of socratic inquiry. Like teaching through questions. When you’re spiraling down in conversation, you start to get more specific too. You start really general  and you get more specific and more specific and more specific. And one of my favorite quotes or  ideas on the planet who I have no idea who said it. I can’t find it on Google. If you can, share  it in the comments and I’ll like buy you a car or something. Not going to happen. But I would really  love to know. But it’s this idea that specificity is the soul of narrative. I love that concept. The more specific we get, the more to the heart of story we get. And the more that we’re talking and like generalities appear, the less usefulthat is. The same is true for critical thinking.  

Critical Thinking

When you’re thinking about… If you want to critically think about something contentious   like the death penalty, for example. You could be thinking about this at a very surface level.   But then the more specific you get into specific cases, right? And instances, that’s  where story and narrative starts to really come to life and you start to be like, “Wow, I don’t   I don’t know what I think anymore”, right? And that critical thinking starts to show up. My language for Brandon’s spiraling technique is to follow one curiosity path, one thread and keep   bouncing to that thread. Wherever it takes you. If you spun a globe and picked a random spot,   the island of newfoundland and you then zoomed in a little bit further to a park in the island of  Newfoundland, and then you zoomed in a little bit further and you found there was a dog park inside that park. Then you zoomed in a little bit further and you found a dog and it’s owner. And you found out their name and you found out the type of dog and you found out how they came together and…  Those are stories. But when I’m telling you about the island of Newfoundland, I’m all of a sudden a Wikipedia article, right? That’s more specific you get… You follow that curiosity  path by just kind of Zooming in further. Now, the thing the cool thing with curiosity is it   doesn’t work like a drill like zooming into the island of Newfoundland, you might actually find   that as you’re going to the island of Newfoundland, you learn about Newfoundland  dogs. And then you’re like, “Oh, wait. They were created over here.” And now you’ve got another  curiosity path. Following that path down. The next tool I’m going to share with you is going to help you do that in a really practical way with one very simple word. And that word is “Why”. You might have heard of the uh this technique or this idea of the 5 whys before.  

It’s a cool concept to promote design thinking, right? You ask, why are you doing something. And  then you ask why are you doing that and then why are you doing that? You ask that five layers down  until you get to the core or the heart. Now, that’s cool if you’re talking about ideas. But  if you’re trying to promote critical thinking in people, the way that I would use this one   word is by deleting it out of your vocabulary. It’s by saying drop the why. Because when I ask   questions that begin with why they force people to rationalize and justify which… I can’t   put this back together. But that could promote critical thinking. But it’s going to be way better   if you want to promote critical thinking to start your questions with either how or what.  

Those questions allow people to really expand and answer in a way that doesn’t require justification  and rationalization. Because in order for critical thinking to actually happen, our brains have to be open. Barbara Fredrickson talks about the broaden and build theory and positive  psychology –that when good things happen, our brains actually open up to new ideas. Whereas  when we’re worried about how we’re going to pay rent and we don’t know what’s going to happen  next month and we’re worried for our safety, we can do this. They can make people put up this barrier to try to protect some level of safety because it’s kind of prying for that  justification. When you ask questions that begin with how or what, typically, those tend to be more open questions, they invite story. They invite explanations, they’re longer answers, they’re not closed questions that close down responses.

My invitation to you is combine Brandon Stanton’s spiraling technique of following a curiosity path by asking questions that begin with how or what over and over and over and over again until  critical thinking happens. And perhaps, you can offset the critical thinking deficit that exists  right now on planet earth. I’m Chad Littlefield. 

Have an awesome day.

Critical Thinking Is About Asking Better Questions

At the heart of critical thinking is the ability to formulate deep, different, and effective questions. Here is a process for asking better, more effective questions.

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Home > Blog > Tips for Online Students > Why Is Critical Thinking Important and How to Improve It

Tips for Online Students , Tips for Students

Why Is Critical Thinking Important and How to Improve It

Updated: July 8, 2024

Published: April 2, 2020

Why is critical thinking important? The decisions that you make affect your quality of life. And if you want to ensure that you live your best, most successful and happy life, you’re going to want to make conscious choices. That can be done with a simple thing known as critical thinking. Here’s how to improve your critical thinking skills and make decisions that you won’t regret.

What Is Critical Thinking?

Critical thinking is the process of analyzing facts to form a judgment. Essentially, it involves thinking about thinking. Historically, it dates back to the teachings of Socrates , as documented by Plato.

Today, it is seen as a complex concept understood best by philosophers and psychologists. Modern definitions include “reasonable, reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do” and “deciding what’s true and what you should do.”

The Importance Of Critical Thinking

Why is critical thinking important? Good question! Here are a few undeniable reasons why it’s crucial to have these skills.

1. Critical Thinking Is Universal

Critical thinking is a domain-general thinking skill. What does this mean? It means that no matter what path or profession you pursue, these skills will always be relevant and will always be beneficial to your success. They are not specific to any field.

2. Crucial For The Economy

Our future depends on technology, information, and innovation. Critical thinking is needed for our fast-growing economies, to solve problems as quickly and as effectively as possible.

3. Improves Language & Presentation Skills

In order to best express ourselves, we need to know how to think clearly and systematically — meaning practice critical thinking! Critical thinking also means knowing how to break down texts, and in turn, improve our ability to comprehend.

4. Promotes Creativity

By practicing critical thinking, we are allowing ourselves not only to solve problems but also to come up with new and creative ideas to do so. Critical thinking allows us to analyze these ideas and adjust them accordingly.

5. Important For Self-Reflection

Without critical thinking, how can we really live a meaningful life? We need this skill to self-reflect and justify our ways of life and opinions. Critical thinking provides us with the tools to evaluate ourselves in the way that we need to.

Photo by Marcelo Chagas from Pexels

6. the basis of science & democracy.

In order to have a democracy and to prove scientific facts, we need critical thinking in the world. Theories must be backed up with knowledge. In order for a society to effectively function, its citizens need to establish opinions about what’s right and wrong (by using critical thinking!).

Benefits Of Critical Thinking

We know that critical thinking is good for society as a whole, but what are some benefits of critical thinking on an individual level? Why is critical thinking important for us?

1. Key For Career Success

Critical thinking is crucial for many career paths. Not just for scientists, but lawyers , doctors, reporters, engineers , accountants, and analysts (among many others) all have to use critical thinking in their positions. In fact, according to the World Economic Forum, critical thinking is one of the most desirable skills to have in the workforce, as it helps analyze information, think outside the box, solve problems with innovative solutions, and plan systematically.

2. Better Decision Making

There’s no doubt about it — critical thinkers make the best choices. Critical thinking helps us deal with everyday problems as they come our way, and very often this thought process is even done subconsciously. It helps us think independently and trust our gut feeling.

