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About the course

INASP’s online resource ‘Questioning as we learn: An introduction to critical thinking’ for undergraduate students in higher education is delivered through an online tutorial which consists of six units:

1. Thinking and questioning
   
2. Purposeful reading
   
3. Arguments and reasoning
   
4. Analysis of information – think critically!
   
5. Perspectives and biases
   
6. Apply your learning!
   

The self-study tutorial aims to support the development of students skills when assessing information. Undergraduate students will learn how to analyse and evaluate argumentative text and speech. This will help them with their studies while being in higher education and also increase their employability. Employers demand soft skills like critical thinking, since they affect performance in many areas of work, e.g. strategic planning, troubleshooting, problem-solving, and evaluating projects and processes. Critical thinking can also change the way you see the world in every day life and supports you to make a difference as a responsible citizen. Brookfield (2012) goes so far to say that “the ability to think critically about one’s assumptions, beliefs, and actions is a survival necessity”.

As the title of this course suggests, it’s an introduction to critical thinking; it’s meant as a starting point. After each unit, lecturers may give students the opportunity to deepen their understanding and apply the skills they have learned in face-to-face lessons within their discipline. 

 
Reference:

Brookfield, S.D. (2012). 'Teaching for Critical Thinking', San Francisco: Jossey-Bass A Wiley Imprint, p. 2