Key message
Not all information is trustworthy, and some sources of information are intended to mislead or confuse people. For this reason, it is important that children and young people have the critical thinking skill to analyse information and evaluate its authenticity.
Critical thinking does not mean criticising people or ideas. Critical thinking is an important skill in an information rich world that helps children and young people examine new pieces of information in order to make an informed judgement on an issue (Young and eSafe, Office of the eSafety Commissioner 2018).
Developing critical thinking skills
Children and young people should always consider and question the relevance, accuracy and reliability of any content they find online. Peter Ellerton (Lecturer in Critical Thinking, The University of Queensland) suggests that students need to master 4 key concepts to develop their critical thinking abilities:
- Argumentation – the process of intellectual engagement with an issue and opponent with the intention of developing a justified position.
- Logic – the rules of deduction and induction used to proceed from premises or evidence to conclusion.
- Psychology – an awareness of how our minds actually work, especially the effect of cognitive biases and prior beliefs.
- The nature of science – knowledge of basic statistics and the difference between hypothesis, theory and law.
Read Peter's full article in The Conversation, titled How to teach all students to think critically.
Further suggestions for developing critical thinking skills
Here are some suggestions for developing critical thinking skills in children and young people:
- Learn more about developing critical thinking skills with the Office of the eSafety Commissioner's Young and eSafe units of work.
- For practical advice on evaluating information, visit the University of the Sunshine Coast’s What are credible sources?
- ABC News offers advice on how to spot fake news and fact-check bogus stories.
Top tips
Who wrote the information?
- Is the author listed on the information?
- Is the author is qualified on the topic of the article? An author may be qualified if they have a university degree or experience relevant to the article topic.
- Has the author included a bibliography or link to the sources they used to research the information?
What is it about?
- Does the article provides links to research to back up its argument?
- Does the article give a balanced opinion and present both sides of the argument?
Where does the information come from?
- Does the article come from a reliable person/organisation (e.g. newspaper, university, etc.)?
- Does the article come from a reliable website (such as one ending in .gov or .edu)?
When was it written and last updated?
- Does the article say when it was published or last updated?
- Is the article recent (within the last 2 years)?
Why was the information written?
- Can you tell what the author’s primary motive is for writing this information? For example, is it intended to teach or inform? Is the author trying to sell something?
- Does the article encourage debate and allow me to make up my own mind about an issue?
How do I feel about it or find out more?
- Is the article written in a way that is easy to understand or does it use confusing and emotive language?
- Where could I could find more research on the claims that are made in this article?
Additional resources
Related resources
Curriculum and syllabus links
NSW Syllabus outcomes
Australian Curriculum content descriptions
References
- 'Young and eSafe', Office of the eSafety Commissioner, accessed 24 January 2022
- 'How to teach all students to think critically', The Conversation, accessed 24 January 2022
- 'What are credible sources', University of the Sunshine Coast, accessed 19 June 2022
- 'Spot fake news online with these free tools for fact-checking bogus stories', ABC, accessed 24 January 2022