Year 3 – Critical Thinking (Revamped) BETA
Through this topic, we might have learned to:
- Understand the difference between truth, facts, opinions, and beliefs.
- Recognise that a fact can be supported by evidence, while a belief is something a person strongly feels or considers true.
- Understand that different people can have different beliefs about the same topic.
- Learn to question information instead of accepting everything we hear or read.
- Think about what makes something trustworthy or believable.
- Use evidence and reliable sources to support our ideas.
- Understand that our beliefs can sometimes be influenced by our experiences, family, culture, and the people around us.
- Learn that having a strong belief does not necessarily mean that something is a fact.
- Become more comfortable with changing or reconsidering our ideas when we come across new evidence.
- Understand that critical thinking means thinking carefully, asking questions, looking for evidence, and forming our own informed opinions.
Murdering Our Darlings: A Two-Day Journey into Critical Thinking
What happens when we pause, question what we know, challenge what we believe, and even dare to argue against ourselves?
That was the intriguing—and at times uncomfortable—journey the Beta group embarked upon during two thought-provoking Life class sessions on Critical Thinking, facilitated by Ms Shezin Siganporia and Ms Mayuri Chitlangiya.
These sessions were not about simply finding the “right” answer. Instead, they encouraged us to ask better questions, examine our assumptions, look at situations from multiple perspectives, and become more aware of how we think.
Day 1: Looking Beyond the Obvious
The first session began by exploring what critical thinking actually means. We quickly discovered that it is much more than being critical or finding faults. It is about analysing information, questioning assumptions, evaluating evidence, making connections, and reaching reasoned conclusions.
Case Studies: Thinking Beyond the First Answer
Through a series of case studies, we encountered situations that did not have straightforward answers. We were encouraged to look beneath the surface and consider different factors, perspectives, consequences, and possible solutions.
The discussions reminded us that the first answer that comes to our mind is not necessarily the best one. Sometimes, the most important part of solving a problem is taking a step back and asking:
What else could be happening here?
System Thinking: Seeing the Bigger Picture
Another fascinating concept was systems thinking.
We explored how individual events, people, decisions, and problems are often interconnected. A seemingly small change in one part of a system can create unexpected consequences elsewhere.
This encouraged us to move away from looking at problems in isolation and instead consider the relationships and connections within a larger system.
It made us realise that complex real-life problems rarely have a single cause—or a single solution.
Knowledge Claims: How Do We Know What We Know?
One of the most thought-provoking discussions revolved around knowledge claims.
We considered the difference between knowing something and claiming to know something. What makes a statement reliable? What evidence supports it? Can two people look at the same information and arrive at different conclusions?
This naturally led us to question the sources of our knowledge and to become more conscious of the evidence—or lack of evidence—behind the things we accept as true.
Challenging Our Beliefs
Perhaps one of the most important lessons from the sessions was that critical thinking requires intellectual courage.
We all carry assumptions and beliefs shaped by our families, cultures, experiences, education, social media, communities, and personal experiences. These beliefs can become so familiar that we rarely stop to question them.
The sessions challenged us to ask:
“Why do I believe what I believe?”
And perhaps even more importantly:
“What evidence would make me reconsider my belief?”
This was not about abandoning our beliefs. It was about becoming willing to examine them.
The Four Thinking Mindsets
We were also introduced to four different thinking mindsets, which helped us understand that thinking can happen in different ways and that effective critical thinking requires us to deliberately shift our perspective.
The activity encouraged us to recognise our own natural thinking patterns while also appreciating the value of approaching a situation through a different mindset.
It was a reminder that good thinking is flexible thinking.
Opinion, Belief or Fact?
Another engaging discussion focused on something we encounter every day: the difference between facts, opinions, and beliefs.
We examined different statements and considered what made each one a fact, opinion, or belief.
It sounds simple—but the discussion revealed how easily these categories can become blurred.
An opinion can feel like a fact when we strongly believe in it. A belief can be repeated so often that it begins to sound factual. And something presented as a “fact” may still require us to examine its source and evidence.
The exercise encouraged us to slow down before accepting information at face value.
Day 2: Thinking About Thinking
The second day took our learning even deeper. Having explored the tools and concepts of critical thinking, we now applied them to real-life situations.
We discussed situations involving everyday decisions, social issues, conflicting viewpoints, and challenging circumstances. Instead of immediately choosing sides, we were encouraged to analyse the situation, identify assumptions, consider different perspectives, examine evidence, and think about possible consequences.
The discussions became increasingly interesting because there was rarely a single obvious answer.
And that was exactly the point.
Critical thinking does not always lead us to certainty. Sometimes, it helps us become comfortable with complexity.
Murdering Our Darlings
Then came perhaps the most memorable—and challenging—activity of the sessions:
“Murdering Our Darlings.”
The title itself captured the essence of the activity.
We were asked to identify some of our strongly held beliefs on topics that could be political, religious, cultural, social, lifestyle-related, or otherwise controversial and sensitive.
But there was a twist.
We first had to state our own strong belief.
Then we had to deliberately challenge it.
We had to think of reasons that supported the opposite perspective, question our own assumptions, and attempt to counter our own argument.
It was uncomfortable at times.
It was challenging.
And it was incredibly powerful.
We discovered how difficult it can be to argue against something we have personally believed for a long time. Our minds naturally look for evidence that confirms what we already think and often dismiss information that challenges us.
The activity pushed us to step outside our own mental comfort zones.
It taught us that changing our minds does not necessarily mean that we were weak or wrong—it can mean that we were willing to learn.
From Winning Arguments to Understanding Perspectives
One of the biggest takeaways from the two sessions was that critical thinking is not about winning an argument.
It is about understanding.
Understanding why we think the way we do.
Understanding why someone else might think differently.
Understanding the evidence behind an idea.
Understanding the assumptions that influence our decisions.
And, perhaps most importantly, understanding that our own perspective is only one perspective among many.
A New Way of Looking at Everyday Life
By the end of the two days, Critical Thinking no longer felt like just another concept discussed in a classroom. It felt like a life skill.
Every day, we encounter advertisements, social media posts, news stories, conversations, opinions, forwarded messages, decisions, and disagreements.
Every day, we make knowledge claims.
Every day, we form opinions.
Every day, we rely on beliefs.
And every day, we have opportunities to ask:
What is the evidence?
What assumptions am I making?
Could there be another perspective?
Am I confusing an opinion with a fact?
What might I be missing?
Can I challenge my own thinking?
The two-day Life class sessions with Ms Shezin Siganporia and Ms Mayuri Chitlangiya gave the Beta group much more than a set of thinking strategies. They gave us an opportunity to look inward, question our assumptions, engage respectfully with complexity, and become more thoughtful about the way we make sense of the world.
Perhaps the greatest lesson was beautifully captured by Murdering Our Darlings: sometimes, to make space for better thinking, we have to be willing to let go of ideas that we hold most tightly.
Because critical thinking begins when we stop asking, “How can I prove that I am right?” and start asking, “What might I be missing?”
And that is a lesson worth carrying far beyond the classroom.