Teaching critical thinking skills in the age of AI is something middle and high school teachers really need to think about as they plan their curriculum for the year.
As artificial intelligence continues to evolve, critical thinking skills are going to be more important than ever!
While AI can assist with language learning by explaining hard concepts, giving examples, and generally explaining rules and providing writing samples, it should not replace human interaction and analytical reasoning.
In this blog post, we will explore how educators can use effective strategies to teach critical thinking and ensure students develop the ability to think independently in an AI-driven world.
The Importance of Socratic Questioning
One of the best ways to nurture critical thinking is through Socratic questioning (and Socratic Seminars), which encourages students to explore ideas deeply, challenge assumptions, and engage in thoughtful discussions. The goal, learn through discussion!!
Teaching and using Socratic Seminars as a means of learning and practicing speaking and listening skills is the basis of our SL. 1-3 Standard Unit.
Teaching Author’s Purpose and Bias
With the rise of AI-generated content, it is more important than ever for students to critically evaluate sources, pay attention to tone and word usage, and generally be able to delineate natural language from AI-generated language.
Understanding an author’s purpose and potential bias allows students to discern credible information.
Ways to Teach Author’s Purpose and Bias:
- Compare AI-generated summaries to original texts to examine distortions or omissions.
- Have students create their own biased and unbiased versions of a passage to see how language influences perception.
Remember, using AI is not a bad thing, but AI-generated content is not necessarily accurate and many times lacks creativity, originality, and personal stories and anecdotes. Being able to use AI well is something students need to learn, and to do that, they need to practice identifying it and seeing good uses for it.
Encouraging Multiple Perspectives & Meaningful, Efficient AI Usage
Critical thinking thrives when students learn to consider multiple viewpoints. By analyzing diverse perspectives, students can work toward having more empathy and stronger argumentation skills.
Methods to Encourage Multiple Perspectives:
- Assign students opposing viewpoints and require them to argue for their assigned stance before discussing their personal opinions. Have them argue the perspectives without research first, and then give them a chance to argue with research at their disposal.
- Explore how AI-generated content may favor certain perspectives over others and analyze why.
- Explore ways to us AI-generated content to help with organizing ideas and supporting arguments without developing the entirety of the argument.
Final Thoughts
In a world where AI is becoming increasingly integrated into education, fostering strong critical thinking skills is non-negotiable.
By using Socratic questioning, analyzing bias, and considering multiple perspectives, educators can ensure that students remain thoughtful, independent thinkers who can navigate both human and AI-generated content with confidence.
Check out our Speaking and Listening Bundles for 6th-8th grade below for more ideas on teaching critical thinking and helping students master their speaking and listening standards!
6th Grade Speaking and Listening Standards Bundle
7th Grade Speaking and Listening Standards Bundle
8th Grade Speaking and Listening Standards Bundle
How to Teach W.8 in Middle School ELA
How to teach W.4 in Middle School 
Providing meaningful feedback during end-of-year conferences