This resource was originally published in April 2021.

Summary

In 2021, the department commissioned the Learning First education research group to examine the international evidence base for effective teaching of critical thinking in secondary education.

The report draws on a literature review and case studies of select, high-performing education systems, to compare teaching of critical thinking in the domains of science and history, for syllabus Stages 4 and 5.

Key findings include:

• critical thinking skills are built on knowledge and subject expertise, meaning that knowledge-rich teaching and learning programs are needed to support the development of critical thinking capabilities; and

• evidence-based best practices for teaching, such as explicit teaching, structured questioning and a focus on metacognition, also support students’ critical thinking development.

The second part of the report features case studies of Singapore and Hong Kong’s approaches to teaching critical thinking skills in secondary school curricula.