Dr. Natasha Robson

Workshop Overview

Critical thinking can often feel like a very nebulous idea. This workshop aims to reify it and demonstrate how easily we can enhance critical thinking in our pupils through the use of practical strategies that embed its use both in the classroom and their everyday lives. The workshop will look at:

• how the brain interprets and responds to information and the world, in order to better harness effective reasoning

• the rationale for the use of a ‘cognitive’ approach to developing critical thinking and the reasoning behind its need in the ‘information age’

• how our thinking can be compromised by things we might already believe or think are true, and how we can counter this with simple discursive and thinking exercises

• how we can learn to regulate our thinking more effectively in order to better understand, learn, and come to conclusions

• single-sentence ‘takeaways’ that can aid the development of critical thinking and can be connected to subject matter across all subjects.

This workshop will be suitable for those teaching at all age group levels and requires no prior knowledge of any of the scientific disciplines that have contributed to its development.

Biography

Dr Natasha Robson has worked in a variety of teaching and education contexts for over ten years. The 'useful' part of her doctoral work was the development of a 'cognitive approach' to critical thinking, teaching and learning. The approach is the product of a combination of her own classroom experience (recognising the enormous amount that is expected of teachers) and a deep interest in the brain and the mechanics of thought. She is currently writing a book and resources for teachers that will support the development of critical thinking in their learners, targeting, amongst other areas, how to address mis and disinformation.