Latest from If..then

A recent study in The Australian Journal of Language and Literacy on using fairy stories in primary schools has highlighted that such stories can be

It is very encouraging to read that, in a recent report by Brookings (https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2022/10/20/americans-broadly-support-teaching-about-most-controversial-topics-in-the-classroom/?utm_campaign=Brown%20Center%20on%20Education%20Policy&utm_medium=email&utm_content=231153862&utm_source=hs_email), the vast majority of adults in the US believe that children

I have recently returned from Jeddah where I participated in the ceremony launching the Future Geniuses program. Students from across Saudi Arabia who had recently

In his new book (‘Rationality: What it is. Why it seems scarce. Why it matters’), the Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker has argued in favour of

In a recent interview in the ‘Financial Times’, the writer Joyce Carol Oates responded to the question ‘What is the greatest challenge of our time?’

In a report published by McKinsey (‘Three keys to building a more skilled postpandemic workforce’, August 2021) critical thinking and decision-making were shown to be

In an article in ‘Standpoint’ of June 2020 (‘The mark of an educated mind’), Andrew Doyle provides a strong defence of the need for critical

A recent publication by McKinsey (‘Defining the skills citizens will need in the future world of work’) has highlighted the importance of critical thinking as

In a recent publication by the Brookings Institute, ‘Competencies for the 21st century’, the importance of these competencies has been stressed. As it explains, ‘The

These current difficult times very much emphasise that we need critical thinking more and more in order to make well-considered judgements and decisions. Unfortunately, we

An article in ‘The Times’ of 29 October looks at the growth of AI in the field of law (‘Warning: the robots are coming’). The

In a recent article in The Times ‘Treating us like children won’t keep us safe’ , Joanna Williams (the author of ‘Academic Freedom in an

Germany’s Federal Agency for Civic Education has recommended that people should take four steps in order to help to distinguish real news from fake news.

In the journal ‘Standpoint’ (22.05.20), Andrew Doyle argues that ‘Schooling underpinned by critical thinking is the bedrock of civilisation. It could save us from infantilised

In the ‘Sunday Times’ of 5 July, Matthew Syed explains how poor governmental decision-making is. This is not just the case over the coronavirus crisis,

In the field of education and training, the current pandemic has highlighted the issue of the future of universities. In a recent book ‘The New

There has been much discussion recently about the increased use of online teaching in education. Given that we have recently launched an online course in

In a feature recently published by The Economist Intelligence Unit, the future of higher education is examined. It is argued that ‘Like every industry, higher

In the ‘Financial Times’ of 23 May, there was an interview with Harlan Coben (author of 32 novels, including the Myron Bolitar series and whose

The launch of our online course in critical thinking is especially significant in the current difficult time, with many learners needing to making use of

The two videos on critical thinking that are already on this website can now be seen with Portuguese subtitles. They are already available in this

When I was presenting at the International Conference on Thinking in Wellington, New Zealand, in January 2013, I was asked to speak on critical thinking

We have produced an online course in critical thinking. This was developed with a business and management focus, such that most of the examples and

I have recently returned from Singapore where I worked with teachers in high schools, junior colleges, and polytechnics. As usual, there was considerable enthusiasm for

We have created two videos that are available on this site. One looks at the skills that critical thinking provides; the other presents some recent

There are free resources for critical thinking now available on this website. At this stage, there’s material for those who wish to use critical thinking

The Republican Party of Texas includes in its 2012 election campaign the opposition to critical thinking. ‘We oppose the teaching of…critical thinking skills and similar

A recent article in ‘New Scientist’ (‘The Argumentative Ape’, 26 May 2012) looks at the idea that humans have evolved as a species in which

If…then will soon be offering a new online course in critical thinking. This will be geared especially to business and management users, whether these are

A very recent study from the US shows that women are hugely under-represented in congressional hearings. In 2011 only 43 per cent of these hearings

We shall soon be offering free downloadable resources on this website. These resources will be available for four different groups: those who are interested in

Roy van den Brink-Budgen will be speaking at the International Conference on Thinking in Wellington, New Zealand, in January 2013. He will also be giving

A recent book by Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa ‘Academically Unfit: Limited Learning on College Campuses’ has argued that over a third of America’s university

We were working again in Singapore in November, conducting workshops with teachers in various Junior Colleges, and also speaking to parents about the value of

If…then are delighted to announce we’ve recently gone social with the setup of our brand new Twitter and Facebook pages. You can now keep totally up to date with

We are involved with a Suffolk-based organisation which works with a wide range of young people. Having provided two sessions of staff training, we are

This week’s announcement of the Nobel prize for economics to Professors Sims and Sargent for their work on how economies function highlights the importance of

On the Harvard Business Review website of 27 September, we find the article ‘Learn how to think different(ly)’. This argues for the virtues of thinking differently for

We have recently been working with teachers in schools in India. It is interesting how similar issues come up in terms of how Critical Thinking

A letter from Roy van den Brink-Budgen was recently published in the ‘FE Focus’ section of the UK’s ‘Times Education Supplement‘. The letter was concerned

The planned new university – the New College of Humanities (NCH) – has been greatly in the news recently. The man most associated with NCH

In a recent interview in the ‘Financial Times’, Sara Miller McCune, the co-founder (with her husband) of the renowned publishing group Sage, has stressed the

Critical Thinking is the skill of examining the possible significance of claims (statistical claims, historical claims, other evidence-claims, predictions, recommendations, and principles). In this connection,

Feedback is starting to come in from primary schools who are trialling the pilot Critical Thinking materials that we have developed. Further feedback is expected

In Richard Watson’s new book ‘Future Minds’, he raises all sorts of questions about the way in which our digitised world reduces the use children

In the UK’s ‘Times Education Supplement’ of 18 February, an article by Dale Bassett of the think-tank ‘Reform’ looks at the issue of what should

A letter from Roy van den Brink-Budgen on the subject of Critical Thinking in Hong Kong and Singapore was published in the UK ‘Times Education

In the UK’s ‘Times Education Supplement’ of 28 January, there is an article on education in Hong Kong. This country’s remarkably high performance in the

A recent book (‘Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities’) by the notable US philosopher Martha Nussbaum stresses that critical thinking should be central

In the UK ‘Times’ of 14 December, you will find an article by the former UK Home Secretary Michael Howard entitled ‘More prisoners equals less

A pilot of our materials for primary students (Yrs 2-6) is starting in various schools in the UK (and will also be trialled in other