3. Can Make You Happier!

While this often goes unnoticed, being in touch with yourself and having a deep understanding of why you think the way you think can really make you happier. Critical thinking can help you better understand yourself, and in turn, help you avoid any kind of negative or limiting beliefs, and focus more on your strengths. Being able to share your thoughts can increase your quality of life.

4. Form Well-Informed Opinions

There is no shortage of information coming at us from all angles. And that’s exactly why we need to use our critical thinking skills and decide for ourselves what to believe. Critical thinking allows us to ensure that our opinions are based on the facts, and help us sort through all that extra noise.

5. Better Citizens

One of the most inspiring critical thinking quotes is by former US president Thomas Jefferson: “An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people.” What Jefferson is stressing to us here is that critical thinkers make better citizens, as they are able to see the entire picture without getting sucked into biases and propaganda.

6. Improves Relationships

While you may be convinced that being a critical thinker is bound to cause you problems in relationships, this really couldn’t be less true! Being a critical thinker can allow you to better understand the perspective of others, and can help you become more open-minded towards different views.

7. Promotes Curiosity

Critical thinkers are constantly curious about all kinds of things in life, and tend to have a wide range of interests. Critical thinking means constantly asking questions and wanting to know more, about why, what, who, where, when, and everything else that can help them make sense of a situation or concept, never taking anything at face value.

8. Allows For Creativity

Critical thinkers are also highly creative thinkers, and see themselves as limitless when it comes to possibilities. They are constantly looking to take things further, which is crucial in the workforce.

9. Enhances Problem Solving Skills

Those with critical thinking skills tend to solve problems as part of their natural instinct. Critical thinkers are patient and committed to solving the problem, similar to Albert Einstein, one of the best critical thinking examples, who said “It’s not that I’m so smart; it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” Critical thinkers’ enhanced problem-solving skills makes them better at their jobs and better at solving the world’s biggest problems. Like Einstein, they have the potential to literally change the world.

10. An Activity For The Mind

Just like our muscles, in order for them to be strong, our mind also needs to be exercised and challenged. It’s safe to say that critical thinking is almost like an activity for the mind — and it needs to be practiced. Critical thinking encourages the development of many crucial skills such as logical thinking, decision making, and open-mindness.

11. Creates Independence

When we think critically, we think on our own as we trust ourselves more. Critical thinking is key to creating independence, and encouraging students to make their own decisions and form their own opinions.

12. Crucial Life Skill

Critical thinking is crucial not just for learning, but for life overall! Education isn’t just a way to prepare ourselves for life, but it’s pretty much life itself. Learning is a lifelong process that we go through each and every day.

How To Improve Your Critical Thinking

Now that you know the benefits of thinking critically, how do you actually do it?

• Define Your Question: When it comes to critical thinking, it’s important to always keep your goal in mind. Know what you’re trying to achieve, and then figure out how to best get there.
• Gather Reliable Information: Make sure that you’re using sources you can trust — biases aside. That’s how a real critical thinker operates!
• Ask The Right Questions: We all know the importance of questions, but be sure that you’re asking the right questions that are going to get you to your answer.
• Look Short & Long Term: When coming up with solutions, think about both the short- and long-term consequences. Both of them are significant in the equation.
• Explore All Sides: There is never just one simple answer, and nothing is black or white. Explore all options and think outside of the box before you come to any conclusions.

How Is Critical Thinking Developed At School?

Critical thinking is developed in nearly everything we do, but much of this essential skill is encouraged and practiced in school. Fostering a culture of inquiry is crucial, encouraging students to ask questions, analyze information, and evaluate evidence.

Teaching strategies like Socratic questioning, problem-based learning, and collaborative discussions help students think for themselves. When teachers ask questions, students can respond critically and reflect on their learning. Group discussions also expand their thinking, making them independent thinkers and effective problem solvers.

How Does Critical Thinking Apply To Your Career?

Critical thinking is a valuable asset in any career. Employers value employees who can think critically, ask insightful questions, and offer creative solutions. Demonstrating critical thinking skills can set you apart in the workplace, showing your ability to tackle complex problems and make informed decisions.

In many careers, from law and medicine to business and engineering, critical thinking is essential. Lawyers analyze cases, doctors diagnose patients, business analysts evaluate market trends, and engineers solve technical issues—all requiring strong critical thinking skills.

Critical thinking also enhances your ability to communicate effectively, making you a better team member and leader. By analyzing and evaluating information, you can present clear, logical arguments and make persuasive presentations.

Incorporating critical thinking into your career helps you stay adaptable and innovative. It encourages continuous learning and improvement, which are crucial for professional growth and success in a rapidly changing job market.

Photo by Oladimeji Ajegbile from Pexels

Critical thinking is a vital skill with far-reaching benefits for personal and professional success. It involves systematic skills such as analysis, evaluation, inference, interpretation, and explanation to assess information and arguments.

By gathering relevant data, considering alternative perspectives, and using logical reasoning, critical thinking enables informed decision-making. Reflecting on and refining these processes further enhances their effectiveness.

The future of critical thinking holds significant importance as it remains essential for adapting to evolving challenges and making sound decisions in various aspects of life.

What are the benefits of developing critical thinking skills?

Critical thinking enhances decision-making, problem-solving, and the ability to evaluate information critically. It helps in making informed decisions, understanding others’ perspectives, and improving overall cognitive abilities.

How does critical thinking contribute to problem-solving abilities?

Critical thinking enables you to analyze problems thoroughly, consider multiple solutions, and choose the most effective approach. It fosters creativity and innovative thinking in finding solutions.

What role does critical thinking play in academic success?

Critical thinking is crucial in academics as it allows you to analyze texts, evaluate evidence, construct logical arguments, and understand complex concepts, leading to better academic performance.

How does critical thinking promote effective communication skills?

Critical thinking helps you articulate thoughts clearly, listen actively, and engage in meaningful discussions. It improves your ability to argue logically and understand different viewpoints.

How can critical thinking skills be applied in everyday situations?

You can use critical thinking to make better personal and professional decisions, solve everyday problems efficiently, and understand the world around you more deeply.

What role does skepticism play in critical thinking?

Skepticism encourages questioning assumptions, evaluating evidence, and distinguishing between facts and opinions. It helps in developing a more rigorous and open-minded approach to thinking.

What strategies can enhance critical thinking?

Strategies include asking probing questions, engaging in reflective thinking, practicing problem-solving, seeking diverse perspectives, and analyzing information critically and logically.

In this article

At UoPeople, our blog writers are thinkers, researchers, and experts dedicated to curating articles relevant to our mission: making higher education accessible to everyone. Read More

Critical Thinking & Why It’s So Important

Critical thinking is a cognitive skill with the power to unlock the full potential of your mind. In today’s rapidly evolving society, where information is abundant but discerning its validity is becoming increasingly challenging, the art of critical thinking has never been more crucial.

