Summer Programs

Critical thinking is the ability to gather, synthesize, and analyze information before forming a judgment or making a decision, identify biases, make comparisons, ask questions, and weigh alternative points of view to reach informed conclusions. It’s an essential skill for students who want to succeed in their postsecondary studies and an important talent in the workplace and life. Critical thinking involves breaking ideas apart to better understand them, deciding if facts, data, and sources are trustworthy, noticing when opinions (including your own) affect judgement, drawing logical conclusions based on evidence, and being open-minded enough to change your view if new evidence appears.

Critical thinking looks different across academic disciplines. For example, students studying history learn to interpret documents by considering their sources, finding corroboration, and identifying historical context. In the lab, students follow scientific methods and rely on the background information stored in their long-term memory to free up their working memory to brainstorm hypotheses. In math class, students can take the goals of the steps in the solution models they have learned and apply them to solve word problems.

In this eight-session program, students learn the importance and brain science behind content (background) knowledge and time on task. They practice understanding and taking points of view, learn how to research information effectively and efficiently, become familiar with the psychological origins and implications of bias, learn how to identify fake news and propaganda, practice asking open-ended questions, identify and make effective comparisons (surface structure vs. deep structure), and become more adept at breaking down arguments. Each session includes reinforcing activities/practice time and self-quizzes. Students receive helpful handouts and tip sheets that can be used as reference tools in future coursework.