Our partners from Belgium (KULeuven and UCLL) and Portugal (UTAD) have organized two lunch discussions in their institutions with the topic “Fostering critical thinking of students – how would you do it?”. These initiatives had the goal to stimulate reflections among the different teaching faculty on how to foster critical thinking of students. That students learn to think critically is desirable. However, sometimes it is questionable whether we succeed in meeting our expectations. How do we determine if students think critically? Do students get sufficient opportunities to learn how to handle problems in a critical manner and how they can have a critical view on the world around them? What do I do as a teacher to support their development?
These and other questions were discussed with around 80 teachers that have participated in both institutions. Furthermore, the project CRITHINKEDU and the main results achieved within the first and second intellectual outputs were presented. The two events were undoubtedly very enriching moments of mutual knowledge and sharing. It is extremely comforting to see and feel that there are many colleagues interested and committed to the quality of Critical Thinking Education in our institutions. We hope that this was just the kickoff of a great journey together!