At Nichols College, we believe that cultivating strong critical thinking abilities is not just a pursuit for the academically inclined, but a fundamental necessity for individuals across all walks of life. Join us as we explore the significance of critical thinking and the remarkable impact it can have on your decision-making, problem-solving, and overall cognitive prowess.

Discover why our Graduate Certificate program in Advanced Critical Thinking and Decision Making is your gateway to becoming a perceptive and adept thinker, ready to tackle the complex challenges of today’s world with confidence and ingenuity.

What is critical thinking?

Critical thinking is a fundamental skill that allows individuals to analyze, evaluate, and interpret information objectively and rationally. It goes beyond merely accepting information at face value; instead, critical thinkers are equipped to delve deeper, question assumptions, and explore various perspectives before arriving at well-informed conclusions. This ability to think critically is highly valued across various domains, including education, business, and everyday life.

Benefits of using critical thinking

The countless advantages of critical thinking extend far beyond the realms of academia. For starters, critical thinking fosters superior decision-making by equipping individuals with the tools to weigh options, assess consequences, and arrive at better choices. Critical thinkers also benefit from heightened self-reflection, gaining a profound understanding of their own biases and areas for improvement.

Critical thinkers become well-informed individuals who can navigate the sea of information with discernment, adeptly identifying misinformation and unreliable sources. Furthermore, this invaluable skill enables creative problem-solving, allowing thinkers to craft innovative solutions to intricate challenges. Some of the most important benefits of using critical thinking include:

Better decision making

Critical thinkers excel at weighing pros and cons, considering alternatives, and anticipating potential consequences. This leads to more informed and effective decision-making processes, both in personal and professional realms.

Better self-reflection

By fostering a habit of introspection, critical thinkers become more self-aware, recognizing their own biases and limitations. This heightened self-awareness allows them to continually improve and adapt their thinking patterns.

Being well-informed

Critical thinkers actively seek out diverse sources of information, ensuring they have a comprehensive understanding of complex issues. This empowers them to engage in meaningful discussions and contribute constructively to their communities.

The ability to identify misinformation

In a world filled with misinformation, critical thinkers possess the skills to discern fact from fiction. They scrutinize sources, verify information, and avoid being misled by deceptive content.

Building creative problem solving skills

Critical thinking encourages innovative and outside-the-box problem-solving approaches. By considering multiple angles and challenging conventional ideas, critical thinkers arrive at inventive solutions to complex challenges.

What skills do critical thinkers have?

Critical thinkers possess a remarkable set of skills that elevate their cognitive abilities and enable them to approach complex issues with acuity. Embracing these skills empowers them to tackle challenges, unravel complexities, and make meaningful insights and well-informed decisions. Some of the most valuable skills critical thinkers have include:

Critical thinkers have a natural inclination to ask questions and explore topics in-depth. Their thirst for knowledge drives them to seek out answers and continually expand their understanding.

Proficient in conducting thorough research, critical thinkers gather information from reliable sources and assess its validity. They are skilled at distinguishing credible data from biased or unsubstantiated claims.

Pattern recognition

Critical thinkers recognize recurring patterns and connections between seemingly unrelated pieces of information. This allows them to draw meaningful insights and make well-founded predictions.

Bias identification

Having honed the ability to identify biases, critical thinkers remain open-minded and impartial in their assessments. They acknowledge their own biases and strive to approach each situation objectively.

How to use critical thinking skills in the workplace

In any work environment, critical thinking is a valuable asset that can enhance productivity and foster a more innovative and collaborative workplace. Employees with strong critical thinking skills contribute to problem-solving sessions, provide constructive feedback, and make informed decisions based on thorough analysis. By promoting critical thinking, organizations encourage employees to challenge assumptions, seek out novel solutions, and contribute to the overall growth and success of the company.

Examples of good critical thinking in action

The real-world application of critical thinking can be awe-inspiring, as it empowers individuals to approach various scenarios with astute judgment and creativity. In the business realm and with regard to project management, critical thinkers demonstrate their prowess by:

• Analyzing Market Trends : A marketing professional employs critical thinking skills to assess market trends, consumer behavior, and competitor strategies before devising a successful marketing campaign that aligns with the target audience’s needs.
• Problem-Solving in Project Management : A project manager utilizes critical thinking to identify potential roadblocks, consider alternative approaches, and ensure projects are executed efficiently and within budget.

Furthermore, critical thinkers shine in scientific research, meticulously evaluating data, and drawing evidence-based conclusions that contribute to groundbreaking discoveries. In everyday life, they navigate the digital landscape with discernment, identifying misinformation and making informed decisions about their health, finances, and general well-being. These examples illustrate the power of critical thinking to transform not only individual lives but also entire industries, making it an indispensable skill in the pursuit of success and progress.

Get a critical thinking graduate certificate from Nichols College

If you are eager to enhance your problem-solving abilities, decision-making processes, and overall cognitive skills, the Nichols College graduate certificate in critical thinking may be right for you. Designed to equip individuals with the necessary tools to excel in today’s complex world, this program will empower you to think critically, analyze data effectively, and approach challenges with creativity and confidence. Elevate your potential and join Nichols College in cultivating a new generation of sharp-minded leaders, ready to make a positive impact on the world. Enroll in the Advanced Critical Thinking and Decision Making certificate program today and unlock a brighter future for yourself and your community.

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Critical Reading and the Importance of Questioning

By generation ready.

At the start of the school year the media usually raises the issue about the increasing number of students who are failing to learn to read. The interesting thing is, there is no evidence that standards of achievement in reading are declining. In fact, the evidence shows that there has been a steady increase in fourth grade reading levels since 1988, but “the current difficulties in reading largely originate from rising demands for literacy, not from declining levels of literacy.” (National Research Council 1998)

This has huge implications for us in our teaching. We need to think carefully about how we are going to equip our students with the strategies to deal with the rapidly changing world of print. Our students will need to have strategies to deal with the:

• Volume of print and the need to be able to read selectively to negotiate this
• Range and complexity of print, including electronic sources, and the need to be able to read in many ways
• Availability of information from a wide range of sources and the need to be critical readers

Focusing on questioning as a comprehension strategy is one way we can help our students become critical and strategic readers.

Questions and making sense of the world

From a very young age, children actively strive to make sense of their world through constant questioning. The ability to ask questions comes naturally for young children, such as these questions from a group of five-year-olds watching a fly:

• “How do flies walk?”
• “Why do they have webs on their wings?”
• “Do flies have hair?”
• “Have they got sisters and brothers?”
• “How do they stick to the walls upside-down?”
• “How do they know they’re in trouble?”

Why don’t students who are skilled at asking questions in general continue using this curiosity as a strategy for comprehending what they’re reading? Maybe it’s because in many classrooms we ask most of the questions. If we want our students to become strategic and critical readers, we need to encourage them to ask questions instead of having them answer questions. This needs to start from their first exposures to text.

