One of the core critical thinking skills you need every day is the ability to examine the implications and consequences of a belief or action. Just practice thinking differently from the group to strengthen your mind. You may not be ready to speak up with your independent view. Is there a positive way to view it instead? Or at least a way that makes it seem not quite so bad? On your own terms.įind a time when your friend group sees the negative in a situation. What is “dumb” to one person may be “cool” to another.ĭevelop your ability to redefine the way you see the world around you. The problem is that virtually every situation can be defined in multiple ways. Regardless of what they individually believe. It’s natural that when a group defines something as “cool”, all the people in the group work to fit into that definition. Are there things that are “forbidden” in your social circle? Are you expected to act a certain way, dress a certain way? To practice critical thinking in everyday life, take a close look at your group of friends. However, it pays to reflect a little on how a group influences our lives. It’s tempting to believe that the world begins and ends with your friends. Ask each other routine questions for evaluating sources. Find out how they stay informed, and why they choose those outlets. One way (outside of school) is to chat with your family and friends about media sources. So, how can you practice telling fact from fiction? But, you know, you’ve practiced those things you’re good at. Part of the problem may come from schools cutting back on formal instruction of critical thinking skills and an assumption that today’s “digital native” teens can automatically tell the difference without practice or instruction. Do you think you have what it takes to sort out a real news source from a piece of clever advertising?Īccording to a recent study from Stanford University, a whopping 82% of the teens surveyed could not distinguish between an ad labeled “sponsored content” and a legitimate news story. Take a moment to reflect on your media skills. To help you make the leap from classroom to real world, here are 3 concrete examples of critical thinking in everyday life. Sure, you use critical thinking skills in the classroom to solve word problems in math, write essays in English, and create hypotheses in science.īut how will you use critical thinking in everyday life?įirst, keep in mind that critical thinking is simply a “deliberate thought process.”īasically, it means that you are using reason and logic to come to a conclusion about an issue or decision you are tangling with.Īnd clear, sound reasoning is something that will help you every day.

Just about every student has felt the same way.

Have you ever been listening to one of your teacher’s lessons and thought that it had no relevance to your own life?

Critical listening