In critical thinking, just like in football, you have to know the rules, introduce core skills and have lots of time to practice.  In football the core skills are when to pass, seeing the angle on the run and knowing how to play good defense.  Your critical thinking team needs the core skills of reflective decision-making: analysis, evaluation, drawing good inferences and supplying sound reasons for decisions. 

Of course athletes must be able to put the skills together to win games; teams win games because they have the work habits, drive, persistence, confidence and trust in their team mates.  Athletes are successful because of their hard work, dedication, physical training and mental conditioning.  The same approach applies to critical thinking on your team: expertise comes from practice and the desire to continue perfecting your skills—and good coaching.  Strong thinkers must not only have strong reasoning skills; they also develop and practice the habits of mind that motivate them to use those skills in reflective decision-making.  Skills and dispositions are mutually reinforcing.

In sports there’s a clear definition of success: you win or you lose and you can assess your record.  But how do you document if your critical thinking team can think well? Contact Insight Assessment to learn how you can get valid and reliable measurements to document the skills and dispositions of individuals and groups.