Learning how to question when reading

Questioning lies at the heart of comprehension because it is the process of questioning, seeking answers and asking further questions that keeps the reading going. For our students to become critical readers, we need to help them engage with texts through a range of different kinds of questioning. We want them to ask questions that help to:

• Focus their reading
• Delve deeper into the text
• Clarify meaning

Critically reflect on what they have read

Students need to see demonstrations of how questioning is used to construct meaning from texts. These demonstrations need to be explicit, visible and clear, and it is important that they occur in the context of meaningful reading. The following diagram shows how students take more responsibility for asking and using questions as they move from listening to us model questioning strategies to asking their own questions to deepen their comprehension. up and down arrows

Research shows that students who have been shown how to generate questions as they read outperform those who have not. Our students are more likely to become effective questioners if we:

• Demonstrate genuine questions before, during and after reading
• Are explicit about how and why questioning strategies help with comprehension
• Provide appropriate interesting reading material that is likely to generate a range of questions
• Monitor students’ use of questioning and provide additional guidance as required

Teachers as models

In many classrooms, comprehension instruction consists of teachers asking questions that assess students’ literal understanding. These literal-recall questions are unlikely to generate lively discussion or provide students with models of the types of questions they need to ask in order to engage with the text. If we want our students to ask searching questions, we need to be thoughtful about the kinds of questions we model.

When teaching questioning, we are faced with two issues. The first is showing students how questions can help with comprehension. The second is making sure the questions we ask our students are the sort that deepen comprehension. We might ask ourselves if we are posing questions that encourage “accountable talk” about texts:

• Are my questions varied and encourage a range of responses?
• Am I asking higher-order questions that require students to think deeply about the text?
• Are the students also generating their own questions?
• Who does the most of the talking?

Questioning text as a lifelong skill

The volume of print and range of text types that today’s students will be coming into contact with requires them to be skillful and critical readers. Accurately decoding and a literal understanding, while important, will not be adequate for today’s literacy demands. To help our students successfully meet the challenges of their world, we want them to confidently engage with and think critically about the texts they interact with. It is not only the type of questions we ask that is important; we also need to think about where our questions are focusing our students’ attention. Questions of texts should encourage students to think about the topic and how it is presented; whose opinions and values are being expressed (and whose values and opinions are left out); the author’s purpose for writing; the author’s choice of language and genre; and, finally, their own reactions to the text.

Some examples of critical literacy questions:

• What does the writer of the text want us to know? How can I check the facts in this text?
• Why has the author portrayed the characters in a particular way?
• What view of the world is the text presenting?
• What kind of person, and with what interests and values, composed the text?
• How does the text depict age, gender and/or cultural groups?
• Whose views are excluded in the text?

85 Critical Thinking Questions to Carefully Examine Any Information

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The ability to think critically will often determine your success in life.

Let’s face it. Every day, we are bombarded by news, social media updates, and an avalanche of information. If you take all of this at face value, it’s easy to be deceived, misled or ripped off.

That’s why it’s important to  develop a mindset that focuses on critical thinking . This is a skill that needs to be developed in the classroom. But it’s also a valuable life skill.

With that in mind, the following post will share 85 critical thinking questions you can use to increase your awareness about different problems by carefully examining available information. 

Let’s get started…

Table of Contents

What Are Critical Thinking Questions?

Critical thinking questions are inquiries that help you think rationally and clearly by understanding the link between different facts or ideas. These questions create a seemingly endless learning process that lets you critique, evaluate, and develop a depth of knowledge about a given subject. Moreover, you get to reinforce your viewpoints or see things in a new way.

We make decisions every day, whether at work or home. Adopting logical, rational, and practical approaches in addressing various issues requiring critical thinking is essential in decision-making. Therefore, before arriving at a decision, always ask yourself relevant questions and carefully analyze the matter’s pros and cons.

Critical Thinking Questions When in an Argument

When you make an argument using a critical thinking approach, you focus on justified claims that are valid and based on evidence. It helps one establish a strong argument.

• Do I disagree with the other person? Might the person I'm arguing with be misinformed on what they are saying?
• Would I be comfortable saying what I am telling him/her if I was in front of a group of people? 
• What would happen if I lose this argument? Is engaging in this argument worth my time and energy? How will I feel if I lose?
• Is there room for ambiguity or misinterpretation? Are we arguing because I didn't make my point explicit? Should I take my time to understand his school of thought?
• Do I need some rest before saying something? Am I arguing because of other reasons other than the issues at hand? Do I need to take some time and cool down?

• Is it more important that I’m right? Am I trying to ask to prove an unnecessary point?
• Is this argument inductive, deductive, or abductive? Is it a weak or strong argument that I need to engage in? Is it compelling or sound? 
• Is my opponent sincere? Given that they are wrong, are they willing to admit that they are wrong? Can they depend on available evidence, wherever it leads?
• Are my opponents only trying to shift their burden to me? What is the best way to prove them wrong without making them feel bad?
• Are the people I'm arguing with only interested in winning, or are they trying to pass some information across and help me discover the truth?

Critical Thinking Questions When Reading a Book 

When you read a book, you probably ask yourself many “why” questions. Why is this a problem? Why did the character say that? Why is this important? The most challenging part of reading a book is assessing the information you are reading. These questions can help.

• If I learn only two things from this book, what will they be? How will they help me? How will I apply them in my daily life?
• What message are the authors trying to pass across? Are they making suggestions or providing evidence for their arguments?
• Given that almost every book is about solving problems, what is the most prevalent issue that the author is trying to solve?
• What is the author’s writing style? What strategy or master plan does the author employ to convey his/her main ideas throughout the book?
• Do I have background information about the book’s topic? If so, how is what the author is saying different from what I already know?
• What didn’t I understand from the book? Should I re-read the book to understand everything the writer is trying to convey?
• Which sections of the book do I love the most, and why? Generally, do I like this book? Should I look for more books that are written by the same author?
• If I had a chance to meet this book’s author, what questions would I ask him/her? What would I tell the writer about the book? Is it a great book worth recommending to your friends and family members?
• Who are the main characters of the book? If there is only one main character, what overarching goal does the character accomplish?
• In what ways did the protagonist change from the start of the book to the end? What caused the changes? Was the protagonist reckless in some ways? Which ways?

Critical Thinking Questions to Spot a Scam

Asking questions when you feel that a fraud or a scam is being presented to you is a good way to stretch your critical thinking muscles. Are you being emailed or messaged by a stranger? Or maybe there are other red flags you are unsure about. If so, ask these questions.

