A child-centric microbiology education framework

The Critical Thinking MicroChats Gallery

Critical thinking is central to forming sensible opinions, formulating rational ideas, having productive discussions and ultimately developing informed policy and making the best decisions. But how to teach critical thinking? Indeed, it is a complex and somewhat abstract subject that may not be easy to teach younger students. But biases, which prejudice the process of critical thinking, accumulate with age, so it is important to teach critical thinking as early as possible. The approach we have taken therefore is to develop child-centric stories around some of the elements of critical thinking, in order to raise awareness of key issues. The hope is that, if children are exposed to these stories, they will absorb the underlying parameters and be able to apply them, without knowing the theoretical background. Let’s explore some of the issues of critical thinking as revealed in stories about our everyday lives!