Teaching Analytical and Critical Thinking Skills in Gifted Education

The significant trait that differentiates gifted students from their age peers is their exceptional capacity to process matmationouse it productively. Thinking process instruction extends the unusual cognitive abilities of gifted students in all talent areas and promotes types of thinking that talented young people may need for success and satisfaction in their fields. This chapter describes the methods, materials, and programs that promote analytical and critical thinking, decision making, and problem solving. During the last decade, four significant curriculum innovations have informed instruction to improve students’ thinking: revisions of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives; recognition of the significance of metacognition in thought processes; incorporating effective thinking instruction in complex, meaningful contexts; and the emphasis on inferential reasoning in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Using instructional methods to stimulate students’ thinking in content learning is commonly practiced in gifted education.