• Does it seem to be too good to be true? Is this stranger pushy or trying to lure me into making a poor decision?
• When trying out online dating: Is my new “friend” professing strong feelings towards me although we’ve only interacted for a few hours?
• Why is a stranger calling me to ask about my Social Security Number (SSN), personal contact information, or bank details while claiming they are from the bank or a phone company? 
• When buying products online, why does the seller ask me to pay for goods using an insecure payment option like Bitcoin or money order?
• Does the email I have received have any spelling or grammatical errors? Is the language used overly formal or informal?
• If I do a quick search about the exact words of the email I received, does Google indicate it's a fraud or scam?
• Why should a stranger manipulate me using obvious questions like “Would you want to be rich or poor?” While they already know the answer?
• Is the email asking me to download an attachment? Or click a link to some insecure website? 
• Is the person trying to make me feel selfish or guilty for not sending them money, whether for a donation or buying a product? 
• Is the stranger portraying a sense of urgency and using pressure tactics? Are they telling me that their family member needs urgent medical attention?

Critical Thinking Questions About Your Life

It can also help to ask yourself a few critical thinking questions about your life. This way, you can gather basic information and uncover solutions to problems you might not have otherwise thought of.

• Where do I wish to be in a few years, probably two, three, or five years? What short-term and long-term goals should I set?
• What have I achieved so far from the time I set my previous goals? What should I be grateful for?
• Do I have any values that guide me in life? If so, what are these values? Am I always true to these values?
• Am I always worried about what people around me think? Can I act independently without the need to meet social expectations?
• What should people say about me at my funeral? Would they talk about how good I made them feel or how rich and flashy I was?
• If I wasn't afraid of anyone or anything, what would I have done? What if I didn't have any fear in me?
• If today was my last day, what extraordinary thing would I do? Can I do it right now?
• What should I do with the things that matter the most to me? 
• What things will make the greatest difference in my future life if I take action now?
• How should I react when I feel unwanted by the people I love the most? Should I tell them?

Critical Thinking Questions for a Debate or Discussion

When you are in the middle of a debate or discussion, you need to know that what you are saying is fact, have evidence to support your claim, and position yourself as an expert in what you are saying. Here are some critical thinking questions to ask when you are in a debate or discussion.

• Is there fairness in this discussion? Is the moderator supporting one side? Do they want to make one side look stupid or wrong? 
• What is the aim of this discussion? Is there a major problem that needs to be solved? If so, how can I help solve it?
• Who are the people affected by this discussion? If they were here, what would they say?
• Do my views on this discussion matter? If I raise my point, will I be redundant?
• What am I supposed to learn from this debate, and how can I use what I have learned in my daily life?
• Does the audience seem to be biased towards one side? Are they booing one side? What can I do even if it's our opponents being booed?
• Who are the discussion panel members? What views have they held about this kind of discussion or any other related discussions in the past?
• How can I make my point without being ambiguous? Before I speak, should I take down some notes to avoid any confusion during my speech?
• Am I ready to apologize if I make a mistake during the discussion? If so, what are the limits?
• What information does my team, or I need before this discussion? 

Critical Thinking Questions About Lying

Admitting when you are wrong, choosing not to cheat, and sharing constructive feedback are all ways to show your honesty. Here are some critical thinking skills to ask regarding lying.

• Will the lie hurt those I am telling, or will it help them? What if being honest might cause my friend unnecessary pain?
• Should I be the one telling this person a lie, or I let someone else do it? 
• Will I be the one hurt if I tell this lie? Will my friend feel I am a betrayer? Will it affect our friendship?
• Do they answer my questions in detail, or are they always trying to ignore and dodge the main problem?
• What if I ask these people the same question using different terms and wording? Will they give me the same response?
• Did the tone of my friend suddenly change after I asked him/her this question? Do they sound louder, faster, or slower compared to how they usually speak?
• Does this person have something to gain by lying to me? What is their motive?
• Does this person take a sudden pause or hesitate more than usual when responding to my question?
• When I look at these people's faces, do their facial expressions match what they say?
• Should I believe this person or not? What are my intuitions? Does it look like they are telling the truth?
• Do they blink like other days when I ask them questions? Are they always trying to avoid direct eye contact?
• Why do they seem uncomfortable when it’s just a normal conversation?  

Critical Thinking Questions When Presented With a Claim

Critical thinking is much more than just evaluating whether a claim is true or not. It also means a critical thinker reflects on what follows from true claims.

• What does this claim mean, and what are its implications? What if it's a false claim?
• Which of my morals, values, or beliefs do I have to give up to accept this claim?
• Do professionals in this field agree or disagree with the claim that has been made?
• Do they have evidence to back their claim? Which is the most robust evidence to support the claim?
• What argument can I come up with to refute this claim? Or what is the best view that can support this claim?
• Who is the primary source of the claim being made? Is the basis of the claim reliable?
• Is it a claim, or it's just an opinion?
• Is the claim likely to be 100% false, true, or partially true?
• Am I allowed to refute the claim and table my evidence, or is it one-sided?

Critical Thinking Interview Questions

Critical thinking skills are valuable in any industry or field and for almost all roles. During a job interview, you will be asked questions so the potential employer can assess your skills and see how you use logic. Your critical thinking ability is just one vital part that can play into your professional development.

• Is there a time you had to convince someone to use an alternate approach to solve a problem?
• Have you ever had to make a difficult decision quickly?
• How would you handle a situation where your supervisor handled something wrong or made a mistake?
• What is one of the most difficult decisions you have ever had to make at work?
• How would you solve a disagreement between coworkers when approaching a project?
• Can you describe a time when you anticipated a problem ahead of time and took the appropriate steps to stop the problem from becoming an issue?
• If you discover a cheaper way to do something or a better solution to a problem and try to explain it to your supervisor, but they don’t understand, what do you do?

Critical Thinking Questions for Kids

We can’t leave the kids out either. Critical thinking questions for kids get them thinking and talking. It also allows a parent to get to know their child better.

• How many grains of sand do you think are on the beach?
• What would happen if it stopped raining?
• Do you think there is life on other planets?
• Should children be able to set their own bedtimes?
• How would you describe what a tree looks like without saying green or leaves?
• Can you name five different emotions?
• Can you talk for five minutes without uttering “um?”

What Are the Basic Principles of Critical Thinking?

Your critical thinking skills involve gathering complete information, understanding and defining terms, questioning the methods by which we get facts, questioning the conclusions, and looking for hidden assumptions and biases.

Additionally, we can’t expect to find all of the answers, and we need to take the time to examine the big picture of it all.

Here are the basic principles:

• Disposition: Someone with critical thinking skills is often skeptical, open-minded, and practices fair-mindedness. They can look at different viewpoints and change positions if the evidence and reason lead them to do so.
• Criteria: In order to think critically, one must also apply criteria. Certain conditions must be met before someone believes in something. The information needs to be from credible sources.
• Argument: An argument is simply a statement or proposition that is shown with supporting evidence. When you use your critical thinking skills, you identify, evaluate, and construct your argument.
• Reasoning: With critical thinking comes reasoning. You must examine logical relationships among the statements being made.
• Point of View: Critical thinkers can see things from different perspectives and different points of view.

What Are Good Analysis Questions?

Analysis is a part of critical thinking that allows you to examine something carefully. Someone with analytical skills can examine the information presented, understand what that information means, and then properly explain that information to others. Analysis in critical thinking provides more clarity on the information you process.

When analyzing, you may ask yourself, “how do I know this,” how would I solve this problem,” and “why does it matter?”

Why Is Critical Thinking an Important Skill?

Critical thinking skills allow you to express thoughts, ideas, and beliefs in a better way. It also leads to improved communication while allowing others to understand you better. Critical thinking fosters creativity and encourages out-of-the-box thinking. This is a skill that can be applied to many different areas of your life.

For example, knowing the answers to critical thinking questions for a job interview will better prepare you for the interview. Many employers, during questioning, are likely to ask you critical thinking questions to assess if you have the ability to evaluate information effectively so you can make more informed decisions.

Final Thoughts on Critical Thinking Questions

Although it's common to get torn between making two or more choices, nobody wants to make the wrong decision. The only thing you can do to avoid this is use critical thinking questions to examine your situation. The answers to these questions will help you make informed decisions and help you comprehend crucial matters in your life. 

Want to learn more about critical thinking and decision-making using a real-life example? Here is  how Jeff Bezos uses critical thinking  to make some of the most challenging life decisions.

Finally, if you want to ask better questions, then watch this short, 20-minute course to learn how to have a great conversation with virtually anyone .

Why Critical Thinking Is Important (& How to Improve It)

Last updated May 1, 2023. Edited and medically reviewed by Patrick Alban, DC . Written by Deane Alban .

By improving the quality of your thoughts and your decisions, better critical thinking skills can bring about a big positive change in your life. Learn how.

The quality of your life largely depends on the quality of the decisions you make.

Amazingly, the average person makes roughly 35,000 conscious decisions every day! 

Imagine how much better your life would be if there were a way to make better decisions, day in and day out?

Well, there is and you do it by boosting a skill called critical thinking .

Learning to master critical thinking can have a profoundly positive impact on nearly every aspect of your life.

What Exactly Is Critical Thinking?

The first documented account of critical thinking is the teachings of Socrates as recorded by Plato. 

Over time, the definition of critical thinking has evolved.

Most definitions of critical thinking are fairly complex and best understood by philosophy majors or psychologists.

For example, the Foundation for Critical Thinking , a nonprofit think tank, offers this definition:

“Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.”

If that makes your head spin, here are some definitions that you may relate to more easily.

Critical thinking is “reasonable, reflective thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe or do.”

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Or, a catchy way of defining critical thinking is “deciding what’s true and what you should do.”

But my favorite uber-simple definition is that critical thinking is simply “thinking about thinking.”

6 Major Benefits of Good Critical Thinking Skills

Whether or not you think critically can make the difference between success and failure in just about every area of your life.

Our human brains are imperfect and prone to irrationality, distortions, prejudices, and cognitive biases .

Cognitive biases are systematic patterns of irrational thinking.

While the number of cognitive biases varies depending on the source, Wikipedia, for example, lists nearly 200 of them ! 

Some of the most well-known cognitive biases include:

• catastrophic thinking
• confirmation bias
• fear of missing out (FOMO)

Critical thinking will help you move past the limitations of irrational thinking.

Here are some of the most important ways critical thinking can impact your life.

1. Critical Thinking Is a Key to Career Success

There are many professions where critical thinking is an absolute must.

Lawyers, analysts, accountants, doctors, engineers, reporters, and scientists of all kinds must apply critical thinking frequently.

But critical thinking is a skill set that is becoming increasingly valuable in a growing number of professions.

Critical thinking can help you in any profession where you must:

• analyze information
• systematically solve problems
• generate innovative solutions
• plan strategically
• think creatively
• present your work or ideas to others in a way that can be readily understood

And, as we enter the fourth industrial revolution , critical thinking has become one of the most sought-after skills.

According to the World Economic Forum , critical thinking and complex problem-solving are the two top in-demand skills that employers look for. 

Critical thinking is considered a soft or enterprise skill — a core attribute required to succeed in the workplace . 

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• Provides the building blocks to create new brain cells and brain chemicals
• Helps increase resilience to stress to avoid mental burnout
• Supplies the brain with the fuel it needs for mental energy

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According to The University of Arizona, other soft skills include : 

• interpersonal skills
• communication skills
• digital literacy

Critical thinking can help you develop the rest of these soft skills.

Developing your critical thinking can help you land a job since many employers will ask you interview questions or even give you a test to determine how well you can think critically.

It can also help you continually succeed in your career, since being a critical thinker is a powerful predictor of long-term success.

2. Critical Thinkers Make Better Decisions

Every day you make thousands of decisions.

Most of them are made by your subconscious , are not very important, and don’t require much thought, such as what to wear or what to have for lunch. 

But the most important decisions you make can be hard and require a lot of thought, such as when or if you should change jobs, relocate to a new city, buy a house, get married, or have kids.

At work, you may have to make decisions that can alter the course of your career or the lives of others.

Critical thinking helps you cope with everyday problems as they arise.

It promotes independent thinking and strengthens your inner “BS detector.”

It helps you make sense of the glut of data and information available, making you a smarter consumer who is less likely to fall for advertising hype, peer pressure, or scams.

3. Critical Thinking Can Make You Happier

Knowing and understanding yourself is an underappreciated path to happiness. 

We’ve already shown how your quality of life largely depends on the quality of your decisions, but equally as important is the quality of your thoughts.

Critical thinking is an excellent tool to help you better understand yourself and to learn to master your thoughts.

You can use critical thinking to free yourself from cognitive biases, negative thinking , and limiting beliefs that are holding you back in any area of your life.

Critical thinking can help you assess your strengths and weaknesses so that you know what you have to offer others and where you could use improvement.

Critical thinking will enable you to better express your thoughts, ideas, and beliefs.

Better communication helps others to understand you better, resulting in less frustration for both of you.

Critical thinking fosters creativity and out-of-the-box thinking that can be applied to any area of your life.

It gives you a process you can rely on, making decisions less stressful.

4. Critical Thinking Ensures That Your Opinions Are Well-Informed

We have access to more information than ever before .

Astoundingly, more data has been created in the past two years than in the entire previous history of mankind. 

Critical thinking can help you sort through the noise.

American politician, sociologist, and diplomat Daniel Patrick Moynihan once remarked , “You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.” 

Critical thinking ensures your opinions are well-informed and based on the best available facts.

You’ll get a boost in confidence when you see that those around you trust your well-considered opinions.

5. Critical Thinking Improves Relationships

You might be concerned that critical thinking will turn you into a Spock-like character who is not very good at relationships.

But, in fact, the opposite is true.

Employing critical thinking makes you more open-minded and better able to understand others’ points of view.

Critical thinkers are more empathetic and in a better position to get along with different kinds of people.

Critical thinking keeps you from jumping to conclusions.

You can be counted on to be the voice of reason when arguments get heated.

You’ll be better able to detect when others:

• are being disingenuous
• don’t have your best interests at heart
• try to take advantage of or manipulate you

6. Critical Thinking Makes You a Better, More Informed Citizen

“An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people.”

This quote has been incorrectly attributed to Thomas Jefferson , but regardless of the source, these words of wisdom are more relevant than ever. 

Critical thinkers are able to see both sides of any issue and are more likely to generate bipartisan solutions.

They are less likely to be swayed by propaganda or get swept up in mass hysteria.

They are in a better position to spot fake news when they see it.

5 Steps to Improve Your Critical Thinking Skills

Some people already have well-developed critical thinking skills.

These people are analytical, inquisitive, and open to new ideas.

And, even though they are confident in their own opinions, they seek the truth, even if it proves their existing ideas to be wrong.

They are able to connect the dots between ideas and detect inconsistencies in others’ thinking.

But regardless of the state of your critical thinking skills today, it’s a skill set you can develop.

While there are many techniques for thinking rationally, here’s a classic 5-step critical thinking process . 

How to Improve Your Critical Thinking Skills

Clearly define your question or problem.

This step is so important that Albert Einstein famously quipped:

“If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.”

Gather Information to Help You Weigh the Options

Consider only the most useful and reliable information from the most reputable sources.

Disregard the rest.

Apply the Information and Ask Critical Questions

Scrutinize all information carefully with a skeptic’s eye.

Not sure what questions to ask?

You can’t go wrong starting with the “5 Ws” that any good investigator asks: Who? What? Where? When? Why?

Then finish by asking “How?”

You’ll find more thought-provoking questions on this Critical Thinking Skills Cheatsheet .

Consider the Implications

Look for potential unintended consequences.

Do a thought experiment about how your solution could play out in both the short term and the long run.

Explore the Full Spectrum of Viewpoints

Examine why others are drawn to differing points of view.

This will help you objectively evaluate your own viewpoint.

You may find critical thinkers who take an opposing view and this can help you find gaps in your own logic.

Watch the Video

This TED-Ed video on YouTube elaborates on the five steps to improve your critical thinking.

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What Kamala Harris has said so far on key issues in her campaign

As she ramps up her nascent presidential campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris is revealing how she will address the key issues facing the nation.

In speeches and rallies, she has voiced support for continuing many of President Joe Biden’s measures, such as lowering drug costs , forgiving student loan debt and eliminating so-called junk fees. But Harris has made it clear that she has her own views on some key matters, particularly Israel’s treatment of Gazans in its war with Hamas.

In a departure from her presidential run in 2020, the Harris campaign has confirmed that she’s moved away from many of her more progressive stances, such as her interest in a single-payer health insurance system and a ban on fracking.

Harris is also expected to put her own stamp and style on matters ranging from abortion to the economy to immigration, as she aims to walk a fine line of taking credit for the administration’s accomplishments while not being jointly blamed by voters for its shortcomings.

Her early presidential campaign speeches have offered insights into her priorities, though she’s mainly voiced general talking points and has yet to release more nuanced plans. Like Biden, she intends to contrast her vision for America with that of former President Donald Trump. ( See Trump’s campaign promises here .)

“In this moment, I believe we face a choice between two different visions for our nation: one focused on the future, the other focused on the past,” she told members of the historically Black sorority Zeta Phi Beta at an event in Indianapolis in late July. “And with your support, I am fighting for our nation’s future.”

Here’s what we know about Harris’ views:

Harris took on the lead role of championing abortion rights for the administration after Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022. This past January, she started a “ reproductive freedoms tour ” to multiple states, including a stop in Minnesota thought to be the first by a sitting US president or vice president at an abortion clinic .

On abortion access, Harris embraced more progressive policies than Biden in the 2020 campaign, as a candidate criticizing his previous support for the Hyde Amendment , a measure that blocks federal funds from being used for most abortions.

Policy experts suggested that although Harris’ current policies on abortion and reproductive rights may not differ significantly from Biden’s, as a result of her national tour and her own focus on maternal health , she may be a stronger messenger.

High prices are a top concern for many Americans who are struggling to afford the cost of living after a spell of steep inflation. Many voters give Biden poor marks for his handling of the economy, and Harris may also face their wrath.

In her early campaign speeches, Harris has echoed many of the same themes as Biden, saying she wants to give Americans more opportunities to get ahead. She’s particularly concerned about making care – health care, child care, elder care and family leave – more affordable and available.

Harris promised at a late July rally to continue the Biden administration’s drive to eliminate so-called “junk fees” and to fully disclose all charges, such as for events, lodging and car rentals. In early August, the administration proposed a rule that would ban airlines from charging parents extra fees to have their kids sit next to them.

On day one, I will take on price gouging and bring down costs. We will ban more of those hidden fees and surprise late charges that banks and other companies use to pad their profits.”

Since becoming vice president, Harris has taken more moderate positions, but a look at her 2020 campaign promises reveals a more progressive bent than Biden.

As a senator and 2020 presidential candidate, Harris proposed providing middle-class and working families with a refundable tax credit of up to $6,000 a year (per couple) to help keep up with living expenses. Titled the LIFT the Middle Class Act, or Livable Incomes for Families Today, the measure would have cost at the time an estimated $3 trillion over 10 years.

Unlike a typical tax credit, the bill would allow taxpayers to receive the benefit – up to $500 – on a monthly basis so families don’t have to turn to payday loans with very high interest rates.

As a presidential candidate, Harris also advocated for raising the corporate income tax rate to 35%, where it was before the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that Trump and congressional Republicans pushed through Congress reduced the rate to 21%. That’s higher than the 28% Biden has proposed.

Affordable housing was also on Harris’ radar. As a senator, she introduced the Rent Relief Act, which would establish a refundable tax credit for renters who annually spend more than 30% of their gross income on rent and utilities. The amount of the credit would range from 25% to 100% of the excess rent, depending on the renter’s income.

Harris called housing a human right and said in a 2019 news release on the bill that every American deserves to have basic security and dignity in their own home.

Consumer debt

Hefty debt loads, which weigh on people’s finances and hurt their ability to buy homes, get car loans or start small businesses, are also an area of interest to Harris.

As vice president, she has promoted the Biden administration’s initiatives on student debt, which have so far forgiven more than $168 billion for nearly 4.8 million borrowers . In mid-July, Harris said in a post on X that “nearly 950,000 public servants have benefitted” from student debt forgiveness, compared with only 7,000 when Biden was inaugurated.

A potential Harris administration could keep that momentum going – though some of Biden’s efforts have gotten tangled up in litigation, such as a program aimed at cutting monthly student loan payments for roughly 3 million borrowers enrolled in a repayment plan the administration implemented last year.

The vice president has also been a leader in the White House efforts to ban medical debt from credit reports, noting that those with medical debt are no less likely to repay a loan than those who don’t have unpaid medical bills.

In a late July statement praising North Carolina’s move to relieve the medical debt of about 2 million residents, Harris said that she is “committed to continuing to relieve the burden of medical debt and creating a future where every person has the opportunity to build wealth and thrive.”

Health care

Harris, who has had shifting stances on health care in the past, confirmed in late July through her campaign that she no longer supports a single-payer health care system .

During her 2020 campaign, Harris advocated for shifting the US to a government-backed health insurance system but stopped short of wanting to completely eliminate private insurance.

The measure called for transitioning to a Medicare-for-All-type system over 10 years but continuing to allow private insurance companies to offer Medicare plans.

The proposal would not have raised taxes on the middle class to pay for the coverage expansion. Instead, it would raise the needed funds by taxing Wall Street trades and transactions and changing the taxation of offshore corporate income.

When it comes to reducing drug costs, Harris previously proposed allowing the federal government to set “a fair price” for any drug sold at a cheaper price in any economically comparable country, including Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Japan or Australia. If manufacturers were found to be price gouging, the government could import their drugs from abroad or, in egregious cases, use its existing but never-used “march-in” authority to license a drug company’s patent to a rival that would produce the medication at a lower cost.

Harris has been a champion on climate and environmental justice for decades. As California’s attorney general, Harris sued big oil companies like BP and ConocoPhillips, and investigated Exxon Mobil for its role in climate change disinformation. While in the Senate, she sponsored the Green New Deal resolution.

During her 2020 campaign, she enthusiastically supported a ban on fracking — but a Harris campaign official said in late July that she no longer supports such a ban.

Fracking is the process of using liquid to free natural gas from rock formations – and the primary mode for extracting gas for energy in battleground Pennsylvania. During a September 2019 climate crisis town hall hosted by CNN, she said she would start “with what we can do on Day 1 around public lands.” She walked that back later when she became Biden’s running mate.

Biden has been the most pro-climate president in history, and climate advocates find Harris to be an exciting candidate in her own right. Democrats and climate activists are planning to campaign on the stark contrasts between Harris and Trump , who vowed to push America decisively back to fossil fuels, promising to unwind Biden’s climate and clean energy legacy and pull America out of its global climate commitments.

If elected, one of the biggest climate goals Harris would have to craft early in her administration is how much the US would reduce its climate pollution by 2035 – a requirement of the Paris climate agreement .

Immigration

Harris has quickly started trying to counter Trump’s attacks on her immigration record.

Her campaign released a video in late July citing Harris’ support for increasing the number of Border Patrol agents and Trump’s successful push to scuttle a bipartisan immigration deal that included some of the toughest border security measures in recent memory.

The vice president has changed her position on border control since her 2020 campaign, when she suggested that Democrats needed to “critically examine” the role of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, after being asked whether she sided with those in the party arguing to abolish the department.

In June of this year, the White House announced a crackdown on asylum claims meant to continue reducing crossings at the US-Mexico border – a policy that Harris’ campaign manager, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, indicated in late July to CBS News would continue under a Harris administration.

Trump’s attacks stem from Biden having tasked Harris with overseeing diplomatic efforts in Central America in March 2021. While Harris focused on long-term fixes, the Department of Homeland Security remained responsible for overseeing border security.

She has only occasionally talked about her efforts as the situation along the US-Mexico border became a political vulnerability for Biden. But she put her own stamp on the administration’s efforts, engaging the private sector.

Harris pulled together the Partnership for Central America, which has acted as a liaison between companies and the US government. Her team and the partnership are closely coordinating on initiatives that have led to job creation in the region. Harris has also engaged directly with foreign leaders in the region.

Experts credit Harris’ ability to secure private-sector investments as her most visible action in the region to date but have cautioned about the long-term durability of those investments.

Israel-Hamas

The Israel-Hamas war is the most fraught foreign policy issue facing the country and has spurred a multitude of protests around the US since it began in October.

After meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in late July, Harris gave a forceful and notable speech about the situation in Gaza.

We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering. And I will not be silent.”

Harris echoed Biden’s repeated comments about the “ironclad support” and “unwavering commitment” to Israel. The country has a right to defend itself, she said, while noting, “how it does so, matters.”

However, the empathy she expressed regarding the Palestinian plight and suffering was far more forceful than what Biden has said on the matter in recent months. Harris mentioned twice the “serious concern” she expressed to Netanyahu about the civilian deaths in Gaza, the humanitarian situation and destruction she called “catastrophic” and “devastating.”

She went on to describe “the images of dead children and desperate hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third or fourth time.”

Harris emphasized the need to get the Israeli hostages back from Hamas captivity, naming the eight Israeli-American hostages – three of whom have been killed.

But when describing the ceasefire deal in the works, she didn’t highlight the hostage for prisoner exchange or aid to be let into Gaza. Instead, she singled out the fact that the deal stipulates the withdrawal by the Israeli military from populated areas in the first phase before withdrawing “entirely” from Gaza before “a permanent end to the hostilities.”

Harris didn’t preside over Netanyahu’s speech to Congress in late July, instead choosing to stick with a prescheduled trip to a sorority event in Indiana.

Harris is committed to supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression, having met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at least six times and announcing last month $1.5 billion for energy assistance, humanitarian needs and other aid for the war-torn country.

At the Munich Security Conference earlier this year, Harris said: “I will make clear President Joe Biden and I stand with Ukraine. In partnership with supportive, bipartisan majorities in both houses of the United States Congress, we will work to secure critical weapons and resources that Ukraine so badly needs. And let me be clear: The failure to do so would be a gift to Vladimir Putin.”

More broadly, NATO is central to our approach to global security. For President Biden and me, our sacred commitment to NATO remains ironclad. And I do believe, as I have said before, NATO is the greatest military alliance the world has ever known.”

Police funding

The Harris campaign has also walked back the “defund the police” sentiment that Harris voiced in 2020. What she meant is she supports being “tough and smart on crime,” Mitch Landrieu, national co-chair for the Harris campaign and former mayor of New Orleans, told CNN’s Pamela Brown in late July.

In the midst of nationwide 2020 protests sparked by George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer, Harris voiced support for the “defund the police” movement, which argues for redirecting funds from law enforcement to social services. Throughout that summer, Harris supported the movement and called for demilitarizing police departments.

Democrats largely backed away from calls to defund the police after Republicans attempted to tie the movement to increases in crime during the 2022 midterm elections.

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